BECK
I looked everywhere.
The house. Her office. The front room of the inn. I even opened the guestbook, but there were only two rooms rented for the night and both already checked in.
I could talk to Mason or Parker, but the latter was on a job and the former was currently digging shrubs. I’d already asked this morning if he needed help and didn’t need to be told no twice. Landscaping was my least favorite form of manual labor. Besides, Mace was barely one step above Cole on “who to talk to about relationships.” If Pia hadn’t stormed into his life, he’d probably be as single as me.
How could you have fucked that up so badly?
By the time I paid the bill, Mae had been long gone. She wasn’t answering her texts, and when I went to her house, Mrs. O’Malley said she hadn’t seen her since before lunch.
I could text her. But another thought occurred to me. Someone that could help in this situation. Like the desperate man that I was, I couldn’t wait. At this time of day, she was probably at the college. I only knew where Jules’s office was because Mae had dragged me there once to pick up keys for some alumni event. I remembered the way mostly because I’d got a parking ticket.
Attempting to avoid another one, I parked legally this time and navigated Cedar Falls Community College campus, taking the steps of her building two at a time. There was a good chance she was teaching a class, but I had to start somewhere.
The door to the small office was partially opened. A good sign.
I knocked and then poked my head inside. Jules’s black bob whipped around her head as she looked up.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry about that.”
Not unexpectedly, she seemed pretty confused.
“Do you have a few minutes?”
Jules looked down at a stack of papers. “If it’s not about why your opinion doesn’t count as supporting evidence for a persuasive essay, sure.” She gestured to the only other seat in the space.
“Nice view,” I teased.
“Of the parking lot? Tell me about it. How did you know I’d be here?”
“Mae mentioned that Monday was your least favorite day of the week because you were required to stay on campus for office hours despite the fact that no one ever comes.”
“Oh. Yeah. Well, it is.” She waved her arms. “As you can see, loads of students are extremely concerned about the final grades.”
“I’m surprised you’re still in session. Aren’t most colleges out by now?”
She smiled tightly. “CFCC is kind like that. To extend their calendar an extra week or so more than most. Is everything OK?”
“Actually, no. Did you talk to Mae today?”
I could tell before she even shook her head she hadn’t. “No. I’ve been buried in essays. Is she alright?”
“Uh, yeah. I mean, physically. She’s fine,” I said, seeing her expression. “We had a fight.”
Jules spun her chair around to face me and sat back. The epitome of an “artsy type,” her outfit was wild, in a sort of non-matching but cool kind of way. I’d always liked her, though Jules definitely operated on a different wavelength than a lot of people.
“You and Mae? A fight?”
It was as unbelievable to me as it was to Jules.
We never fought. Ever.
“Yeah. And I’m pretty sure it was my fault?”
She laughed, and then immediately apologized. “Youthink?”
