Page 83 of Sunny Goes Cold Turkey
“What are you doing with him?” he asks. It’s a fair question.
“He offered to give me some running pointers.” I make a face that I hope conveys how little I’m enjoying Micah’s advice or his company. I probably look like I ate something rotten.
There’s relief in Anders’ eyes when he answers. “I bet he did.” He shakes his head with a look of disgust.
Micah jogs up to us, jamming his finger on his smart watch with a huff. “I need to get back.”
I bristle at his impatient words. “Go ahead.” Why is he still here, anyway?
There’s a beat of silence before Micah says, “Fine,” and sprints away. We watch him leave without an ounce of regret on my part. The man is a tool.
“His shorts look like kid shorts,” Imogen announces from the back seat.
“Immy, that’s not nice,” Anders says, but his wide eyes and dramatic nod tell me that he agrees.
I bite my lip to hold back a smile. I love these two. “What are you guys up to?”
“We’re looking for you!” Imogen chimes in. “My dad got a big—”
“I wanted to invite you over for movie night.” Anders talks over his daughter loudly. “If you’re not too busy? I know you have a lot going on.”
“I’m not too busy.” I have so much to tell him. The last two days have been a whirlwind of problems and difficult emotions, but I know that it will all be okay. I can’t control everything and I want to stop trying. I’m ready to let go. And I am still out of my mind in love with Anders Beck. I hope he still loves me, because I got hooked fast and this 48-hour involuntary detox has been miserable. It’s like I’m running the last fifty feet of a marathon and Anders is standing on the other side of the finish line.
I hold all of these thoughts inside when I ask, “What time?” I know I’m smiling desperately.
“Can we pick you up at seven?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. See you tonight.”
He waves and I mimic the gesture with a big, dumb grin, entirely stupefied by this man.
I cannot wait for tonight.
Late that afternoon I’m sitting down with my mom and Joe, running through post-conflagration logistics. We’re in Joe’s office and my feet are kicked up on the corner of his desk. We have a solid plan to handle the fire damage going forward, so I’m partially distracted by what I’m going to wear to movie night. I want to be comfortable, but I also want to look nice. And I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, even though I definitely am. I know which jeans I’m going to wear. That part is easy. Maybe my blue blouse?
“...the grounds crew can wear stilts and clown suits, and once we set up the cotton candy machine and corn dog fryers it’ll be a pretty nice carnival,” Joe’s voice barges into my happy thoughts.
“What?” Corn dogs? Has Joe lost his mind?
“Just trying to get your attention,” he teases with a crooked grin, pushing my heels off his desk. “Space cadet.”
“Be nice to her, son,” my mother chides. “Do I need to remind you of how twitterpated you were when you met Indie?”
“Absolutely untrue,” he scoffs.
My mom doesn’t respond except for raising her eyebrows. We all know the truth. She looks at me. “Have you seen him?”
I shake my head. “Not really. I need to deal with this stuff and I didn’t think I’d be able to keep my head on straight with him around.”
“How’s that working out for you?” Joe asks, like the older brother that he is.
My mom frowns at him. “Can I be honest with you?” When I shrug, her love-filled eyes find mine. “There’s nothing wrong with having your head on a little crooked. That man is perfect for you. You balance each other. You need him to pull you out of the perfectionism bubble you make for yourself. He might even keep you from going crazy trying to make everything just so all the time. You need him. When are you going to see him?”
“Heinvited me over for a movie with Immy tonight.” I know I’m grinning again. It’s impossible to keep my cool.
“No wonder you’re so useless today.” Joe doesn’t mince words. “When can we expect you to get your head back in the game? Ballpark it.”
