Page 39 of Picking Pismo

David jogged to catch up with her. “Why? I don’t understand. We said we’d wait until you moved to worry about the future.”

Claire didn’t slow down, taking fast strides to get back to the sidewalk. He didn’t get it. Not at all. Claire loved him. David only saw her as a distraction. A project to fill his time. When they reached the edge of the sand, Claire stopped to put back on her shoes.

“What did I say?” David bent down and put on his shoes too. “Claire, talk to me.”

The fact David didn’t even know, told Claire everything she didn’t want to believe.

Glancing up the sidewalk, Claire spotted Alexis with Juliet a few blocks away. She waved, and Alexis waved back. “David…” Her voice cracked. She hated how much she cared, how much her heart was ripping out of her chest. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me and Alexis, but we’re fine.” She met his gaze. “We leave in a month, and I don’t see the point in dragging this out. I wish you nothing but the best.”

“But,” David reached to touch her arm.

Claire took a step forward out of reach of his grasp. “Bye David.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked away, leaving him lingering on the sidewalk.

She thought he’d call out for her. But he didn’t. She hoped he would jog to catch up with her, but he stayed in his place. So, Claire walked away, and David let her go.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The week passed in a haze.

And the next.

And another.

Then another.

David had messed up, and he knew it. Claire had been right, she was leaving and there wasn’t any point in dragging out the inevitable. But boy, he wished it didn’t hurt so much.

David went to reception where Sarah was typing on the computer. “Sarah, do you know how many more appointments I have today?” He usually didn’t feel this anxious for the workday to end, but his body was dragging.

Sarah stopped typing and moved her mouse, bringing up the schedule for the day. Swiveling in her chair to face him, she said, “It looks like only three more appointments for the day. I did squeeze Alexis in for one more adjustment before she heads out of town. It’s a week earlier than normal, but I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

David froze. “Alexis is coming in today?” He hadn’t been prepared to see Alexis, or Claire.

He missed Claire more than he ever thought possible. But like an idiot he did nothing.

“Yes.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. “She’s the last appointment of the day.” She raised an eyebrow. “Everything okay? You usually don’t care or worry about when people are coming in.”

Grabbing a client’s file off the corner of the reception desk, David flipped it open. “Everything is fine.” His hands shook. He forced himself to turn to the next page and appear put together. Though he was far from it, instead he was slowly unraveling. Eyes glued to the file, he continued, “Let’s make sure we find a time for them to return to do a follow up appointment. It might not be the exact timing of the normal adjustments but let’s make it work for them.”

Sitting up, Sarah replied, “You’ve got it boss.”

The door chimed, entering the lobby was his next client. David smiled, pushing away the ball of nerves in his gut. “Hunter, it’s great to see you. Today’s the day,” he said brightly.

Hunter beamed. “I can’t wait to get my braces off and see what my teeth look like.”

“I can’t either. It’s the best part of my job.” David closed the file folder still in his hands, motioning for Hunter to follow him back to the exam room. “In thirty minutes, you’re going to have a beautiful, straight teeth smile.”

“Yippee!” replied Hunter.

After taking Hunter into the exam room, David’s dental assistant helped Hunter get settled into his chair while he checked on the adjustments of two other waiting patients. The remaining hours flew by. Next thing he knew, David glanced over to see Alexis waiting in one of the many exam chairs.

His shoulders stiffened. Peering around the room, he didn’t spot Claire. He wondered if she was in the waiting room or opted to avoid him all together. David walked over and sat down on the swivel chair next to Alexis.

Alexis glanced up at him from her reclined position and rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to worry, Claire isn’t here. She dropped me off and is grabbing us some dinner. If you want, you can completely avoid her when she comes back to pick me up.”

“I don’t need to avoid her,” said David a little too quickly. “Claire is the one who ended things, not me.” Each word punctured the air, sounding off-putting even to him. David grabbed Alexis’s chart off the corner of the table next to the exam chair, opening it up. He fisted his shaky hand and tried his best to regain his exposure.

“Uh huh…” Alexis muttered under her breath. She turned back, settling her head against the head rest. “You keep telling yourself that.”

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