Page 38 of When I'm Gone
“Hey, we are talking about you in those meetings, so I wouldn’t be counting so closely,” Luke said, trying to push the conversation away from Will’s insinuations. Will insisted the only reason Ms. Mason kept asking for meetings was because of some underlying romantic intentions. “You’re stalling. Let’s go.” Luke leaned down and gave Clayton a kiss on his sticky cheek. “Be good for Annie.”
“I’m always good, Daddy. Annie says so.” Clayton put his hands on his hips and pouted as though he was really offended.
“This is true. Always good, I swear,” Annie said, giving Will a side hug and pulling May in on her other side. “You guys have a great last day and don’t be so hard on your dad. He’s going to miss you guys.”
“Yeah, right ...” Will said, shrugging. Annie wiggled her fingers against his rib cage, and he flinched away, trying not to giggle. “Hey!”
“What?” She looked at him with wide innocent eyes.
“Out the door now.” Luke glared at Will, pointing to the garage door. Taking May’s hand, he turned to face Annie. “And you arenothelping!”
“Hey! Remember when we were happy to see him smile?”
“I know. I know.” He paused. He wanted to tell Annie she had a lot to do with Will’s progress, but they hadn’t had a real conversation in weeks. Instead he said, “Well, have a fun day, you two.”
“We will.” Annie’s lips pressed together like she too had something to say she couldn’t get out.
Luke dropped May off at her elementary school, waiting through a slow line of cars. By the time he parked and stealthily said good-bye to Will, Luke had four minutes to spare before his eight-thirty appointment.
Fine. He was looking forward to seeing Ms. Mason again, and their past two meetings could’ve easily been done over the phone. He enjoyed her company, and if Natalie was going to pressure him into dating again, he’d rather spend time with someone he already knew and kind of liked than whatever Natalie had in store. These were not exactly dates, but they were as close as he could manage now.
Usually he had to wait in the uncomfortable chairs lining the hall outside of Ms. Mason’s office until she came out of whatever meeting she’d been wrapped up in. But today, she stood outside her office, leaning on the door frame of the open door. She was wearing heels, as always. This pair was a scaly red, with at least an inch of platform under the sole. Her black skirt and flowy gray top were bland in comparison, but the contrast was enough to make the shoes almost appropriate.
She was wearing her hair down, and the tight, natural spirals hung down her back, nearly reaching her waist, the ends four shades lighter than the dark amber at the top of her head. Luke didn’t know if it was from an old dye job or a new fashion trend. Natalie never followed trends but always had her own sense of style. Every once in a while she’d get really dressed up for school, as though there was some special event going on. After a few years he’d stopped asking when she threw on a dress and a pair of dangly earrings because every time he asked, she always answered, “It felt like a dress day today.”
You’ve got to stop,Luke told himself. He couldn’t think about her nonstop anymore. If she were only dead, he’d never want to stop thinking about her, but since she was dead and had left him with questions about two different men in her life, thinking about Natalie was doubly painful.
Yes, he read her letters when they showed up, and sometimes he even enjoyed them when he allowed himself to forget. But he also read the letters in case she slipped up and let a secret spill and to count mentions of Dr. Neal (twenty-four) or a casual drop of Andy’s name (only once). But Ms. Mason was right in front of him, waving him over to her office. She was a nice, professional, intelligent woman, and Luke hated to admit it, but Will was right—she liked him.
“Mr. Richardson, good morning.” Ms. Mason shot him a wide smile, uncrossing her arms nervously. “Thanks for meeting me early.” She gestured for him to enter the office. On the desk were two cinnamon rolls as big as fists and a pair of sweating glasses of iced coffee.
“I hope you don’t mind iced coffee. It’s finally getting hot out, and I can’t stand drinking hot coffee on a warm morning.”
“Iced sounds great.” Luke smiled and sat down, pulling his chair up to the desk. He picked up the see-through plastic cup, wiping the pool of condensation off the tabletop. He took a quick sip and tried not to cough. The drink didn’t taste anything like coffee, more like milk with sugar and caramel mixed into it. Ms. Mason settled into her seat and crossed her legs to the side.
“Can you believe it’s the end of the year already?” she asked, pinching off a small piece of pastry and popping it in her mouth.
“Yeah.” Luke nodded, working hard to make small talk. Why was he suddenly so nervous? Perspiration beaded up on his forehead. “It really snuck up on us this year.”
“So true,” Ms. Mason said, nodding slowly like he’d meant more by his comment than intended. Like he was talking about Natalie. An awkward silence passed between them. Luke shifted in his seat, a bead of sweat trickling down his back. He coughed and instinctively reached for another sip, only to fight back his gag reflex when he tried to swallow it.
“Uh, so ...” He put the drink down, determined to not mistakenly drink it again. “Was there something you wanted to discuss? About Will?”
“Mmm, yeah,” she mumbled, mouth full of cinnamon roll. She took a drink and coughed. “Whoa, that’s way too sweet, right?”
“Maybe a little.”
“I’m so sorry.” She held up the cup like she was searching for the mistake. “It’s a new place. Starbucks had a line, so I tried Java Joe’s. Lesson learned. They’re on my bad list now.”
“You have a list? Are you searching out coffee shops to blacklist?”
“Oh yeah, I’m undercover in Michigan to find all the subpar coffee shops. It’s my main mission.”
“Wow, that sounds dangerous. Anyone try to assault you with their grinder yet?”
“Not yet, but no worries; caffeine triggers my training, so I’ll be a ninja in no time.” She laughed. Luke liked her laugh; it was careless and a little loud, like she’d fit in with a group of kids on a playground.
Luke laughed; he could see why she was so effective with the teenagers. Her humor was captivating.
