Maria glanced at the clock above the door. Three hours and
she still hadn’t seen him. Swallowing hard, she tried to put a smile on
her face as she delivered the breakfast plates to table two. At least
she’d had all of Sunday to prepare herself. Not that she’d done much
preparing. Mostly she’d just sat in her room pigging out on the pumpkin
pie Kyle brought home with him, and avoiding her brother’s questions about
the night before.
As she was dispensing change for the lone guy at
the counter she heard the door chime, and knew, knew it was
him.
Trying to keep her mind on what she was doing, she walked back
to the guy and handed him the change.
“Uh, Miss, I gave you a
twenty, not a ten,” the man said staring down at the bills she’d laid in
front of him.
“Oh, sorry,” she whispered as she walked back to the
register quickly, pretending not to see Michael as he sat
down.
Pulling out a ten dollar bill, she walked back to the man and
handed it to him, “Here you go, sir, sorry about that.”
“Sure,” the
man said as he grabbed the money and left.
Quickly washing her
hands in the small sink in the corner, she walked back and placed a cup in
front of him and filled it with coffee, making an effort to keep her hands
from shaking. He was watching her. She could feel it. His eyes were like
lasers, boring holes into her skin.
“Good morning,” he said, his
voice low and flat.
She jerked up quickly and splashed coffee onto
the counter. He spoke to her. He didn’t speak to her, not here. He didn’t
say ‘Good morning’.
Using a nearby washcloth, she cleaned up the
spill.
“Not speaking, huh?” he asked her as she started to walk
away.
Her feet were frozen to the ground. Turning slowly, she tried
to avoid looking into his eyes. He didn’t look angry, but his gaze was
still piercing.
“I…uh, good morning,” she whispered, then turned
and walked into the kitchen.
She hurried about, waiting on the
three tables of customers, and doing her best to pretend he wasn’t
there.
When the cook put up his order, she had to retrieve it and
take it to him.
“Thanks,” he said as she set the plate in front of
him.
What was he trying to do?
“Y-you’re welcome,” she
said
She accidentally met his eyes, and quickly looked away again.
It was going to be a long day.
***
Michael walked across the
street and entered the diner. It wasn’t quite 9, so he sat down at the
counter. She had seen him come in, he saw her make a run for the kitchen.
When he’d come in earlier for breakfast she’d wanted to do the same thing
– he could tell.
“What can I get for you?”
He was startled
and looked up to see a strange new blonde in uniform.
“Uh,
nothing,” he said, wondering who she was.
The girl looked at him
strangely, “Well, I don’t know if we’re supposed to let people sit in here
without ordering.”
That made sense, but since he didn’t want to
explain that he was waiting for someone to get off work he said the first
thing that came to mind, “Coffee.”
“Ok,” the girl smiled and walked
away.
When she returned, she set a cup down in front of him and
started filling it.
“Uh, just half,” he said holding his hand up to
halt her pouring.
The girl laughed softly, “I’ve still got to
charge you for a full cup.”
He looked up at her, irritated, “That’s
fine.”
“I thought maybe that was why you weren’t
ordering-.”
“I can afford a cup of coffee,” he said, glancing at
the clock above the door hoping that Maria would appear soon. Damn, still
another five minutes.
“Ok, sorry didn’t mean to offend you,” the
girl said with an amused look. “So, uh, do you come in here
often?”
Michael swung back around to look at the girl,
“Yeah.”
“I’ll probably be seeing a lot of you then,” she said with
a smile.
He stared blankly at her. Why was she talking to
him?
“Yeah…” he whispered, seriously contemplating waiting outside
in the cold.
“So, do you have a name?”
“Everybody has a
name,” he retorted, wishing she’d shut up and leave him
alone.
“Well, that’s true, do you know what yours is?” she had
adopted a teasing tone, and she was batting her
eyelashes.
“Michael.”
“Michael…?”
“Guerin.”
“Michael
Guerin. Nice name. Do you want to know mine?”
“No.”
“Ok…”
she laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Are you scared of girls or
something?”
Michael dug into his pocket, pulled out a bill and laid
it on the counter, then stood to walk out the door.
“This is a
twenty,” the girl said, holding the bill up in the air and looking at him
curiously.
“Yeah, thanks for the coffee,” he muttered as he turned
to walk toward the door.
Just then, Maria burst out of the kitchen,
cast a quick glance at him then headed straight for the door.
