Who? Say my name. Even if you don't know it's me. Even if it would ruin everything. Say it.
"We should head back."
She nods.
That's the end of it.
We walk to the parking lot in silence. But my brain won't stop cycling through questions I'll never ask.
Do you think about me?
Do you remember what we had?
Do you lie awake sometimes and wonder what happened to the man you left behind?
Otis pulls up not two minutes after we arrive.
Keira straightens. Pulls her mask back into place and walks to the car.
She never looks at me.
I take the passenger seat, angling the mirror so I can keep an eye on her.
"Everything go okay?" Otis starts immediately.
"Mhm."
He nods, pleased with himself. "Good, good."
I don't ask him anything. I genuinely don't care. Part of me hoped he'd driven off a cliff.
"So I was thinking," he continues, one hand loose on the wheel, "maybe I should propose to Maren soon. We've been together two years now, and she keeps dropping hints about rings. Not obvious, but like…she'll see a jewelry store and suddenly need to look at something in the window. Then wanders to the engagement section. You know what I mean?"
In the mirror, Keira stares out the window but she's not ashollow as before.
"You think two years is too soon?" Otis glances at me.
"I think you should keep your eyes on the road."
"Right, right." He turns back to the windshield, but his mouth keeps running. "It's just…what if she says no? What if I plan this whole elaborate thing, get down on one knee, pour my heart out, and she's like, actually, I'm not ready? That would be devastating. Humiliating. Just awful."
"You're right," I say flatly.
"Exactly! See, you get it." He misses the tone entirely. "I was thinking somewhere special. Like a waterfall. She loves them. Has a whole Pinterest board dedicated to them."
"You've mentioned."
"Have I? Probably." He drums his fingers against the wheel in an arrhythmic pattern that makes me want to break them. "What do you think…waterfall or beach? She loves the beach too. We went to Spain last summer, and she literally cried when she saw the ocean. Actual tears. I had to hold her for twenty minutes."
"Sounds like she cries a lot. Do you make her cry?"
In the mirror, Keira's head turns. A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth.
Otis frowns. "What? No, never. She's emotional, but that's different. She feels things deeply. It's one of the things I love about her."
"Clearly. Waterfalls too."
Keira's smile grows.
