And maybe coming to this park more will also make it to the top of my list if that means getting to see him while I’m here.
Three
Henry
“Did you burn the toast again?” Travis asks, his voice coming from behind me, along with the sound of closing doors.
“It sure smells like it. Did you mess with the setting?”
“Not that I can remember.” His footsteps approach me, his elbow brushing mine as he opens the window. “There, that’s already so much better.”
“Sorry.” My lips downturn and he presses his to the center of my forehead.
“It’s okay, babe. At least it’s not smoking like last time.”
My stomach rumbles with laughter. “I guess that’s me moving in the right direction.”
“Sure is. I’m about to carpool with Andy to the gym. Do you need anything before I go? Aside from having me put the toaster on the correct setting?”
“Nope. You two have been very adamant with the whole workout routine.”
“Yeah. Need to shed all that Halloween candy and Thanksgiving food weight.” His hand plops onto his stomach making a popping sound.
“I’m still sad I missed out on your mom’s famous turkey sandwiches.”
“You’ll be able to eat plenty at Christmas.”
“Are we not going to the cabin?”
“I thought we agreed we’d go up there the week before.” He sounds far away now.
“I don’t remember that, but New Year’s may work better.”
“Yeah. We got invited to my aunt Lucy’s house on Christmas Eve. I thought it could be just you and me on Christmas Day.”
I shove my hand back into the bag of bread and pull out two more pieces, hoping I didn’t waste too much this week. Only one of us is bringing in money right now and I can’t touch my trust fund for another three weeks, on my twenty-fifth birthday. I have some money in savings, but Travis insisted on taking care of everything for now. “That sounds nice, just the two of us lying around in bed and only getting up to eat.”
“It sounds perfect.” The front door snicks open. “I’ll be back in two hours. You should join us next time.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Maybe on a day when it’s less busy. Anyway, I’ll pick up dinner. There’s a container of fruit in the fridge in case that toast doesn’t hold you over until I get back.”
“Okay. Get a good workout in.”
“I always do. Bye, baby.”
“Bye.”
My bread is soft when I touch it. Damn. I forgot to push the damn lever down. I press where I think it is, my fingers falling straight down to the counter instead. Cursing under my breath, I try again, hitting the corner this time, and luckily it’s enough for the thing to go down. When I hear the metal clinking sound, I take out the toast, burning the tips of my fingers. Shit.
I turn on the sink, finding the knob quicker than expected, and run cool water over my throbbing skin. One good thing about things like sinks and counters is that they don’t move. Travis is always setting things in different places, and I keep telling him not to. Not that he listens, swearing he forgets and he’s not used to all these changes.
How does he think I feel? I plate my toast and lift one hand in front of me as I slowly drag my feet forward to the table. As soon as my hand meets the back of a chair, I lower myself, moving my hand to the table, and as I’m eating, my phone rings. The phone that I left in the living room on the couch. Or was it the end table?
I’m making life harder for myself too, it would seem. I look around, thinking about how it might be nice to sit outside for a while. It’s getting cold out, but I love cold weather. I love having a reason to wear large sweaters and long, cozy socks. Smiling, I finish my food, find my phone, and navigate myself to theentryway closet. Once the door is open, I sigh and feel around the small space. The jackets my hands touch all feel the same.
The hoodies do too, but does it really matter if I accidentally grab Travis’s? It’s not a bad idea to know where mine are, though, so I know what side to lean toward next. I hit a button on my phone and a robotic voice comes on, asking me what I need help with.