He
quickly moved to follow her.
“Don’t be a stranger,” he heard the
new waitress call as he stepped outside.
Maria was a couple of
steps ahead of him, and he had to jog to catch her. When he reached her
side, she started to walk faster. He kept pace with her, trying to keep an
eye on her face as they made their way to her building. Her eyes were
downcast, and she was biting her lip.
They had just stepped up onto
her block when she halted suddenly. He turned back to look at her, and
followed her gaze to the yellow car parked in front of her building. She
looked worried.
“What is it?” he asked.
She jumped slightly
and glanced at him for a moment. For a moment, he thought she would speak
because her lips began to move, but then she swallowed hard and started to
walk again.
He walked with her, and watched the nervous looks she
was giving the yellow car with curiosity. When they reached her building,
he stopped at the bottom of the steps and watched her walk up to the door
as usual. Once she was inside, he walked over to the yellow car and looked
it over. It was an older compact, and it was extremely dirty.
Maybe
it belonged to an old boyfriend or something. The very thought of that
made him angry. There was so much he didn’t know about her. He really
needed to have a long talk with Liz and get her whole story. Of course, he
could always ask Maria. She probably wouldn’t tell him anything
though.
His fingers started to worry his eyebrow as he sat down on
the steps of her building, debating what she would do if he pushed the
intercom button for her apartment.
***
Maria took the steps
up to the apartment two at a time. There was a chance that she was wrong
about the car, there were probably thousands of those cars in yellow. No
reason to jump to the conclusion that-.
She quickly unlocked the
door and walked in. All of the lights were on, and she could hear Kyle’s
voice coming from the kitchen in a yelling whisper.
“…take what you
want and go. I’m not going to play this game.”
“Take what I want?”
Vickie’s voice was loud. “I want my daughter!”
“Really? Since
when?” Kyle’s voiced was hushed, but full of sarcasm.
Maria walked
down the hall to her bedroom quickly, hoping they didn’t see her as she
walked past the kitchen. Changing quickly into jeans and a sweater, she
walked out of her room to see Abby in the hall sleepily rubbing her
eyes.
“Where’s daddy?” the little girl asked her.
Maria
picked her up and carried her back into the bedroom, “Shhh, kiddo, you
should be in bed.”
“They woke me up,” Abby said.
“I know,
but go back to sleep,” Maria said softly, tucking her carefully into the
bed.
“What is she doing here?” Vickie asked flinging open the door
of Abby’s room.
“That’s my mom,” Abby said softly to Maria,
pointing at Vickie.
“I know, sweetie,” Maria said, kissing her on
the forehead quickly before walking past Vickie out to the living
room.
Kyle was leaned against the wall by the front door, giving
Maria an apologetic look.
“Why is she here?” Vickie asked, pointing
at Maria.
“Why do you think? She lives here,” Kyle said sharply,
while trying to keep his voice low.
“I don’t want her in my house.
You should have heard what she said to me, Kyle,” Vickie said, putting a
hand on her hip.
“This isn’t your house any more,” Maria said
glaring at Vickie.
“It is my house, and I want you out of
it,” Vickie took a step toward her threateningly.
Maria tried to
remain calm. Tried to remember that Abby was in the house. She couldn’t
blow up like she had when Vickie had called the summer before. If only
they had been able to afford for Kyle to divorce her, but they’d had to
give up after the legal separation.
“Vickie, you’re not staying
here. That is ridiculous. Go stay with your parents, you can see Abby
tomorrow,” Kyle said, obviously trying to keep his temper under
control.
“If I leave here tonight, she’s coming with me,” Vickie
said haughtily.
Kyle rolled his eyes, “Come on, don’t be
stupid-.”
“Don’t be stupid?” Vickie laughed. “I’ve talked to an
attorney, I have rights. Now, I’m going to call the cops if you don’t get
her out of my house.”
Maria laughed, and Kyle did too. They both
stopped when Vickie walked over to the phone.
Moving quickly, Maria
grabbed her coat and slipped on her sneakers, then looked at Kyle, “I’ll
stay with Liz.”
“Ok,” he said softly, as his wife started to smile
triumphantly. “I’ll hire someone tomorrow and get this over
with.”
She nodded and ran to her room to throw some clothes into an
overnight bag, then walked back out and started to open the door, but Kyle
stopped her, putting his hand on her arm, “I’m sorry Maria.”
