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“So what have you been up to?” he continues.
I know he is smiling at me, but somehow it is really hard to look up at him. It’s like doing a swan dive backward in time. Right back into a memory where we lived in the same house… Laughed at the same things… Watched movies and played stupid games…
But life is so different now. What can I say? It seems pointless to even try.
“Wow, three years seems impossible,” he mumbles, as though reading my mind. “Like, it all just seems like yesterday…”
“Well, here’s your double shot,” I offer awkwardly, sliding the small porcelain cup across the counter to him. His fingers cover mine for just a moment, resting easily on the back of my knuckles as he takes the drink. When he takes his hand away, I practically expect to see his fingerprints tattooed on my skin.
“So...uh, what’s new?” I chirp brightly, hoping to lighten the mood and maybe keep my cheeks from going completely pink for reasons I don’t understand.
“Oh, let’s see,” he smirks, tipping the tiny coffee cup to his lips. I hear the liquid gently slurping into his mouth, a sound that strikes me as ridiculously sensual. I can vividly imagine the bitterness coating his tongue, the heat invading the space between his cheeks and teeth.
“Well, Jack and I are fathers now,” he murmurs nonchalantly, immediately snapping me out of my vivid visualization of the inside of his mouth.
“I’m sorry… you’re what now?” I stammer. “You’re fathers? As in, both of you?”
He smiles with that gotcha expression he uses for punchlines and other moments of cleverness.
“Oh, I love kids!” Janet coos, taking my temporary muteness as an opportunity to insert herself into the conversation. “Does he look like you?”
Chance gives her a polite smile, then turns back and winks at me. He knows she’s being rude. He knows I don’t like it. As a gesture of loyalty, he’s going to blow her off.
Man, I have missed this guy!
“Yeah, go figure… Jack and I do something at the same time, right? Like that has never happened before?”
Still, I feel a little woozy and hold onto the counter for support. My cheeks are so hot I’m sure that I am blushing, and I can even feel the space where my boobs touch underneath my bra. I’m hot. Sweaty.
“But… kids? I just can’t even imagine it.”
“Yep, two boys!” He nods, and I can see the pride in his expression. “Ned and Matthew. I think you would like them. But I might be biased…”
Janet leans in again, then just as quickly she pushes herself away. I hear the bell on the front door clang lightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Janet pick up a rag out of the bucket of sanitizer and begin wiping like it’s a normal activity for her that she does on her own, without me ever asking or anything. Yeah, right.
Ronnie doesn’t even break his stride as he walks toward Chance and me, but I see the suspicious, edgy expression on his face. He walks right up to Chance, a little too close, and knocks on the counter in front of me.
“Hey, babe,” he sniffs possessively. “You almost done?”
Chance smiles in a friendly way, blatantly ignoring Ronnie’s icy demeanor. It’s weird to see them next to each other. Chance is at least four inches taller. Broader in the shoulder. Thicker neck. Thicker hair, come to think of it. It’s like seeing the before and after picture in some graphic novel about superheroes. If only Ronnie could get that radioactive bug bite, he might have a chance of being as much of a presence.
“Oh, hey, Ronnie… This is Chance,” I stammer.
Chance pivots, sticking out his hand with an open grin. Ronnie squints and takes his hand, and I see the veins and tendons on the back pop out when tries to withstand what must be Chance’s crushing grip. Poor guy.
“Ronnie… It’s Chance? My stepbrother?”
“Oh!” Ronnie flinches, adjusting his expression to be slightly less possessive and jerky. “Chance! Well, of course! I certainly didn’t think that my girl Chelsea was giggling and batting her eyes at some stranger! Good to meet you!”
Chance shoots me a diagonal look before finishing the required handshake and shrugging slightly.
“Nice to meet you too,” he nods, turning back toward me.
“So, hey, we are just in Lake Geneva. Do you ever get up north? We’d love to get reacquainted.”
I start to answer, but Ronnie cuts me off. “Oh, we hardly ever get out of the city,” Ronnie sniffs. “Coffee shop is usually pretty busy on the weekends. Chelsea manages it pretty well! You should be proud!”
Chance holds my gaze for an extra half beat, his silvery blue eyes taking a measure of me, I can feel it. I can almost hear his thoughts, the way he’s comparing Ronnie’s compliment to my education degree. The way he’s assessing that I might be quite responsible for the coffee
