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“I’m not working Ma,” I replied as she asked me once more what I could possibly be busy with.
“Levi? Have you seen my— Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were on the phone,” Thea said as she came into the kitchen dressed in a pair of shorts and an oversized sweater.
I missed seeing her in my clothes.
“Who are you with?” my mother barked from the other end of the phone.
I covered the speaker with my hand as I looked at her and sighed, “Give me a second?”
She nodded and turned around.
“Mom, I really gotta go,” I said. “Tell dad I’m sorry about the game, and that I’ll make it up to him. Bye.”
I hung up before she could say anything else, but deep down, I knew that that wasn’t the end of this conversation.
“Is everything okay? I’m not keeping you away from anything important am I?” Thea asked, as she grabbed an apple out of the ceramic bowl on her counter and polished it with the sleeve of her sweater.
More important than her? My father and his golfing buddies could wait.
“No, it’s fine, my father’s just been bored out of his mind since he retired.”
“What did he do?” she asked, taking a bite out of her apple.
“He was lawyer.”
“A lawyer? And he retired? That usually only happens for two reasons; he was either kicked out of the firm, or his health got the best of him.”
The moment she said it her eyes went wide and she looked at me— “Shit. I’m so sorry. I have no filter.”
“It’s okay, honestly. Besides, you’re right. He had a heart attack last year, and my mother put her foot down.”
She stood there, staring at the ground, unable to meet my gaze. She was clearly embarrassed by her outburst, and self-conscious about what she should do next. Pulling her into my arms, I kissed her forehead. “It’s fine.” I told her once more. “Besides, I’m more interested in knowing how you could have guessed that.”
“My mother used to be a lawyer. She left her firm because of health reasons too, but believe me, she put up a hell of a fight,” she said as she shook her head.
“What was her name?” I asked, curious now. “Maybe I’ve heard of her.”
“Maybe,” she shrugged, wiggling out of my hands and going over to the fridge.
I noticed there was an invisible line with her. She was willing to talk about herself and her sister, but that was where it ended. She didn’t give me too many details about anything. She was trying to keep me outside of her bubble… after all, we only had three days left. Yet still, I couldn’t help but want to know more about her.
Where had the time gone?
“I was thinking that I’d head down to the farmers’ market really quick, before I headed over to your place. You can hang out—”
“I’ll come with you.” I said
She balked, “That’s okay—”
“Thea,” I stated cupping the side of her face, “give me a minute to throw on a shirt, and then we can both go out together. We have three days left, so no running away from me. I want to make the most of our time.”
“I wasn’t running, I just thought you might want some space or something.”
“If I wanted space, I wouldn’t be coming to your place every other day,” I said softly, pressing against her. “And I sure as hell wouldn’t be this close to you. When we get back change into my shirt.”
“Someone is getting demanding,” she noted, looking at my lips.
“Someone is liking it,” I replied, biting her bottom lip before moving away from her.