“No,”
she smiled at him, “it’s not your fault, I’ll be fine. I think this is the
easiest way.”
Trying hard to keep the smile on her face, she
slipped into the hall and stomped down the steps. When she opened the door
of the building, she sucked in a breath sharply. There he was, sitting on
her steps, looking at her.
***
Michael heard the door of the
building opening and turned around. It was Maria. She seemed surprised to
see him. The uniform was gone, and had been replaced by light blue jeans
and a navy blue cable knit sweater, and she was carrying a small duffle
bag.
“Wh-what…?” she looked at him questioningly.
He didn’t
know what to say, he didn’t really have a good reason for being there, so
he shrugged.
“Ok…” she whispered, eyeing him skeptically as she
made her way down the stairs and started to walk in the direction of the
diner.
“Where are you going?” he asked, moving to her
side.
“I-…what business is it of yours?” her tone was
hostile.
“Why do you have a bag?” he asked, ignoring
her.
“I’m going to stay with Liz tonight,” she said, keeping her
eyes straight ahead.
“She’s with Max,” he said, wondering if she
was lying to him.
Maria stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at
him, “What?”
“They’re skiing. He said they’d be back by Wednesday
because that’s when she has to work.”
“Great,” she said
sarcastically brining a hand up to cover her eyes as she started walking
again.
“You didn’t know.”
“ No.”
“What were
you going to do, just show up on her door step?”
She looked up at
him sharply, “Yes.”
“Well, I guess you’ll just have to go home,” he
said, turning back in the direction of her building.
Instead of
moving with him, she turned and kept walking the other direction. He
caught up with her again.
“I don’t need an escort,” she said as
they passed the diner and came to a stop next to the bus stop
sign.
“Where are you going?”
She shrugged and looked down at
the ground.
“You can’t go home?” he asked, narrowing his
eyes.
Shaking her head from side to side, he saw her chin quiver,
“Well, I could try, in a couple of hours…”
Sighing, she started to
walk back toward the diner.
“Want to get some coffee?” he called
out to her when she was a few feet away.
Turning slowly, she looked
at him, “No, I’ll just sit in there…” she gestured toward
Murray’s.
“It’s just coffee,” he insisted. She was about to say
‘no’, he could see it on her face, so he spoke again, “Please?”
Her
brow furrowed, and then she shrugged.
Not wanting to waste the
moment, he walked toward her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her in the
direction of his car.
***
She glanced over at him as he held
the door of the café open for her. He seemed so self-possessed, and sure
of himself, while she was a nervous wreck. Probably a sign of how little
the sex meant to him. Of course, he was all she could think about and
being around him made her feel awful, but he felt completely at ease in
her company.
The place was smoky, two guys with guitars were
singing into microphones in the corner, and the people seemed to move
casually around the room from one table to another.
He grabbed her
hand and led her to a small table in the corner.
“What is this
place?” she asked quietly as she glanced around the room.
“It’s
just a hang-out. I used to come here all the time,” he paused and took a
look around the room. “I think I’m the oldest person in
here.”
Maria couldn’t help but laugh, “When was the last time you
were here?”
Shrugging, he looked back at her, “It’s been a couple
of years.”
She grew serious again as she took off her coat and
draped it over the back of her chair, and then rolled up the sleeves of
her sweater. He watched her carefully, then took off his jacket and did
the same.
A girl walked over to them and asked them what they
wanted. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she asked, Maria would never
have known she was a waitress, she was dressed just like the
patrons.
“I’ll take a hot cocoa and…uh, do you have
pastry?”
The girl nodded, smacking her gum, “Yeah, we’ve got
cinnamon rolls and danish.”
“Ok, I’ll take a cinnamon roll,” Maria
smiled slightly.
Next, the girl turned to Michael. He looked at
her, “Coffee and two dishes of chocolate mousse.”
“Two?” the girl
looked at him closely.
“Yeah,” he raised his eyebrows, obviously
irritated at having to repeat himself, “two.”
Eyes widening, the
waitress peered at him, “You’re not…oh my God, you are!”
“What?”
his voice was surly.
“Are you Michael Guerin? They told me, Michael
Guerin always orders-.”
“Yeah, I am,” he cut her off with a glare.
“Think you could say it any louder?”
“Oh, yeah, ok. Sorry,” the
girl said, glancing around. “I just have to tell you I love your
work-.”
“Thanks,” Michael cut her off.
“That’ll be right
out,” the waitress said softly as she turned away.
