I stared at him, blinking.
“It’s today, isn’t it?”
I reached for my phone on the counter. In small white font it said, “Saturday, August 16.”
“Oh. I forgot.” I added, “Thank you.”
He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “The cake was Jay’s idea, actually. He knows you love this one but the bakery didn’t deliver this far, so he asked if I’d bring it to you.”
I swallowed, almost too moved to speak. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“I don’t know. Maybe not.”
I rarely made coffee, but I was in the mood to make some then. The machine roiled as I reached into the cabinet for two mugs, setting them on the counter. I remembered he liked his black.
We sat at the table. “Cake for breakfast.” I beamed.
He smiled a little sadly.
“I didn’t know you and Jay were speaking again,” I said.
He brushed a finger along the cup handle. “Yeah, sometimes. It’s not the same though. How could it be?” But it sounded like he’d hoped it’d be.
I paused. “And Nia?”
“We went to lunch once. That’s it. She’s pretty done with me, understandably.”
I raised the mug to my lips. Before sipping, I said, “We were done with each other too, remember?”
He watched me like he was trying to figure out what to say. “I’m never really done with you.”
My hearing faltered like I was submerged underwater. But he didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Are you and Jay back together?”
“No.” I didn’t say anything about Jay’s new girlfriend. I hadn’t seen anything on his Instagram. Maybe it was a lie Milan had made up to hurt me. If it was, it worked.
He nodded, eyeing my pink utility jumpsuit. “What are you, a plumber now?”
I’d forgotten I had it on. “I work at a makeup store. It’s like their shtick.”
He gave me a strange look, then laughed. “So whatever happened to you after the lock-in? Did you get arrested too?”
“Yeah.”
“I was so scared.”
This kicked up all those tender feelings I’d had for him, an old mat being shaken, blowing up clouds of dust. I still had nightmares about being in jail too. After a long time he said, “Not that we changed that much.”
“Is change something you can see when it’s happening? Or only after?” I didn’t know myself.
“I’m not sure.” He grazed his coffee mug handle. “You know, the arrest didn’t show up on my record. I think Nia’s dad pulled some strings.”
“Her dad?”
Looking at me, “The police chief.”
I recalled the murmurings at the time of my release. “I had no idea.”
“Yeah, she wanted to keep it that way.”
