Mateo resisted the urge to call Abigail for two hours, thirty minutes and forty two seconds. The moment he caught a break in his schedule, however, he sequestered himself in the locker room and dialed the number for his old cell.
It rang and rang. He was just about to give up when Abigail picked up. Her sweet voice over the line still felt like something from a dream and it took him a while to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Abby.”
That’s right. Keep it casual.
“Hello, Mateo.” There was a catch in her voice that carried a hint of distress.
He snapped to attention and gripped the phone closer to his ear. “Is everything okay?” “Everything is fine,” she said.
“Where are you?”
“I’m walking by the sea wall.”
“Walking? By yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Stay right there.” He fished in his pants pockets for the car keys. “I’ll come pick you up.”
“It’s alright, Mattie. I’d rather be alone.”
Her words stopped him in his tracks. Mateo and Abigail had only reunited for a few days, but she never could hide her feelings from him. He could sense that something was off.
“Are you sure you’re alright? Did something happen that you’re not telling me about?”
“I’m fine, and if you come down here even though I told you not to, I won’t be happy.”
He chuckled. “How’d you know?”
“You haven’t changed all that much.”
“I’ll get to see you later? You’re going to stay at the house, right? At least for now?” “Sure, I’ll stay.”
“Okay,” he said. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will, Mattie. Don’t worry about me.”
“Remember to call—” Before he could finish the statement, Mateo heard a dial tone in his ear. He pulled the cell phone away and stared at the dark screen. She’d hung up on him.
The minx
Feeling antsy, he closed his locker door and headed downstairs to Parker’s office. The man was like a father and Mateo felt the need for some guidance right about now.
When he threw Parker’s office door open, he spun right back around. “Oh Lord!”
“Mattie?” His mom yelled. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t you know you should lock the door when you want to make out?” Mateo groaned, rubbing his eyes.
“Sorry.” Parker cleared his throat. “This is embarrassing.”
“You can turn around now,” his mother said, a smile in her voice.
“You two are so gross.”
“Don’t be like that, Mattie,” Parker teased. “Your mother and I—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” he moaned and faced them, conveying his disgust with a widened gaze. “You guys are traumatizing me.”
“Again with the dramatics.” His mother fixed her hair and flashed her dark brown eyes at him. “I was just about to bring you some lunch, but I guess I can give it to you now.”
Mateo accepted the plastic container. As the trauma from catching his guardians necking slowly faded, an idea brewed. “Hey, Mom?” “Yes,” she glanced at him, tugging her purse higher on her shoulder.
“Are your classes done for the day?”
“You know they are. Do you need something?”
“Do me a favor? Abigail needs a ride home. She’s staying with me for a couple of days.”
His mother gawked. “Excuse me? What?”
“I’m barely at the house anyway, so I told her she could crash at the bungalow. Is that a problem?”
Parker stood and scratched his head. “Isn’t she engaged? Don’t you think that’s a little… much?”
“Abby’s having trouble with her fiancé. The last time we spoke I got the feeling she was ready to end things.”
“Honey,” Ida grasped Mateo’s cheeks and implored. “You’ve got to let her go. It’s common for a woman to have jitters right before her wedding. I did.”
“Hey! I thought you were more confident about me than anything,” Parker frowned.
“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t antsy about tying our lives together. Love and marriage are about the biggest risks you can take.”
“Mom,” Mateo shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, “I don’t mean to be rude, but are you going to help me or not? I don’t want her to disappear before you have a chance to find her.”
Ida narrowed her eyes. “I’ll go. I’ll go. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. If my heart breaks, you can tell me ‘I told you so’.”
Ida sighed. “Don’t think I won’t. Now where is she exactly? The sea wall goes for a couple of miles.”
“I don’t know. Just drive slowly. I’m sure she won’t be moving that fast.”
“Is something going on that I should know about?”
“I think something’s going on, but not even I know about it.”
“Alright,” his mother swung the key ring around her finger. “I’ll go see if I can catch up to her.”
“Bye, honey!” Parker called.
“Oh, and Mom!” Mateo stopped the short woman as she scurried for the door. “Don’t let her know that I tipped you off. Try to play it like you met by accident.”
“What? You know I’m a terrible liar.”
“Don’t lie. Just don’t mention it. Abby told me not to come and I think that included bringing back-up.” “If she told you to leave her alone, what makes you think she’ll accept me?” Ida asked.
“It’s all I’ve got. I can’t concentrate if I don’t hear that she’s alright.”
“Look at you,” his mother tsked. “I hope for your sake that you know what you’re doing with this girl, Mateo.”
She left and Mateo sank into the wingback chairs facing Parker’s desk. The files stacked in neat piles toppled to the left and Parker organized the tower so that it balanced again. Mateo knew Parker’s silence was a ploy to get him talking, and it worked. “This isn’t what you think it is.”
“Me?” Parker raised both eyebrows. “I’m not thinking anything.”
“You are.” Mateo leaned forward. “You agree with Mom. That I should keep my distance. That I’ve lost her before I really had a chance to win her.”
“It’s like you read my mind.”
“Funny.” Mateo slanted the chief a look.
Parker leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest. “Mateo, your loyalty to your family and to your friends is admirable. It’s your strength, but it’s also your weakness. I mean, look at the doctoring you’ve been doing for your friend, Jamal.”
Mateo winced. “Nick spilled?”
“You’re lucky he told me instead of Ida or both our heads would be rolling right now.”
“That was an emergency.”
“You could go to prison.”
“I didn’t accept anything in exchange for my service. All I did was save someone’s life. Isn’t that what we gave an oath to do? No matter if the patient’s a criminal or a murderer, we do all we can to bring them to health. Is that wrong?” “If it’s so noble, why won’t you tell Ida about your backroom patients?” Parker had him there.
“You could be discharged from the hospital, Mateo. Your reputation could be ruined. Think of Nick. All the guy did was weigh a few extra pounds and when the nut jobs started suing him, the hospital barely had his back.” “It won’t happen again.”
“And with Abigail…”
“What about her?”
“No one can deny that you care about her. You’re as loyal to your feelings for her as you are about everything else that you value.”
“Why do I feel you’re not complimenting me?”
“I think that’s great, Mattie. I really do.”
“But?”
“But you’re willing to jump off cliffs for the people you care about and we just want to make sure that you’re making sacrifices for the kind of friends that deserve them.”
“I can’t help the way I feel about Abigail.”
“It’s been years, man.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Mateo ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Don’t you think I’ve tried to get over her? When Mom and Melissa bring those girls around, I try, I really do, but they just don’t compare. It’s always been Abigail and even if she marries that guy, it’s always going to be her.”
“So what? You’re just going to wait around until he dies so you can have your shot? Is that it? We want you to be happy, man? Run the other way. Pining after a woman who doesn’t feel the same way sounds like setting yourself up for a world of hurt.” “That’s the thing,” he chuckled dryly. “Abigail and I… we have this insane connection—” “Oh no,” Parker covered his eyes and dragged his hands down his face. “What?”
“You kissed her.”
“How did you know?”
“No, no, no,” Parker yelled. “See that? That’s exactly what I mean when I say you’re jumping off a cliff. She’s going to be someone’s wife, Mattie.”
“I’ve never told her how I felt about her. Maybe if I came clean, maybe if I put it out there, she could be mine.” “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Parker said.
“If I don’t do this, I may regret it for the rest of my life.”
“If you do, you may damage the friendship that you’ve spent ten years protecting.” Mateo fell silent, but his mind was made up. It was worth the risk.