“Do you have to
be so rude?” Maria glared at him.
“What?”
“ What?”
she repeated incredulously.
“Yeah, what?” he sneered at
her.
“That poor girl was just trying to pay you a compliment and
you bit her head off. She was just being nice,” Maria tried to keep her
voice from hissing.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he rolled his
eyes.
“Understand what? That you’re an arrogant prick? Oh, I think
I understand that pretty well.”
“What did I ever do to you?” his
voice was low.
“Gee, I don’t know…” she let the sarcasm flow, and
felt all of the emotions of the past few weeks bubble to the surface.
“Maybe act like a jerk to me for almost two years, kiss me, f*ck me, stalk
me, paint me, f*ck me-.”
“Stop it,” he growled, leaning forward
menacingly.
“What are you gonna’ do? Huh?” she taunted him
softly.
“Just shut up,” he whispered, staring at the table. Then,
looking up at her, he said, “And, just for the record, if anybody got
f*cked, it was me.”
“ What?!?” she hissed.
The
waitress appeared with a tray, and unloaded their order onto the
table.
Maria gave her a small smile, “Thank you.”
Smiling in
return, the girl glanced once at Michael, then walked away.
Michael
pointed a finger at her, “ You screwed me and left me, not once,
but twice. I seem to be the only person in the world who cares
about your safety, and-.”
Maria imitated his finger pointing, “
No one asked you to walk me home. Ever. And, so what if I left?
It’s not like you care what I do-.”
“As usual,” he snarled, “
you have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“What am I doing
here?” Maria asked herself out loud.
“Driving me nuts,” he said
dryly, running a hand through his hair, then taking a sip of his
coffee.
Watching him carefully, she took a drink of her cocoa. She
was completely stumped. Finally, she’d let her feelings come out, and
instead of being apologetic, he’d been angry with her. How had he
managed to twist things?
“You don’t have to be nice to me just
because I slept with you,” she said, keeping her voice even.
“Don’t
worry, I’m not.”
“Then what is it? Why are we here?” she gestured
around the room with her hand.
“You couldn’t go home.”
“I
know, but-.”
“Last night, you were looking out for me, now I’m
looking out for you,” he stated simply.
She shook her head, “I
don’t need anyone to look out for me.”
He smiled slightly, but it
wasn’t mocking, “Yes, you do.”
“No, I don’t. You
don’t need anybody, what makes you think I-.”
“Who says I don’t
need anybody?” he sounded amused.
“Me,” she said, “it’s obvious,
you don’t need anybody.”
Michael smirked and ate a spoonful
of one of the dishes of mousse in front of him, “Eat your
roll.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she retorted as she ate a
bite.
He was still watching her, but he wasn’t angry anymore. She
really wasn’t either.
“Why can’t you go home, Maria?”
Her
eyes blinked quickly. He’d never said her name in normal conversation. Of
course, he’d called to her using her name, and then in the throes of
passion…
“My brother’s wife showed up out of the blue,” she
said.
“She made you leave?” he asked around another spoonful of
mousse.
“In a way…”
“This is the one who left her kid with
you right after your brother’s accident?”
“Yeah,” she took another
bite of her cinnamon roll and almost choked on it. “Wait! How did you
know-.”
“I read it in a magazine,” his tone was overly
serious.
She brought her hand to her head, “What else do you know
about me?”
“I dunno’,” he shrugged. “So, she won’t let you stay?
Your brother must be a real wimp-.”
“He’s not a wimp. She
threatened to call the cops, so I said I would go.”
“But you had
nowhere to go.”
“I thought I could go to Liz’s.”
“Don’t you
have anyone else?”
“No.”
“Stay with me.”
Her breath
caught for a moment, it would be better than spending the night out in the
cold somewhere. She knew there was no way that she might be able to go
home later, no matter what she’d told him.
“I-I…” she shook her
head to clear it.
“ Maria? Maria Valenti?” a voice broke
into their little world.
She looked up and got a
shock.
“Doug?”
***
Michael glared at the blonde guy
as he pulled Maria out of her seat and into a bear hug.
“How have
you been? I heard about Kyle, and school – that sucked.”
“Oh, I’m
fine, Doug,” she pulled out of his arms with a wary smile on her face.
“How are you?”
“Can’t complain,” Doug smiled. “Be done with school
in May, so I’m pretty happy about that.”
“That’s great,” Maria
smiled politely.
