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I got to work early and was totally focused on a contract with a large aerospace company when Travis once again bounded in my office, sat down, leaned back, and slammed the door. Counselor Sheila said he’d always bother me unless I found a way to cut him out of my life for good. I had no clue how to do that, unless I moved away. But then, I remembered the pending status of his situation and realized I was indeed likely never to see him again very soon.
“Where were you last night?” he asked, clearly not happy.
“How do you know I was anywhere but home?”
“Snow tracks.”
“What snow tracks?”
“There were snow tracks leading out of your garage, but not back in your garage.”
“What were you doing driving by my house?”
“I need you, Chloe. I need to talk. Something’s wrong. I have no one else. Please. Just tell me where you were.”
I wasn’t about to tell him who I was with or what I was doing. The only way to get him to exit my office was to agree to listen to him.
“Travis, if you agree to stop driving by my house, then I’ll agree to listen. Deal?”
“Deal. Do you agree to unblock me from your phone?”
“No. And further, Travis, I changed my phone number. Surely, you realized that. Do we have a deal, and you stop stalking me or should you just get up and leave now?”
“Fine. Deal.”
He began talking rapidly. Again, it was all about him and all about his problems. This time, however, it was interesting, and I was glad to listen.
“Chloe, something’s wrong. Terribly wrong. Eddie was supposed to have the charges dropped from my sister’s little issue. The court date is tomorrow, and he didn’t do it. He didn’t do it, Chloe. I started calling him last week on his cell phone and he isn’t answering any of my calls or texts. Do you suppose he’s blocked me, too? Why is everyone blocking me, Chloe? I’m a good guy.”
“I don’t know, Travis,” I said.
“I’m still talking, Chloe. Jeez, you always did interrupt.”
I sat there silently. This time, though, I was trying not to laugh. I saw him for the narcissist that he was and had no pity. There was no saving this man.
“As I was saying,” he said emphatically to remind me I had interrupted, “My sister’s court date is tomorrow. I also tried calling the court to talk to Eddie and they told me he was ‘on vacation.’ Who goes on vacation when they are trying to win an election? I called the lawyer and he told me that not only is she expected to show up to court tomorrow, that the case was transferred to another court in the absence of Eddie Carter. I begged the lawyer to get the venue switched again and to ask for an extension of time. He said he did, and it was denied. Apparently, they are trying to keep the cases moving because of backlog. Chloe, my sister is on trial tomorrow in Ann McWilliams’ court. This is terrible.” He then sat there, which told me I was finally allowed to speak.
“What’s wrong with Ann McWilliams?” I asked.
“She’s a straight shooter. That’s what’s wrong. I don’t know how to deal with that. I can’t save my sister. She’s too pretty to go to prison.”
I knew someone else who was too pretty for prison and I was staring right at him. The sun was shining on his full head of hair and I noted a hint of purple. He must have used the wrong color of dye. I knew he dyed his hair, but I was surprised he didn’t go to a hairdresser. I wondered if he was too embarrassed to go to a salon. You couldn’t exactly strut into Ed’s Barber Shop and ask for feathered hair and a dye job.
“What about the lawyer? Can’t he get her probation? Don’t most people who do drugs just get probation?”
“This is fraud, Chloe. She stole not one script, but a whole pad of prescriptions. She’s in big trouble. Don’t you remember me telling you all that? Don’t you ever think about me, Chloe?”
“Yes, Travis, I think of you often. I’m truly sorry your sister is in trouble. Do you trust your lawyer to give her the best defense?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s the best in town.”
“Then Travis, show up to court tomorrow, sit in the back, and support your sister. That’s the best you can do.”
“Thank you, Chloe. I love you. You know that, right? I love you.”
“Yes, I know that. You need to go. I have a meeting in five minutes.”
He left the room, and I placed my forehead on my desk and breathed with my eyes closed. My guess was that the FBI had approached Eddie Carter and he was laying low. He hadn’t had a chance to take care of Travis’ sister’s issue, so he merely moved her case to another court to try and disassociate from the whole fiasco.
My mother often repeated the old adage that curiosity killed the cat, and I knew that I had to cut myself off completely from Travis. I would have enjoyed receiving a play by play from him as his life unfolded. I was tempted to pick up the phone and call that FBI special agent whatever his name was and find out what was happening. But I knew that neither option was in my best interest. I’d made enough dumb choices in the last year, so it was time for me to make a few good ones. I held my head high and vowed to kindly kick Travis out of my office the next time he tried to talk to me. I’d give him the typical song and dance that it hurt too much to see him, so I’d not be able to talk to him anymore. I needed to work on my soliloquy, but with a little practice, I think I could convince him to leave me alone.
While regaining my composure, I received a text from Daniel asking to see me again. I was glad to receive a message from him, but his timing was off. I had to get past the emotional ordeal of seeing a former lover who might soon be eating porridge for breakfast and wearing orange and white stripes. I did what all people do who want to hold off committing. I waited until the end of the day and responded with one word, “Sure.”
As soon as I pressed the send button, I said a little prayer that he’d be driving or otherwise occupied so that I had time to go home and unwind a little. I definitely wanted to see him again but wasn’t ready to commit. If he only knew what I had endured. I also would be lying if I didn’t admit I still had feelings for Travis. I needed space to find my identity and be happy again.
