Rhea
Luckily, whoever had been walking past that day didn’t need any equipment. Calder had simply made me wait for a while before he had me make my escape. I assumed that he’d left the room some time after that. Either way, nobody had called to let me know that he was in trouble for the whole thing, so I figured we were in the clear.
It had now been a few days since then, and while I was doing my grocery run, I got a message from Jackie inviting me to lunch. I didn’t have anything better to do, and she was the closest thing I had to a friend in the neighborhood.
Besides, I really needed to talk tosomeoneabout the latest developments.
I suggested a coffee shop a fifteen minute drive from my house in the opposite direction from the mall. The last thing I needed was to spend more time that close to my job. I also didn’t want to run the risk of one of the employees possibly overhearing my conversation with Jackie.
It was only once I parked the car in front of the shop that I realized it was pretty close to Ash’s old ice cream parlor. It made me wonder if I was subconsciously thinking of him, maybe wishing that I was spending the afternoon with him instead.
I got out of the car, and was struck immediately by how hot it was outside; almost sweltering. I couldn’t wait to get inside thecoffee shop, which, as far as I remembered, at least had some good air conditioning. That thought made me walk a bit faster toward the glass doors that would lead me into relief.
The coffee shop was cozy, with most of the tables fairly close together and the lights dimmer than the sun outside. Jackie wasn’t there yet, so I settled in the far corner away from the two sets of other people chatting away.
“Can I get you anything?” The waitress was smiling, but I could tell that she was tired. “We have a sandwich special.”
“No, just a coffee, please. Two sugars with cream.”
It was about five minutes before Jackie came waltzing in with clear curiosity in her expression. She probably couldn’t wait to hear about my newest exploits, and I couldn’t wait to share them.
“Coffee, please, sweetie,” Jackie called to the waitress before she sat down across from me. “So, Rhea, tell me. What have you been up to?”
“A lot,” I laughed dryly, stirring the coffee in front of me. “I’ve… been with Calder now, too.”
“Oh, three for three then!” Jackie said a bit loudly, causing the other tables to look our way. When she continued, Jackie lowered her voice. “Sorry. I mean, really, you’re lucky, you know? Not many of us can say we’ve bagged three firefighters at once.”
“I don’t know about that,” I sighed, looking past her to the window. “I’ve got feelings, but I don’t know exactly what they are. It’s got me all twisted up.”
“Mmm, I see,” Jackie nodded slowly, and bit at her top lip. She looked like she was in thought for a few seconds. “The thing is, it’s hard to organize feelings, isn’t it? Is there anyone you like a little bit more than the others?”
I glanced at her. “I don’t think so. That’s the problem. I think it’s going to end badly.”
“You can’t think like that,” Jackie insisted quickly, before the waitress showed up with her mug. “Thanks, sweetie.”
“Anything else?” The waitress asked, and I wondered if she had gotten any sleep at all the previous night. She seemed like she was in desperate need of a nap.
“No, we’re good,” Jackie said, and watched her walk away before she continued her thoughts. “I get it, it’s a tough situation. When I was in college, there was a time where I had one guy sending me love letters, and another knocking on my dorm room door every other day. It was all fun and games until they ended up in a bit of a fistfight.”
“Really?” My eyes widened and I had to smile. Jackie’s stories were always dramatic, but somehow, knowing her better, I could actually imagine her enjoying that situation.
“I let them both go,” Jackie answered, as if she’d simply thrown away a few old sandwiches. “It didn’t take long before I found someone else. Once the drama gets too real, at your age, it’s not necessary to bog yourself down.”
“I don’t know about that.” I sat back in my chair, fiddling with my spoon and staring at my reflection in it. “I really like all three of them.”
“Lots of fish,” Jackie shrugged. “Some really nice fish, too. I got a pretty good one, even if he’s as dull as cardboard.”
I laughed again as the tension was momentarily broken. “It’s not that bad, is it? Being stable and settled?”
Jackie took a sip from her coffee pensively. I wondered if it wasn’t burning her, given that mine was still almost too hot to drink. It seemed as if she were having some sort of innerstruggle. I wondered if maybe her home life wasn’t that great, but I didn’t feel like it was my place to pry.
“I’ll be honest with you,” she finally said, a deep sadness in her voice. “I love being a mom, of course I do. It’s just… Sometimes I wish there was more to life, you know? I used to be adventurous. I did so many things. I had a fire in my heart. I… I sometimes feel like I can’t reach that side of me anymore.”
She paused, and I sat with her in the silence that followed. I had no idea what that felt like, and I couldn’t really relate to it. Maybe in twenty years, I’d be in the same place that she was. But I didn’t know that for sure.
“Anyway, you still can!” Jackie’s demeanor switched so fast that I almost felt as if I had whiplash. “Look, you’refine.The men are into it, right?”
“Yeah,” I answered tentatively. “It seems like it.”