“So, you’re lookin’ good,” Doug grazed her with a
once over, “ are you seeing anybody?”
‘Am I sitting here?’ Michael
thought, shooting daggers at the guy with his eyes.
“No,” Maria
blushed and looked down, as he put his arm around her waist.
“Well,
are you doing anything tonight? We could catch up on old
times…”
“Oh, Doug, really,” Maria shook her head,
“I-.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” Doug said, then had the nerve to wink
down at him, “you haven’t seen my new place…we could finally have that
sleep over-.”
“That’s it,” Michael muttered, standing and looking
down at him. “Hands off.”
“Easy there, cave man,” Doug looked up at
him. “We’re old friends.”
Maria was staring at him angrily, but
took advantage of Doug’s distraction and backed out of his
reach.
“Get lost,” Michael growled.
“I don’t think so,” Doug
retorted. “Trust me, I know her much better than you do.”
Maria
reached out and put a hand on his arm just as he was raising it and
whispered, “Michael…”
“What kind of guy are you mixed up with here,
Maria?” Doug looked over at her.
“Doug, I’ll see you around,” Maria
said, tugging on Michael’s arm, trying to get him to sit
again.
Doug reached his hand out toward her, and Michael knocked it
aside. He couldn’t stand to see the man’s hands on her again. He couldn’t
stand to see any man’s hands on her. Every inch of her body was
claimed.
Now Maria’s hand was tugging him away from the table, and
in the direction of the door. He reached into his pocket and took out a
twenty which he tossed onto the table. Giving Doug one last glare, he let
her pull him out the door.
“What were you doing?” she asked angrily
as she kept a tight grip on his arm, moving him towards his
SUV.
“Nothing.”
“You have no right to-.”
He
reached out and grabbed her, pulling her body against his as he looked
down into her eyes, “He touched you.”
She seemed very nervous about
their proximity, and was pulling backwards gently, her voice was soft, all
anger gone, “So?”
His lips crushed down against hers, and he felt
her respond to him eagerly. Her hands moving up to wrap around his neck,
her fingers sending shivers down his spine with their feather light
touches. She pressed herself to him, and he pulled her tighter, his hands
open on her back.
Pulling back after a few seconds, he looked down
at her. Her eyes were heavily lidded, and she was staring at him… that
look.
“Maria…” he whispered as he brought his hand up to cup
the back of her neck.
At the sound of her name on his lips, she
stiffened, and blinked, looking away from him, “I have to get
home.”
“You can’t go home,” he said, squeezing her tighter when she
started to move away.
“Well, I’ll think of something,” she said,
placing her palms on his chest and pushing firmly.
Reluctantly, he
let her back up slightly, “Just stay with me.”
She shook her head
violently, “Oh no. Not after-.”
“Look, I don’t mean that. I have a
spare bedroom. Actually, I have three spare bedrooms. Stay with
me.”
Eyeing him suspiciously, she sighed, “Are you
sure?”
“Yeah,” he said, walking to the car, “come
on.”
***
Maria followed him up the first flight of stairs,
and then up the second. She tried not to look over the railing into the
room below, the floor was a long way down.
“Here,” he said,
flicking on the light of the room and gesturing to the bed. “The
bathroom’s right there,” he said pointing to a door in the corner of the
room.
“Thanks,” she whispered as she threw her bag down on the
bed.
“Yeah, well, I guess you know where to find me if you need
anything,” his stare was intense, as he ran a hand through his
hair.
“Ok, thanks.”
Nodding, he walked out of the room, and
she heard his feet on the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her
bag and headed for the bathroom to shower.
His presence was so
strong it seemed to permeate every inch of the house. She could feel him,
smell him, almost taste him. This was not a good idea, his house was the
last place she should be. Trying not to think about the incident with Doug
earlier, she stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her.
Why had he blown up at Doug like that? No, no, she wasn’t going to think
about it.
When she came out of the bathroom, she realized how
stupid she must look in her t-shirt and sweats. Women were supposed to
sleep in satiny, lacy things. She caught a glimpse of herself in the
mirrors on the closet doors, her hair scraggly and dripping, her clothes
old and worn. For a moment, she thought about his other women, the ones
who were usually here. Isabel…now there was someone who never slept in
sweats, anyone could tell that with one glance.
