Sometimes I drive, sometimes I take the shuttle… mostly because on the shuttle Gabby and I can trade turns on my little handheld game or work a puzzle together.
That's the nice part about going into work with her. Sarah and I never did intimate things like that.
We talked to each other, but it was always just performative, at least from my side.
I reach the house. Morris isn’t there.
Where the hell are Gabby and Morris?
“Gabby,” I call out.
Nothing.
I see leftovers in the fridge. I'm so hungry. I want to wait for her.
We usually have dinner together. The show is coming on at around 9 p.m. And I'm excited. She should have been back by now, though.
It's past 9 p.m. now and Gabby is nowhere to be found. I sent her four texts asking if everything's okay, if she's fine. She sent me back a thumbs up… nothing else.
Around 11 or 12 p.m., she's walking through the door with Morris on her back, his head sticking out of her bag.
I sit up on the couch, arm on the backrest, looking over at her through the door. I stand and help her with the bag, bringing it to the kitchen.
Something doesn't feel right.
"Where were you?" I ask.
She smiles, her face glowing with a relaxed, refreshed look, like she’s just come back from a spa day.
“Oh, sorry, I…” She trails off, falling silent.
What the hell?
“Gabby.”
"Yeah," she answers.
"Wherewereyou?" I shrug my shoulder, losing my patience.
"I went out. I just had fun today, that's all," she says.
"You know, I don't always like to stay in the house."
I feel uneasy.
"You took Morris out with you theentireday? I was kind of worried. I mean, I know you say he's your cat, but he is still technically my cat."
"Next time I'll make sure that I bring him home."
"No, I'm still technically paying you to watch him."
"Yeah, which I did. He never left my sight. He's always with me. I'm enriching his life. What's the problem, Lincoln? What the hell's wrong with you?"
I chuckle sarcastically and wipe my face.
"You left work from—okay, I'm just trying to understand what's going on, because you get off of work at 3 p.m. And I don't know, I just thought we made plans and everything, and I just felt like you ditched me. You didn't even say goodbye, and you were beingveryshort with your text messages. It just feels like… like I made you upset or something."
She smiles; something that breaks my heart.
