Page 14 of Without You

His jaw drops down just slightly and if I wasn’t watching him so closely, I might not have noticed. But, I’m addicted to his face so I did notice.

“You live here again?”

Nodding, I confirm, “Yeah.”

“Are you working anywhere?”

“For my dad, which is a little humbling and makes me feel like I can’t adult properly and have to run to my parents for not only a job but a place to live. But, it’s only temporary. I lost my job from layoffs and I didn’t really have another choice but to move home. I didn’t have enough saved up to live for months and my severance was a joke because they technically gave us enough notice. Daddy needed my help around the office so I’m doing that until I find something more permanent.”

“Want to sling tires? Actually, fuck that. You’d be a giant distraction for my guys.”

I want to ask why only his guys but I’m not nearly that brave. Instead, I flex my arms, which aren’t that muscular but I can fake it with the best of them, and say, “What? You don’t think I’d be able to handle the work?”

He rolls his eyes and tosses the balled up cellophane that was around his scone at me, which I deflect easily. “Shut up. You know that’s not what I meant.”

I wink at him this time and his eyes flare.

“So what are you doing for Frank?”

“Not enough to keep me busy, that’s for sure. Filing paperwork, helping him get everything into a more automated system so he can retire. But it’s boring,” I grouch. “But I’m grateful for the work anyway.”

“Well, that goes without saying,” he teases, tipping his almost empty coffee cup in my direction.

I roll my eyes.

“What is it you did, again? I mean your work? I feel like there’s a lot I never learned about you.”

“Besides my mama staring at vaginas for a living, of course.”

“Of course.”

I smile and hate that I can feel how shy it is.

“So…”

“So?”

“Tell me about you. How do you spend your days? Or, how did you, before you moved back to Benton?”

“I worked at a large architectural firm. I helped with the day-to-day operations, otherwise known as an assistant,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “It wasn’t my life’s dream, but I actually loved it. Everyone who worked there was very nice and it was a relaxed atmosphere. But the firm was having a lot of financial problems and had to shut down. The owner had a hard time not spending more than what we were taking in, wanting a fancier office than we needed and paid for expensive retreats. It was nice of him to want to do that, it was just premature. He needed to build up his business first before all that. Hence, the reason he had to shut down.”

“Bummer.”

“Yup. It was. But it wasn’t exactly unexpected, either, because we all saw the writing on the wall. So, anyway, here I am.”

“Hate that you lost your job, but glad to have you here.”

I’m a little ashamed to admit how much more I want there to be to his statement.

“I’m glad to be back home, too. Feels a little weird, but it’s good. Plus, I just started taking classes to become a massage therapist. I have about five weeks left before I’m done.”

He looks surprised by my announcement. “Massage therapy? Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?”

“No. It was never in my plan. But when I found out I was going to be losing my job working for the firm, I decided a fresh start was what I needed. I was driving along one day and, it might sound crazy, but I started going through the alphabet and would think of a career with each letter. When I got to M, I said massage therapy out loud and it just kind of stuck. I didn’t go any farther in the alphabet, just stopped right there.”

“That’s a kick ass way to come up with what to do with your life.” I wrinkle my nose thinking he’s teasing me but he corrects himself, “I mean it! Promise. You actually considered your options and then you found something that you knew you could be passionate about and went for it. It’s cool.”

“Thanks, Brody. That means a lot.”

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