Sighing, she
stepped out of the door and glanced down into the main room. It was mostly
dark, and she couldn’t see him anywhere. He must be in bed. Cautiously,
she moved away from the edge and made her way down the stairs and into the
kitchen. Part of her thought she should ask him for permission to get
something to drink, but then she remembered that he’d told her to make
herself at home the last time. Opening the refrigerator, she grabbed a
bottle of water and opened it, taking a long drink before turning to walk
back to the stairs. That was when she spotted him. He was watching her
from his studio area, paintbrush in hand. She’d met his eyes, so there
wasn’t any way to avoid him.
“You said to make myself at home,” she
said just loudly enough for him to hear across the distance.
He
nodded, still watching her closely.
Feeling self-conscious, she
crossed her arms over her chest and walked quickly over to him, hoping
that she could just tell him good night and run up to her
bedroom.
His eyes were traveling up and down her body, and the
closer she got to him the stupider she felt, “I-I normally just wear
sweats to bed…”
“Me too,” his voice was even as he continued to
look at her.
“I’m just gonna’ go,” she jerked her thumb
upwards.
“Maria.”
At the sound of her name, she jerked her
eyes up to his. Why did he have to say her name?
A muscle in his
jaw twitched, and he glanced away from her for a moment. The hand with the
paintbrush dropped to his side, and for some reason, she glanced at the
canvas he’d been painting.
“Alex and Isabel,” she murmured, taking
a step toward it. It was a close-up image of the couple dancing to the
left of the canvas, Isabel in her beautiful white dress and Alex in his
tux. They were holding each other close, but turned to stare at one
another. Somehow he’d captured their love, that look that they had for one
another. Closing her eyes, she remembered watching them on the dance floor
– they’d been magical. The rest of the canvas wasn’t finished, there were
a few dark lines reaching out from the couple to the white space on their
right.
He had stepped up behind her, she could feel him, they were
practically touching.
“Beautiful,” she whispered as she held her
hand out toward the image without actually touching it.
“That’s
what you said,” his breath was hot as his voice sounded next to her ear.
She tried not to shiver.
“What I said?”
“That night,” his
arm reached around her and his fingers spread next to her outstretched
hand. “It’s what you said when you saw them dancing, you said,
‘Beautiful’.”
“They were beautiful,” she swallowed, “they
are beautiful.”
She could feel him nodding, she didn’t need
to turn to see it.
“Do you like it?” his tone was soft, almost
timid.
Turning to look at him, she gasped when she came nearly nose
to nose with him. His eyes were boring into her own.
“Yes, I like
it. It’s…beautiful,” she had to fight the urge to reach up and touch his
cheek. He looked so… beautiful.
“I have to go to bed,” she
stated as she quickly ducked away from him and practically ran for the
stairs.
***
Michael leaned down and nudged her
shoulder.
“Hmmm…” she moaned as she rolled
over.
“Maria.”
“Huh?” she opened one eye and looked at
him.
“Uh, it’s 6:30. Don’t you have to get ready for
work?”
“No,” she mumbled as she hugged her pillow.
“You have
to be at work at 7,” he insisted, pulling the pillow away.
“No, I
don’t,” she said, half sitting up. “Don’t have to work ‘til 9.”
He
tried to hide a smile as he saw her wild hair, “Ok, if you say
so.”
“Yeah,” she laid back down. “Back to sleep.”
Michael
put the pillow back into her arms and then went downstairs to get his
sketchbooks. Climbing the two flights of stairs quickly, he sat on the
still made side of the bed and started to outline her sleeping
form.
***
Maria put the phone back on the hook and breathed
a sigh of relief. Thank God for Tess. She’d steered Kyle toward an
attorney who’d made short work of the legal implications of Vickie’s
return. Because of the separation, and the fact that Vickie had vacated
their apartment almost two years before, Kyle didn’t have to let her stay
there. The attorney also said that she saw cases of absentee parents
returning regularly around the holidays, and that they usually gave up and
left again.
Pushing open the door to the dining room, the smile on
her face faltered for a moment when she saw him.
“Hey,” she said as
she handed him a soda.
“Hey,” he looked at her and raised his
eyebrows slightly.
“Maria?” a female voice interrupted
them.
She turned to see the new girl walking toward her,
“Yeah?”
“I thought this was my section of the counter now,” the
blonde pointed directly at Michael.
Maria looked down at him. His
brow was furrowed and he was staring at her.
“Oh, well, it’s ok,
I’ve got it,” she brushed the new girl off with a wave of her
hand.
