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THERE WAS NO REASON to be this anxious. What was the big deal? Miles would either be at the school waiting for her, or he wouldn’t.
The problem was she wasn’t sure which outcome would be worse.
If he was waiting at the school, it might be as simple as him forgetting the conversation they had about switching venues, but with as awkward as it was asking to change plans in the first place, she didn’t want to undergo a repeat performance.
But if he wasn’t there, what did that mean? That he simply forgot? Was their time together that insignificant? Had she imagined the closeness they felt yesterday, dreamed it all up because she was lonely and pathetic?
Her pulse slowed down when the school parking lot came into view. No truck. No cars. No anybody. Not even tire tracks in the fresh snow.
What now? Should she pull up and wait? Maybe he was late.
In which case he might already be waiting for her at the church.
It’s not like she was paying him for his time. Maybe there’d been a misunderstanding. Maybe yesterday had been their last lesson together.
Or maybe he was avoiding her.
It didn’t make sense.
She didn’t know what to think, and she didn’t know what to do. She’d left in such a hurry, her phone was still at home on the kitchen counter. Which was just as well, since she didn’t want to call him. There was no way to start a conversation like that without sounding accusatory. Hey, where are you at? I’ve been waiting twenty minutes.
She stopped in the parking lot to think. If she just went home, she could go on with her day. Greg was so busy he wouldn’t realize she returned early.
After several minutes with the car heat blasting, the steering wheel was still cold to the touch. In addition to her phone, she’d forgotten her gloves at home too. She always liked to wear them before her lessons so that her hands would take less time to warm up if he wanted her to play her violin.
Which she now remembered was also at the parsonage.
What had happened to her head?
She shoved her hands into her coat. At least while she decided what to do she didn’t have to freeze. That’s when she felt the small envelope in her pocket. What was it? Oh, yeah. The gift card from Mrs. Porter. Safe Anchorage was on the outskirts of Orchard Grove, all the way out on Baxter Loop, but it wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. And Greg had told her yesterday she could take herself there if she wanted.
Assuming she could find the place again without getting lost.
It shouldn’t be too hard. She put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, ready to leave her disappointment behind.