Page 7 of Monsters, Vows, and Growls
You forgot our meeting today? Seriously?
But I deleted it. It sounded too obvious that I cared.
Then I tried.
We already have plans, remember?
I deleted that, too, tapping my nails against my teeth, until eventually, I settled on.
Still planning to be there today. Let me know if that still works for you. I need the address too.
It was neutral. Cool. The kind of thing you’d send to a contractor or a business contact. Not your first love, who once told you your laugh could wake the dead—and that he liked it better than silence.
I hit send before I could regret it, then dropped the phone face-down on the bathroom counter like that might stop the emotional whiplash. Behind me, the mirror didn’t lie. I still looked like someone who’d seen a ghost. I began taking my clothes off and nearly jumped out of my skin when the phone dinged with an incoming text.
Pats
I’ll be there. Take the road past the main gate—gravel path, third turnoff. You’ll see the sign. Can’t miss it. No need to dress up.
I stared at the screen, towel clutched in one hand, heart thudding.
You don’t need to dress up?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Did he think I was dressing up forhim? That I was still the girl who used to steal his hoodies and pretend not to care that her mascara ran when she cried? Because I wasn’t. Not anymore. And yet… he still managed to hit a nerve I didn’t know was exposed.
I wanted to reply with.
It’s a business meeting, not a date.
I wasn’t.
You don’t get to say things like that anymore.
Instead I simply typed.
What time?
There, totally business. I turned on the shower because the water took forever in this building to heat up, especially in the winter and spring, oh, and the fall. In the summer, it was even harder to get it cold. Okay, I was rambling again.
The phone dinged.
Pats
—I really needed to change his name:
How about 1pm?
Perfect
Good, no need to further this conversation. I dropped the towel and was just about to finally step into the shower when the phone dinged again. Now what?
Pats
Bring a jacket. It’s colder out at the site than in town
I stared at it. That was it. No emoji. No extra punctuation. Just…thoughtful?
