Chapter 6: Wait

As many would say, time is the ultimate truth teller. The truth was something everyone kept saying all along– I was going to be just fine. It's been hurting, but after two months of working on my feelings and adjusting to a new job, I felt good.

Things were very different from what I was used to. Being contracted as a programmer at home required a fraction of socialization– maybe a few morning video chats or phone calls. There were benefits to working from home, yet there was no disputing how human interaction reigned supreme. It was easy to feel alone, or at times, even unproductive.

When are afraid of suffering all by ourselves, sometimes we find the time to start investigating ourselves. That's when I turned into a homemaker. Whenever Faith would wake up in the evening to get ready for her night shift, she'd wake up to a nice dinner arrangement, always accompanied by one shot of her favorite vodka for her least favorite job. By no means did she hate to DJ, but the anticipation of a full-time position at the school was generating a distaste of her current routine.

On a Friday evening, Faith threw back her shot. Childishly, she put down the glass and glared at the time on her phone.

"Faith," I sang, but she crossed her arms and deepened the scowl.

It was another day where I was asked, "When am I going to wake up to an email or phone call that says 'Hey, we think you're awesome, come work for us!'? Huh, Ada, huh?"

I smiled and kept quiet. She's heard my speech before, and she knew what I would have said to her.

"Faith, you're beyond amazing. They'd be crazy not to want you. And if they don't, you will one-hundred percent find something better."

She must have recited my words in her head because, on cue, she smiled and hopped up from the lonely stool at our little kitchen.

With a smile she waved and said through her teeth, "Thanks for the food, Ada! I'm off to work at a job I was hoping to quit a while ago."

"Any ideas for what you'd want to eat tomorrow?" I proposed.

Usually, she would tell me to surprise her, but this time she was forward with an answer, "What about breakfast food?"

"Sure! Like?"

"What about omelettes?" she squeaked with a big smile. "Like with fruit."

I laughed, "You got it."

Faith pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and slapped her grocery fee on the counter. Normally, once she was out the door, I would close the work applications and notebooks from the workday and start to Google what meals I could make for the next day. But this time I turned away from the door and stared at the bill.

I took in a deep breath and sighed, "Okay, omelettes with fruit it is."

Without packing away my workstation, I zipped into my bedroom for my purse and was out the door.

Omelettes. Omelettes. Omelettes.

Just a simple dish to make. It was very simple.

Still hanging on the word as though I was going to forget, I rushed into the closest market and into the dairy section.

"I've got the eggs... and now the fruit," I nervously ended.

Delicious and bright produce awaited me around the corner across the market. There was nothing to fear at all, yet when I took a look at the beautiful strawberries, my breaths began to stagger. I couldn't continue to be afraid of memories.

Omelettes with strawberries on a Saturday evening.

I pressed my lips together, before looking around to the other fruits that surrounded me. There was a variety of blueberries, raspberries, apples and citrus to pick from. I had the power to pick a choose anything. Though, when I went to checkout at the register, I smiled to myself when the carton of strawberries were scanned across the belt.

The memories surrounding something so simple were so strong, but I had done well for the last two months.

I can do it.

I had done it. I found some peace with the past that I let loom over my life with a scythe ready to cut me up when I would let it. With or without a weapon, they would always hurt to an extent, but it didn't have to be so bad. I had a job, a good friend, and my family. The past could be settled in peace.

"Ada?" I heard seconds from exiting the automatic doors.

I squinted and slowly turned, making sure that I thought I heard correctly.

"Chris?" I mumbled in shock.

There was just as much surprise behind his brown eyes, but he was the first to smile.

"Ada, how have you been?" He asked in a hurry, tugging along a small girl who clung to his hand.

"I'm... I'm–" But I looked down to the little girl who bore a striking resemblance to him.

"Sorry! This is my niece, Elsaine! I get to have her for the weekend," he cheered, effortlessly pulling her up and hugging her.

"She looks just like you," I admired, watching her turn and hide her face against his cheek.

They had the same hair color, and though her freckles were only a few, they were there. It was obvious that, with time she would be adorned in a generous flush of spots like her uncle. Chris smiled from the comfort, but turned his attention back to me.

"I'm doing well, Chris," I finally answered.

He nodded, a tinge of remorse wrinkled into his smile, "I'm glad, Ada. Things have... definitely changed since you left."

"I'm sorry to return those old clients back to you," I nervously remarked.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Though, it just feels like it was before you started," he admitted.

The guilt that I felt since leaving Leoné Investments crept up with ease. I missed Chris and Renee. With the short time I had getting to know them, I really missed them dearly.

But I couldn't go back.

"Ada, I know you can't come back, but Renee and I still want to see you."

