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E
He likes it that way.
Chris
I'm glad he does.
E
You want to grab coffee before you head back?
Chris
I thought you were out of town til Monday.
E
No, just out of the office. I get back into town tomorrow afternoon.
Chris
Sure. We can get coffee.
E
Great. Just give me a heads up when we can meet. It really was good to see you.
Chris
Will do. It was good to see you too. Talk soon.
E
I clicked out of the text messages and remembered I still hadn’t gone through the slew of emails that were waiting for my response. But I was so tired, I decided to put it off until the next day. Anyone who needed to hear from me would just have to understand my family situation. I laid there wondering about Luke’s family and realizing there was so much I wanted to know about him. I couldn’t help but think about the things Rachel had said, and I smiled as I laid the phone back down on the bed and closed my eyes thinking about Luke.
***
Saturday afternoon, I worked at the office for several hours, making sure everything was set up for Monday like Granddad had requested. It was quiet. It kind of felt like when I was alone in the woods. I wasn't a loner, but I was okay being alone. I was just that kind of person who could be alone with her thoughts and not stress about it. Maybe that was why I was so good at my grant work. I spent hours and hours alone every week. Truth was, until I had moved in next to Luke, I really didn't have a lot of human interaction other than Rachel. Luke grated my last nerve most days, but what did I expect? He was the first person I’d had to actually relate to on a daily basis in quite a while. But no matter how I reacted, his kindness always smoothed things back out. Maybe I did like him, even when I didn't.
I heard the bell chime for the elevator and looked up to see Chris walking out.
“Hey,” he said when he looked up and saw me.
“Hi.” I sat back in the oversized chair.
“I didn't know you were here. I was just stopping by to grab some plans that I forgot so I could go over them before my meeting on Monday. If you’re not too busy, you wanna grab that coffee now?”
“Sure.” Standing, I closed the folder I had opened and grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair.
“Just give me a sec to grab what I need, and we’ll go. The rain has let up for the moment, so we can just walk over to the Coffee Bean if that's okay?”
“Yeah, that's fine.” I smiled and waited until he returned, then we made our way out of the building and walked down the block. I looked up at the green awning and smiled to myself thinking about all the times my grandfather had taken me there for a hot chocolate and later coffee as I was growing up. He had always been more of a father to me than my own. With my dad’s work schedule, he had missed most of my childhood, something that hadn't really bothered me until I was older.
“You okay?” Chris asked as he held the door for me.
“I was just thinking about Granddad.”
“He really is an extraordinary person.” Chris followed me to the counter. I ordered my coffee and then waited as he did the same. He pulled his wallet out of his jeans, and I couldn't help but notice his broad shoulders. He had filled out nicely in the last few years, and he was attractive in a pretty boy, “I'm better than everybody” kinda way.
