“Oh, OK.” I paused. “Do you currently have feelings for, uh, anyone?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
Karla chuckled. “Are you asking me if there is a man in my life?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard, partly not wanting to know the answer.
“Well, no. There isn’t. I’ve been single my whole life. People aren’t really interested in me in that way.”
“Karla—”
“What about you?” she cut in, shifting the conversationfrom her dating life to mine. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about her love life. “Anyone special?”
“Just my old boy, Rolls,” I joked about my cat. “I’ve casually dated over the years, but nothing serious.”
“Not one to settle down, huh?”
“Why settle down when you can keep moving fast?”
“I don’t know... I’ve learned to love the slow moments. I used to hate them. I felt like my whole life was moving so slowly. But now... I crave the small steps. I find peace in the quiet and slow, mundane moments. Like tonight’s book club. It was nice to slow down with friends.”
I smiled at her. I found myself doing that more often than not. The same way I caught Daniel smiling in her direction when she wasn’t looking.
“I’m glad you have them,” I told her. “I’m glad you’re happy, Karla.”
“I’m glad you are, too,” she replied.
I didn’t correct her and tell her that I couldn’t remember the last time I felt true happiness. Outside of the sparks of life she’d fed me over the past few weeks.
Karla’s hips swayed a little to the music as she carried the wings over to the bar. I watched her hips sway with each step that she took. After we finished cleaning up the space, I said good night.
She pulled me into a hug, and instead of moving at my normal fast pace, I slowed down.
I let her hug linger.
45Karla
Ash and I began to spend a lot of time together. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. We reconnected in the spring and danced through the summer nights. Being with Ash brought a lightness to my world that I couldn’t make sense of. I didn’t know I could laugh as much as I could when I was with him. I didn’t know one person could make me fall over into fits of laughter from their corny jokes. Yet there I was, at least twice a day, bent over in a giggling fit because of something that man had said to me.
***
Karla:Daniel told me he liked me tonight.
Ash:Told you so.
Karla:I was kind of surprised. It threw me for a loop. He asked me on a date.
A few minutes passed without any kind of response from Ash. Then he messaged back.
Ash:What did you say?
Karla:I said I valued our friendship, and that I just didn’t feel that kind of connection toward him.
Ash:Oh.
Yeah... oh.
Ash:Daniel seems like a good guy. If he’s not your type, then what is?
I stared at his words, feeling conflicted because the moment I saw his question, only one answer popped into my mind.
