Finally, a message slid through.
Theo| I can’t tomorrow.
Theo| I have physical therapy in the morning and I won’t be done until after 10.
Theo| I won’t catch you in time before you go to class, and I don’t want you to be late on my account.
Oh.
Her heart sank. That’s right—he’d mentioned that earlier, and that must’ve been why she’d never seen him on Mondays, even though he’d started coming in much more often and staying longer than he used to.
She was about to respond to him when he texted again.
Theo| So I’ll just have to keep thinking about you—and missing you—until I can come see you.
Theo limped intothe coffeehouse at 8:27 a.m. on Tuesday.
He didn’t even have a chance to limp up to the register with his mug before Audrey shoved Josh in front of it and got behind the machine, making them both their coffee and ripping her apron over her head while Theo paid and dumped the rest of his change in the tip jar like he always did. His bag had barely hit the ground at theirusual table by the time she was sliding their drinks onto its surface so she could throw her arms around his neck.
He blinked in shock for a moment before his eye crinkled and he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and enveloping her in a big, warm hug.
His hood was still down today.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he whispered. His voice only betrayed the slightest bit of bemusement, but he sounded pleased, and she could practically sense his smile bloom under the mask when she held him tighter and nuzzled into his neck. His fingers shook as he gently stroked her hair before setting her carefully back down.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
She beamed up at him, and her grin grew wider when she realized how he’d picked her up as if she weighed nothing. He was really strong, despite the tremble and the limp.
Speaking of which…
Her eyes darted down to his hip, and she frowned. “Are you doing okay? You’re a little late today.”
He grunted and slid into his seat, stretching his leg out and rubbing absently at his thigh. “Rough day of PT yesterday. I’m really sore, and my hip’s giving me trouble again.” His brow furrowed and he held up an apologetic hand. “I had to have screws put in it, you see. Not a fun experience, let me tell you. But at least I’m not using a walker anymore.”
“Oh my god, Theo.” Audrey’s frown deepened as she sat and took her coffee between her hands. “Why didn’t you say anything when I suggested a walk for Saturday? Should we not have done that?”
He shook his head and waved her worry away. “No, I’m supposed to, actually. I have a minimum number of steps I have to hit every day for my physical therapy homework, so it was helpful. And it’s one of the reasons I started coming to this coffee shop in the firstplace—I walk here, and it was the right distance away from home for what I could do in one stretch at the time.”
So he did live in the neighborhood.
“One of the reasons?” She raised an eyebrow. “What are the others?”
The tips of Theo’s ears reddened, and he fiddled absently with the lid of his coffee tumbler. “I…stopped leaving the house after—after a while. It got really easy, you know, with all the delivery services available. I could order anything I needed from my phone: groceries, supplies, films, you name it.” He looked down at his hands. “My therapist said she’d stop doing Zoom visits with me once I was mobile after”—he stopped himself and changed direction quickly—“a couple of months ago, and she made me come to her office instead. That was hard enough at first.”
“Well, that’s understandable.”
Theo shifted his head from side to side. “Well, I—” He sighed deeply. “I used to be a little more social before all this, but I’ve always had trouble with anxiety. And talking to people. Especially new people.”
“But you seemed to have an easy time talking tome.”
Theo stared at her and then barked a laugh. “Oh, no. Audrey, uh…” He huffed again and then shook his head before running a hand along the back of his neck. Every last inch of his visible skin had flushed bright red. “I would have never talked to you—ever—if you hadn’t said something first.” His blush deepened, and he wasn’t able to meet her eyes. “The only reason I’m maybe doing a halfway decent job is because you said you liked me, and I sort of…believed you. Or at least I really wanted to, anyway.”
She leaned across the table and slid her hand under his left palm, and he curled his fingers around hers. “You’re doing a great job. And youshouldbelieve me.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “So you had to go see your therapist in person?”
He nodded and withdrew his hand, his fingers twitching slightly as he went back to flipping the lid of his coffee mug back and forth. “Yeah, I went to see her. And that was all for a while. Home, and her office. And then she recommended I start going out again to other places, and to try something low-stakes. Like a café. Especially since I really like coffee.” Theo finally met Audrey’s gaze. “I tried another place first, but it was awful. I had a panic attack, so I went home. And I stayed there. But Dr.Harper wanted me to sit at least thirty minutes out in public, even if I didn’t do anything or talk to anyone, so she pushed me to try again. I felt so bad, my heart raced so fast, my hands shook so much that I wanted to die the first time I tried another café. Until I came here.”
