Page 75 of V is for Valentine
Felicity yawned asshe closed her laptop before crossing the room to turn off the overhead light. She should have fallen into bed, exhausted, shortly after watching the sports highlights with her dad, but instead she’d packed her clothing, then spent an hour reading and replying to work emails, getting ahead of the game.
She’d just reached for the switch when she heard a tap on the window. The thick briars of the snowy rosebushes made it impossible for a person to reach the pane, so it had to be a branch. Or something.
She snapped off the light and another tap sounded, a little louder than the first.
An errant woodpecker?
The next hit was more of a splat than a tap. She crossed to the window and looked out to see Danny standing in her yard, ready to toss another small snowball in her direction. She tried to open the window, but it had been painted shut a long time ago, when her skills with a brush were not as refined as they now were.
Instead, she tapped back to indicate she’d heard him, then shoved her feet into her snow boots and grabbed her down jacket off the chair next to the desk. After creeping down the hall, she paused at the end, listening for her dad’s steady breathing, then tiptoed past his chair and let herself out the front door. She didn’t shut it all the way, fearing that the loudish click of the lock would wake him. She wrapped her coat around herself and headed down the steps to where Danny stood waiting.
“Have you heard of this new thing called texting?” she asked. The night air was unusually warm, almost balmy given recent temperatures. A storm was coming in, pushing the warm air ahead of it. She only hoped she got to the airport in Boise before it hit.
“I’m not coming in tomorrow,” Danny said, ignoring her question. “The industrial cleaning service had an opening on Tuesday, so I’m spending tomorrow and the next day clearing everything I can out of the warehouse. Sandra is helping me, and Muff is going to take my place at the school.”
This was it. The end of their collaboration.
It felt strangely final.
“My dad doesn’t know?” She was certain he didn’t.
“Sandra’s associate took the message and didn’t pass it along in a timely manner. I just found out. Muff assures me that he’s a master painter, and he knows how to run the micro pinner.”
“So today was your last day?” She stated the obvious as she wrapped her head around the fact that this was goodbye, and more than that, the feeling that she wasn’t ready for goodbye.
“I hope you understand.”
“I do,” she assured him. It wasn’t like she’d never see him again. In fact, she was getting what she’d wanted, time and distance. A chance for her to gain perspective and a chance for him to do the same. This was disappointing, but really a good thing. An inevitability.
Then why did it feel so bad?
Danny pushed his hands farther into his pockets. “Your light was still on and I wanted to say goodbye face-to-face.”
There was a finality to his words that brought a frown to her face. “Shouldn’t it be ‘see you later’?”
He merely raised his eyebrows and despite the warm wind caressing her face, a chill went through her. Danny shifted his weight.
“Here’s the thing, Felicity. I’ve been over this in my head, debating strategy until I’m dizzy. I don’t have one. You’ve effectively blocked me at every move.”
“Years of practice.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
A heavy feeling of foreboding settled over her, tightening her stomach and shallowing her breath.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked, as if she knew what he was talking about. And then he explained. “What are you really afraid of when it comes to you and me?”
She didn’t even try to answer.
“You’re afraid of making the same mistake again,” he continued, his gaze drilling into her. “Thus placing me squarely into the mistake category.”
“You’re not a mistake,” she said. “But hooking up with you might be.”
“Because…” he prompted. He was going to make her spell it out.
“I’m not ready to take the risk,” she said in a low voice.
“How so?” he asked. “The real answer, Felix.”
