Page 41 of Picking Pismo

“Because I like talking to you.” David rubbed the back of his neck. He wished knew how to express himself better. Honestly, he didn’t know if he’d ever be ready to move on, but things with Claire were the closest he ever came to opening his heart again after Lauren. “And I’m going to miss seeing you.”

Shaking her head, Claire cast her gaze back toward Alexis in the car. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to call me.”

“Why not?” David pressed.

Claire gnawed on her bottom lip. “Because I liked you.” She wrung her hands together. “And I realize now it was one sided. I won’t do that to myself again.” She walked the rest of the way to her car. After opening her car door, she glanced over her shoulder and said, “We’ll see you in a month. Bye, David.”

Then she climbed in and drove away.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Alexis, are you almost ready?” Claire stood by the door of her apartment in Los Angeles. “I can’t be late on my first day back.”

Running into the foyer, Alexis threw a few things into her gym bag, zipping it closed. “I’m ready.” She swung the bag over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Claire waved her through the door, before turning to lock up. They walked down the hallway to the elevator. “Do you remember how to catch the bus back home after your dance classes?”

“Yes,” Alexis groaned. Then she playfully slapped Claire on the arm. “Quit worrying. I’m going to be fine.”

“Huh?” Claire paused, studying her. “Last night you told me I ruined your life by making you move here.”

Alexis waved it off. “I know, but that was yesterday. Today I’m resolved. We’re here. There’s nothing I can do about it. I might as well make the most of it.” Nonchalantly, she shrugged.

Claire stopped in front of the elevator, pushing the down button. “I’m impressed. It’s all very mature of you.”

“That’s me,” Alexis gave a false smile while watching the floor number slowly inch closer to their floor, “Ms. Mature.”

“So, Ms. Mature, do you remember the bus number?” Claire’s stomach twisted in knots. Los Angeles wasn’t Pismo.

Claire wondered if Mom would let Alexis ride the bus from her dance studio to their apartment. But then she reminded herself, she didn’t have any other choice. Work was imperative at this point because Claire needed to replenish her dangerously low bank account. With Alexis as her responsibility now, Claire needed to better plan for their financial future.

Alexis scoffed. “We’ve been over this a thousand times. I’ll be fine.”

The elevator doors swung open. Both entered.

Gnawing on a fingernail, Claire forced her hand away to hit the garage button. “You’ll be fine.” She repeated it out loud, mostly to reassure herself.

After dropping Alexis off at her new dance studio, Claire drove the few miles to the hospital where she worked. Slowly, she walked through the familiar sliding glass doors into the hospital lobby. So much time had passed since she last worked, Claire wondered if she even remembered how to do her job anymore. But then the tension between her shoulder blades lessened with each step. For the first time, she realized how much she had missed this place, her co-workers, and the patients.

Riding the elevator up to the physical therapy gym, Claire wondered how much had changed since her abrupt departure. As she stepped off the elevator and entered the reception area, balloons and a huge sign saying welcome back greeted her. Claire smiled. And she knew she would be okay. With time, her mind would forget about Pismo and David. Her life might even start to feel like her life again.

“Claire!” shrieked Jennifer, Claire’s co-worker, and friend. Jennifer came around the reception desk. “You’re back!” Jennifer held her arms out.

“I’m back,” Claire hugged her. They broke their embrace. “I’m sorry I didn’t ever call you back.” Suddenly Claire realized how much she had isolated herself over the past months, pushing away the people who once mattered to her. The darkness of losing Mom and taking care of Alexis left her little room for anything else. She fiddled with loosened wisps of her hair, then reached up and retightened her ponytail. “I was in complete survival mode.”

Jennifer linked arms with hers, leading her to the break room to drop off her things. “I figured.” She patted the top of Claire’s arm. “I only wish I could’ve helped you in some way. I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through, but I’m glad you’re back.”

Her eyes stung, and Claire blinked rapidly to force the emotions away. “I know. I missed you too.” Her throat constricted. A whirling monsoon of thoughts wreaked havoc in her mind. “And, Jennifer…”

“Yeah,” replied Jennifer.

“If you don’t mind…” Claire forced herself to swallow. “I don’t want to talk about my time in Pismo. I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to rehash everything that happened while I was there. I’m here now, and I’m more than ready to be distracted with work.”

Glancing over at her, Jennifer gave a quick nod. “No problem. You bet.”

They entered the break room. Claire found her old locker, placing her things inside it. Once done, she peered around the familiar space. “It’s surreal to be back after so much time,” stated Claire.

With a hand on her hip, Jennifer grabbed the clipboard off the wall. It listed the schedule of appointments for the day. “You said you’re ready to be distracted by work.” She flipped through the pages, finding Claire’s name. Jennifer ran her finger across the paper until she located the line with Claire’s appointments. Claire took a step closer to view the clipboard. “You won’t have to worry about down time, because you have back-to-back to appointments the entire morning.”

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