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He pulled his hand back, gripping the edge of the counter again. “Trust me, I’d much rather spend it with you than with my parents.”
“I know.” She tried to shake off her disappointment so she wouldn’t make him feel any worse than he obviously did. “When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow after work.”
Tonight was George’s party. Was this Caleb’s way of punishing her for planning a party before he left?
No, that was ridiculous. He was going to see his parents. There was no reason to ascribe ulterior motives to it.
“I’ll be back Monday afternoon.”
“Monday.” So she wouldn’t even see him at work Monday morning. And Monday night she had knitting. That only left them Tuesday and Wednesday, and then he’d be gone.
Their time was running out too quickly. There were only a few grains of sand left in the hourglass, and they were slipping away too fast.
“Hey,” he said softly, his eyes locking on hers. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Sure.” She gazed into the gold-edged depths, trying to believe him. “I know.”
George’s party was a low-key, if crowded affair. Antidote was still open for normal business, but Penny had spread the word to the regular morning customers, so the usual Thursday night crowd had swelled by a dozen or so additional bodies.
As Penny’s gaze fell on Caleb standing alone in the hall by the bathrooms, guilt rattled its rusty chains like Marley’s ghost. Not only had she forced him to spend one of his last nights here in a crowd of people, but she’d forced him to come to his workplace on a night he had off. He looked exactly as thrilled about it as could be expected.
At least George seemed to be enjoying himself. He sat on the couch at the back, surrounded by a small crowd of avid listeners as he told them stories about his “good old days” in the movie industry. Penny had decorated the back corner with balloons and streamers and a hand-painted banner that said “We’ll Miss You.” She’d taken up a collection to buy him a plant for his new apartment, and Roxanne and Reema had given him five pounds of Antidote’s special order coffee beans. He’d loved the hat Penny had knit him so much he’d put it on immediately, and it still perched on his head as he presided over his audience like a king on a throne.
The cheerful animation that lit up his face was totally worth it. That was what Penny tried to tell herself, anyway, as her gaze flicked to Caleb again. She edged away from the group gathered around George and made her way over to Caleb, pulling him farther back into the hall.
“You’re miserable, aren’t you?”
He lowered his eyes to the iced coffee in his hand. “I’m fine.”
“You’re standing off by yourself scowling.”
“Sorry if I’m not as eager to please everyone as you.”
Penny’s mouth fell open. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She’d come over here to make nice, but if he was going to be snippy with her she’d save her sympathy.
“Nothing,” he mumbled with all the eloquence of a surly teenager.
“Right. I guess I’ll just go back to the party, then.”
“Hang on.” He reached out to snag her arm and she halted, looking at him expectantly. He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. That was shitty.”
“Apology accepted.” She moved closer and hugged his arm. “Why don’t you come try to have some fun?”
He shook his head. “I’m gonna take off.”
“Already?” It hadn’t even been an hour.
“I’m not very good company tonight.”
That was a heck of an understatement, but it didn’t mean she wanted him to leave. “I’m sorry about the party. Please just stay a little longer.”
“It’s not about the party.”
She felt like it was at least a little about the party. “Then what is it?”
He grimaced at his shoes. “I’m stressed about seeing my parents tomorrow. I always get like this before I go home.”
