Page 55 of Enough
“Wait, I need my snack,” I tell her.
She watches me hurry to the kitchen, but she can’t contain herself and she starts telling her story before I return. “Let me start from the beginning. So I left work in a pissy mood because Clairice was talking crap about people in the unit again, and I was ready to kick her ass before I left. I didn’t even realizehow fast I was driving, and when I saw the lights flashing behind me, I almost lost it. You know how you want to punch something and cry at the same time?”
I grab my bag of carrots off the counter and reposition myself next to her on the couch, slowly curling my leg under me as I nod my head in total understanding of that feeling. “I used to feel that way daily.”
“Anyway, I’m trying to decide what I could say to get myself out of the ticket as he’s sitting behind me. I’m in my scrubs, so I’m tempted to make up some excuse about a hospital emergency, but then I remember I’m driving away from the hospital.”
I nod my head. Gwen’s a great storyteller. I’m on pins and needles as I shove another carrot into my mouth.
“Guess who the officer is that pulls me over? Guess! Guess!” She vibrates up and down in her seat anxiously. Her pearly white teeth are almost blinding me.
“I don’t know. Who?” I really have no clue. I push another carrot into my mouth, awaiting her response.
“Cooper Ford.”
I start to choke and gasp for air. I cough and gag before a chunk of carrot flies out of my mouth and hits Gwen in the chest.
“Cooper Ford? Nick Rowen’s best friend, Cooper Ford?” I squeal.
Gwen makes a disgusted face at the carrot on her scrubs and flicks it to the floor. It’s immediately eaten by Roscoe. She refocuses on me and bites her lip. “Yep! The one and only!”
“No fucking way!” I shout. I suddenly feel like a teenager again. “Did he recognize you?”
“He ran my plates as any cop should do before heapproaches a car. He said, ‘Well, well, well, Gwen Bryant. Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?’ I almost shit my pants!”
“Oh my God, what did you say?” I toss the carrot bag on the coffee table. My hands are starting to sweat.
“After I got over my initial shock and stared blankly at him for a few seconds, I realized who he was. Damn, that man is fine! I wouldn’t have recognized him if he hadn’t smiled when he leaned down to look in the car. That smile is hard to forget. His hair is shorter than I remember and he has a trim beard now. I couldn’t believe he remembered me. I only talked to him a few times when you used to hang out with him.”
My mind races over what I remember about him. I haven’t thought about him in years. “Cooper was a really good friend to me. He kept me sane when I was missing Nick.” As soon as I say Nick’s name out loud, I feel a flutter in my heart I haven’t felt in… forever. “What did you say to him?” I question frantically, changing my position to regard her more closely.
Gwen laughs and places her palms face down as she says, “I was cool and breezy. I cocked my head and said, ‘I’m sorry, officer, do I know you?”
“You did not!” I gasp.
She laughs, “I totes did. He placed his hand over his heart and crouched down next to the car. Then he said, ‘Ouch. Way to mess with a guy’s ego.’ I laughed and said, ‘How are you, Cooper? It’s been a long time.’ Then he said, ‘It sure has. I see you still have a lead foot. At least I know some things never change.’”
“Holy… crap!” I stammer. My hands are shaking now, and I wish Gwen would talk faster.
“I told him I’m always in a hurry. I explained that I feel it’s my duty to race every car that passes me by. He raised a single eyebrow at me and shook his head, saying, ‘I’m going to pretend I never heard that.’ Did I mention he has really pretty eyes? They looked almost green in the light. It was the first thing I noticed right after his smile.”
“Oh boy…” I sing as I lean back into the couch. “I know that look!”
“No!” she commands as she shakes her head. “Don’t go reading anything into it. He’s Cooper. I know too much about him to ever be attracted to him.”
“What do you mean you know too much?” I question.
“I was Amy’s friend too. I heard all about his moves and games.”
I shake my head. “Cooper had no games. Amy played him. He was a good guy and she toyed with him.”
“Amy said he was a douche!”
“Amy was a little psycho, if you remember correctly.”
Gwen seems to ponder the information, and I can see when the memories invade her mind. “Oh yeah. I forgot about the stuff she pulled with Brenda and Michelle. She broke up their friendship, didn’t she?”
“Uh huh.” I nod. “Now tell me what happened next.”