“No way,” the girl smiled down at Michael, “Mikey G. and I
are old friends. I should wait on him.”
“Really, I’ve got it.
Besides, you don’t know what he wants,” Maria was getting
irritated.
“Why don’t you tell me what you want, Mikey G.,” the
girl said suggestively with a wink.
“They need you in the kitchen,”
Maria pointed sharply to the back and gave her a look.
“Ok, keep
the big tippers to yourself then,” the blonde said with a pout as she
walked away.
“Yeah, ‘no-tip’, the big tipper,” she muttered
sarcastically as she watched the girl go.
“Not my fault you won’t
take my tips.”
She looked down at him. He was glaring at
her.
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes.
“Right,” he snorted,
throwing some money on the counter as he jumped to his feet and walked
out.
Maria stared after him slightly stunned. She glanced at the
clock above the door, 3:30, only half an hour to go. Plenty of time to
think about Michael and his weirdness after
work.
***
Michael opened the door and was greeted with a
smile by the new girl. He sat down at the counter, and she came over to
him.
“Half a cup of coffee again?” she teased.
“Fine,” he
said, glancing at the clock above the door. She was probably in the back
putting her coat on, it was two minutes ‘til 9.
He drank the coffee
in silence, ignoring the new waitress as she threw him occasional glances.
Before he knew it, his cup was empty, and he glanced up at the clock,
three minutes after 9. Normally she got right out on the dot,
sometimes even a little early.
“Want a refill?” the blonde asked as
she walked up to him, coffee pot in hand.
“No.”
“So, should
I assume you’re here for the pleasure of my company?” she asked with
another big smile.
“Where is Maria?” he asked, getting to his feet,
intending to go in the back to get her.
“Maria’s long
gone.”
“ What?”
The girl seemed surprised by his
tone, “Well, her shift got over at 4, so…”
He threw a dollar bill
onto the counter and stormed out of the diner. Gone. Her shift was over at
4. Since when was her shift over at 4? Maybe that was why she hadn’t gone
to work until 9. Without a conscious thought, his feet carried him in the
direction of her building. At the bottom of her steps, he paused for a
moment, then stomped up and rang the buzzer for her apartment, the name
‘Valenti’ written on a yellowed card under the button.
“Yeah?” a
man’s voice crackled over the speaker.
“I’m here to see Maria,” he
said.
“Ok,” the voice answered, and he heard a buzzing click as the
front lock was released.
Throwing the door open, he ran up the
stairs and stopped when he got to her apartment number. Balling his
fingers into a fist, he pounded on the door twice. There was no answer,
and he had just raised his hand to knock again when the door opened. She
was standing in front of him, wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt, her hair
wet – it reminded him of the way she’d looked the night
before.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed, glancing quickly
over her shoulder before stepping out into the hall and pulling the door
closed behind her.
“What do you think?”
“I have no
idea,” she whispered haughtily. “Now, please keep your voice
down-.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you wouldn’t be there?” his voice
was low, but he didn’t attempt to filter the anger he felt.
“What
are you talking about? I don’t have to tell you-.”
“You knew
I’d be there. Waiting. How could you just-.”
He cut himself off
when she raised her hands to cover her face.
“Maria?” he reached
out and put a hand on her shoulder.
Her hands slid down her face to
reveal that she was crying, “I don’t get it. Why do you have to…” she
swallowed hard and looked at him, directly in the eyes, “I don’t
understand…and you painted Alex and Isabel,” she was sobbing now, “when he
said-…and, then Doug…I don’t need this. It’s too confusing, and I know I
don’t matter- so, well, just don’t…”
Bending slightly at the waist,
he tried to get a good look at her eyes, she was babbling nonsensically,
and he was beginning to question her sanity, “Are you all
right?”
She looked at the floor and shook her head slowly from side
to side, then quickly opened the door and started to slip through
it.
“Wait, wait,” he reached out and grabbed her arm.
She
looked down at his hand and took a deep breath, obviously trying to get a
grip on her emotions. He’d known she had a lot going on, but this
was…well, overwhelming. There was the stuff with her brother, and now
clearly she was working less…It was all confusing, and of course, he had
no clue what to do or say. She was so impossible to read. Her eyes were
closed, and the tears were coursing silently down her cheeks, but she was
allowing him to hold her in place. Slowly, he released his grip on her
arm.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly.
For a moment,
she looked at him, then she closed the door.