Page 3 of The Infiniteness of Yesterday
He takes the plate from me now, strolling down the hall to her room. A moment later he says, “Um, Harlow?”
I curse under my breath. I don’t like the hesitant tone in his voice.
I trudge down the hall, poking my head in her bedroom. “Monroe.” I cover my face in my hands. “What did you do?” She needs to be walking out the door in less than ten minutes to get to school on time and she’s wearing makeup. Red lipstick lines her lips, outside the lines, and mascara streaks her eyes.
I feel my heartrate pick up because I don’t have time for this.
“I wanted to wear makeup,” she reasons logically.
I exhale a breath, and Spencer must sense my rising panic, because he says, “Don’t worry. I’ll clean her up and get out of here on time. You just … do whatever you need to do.”
“Thank you,” I mouth.
I lock myself in my bathroom and take the world’s quickest shower, pulling on my uniform for Cool Beans—the coffee shop I work at that’s owned by my sister’s fiancé’s family—in record time so I can kiss Monroe goodbye before she leaves.
Standing in the doorway, I watch her and her dad for a moment, her small hand grasped in his as she talks his ear off about some YouTube video she watched of a kid unboxing a Barbie doll. I’ll never understand why she’d rather watch another child open toys than play with her own.
Spencer looks back at me with a smile and I wave before closing and locking the door behind them.
Quickly, I put on a light layer of makeup, spray some perfume onto my body, and scarf down a dry granola bar.
Grabbing my bag, I sling it over my shoulder, swiping my keys from the narrow table beside the door. With one last look at myself in the mirror hanging above the table, I wipe a streak of mascara from beneath my eye and then I’m out the door.
Jogging down the many stairs of the apartment building I finally make it to the parking lot where my old red Nissan Altima I named Cherry waits for me. I always thought it was dumb, people naming their cars, but for some reason I started calling her Cherry and it stuck.
Like my apartment, Spencer occasionally reminds me he could buy me a brand-new car, all I have to do is say the word.
Unlike him, I’m fine with my car. It’s reliable, and while it may be getting up there in years, it runs fine. He can enjoy his gas guzzling Range Rover and whatever sports car he’s no doubt got parked in his garage.
Sometimes it’s crazy to think that Spencer and I were a couple, a young one, sure, but actual boyfriend and girlfriend. Our lives have taken us in such different directions since those days.
I’m living what I guess is a normal life, with a simple job, and taking college classes online.
But Spencer?
He’s quickly become Hollywood royalty. Practically overnight, too.
One minute we were a young couple, struggling with becoming parents at an age that made things extremely difficult, and the next thing I knew he was scouted by a modeling agent. Shortly after, he was taking acting classes and signing with a manager.
It felt like I blinked, and he went frommySpencer to one who belonged to the world.
I exhale a breath as I roll down my window, letting my blond hair blow in the breeze.
I don’t even know why I’m dwelling on things this morning. It’s in the past.
Our lives went in directions neither of us ever expected, but things happen for a reason, and while I might struggle in some ways, I am happy. It took me a while to get to this point, but I think I’ve come out stronger for it.
Pulling into the lot for Cool Beans with five minutes to spare I park next to my friend Poppy’s vehicle.
Clocking in, I put my bag in the locker they have for each employee in the breakroom and grab my apron. I’m tying it around my waist when Poppy breezes into the room.
Her fire engine red hair, bright orange on the tips, is up in Pippy Longstocking type pigtail braids. Hot pink eyeshadow with blue and purple mixed in is smoked around her eyes andher lips are covered in a blue lipstick similar to the shade blended in her eyeshadow.
Poppy is vibrant—not only in her style, but personality too. She’s a take-no-shit kind of girl and I love that about her. When she was first hired at Cool Beans, I was a little afraid—well, mostly intimidated—by her. But quickly she’s become one of my best friends.
“Thank God you’re here. Or maybe not God, but Tessa for getting you to come in now. It’s been non-stop since we opened. People love their coffee. I can’t say I blame them. I’ve already had three shots to keep going.”
“Shots?” I eye her skeptically.
