That was it. That was all she said.
Wyatt: Working at the diner?
Another half-hour went by.
Vera: Building the nightstands, lots of orders
Made sense; she was busy.
Her answers were short and invited no further conversation. Either she’d been taken over by an alien form, something I had considered in the dark, or the more logical conclusion that she didn’t feel the way I did.
Or maybe I was right all along, and she didn’t need one more thing in her life. After seeing my mom date, I swore I’d never be that guy who made a woman’s life harder. Who was an obligation, not a partner. Somewhere between Saturday night and Monday morning, things had changed, and it wasn’t for the better.
The workdays went by quickly in a blur of activity, but the evenings and nights were torture.
On Thursday, we ran into another delay of materials, and I was stuck twiddling my thumbs. I was sitting on the couch in the office, staring at the wall when Layne and Elias came in, holding hands and staring at each other with goo-goo eyes.
“Hey Wyatt, are you bored?”
“You have no idea.”
“Why don’t you go and see your girlfriend?” Layne asked. I had told her and anyone who would listen about how awesome our date was, minus the spicy details. That was before she started ghosting me.
“Things didn’t work out, or aren’t working out, I guess.”
Layne frowned and came to sit next to me. “What happened?”
I dropped my head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as I explained how the week had been going. The short texts or no reply at all.
“Have you called her? She’s an adult. I think if she didn’t want to do this with you, she would just say so.”
“I don’t want to be that guy, you know?”
“What guy? The one with adult communication skills?”
I shook my head. “She is making it clear she doesn’t have time for one more thing in her life, and I don’t want to make her life harder.”
Layne shrugged. “Then don’t.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“Okay, true, you are not making her life harder, but you are also not making it any easier or better, right? I know what you said about your mom and not wanting to be a burden like some of those guys were. Well, show her you aren’t a burden. Show her that you two can work together and make each other’s lives better.”
“How do I do that?”
“Depends on what the problem is, and to find that out, you’re going to have to call her.”
“Ugh, why is your answer to my problems always adult communication?” I teased Layne, but I knew she was right. I didn’t want what we had to slip away, so I had to at least try to fight for it.
Chapter Seventeen
Vera
What comes after cloud nine?
Cloud ten?
Or is it just a deep feeling that you are totally screwed?