Within one minute after sending the text, my phone rang.
“Hello,” I answered
“Well, hello to you,” Daniel replied.
I couldn’t help but smile. I did indeed like this man and didn’t want to sabotage something good.
“Hi, Daniel. It’s good to hear from you.”
“And you as well.”
“Well,” he continued, “Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged, I’m wondering if you’d like to see a movie Friday. We could just come to my place and order a pizza or go out. What do you think?”
There was no way I was getting in his car and certainly no way I was going to his house. I panicked at the thought at putting myself in the care of man. I wasn’t ready.
“Daniel, could we go out? I haven’t been to a movie theater in ages.”
“Absolutely, Chloe, on one condition.”
“Okay. What’s that?”
“Popcorn,” he said, “We have to share a big tub of buttered popcorn. Would that be acceptable?”
“Oh yes,” I said laughing, “I love buttery popcorn.”
“Fantastic,” he replied, “How about you just text me your address and then I’ll let you know closer to the date when I’ll be at your house.”
Although I was certain he wouldn’t be picking me up, I couldn’t come up with a quick rebuttal.
“Sure. I’ll talk to you later, Daniel. I really look forward to this.”
One of Daniel’s best qualities is that he requested the next date with plenty of advance notice but didn’t smother me. I knew I had a couple of days to find an excuse to drive myself to the movie theater. I waited until Thursday and then texted and told him I had a late meeting on Friday and said I’d meet him there. It worked perfectly. He responded immediately and agreed to meet me in the lobby at seven. We hadn’t decided on the movie, but I don’t think that really mattered.
When I arrived promptly at seven, Daniel was standing in the middle of the lobby holding a big tub of popcorn and a large drink. He looked like a sweet teenage schoolboy waiting for his girl who had been dropped off by her parents.
Sitting in a dark theater with a handsome man is one of my favorite hobbies. I waited for the lights to go out. I waited for him to reach over and hold my hand. I waited for him to pull my hand to his lips and kiss it gently. I don’t remember the movie and I couldn’t recall how many people were in the theater. It was a night of anticipation, cherishing one sweet moment after another.
We left the theater hand in hand as he walked me to my car. I looked around the parking lot and didn’t see his car.
“Where’s your vehicle?” I asked, still looking around.
“The other movie hadn’t let out yet, so I had to park over at the Mexican restaurant. It’s not far, but it is pretty cold. Would you mind driving me over to it?”
“Of course not, I said,” unlocking the doors with my key fob.
I ran to the driver’s side as he got in the passenger side. I turned the key in the ignition and as soon as I had completed the task, Daniel leaned in for a passionate kiss. I did not resist. His full sweet lips and warm embrace filled me with all the goodness every girl dreams of. He pulled me a little closer and I had to jostle around a bit to snuggle in enough for a serious kiss. As a result, the gear shift jabbed into my hip. Not letting that stop me from enjoying this passionate moment, I adjusted a bit and fell on the steering wheel which set off the car horn. I drive a small car with a surprisingly loud horn.
Startled, I immediately sat ramrod straight in my seat. We both looked at each other and laughed. It was an awkward moment, but we weren’t laughing because that. We were laughing because we were joyous at the prospect that we were two people who were equally fond of each other. We are all in a quest for equilibrium and for this one brief moment in our life, we knew we had that very thing, and it was good. I wondered if the struggle I had experienced with Travis enabled me to see a good thing when I found it. I wondered if I’d have cherished this moment so much if I hadn’t had a cocked gun hovering above my naked body just a couple months ago.
Although still a bit frazzled, I pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed toward Pablo’s Mexican Restaurant. It was dark and I still felt giddy from the kiss and the honk and, although driving slowly, traversed the wrong way down a one-way street. I knew what I’d done as soon as I turned, but just kept going slowly, hoping a police officer wasn’t around. If I had gotten pulled over, I wasn’t sure what I’d say. Perhaps I would have said, “I’m sorry officer. I was making out with this handsome man and shifted my hips and honked the horn and was...well...was totally discombobulated.” Yes. That was the answer. I couldn’t tell that cop where I’d been or where I was going, but I knew why I was driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
I parked next to his car and we took the pause in action as a second opportunity for another kiss. It was as good as the last one.
“Chloe,” he said as he reached for the car door, “I’m going out of town to a conference on Sunday and won’t return until Thursday. Next Saturday, I was hoping you were free.”
“Sure,” I replied, trying not to act too giddy that he was setting a date so far in advance.
“Wonderful. I thought we could take a little day trip up to Chicago. We’d leave early, have a great big, long lunch in Chicago, take in a few sights, and be home by ten. How does that sound.”
I was panicked at the words “day trip.” This meant not only would I be at his mercy in a car, but I’d also be out of state. I wasn’t ready, but I was. It was just one day. He wasn’t Travis. He didn’t even own a gun. He hadn’t even brought up sex.
“Oh – the whole day. I might be able to do that,” I responded. I didn’t want to lie, but I couldn’t tell him the truth either – that I was neurotic and scared and had oodles of unresolved issues.
“Super. I don’t mean to pressure you. How about you check your schedule and let me know by, say, Wednesday. Is that okay?” He looked nervous. I thought it was cute.
“Of course,” I said while leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “We’ll see you next week, definitely. Have a good trip.”
“You have a good week too,” he said as he opened the car door.