I decided to get some fresh air out on the terrace. The air was crisp from the approaching winter. I looked down over the parking lot until I saw her walk towards the valet. She stood there in her coat until her car came around. It was modest, but fit her well.
I continued watching until she drove away and was far in the distance. I stood there for a while more, unable to forget her.
Normally, once my partner was gone, I was sated and ready to go to bed. This time I felt… uneasy. I felt like letting her go was wrong.
I didn’t know what was up with me, but I needed it out of my system. As I headed back inside, I glanced up at the full moon above. Something about it made me think about her more. I recalled the moon apart of her tattoo, but it wasn’t just that. Something about the radiance of the moon matched her so perfectly.
I held onto that thought as I went inside and readied for bed.
I strode across the office, glad to be out of that two hour meeting that could have easily been an email. it felt like all of corporate could move more smoothly if everyone just learned how to send a fucking email.
"Cancel my lunch meeting, I need a fucking break," I said to my secretary, who was padding behind me.
I didn’t sleep well last night, or the night before that. It felt like every free moment my brain had was now hyper focused onJuniper. Though I didn’t know anything about her, I couldn’t get her out of my mind, and it made me even more distracted than usual.
His pen flew across his tablet. “You don’t have another meeting scheduled today.”
"Thank god for that,” I said before throwing my office door open and stepping in. I’d been thirty minutes early to my morning meeting, so it felt as if it dragged on forever.
I was surprised to see my mother sitting in the chair across from my desk. Her dark hair was pinned out of her face, strands of gray coming in gracefully through them. We had the same blue eyes, but no one had a kind smile like her.
"Hey, Ellie, how are you?" She was the only one who was allowed to call me that.
"I'm fine, Ma. What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to you. Do you have plans for lunch?"
"I don't," I said. I would have canceled my meeting earlier if I knew she was coming. "Want to go to Berblanc? I know it's your favorite."
"I would love to."
We had a standing table, and they recognized me as soon as we walked in, taking us to our seats.
The waiter poured my mothers favorite red and we asked for chef recommendations. This place was so good because of the chef specifically, so we always went with whatever he was cooking up.
We talked about neutral things, the weather, work, her book club, until our food came. It was some kind of white fish in a cream sauce and it looked amazing.
I dug in and of course, it tasted as great as it looked.
"Honey, I'd like to talk to you about something," my mother said about halfway through the meal.
I cleared my throat, setting my fork down and giving her my entire attention. "What's up?"
"You know we love you," she started. "But your father and I are worried you might be a bit… out of control."
"What do you mean?"
"There were more photos of you posted, and your father is very upset."
I was about to defend myself, but she waved a hand. "I know you're just having fun, and I understand wanting to do that, but as your mother, I want to see you cared for and happy. Your father's image is the least of my concerns, but I don't want this for you."
My hardened resolve and smart response melted on my tongue. But I was confused about one bit of it. "What photos are you talking about?" I asked. I didn't go out last weekend, and I've been staying at work late every night since to keep up.
She put her reading glasses on and clicked across her screen before turning it forward and showing me the photo.
Unlike my normal exploits that happened in crowded bars or walking into hotels, this one was of me and Juniper at the Baker’s gala. The first one was us chatting at the bar. The next when I pulled her closer, asking her to come back with me.
And the third—the nail in the coffin—was her and I between closing elevator doors. My hand wrapped around my waist and my face in her hair. Though these photos were just like all the others I’d seen, I couldn’t help staring at Juniper. She really looked good in that dress. Something about her was almost mesmerizing.
