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Maybe he can bring it… or take me to it.
With those two solutions in mind, neither sounding better than walking over a mile in heels, I placed the call from my call log. Silently, I cringed at the fact that I’d called so many times on the same day. Nevertheless, I waited on the phone as the line began to ring, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
Once.
Twice.
Three times, it rang before I tucked in my bottom lip, tasting the strawberry gloss that was left.
Four.
Five times it rang and then rolled over to voicemail.
Defeated, I ended the call and pushed my phone into the side pocket of my purse for easy access. I refused the blisters that would accompany me if I walked in the heels I wore. Instead, I rummaged through my purse for the extra pair of socks that I was certain were inside. I’d been meaning to remove them since Nelson and I had gone bowling. However, I was extremely happy I hadn’t gone through with it.
Instead of starting my journey immediately, I spared myself the shame by waiting until the parking lot was partially cleared and the sun began to settle before taking off toward the end of the parking lot with my heels dangling on my index and middle fingers. I placed my phone up to my ear and pretended to be knee deep in a conversation as I strolled, hoping no one felt pity, and stopped to talk to me. At the moment, I had no words.
The vibration against my face as I reached the edge of the parking lot startled me. I lowered the phone as I changed direction, taking a right to continue my journey. The unknown, yet very familiar, number that appeared sent chills down my spine. My heart began to hurt as my eyes started to burn with tears.
Not again, I begged them.
Being strong while your world was crashing down all around you was easier said than done. I couldn’t manage to keep it together for more than a few hours at a time. Though I didn’t want to answer the phone in the state I was in, the pain in my chest wouldn’t allow me to let it ring out.
“Hello?”
“You flodgin’ on that phone for what?” His voice was smooth and somehow reassuring.
Swiping my face with the back of my hand I shrugged. “So no one will—wait.”
It dawned on me. If he knew I was pretending on my cell, it meant he was near.
“Where are you?”
“Behind you. Turn around and dry your fucking face, Mommas.”
Doing as I was told, I turned to find the truck that had rescued me hours prior, rescuing me again.
“Did you drive all the way back up here to pick me up?” I asked, needing to know the truth, needing to feel like someone cared enough. Even if it was a stranger.
“I never left,” he admitted. “Come get in the truck. Rest your bones.”
The line went dead. Though I’d been given instructions, somehow, my brain wasn’t aligning with the rest of my body. I couldn’t move. I was stuck in place, wondering where this man had come from and why he was as thoughtful as he was.
Maybe his mother would be proud of him, I concluded, realizing she’d raised a decent man.
“You gon’ get in this motherfucker or what?”
This time, he didn’t feel so far. I could smell the mixture of cologne on his skin and the mintiness on his tongue. Fine hairs on the nape of my neck and the center of my back stood. The shoes that dangled from my fingers slid off with ease. Then, there were his footsteps, putting distance between us, again, increasing my heart rate at the same time.
Standing beside the door with it wide open, he welcomed me into his personal space once more. Still, I couldn’t move. I knew that I would and I desperately wanted to but the weight of my world wouldn’t allow it. For what felt like the hundredth time, I swiped the tears from my eyes.
“Come ’er,” he commanded, yet contradicted himself by coming closer to me.
I was paralyzed. Immobile. Unable to move.
His arms spread wide, spanning for miles it seemed, before his chest brushed against my cheek. They surrounded me quickly after, those long, never-ending arms of his. I unraveled inside the perimeter he’d created, clinging to his shirt as if it were my only chance of survival in the midst of a tsunami.
Body to body, we stood at the edge of the parking lot, neither in a hurry to part. Because I understood my burdens weren’t his to carry or hold for even a little while, I released myself from his grasp. It was possibly the hardest thing I’d done all day. I could feel my heart shattering in my chest as I did so. Though he was a stranger, I knew he had the ability to take the pain away—momentarily.
