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As she rushed out of my bedroom door to head downstairs, I knew I needed to follow her. She would either get to the kitchen and forget what she had wanted to do, or she’d start cooking and leave the pans on the stove.
I sighed as I stared at the last page of the album. It was a picture of Gregory and me the day he graduated from boot camp. His parents had brought me with them to see it, and I’d never been so proud of him. I also hadn’t thought that he could ever get more handsome, but he had. Man—had he!
As I set the album down and went to find my mother and prevent a disaster, I wondered what Greg would have done if I had kissed him goodbye. I had been very tempted to do so, and the only thing that stopped me was knowing that one kiss with that man and I would be opening myself back up to heartbreak. He had told me straight out that he would never be available for anything more, and I had to accept that.
I helped my mother get dinner ready and somehow managed to get Greg out of my mind as we ate and cleaned up. After dinner, Mom and I went out to the front porch like we did many nights. While she sat on the porch swing, I weeded the flower garden while she talked about memories that she had. Of course, those memories she thought were brand new and would jump from year to year in a matter of minutes. Sometimes it was rather enlightening; other times, it was depressing. Tonight, it kept reminding me how short life could be and as I finally got my mom settled for the night, I curled up in bed with the photo album and took another trip down memory lane.
* * *
Iwas at work the next day when I received a phone call from Detective Highmore on my office line.
“Ms. Valor, we know who the other man is now.”
“You do? Do you have him in custody?”
“No, we don’t have him in custody yet, but we now have a good lead.”
“Okay, that’s good to hear. I appreciate you letting me know. What is his name?”
“Jefferson Lenard Bunker. Um, I tried to call Mr. Blaire but got his voicemail. Will you be talking to him today?”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, I got the impression that you two were a couple. Alright, I will try to get ahold of Mr. Blaire later then. I will let you know if we hear anything else.”
“Alright, thank you, Detective.”
“You’re welcome; also, you can come by later today and get your phone.”
“Great, thank you. I’ll be by soon to get it.”
Now, wasn’t it funny that he had thought Greg and I were a couple, and Len had even suggested that we had known each other too? Why did people automatically believe that we were together?
My desk phone rang, and I set that line of questioning aside to answer it.
“Who was the hottie in the picture with you yesterday?” my friend Heather said as soon as I answered.
“You saw that, huh?”
“Um, yeah! Was he like your personal savior or something?”
“No, an old friend.”
“Friend? Is that why you didn’t make it to the speed dating last night?”
I slapped my palm to my forehead. “Holy crap! I’m so sorry, Heather. I completely forgot about it! After yesterday’s drama and spending a few hours at the police station, it slipped my mind.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. I tried to text you like a dozen times. Then I thought you’d already had your speed dating while you were on lockdown in Cocoa’s.”
“No, definitely not.” I chuckled. “It was a long day, and it slipped my mind, and as for my cellphone, the police still have it. I can get it back later today.”
“Well, you didn’t miss too much. I mean, there were a couple of interesting people there, but no one that grabbed my heartstrings and tugged.”
“Glad I didn’t miss much. When do they do it again?”
“They have it there every Monday night, so if you want to try and not get kidnapped next Monday, I will give it another try with you.”
“That sounds like a plan, but remind me tomorrow after I get my phone back to put it on my calendar. I’m lost without my phone right now.” We both laughed, and I told her I’d talk to her later.