The nerves in my face left a stinging sensation, as I nodded my head.

"And without three months going by," he smiled.

I clutched the straps to my reusable bag tight, and murmured, "Okay."

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Seeing Chris and Renee would have been easier, had I lifted my head to look them in the eyes. A duo of two boisterous, colorful characters were quiet. It bothered me.

There we were as a group again at Renee's favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. A waitress with a hibiscus in her hair walked away with a smile– our orders scribbled on her worn writing pad.

My attention was pulled to Renee as she broke the unfamiliar silence, "You look good, Ada."

"So do you," I immediately replied, my hands gripped tight in my lap.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked with her auburn brows high.

"I'm great!" I answered, with exaggeration.

Chris and Renee looked to each other. Despite how sweet they were, I knew they were judging me. I was twenty-five and all over the place, still trying to figure myself out. But this time I've slowed down for the sake of my mental health.

Can you see that I'm trying?

"That's good, Ada," Renee replied. "Chris and I have been worried about you. But I did tell Chris that you always knew how to take care of yourself."

Chris disputed Renee's remark, "Oh, please! It was me who wasn't as worried about you Ada."

"Ha! So you're admitting that I'm more caring," Renee suggested before ungracefully chomping on a chip.

Chris narrowed his eyes and glared at her. If they were trying to make me laugh, they got what they wanted.

I've missed the shenanigans.

I put my hands on the table and leaned forward, relaxing into the atmosphere. I wanted them to keep going, as though I wasn't there. As much as I didn't want to go back, I was yearning for the past. It was simple to do when I was easily reminded of the good times. However, since the good and the bad effortlessly cycles, that meant that the time for happiness to turn away from me would come sooner than later.

Just don't turn away from me now.

"Ada, we do have to ask you a question though," Chris prompted after stealing a chip from Renee.

"Shoot," I chuckled, dipping my hand into the chip bowl.

Chris looked to the bottom of his glass, rimmed in the cup's sweaty tap water, "Has Mr. Leoné contacted you?"

I froze. My attention switched back and forth between the two of them, and all smiled were gone.

And the wheel has turned.

"What?" I whispered.

"Ezra. Have you heard from him?" Renee asked without hesitation.

Oh my God...

Cupping my hands, I took the chip with me in my lap. I looked down and shook my head.

"Ada, we knew about you two... well before the night of the awards," Renee laughed.

My head shot up, "What? You did?"

Renee smiled, "Of course. You two were so transparent when it came to your feelings. We didn't need you to say the obvious. Though, I feel deprived of juicy details."

"You two must have been pretty serious," Chris added in a friendly tone. I could tell he was trying not to rub salt into the wound, but I was stinging all over.

I swallowed hard before confessing, "It was just a failed fling."

"The man... was a walking stop-motion statue before you came around girl," Chris returned, seeing right through my bullshit. "You turned him into one of those wacky inflatable men outside grand openings!"

I scoffed with a laugh, sincerely enjoying the thought of Ezra moving frame by frame and then into a wiggling spastic man. I liked that I could imagine him making fun of himself, maybe moving around his apartment as Chris said just to make me laugh.

I thought more time would pass before I thought so fondly of Ezra again. I could taste the sweet of the bittersweet memories.

"I did see him two months ago," I sighed. "It didn't end very well."

Renee stopped chewing and looked to Chris, humming "Mhm, that makes sense."

"Hmm?" I questioned with worry.

What did that mean?

Renee's despondent expression matched the following words, "Ezra left around the same time."

I don't...

"Left?" I quickly asked.

"He's not been back to the building for two months," Chris answered. "For a while we were receiving emails, but then he up and disappeared."

"After..." Renee insisted toward Chris.

The bearer of bad news took a deep breath and sighed, "After he sent me an email saying that he was leaving me in charge of operations. He didn't even mention a thing about an undetermined amount of leave. He just disappeared."

I was stunned, tripping over my words, "Disappeared. As in you've not–"

"Not seen nor heard from him in two months," Chris softly interjected. "Nobody knows."

My eyes turned to Renee, and her lips were pressed into a tight line. The look in her eyes matched mine. We didn't know what to say. What was there to say except that Ezra was gone.

"We'd hoped that you had heard from him since that email," she murmured.

"No. No I haven't," I admitted, my eyes darting back and forth between them. "Where do you think he is?"

They both shrugged, before Renee said, "Chris tried to ask her but she didn't tell us anything."

Her...

I swallowed hard and asked, "Genevieve... is still there?"

They nodded, and then I felt it. I didn't know what the feeling was, but I felt it.

It's been hurting.

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Number of hidden songs: 1