Page 31 of Bear with Me
On the way, I passed the space where Vic's couch used to be and the open doorway to his empty and vacuumed room. It smelled like lavender with an undercurrent of bleach. Vic was considerate like that. I already missed him.
My pajamas sat in a neat pile at the foot of my bed, exactly where I'd left them. A little embarrassed part of me died when I realized I'd forgotten them, but looking back, I was glad. I wore Ollie's clothes for a night, and now the soft sweatpants from the general store were my new favorites. They would always remind me of our vacation.
The first of many, I hoped.
My phone chimed with a text as I hung Ollie's jacket on the standing coat hanger by the door. The entire rack was empty now that Vic was gone, but I hung the jacket in my usual place, since I'd need it again tomorrow. I hoped my winter coat was still slung over the back of my chair at work. If someone had stolen it while I was gone, that would be yet another bullet point on my "Why I hate my job" list.
The text was from Vic."You home?"
I thought about texting him, but the apartment walls echoed each tap on my phone. I walked back to my bedroom and hit the call button instead.
"Hey!" Vic answered. "How was your vacation?"
"It was great, thanks! How was your move?"
He cleared his throat. "Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that. I accidentally broke the wooden bowl where we keep our keys. I tried to glue it back together."
I'd dropped my keys inside without looking. "You didn't have to tell me," I said.
"Yes, I did." He sighed. "You would have noticed the glue blotches, and then you would have been angry all over again. You're always angry."
"I am." Except that didn't sit right in my chest. "I was. I'm not anymore. I'm not mad about this. Things break. It's okay."
"You made that bowl for your mom." I heard the tears in Vic's voice. "I tried to fix it?—"
"It's okay."
"It is?"
"Yes. Thank you for telling me."
"You're not mad?"
Tears stung my eyes. How long had my best friend lived in fear of my temper? "I'm not, I swear. I'm sorry."
"Do you want to grab coffee tomorrow before work?" Vic asked. "The little place down the street from your building?"
"Gods, yes, I already know I'm going to need coffee. Tea won't cut it."
He snorted. "I hear you. The first day back after vacation is always the hardest." Vic worked in the library a few blocks south of the coffee shop. It had been a common meeting place for us when our breaks lined up, back when we had been better friends.
"You'll tell me all about your move tomorrow?" I asked.
"Only if you tell me every detail of your boring-ass 'spend all my time alone' vacation," he countered.
"I wasn't alone."
I spent the next minute laughing at the ridiculous "ooh" sounds coming from Vic's mouth.
"Okay, now I'm intrigued," he said. "I might be inspired to get out of bed at my first alarm instead of hitting the snooze button."
We agreed to meet at seven since we both started our shifts at eight. After the call ended, I felt lighter. I made myself some dinner and read over my to-do list for the next week before turning in early, excited about tomorrow. I couldn't remember feeling so eager to begin a workday.
"You look good,"Vic said. "See? Vacation is good for you."
I laughed and returned his shoulder hug. He already had two mugs topped with frothy milk and two vegan blueberry muffins for us at the little bistro table in the corner by the window. Outside, people rushed to their destinations, their thick puffs of breath trailing behind them.
"Tell me everything about your vacation!" Vic said as I took the first sip of caramel latte.
