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Gray areas like E’s disappearance are why I fell apart all those years ago. Back then, it was like I blacked out and woke up in an alternate world where he never existed. I analyzed our interactions, playing them over and over, searching for some kind of clue as to why he left or where he went. All I got for my efforts were headaches and a foul mood to match.
A familiar obsessiveness knots my mind today.
Instead of heading home as usual, I drive to Ricky’s, cursing Naomi the whole way. If I want to sleep tonight, unraveling this mystery isn’t optional. If I want to do my job properly, I need answers. Which means I’m not leaving Ricky’s until I learn what ridiculous grudge has fueled Naomi’s antagonism this long.
chapterthree
Avett
Like me, Ricky lives in a colorful home in the heart of historic Windfall. His Victorian-inspired house is light blue with white trim. Mine is purple and yellow, just a few streets over, a slice of beautiful real estate my folks own and let me rent for cheap.
From my spot on Ricky’s front porch, I wave every few minutes to neighbors arriving home or walking their dogs along the hickory-lined streets.
“Beautiful night,” Alexa Martinez calls from next door. “If you’re waiting for Ricky, he’s still at the Wheeler house, working on their cabinets.”
“Thanks for the intel.” I lean into the rocking chair Ricky built, letting its swaying calm me. “Just enjoying the night while I wait.”
She waves and opens her door, releasing sounds of her grunting pug Petunia and her three kids into the warm, spring air.
As I wait, two more people fill me in on Ricky’s evening activities, including the fact that he recently stopped for a burger at the Smash Shack. My stomach rumbles at the thought of those juicy burgers and crispy onion rings.
When Ricky’s truck finally pulls into his driveway, he gets out with two paper bags. “Heard you were here. Figured you might be hungry.”
Living in a thimble-sized town with nosy inhabitants has its perks. “Did you get hot peppers on my burger?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
“And onion rings?”
“I hope that’s rhetorical.”
Man, do I love this guy. I usually stick to a healthy diet, but Smash Shack burgers are too good to turn down. We hunker down on his porch, him on the bench he built, me leaning forward on the rocking chair, burger juice dripping down our chins as we cram our faces with the best burgers and rings in North Carolina.
When we come up for air, he wipes his mouth with a napkin and sips his soda. “Why are you here midweek?”
It’s not a rude question. Ricky just knows my schedule.
I run daily between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. During the week I grab coffee at Sugar and Sips, then I work at the clinic from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and TV or reading. I see my grandmother every Saturday morning for a game of cribbage and her usual ribbing. Saturday nights I hang out with friends, when I’m not on call at the clinic. Sundays are for filling in my spreadsheets and tracking finances, and once a month I go for dinner at my folks’, where my sister nags me about my stagnant love life and our mother cooks mountains of food.
After E disappeared, seeking predictability became my coping mechanism. After the shit that went down during college, steady routine became the cornerstones of my life.
Routine which Naomi is obliterating. “I’m shaking things up,” I tell Ricky.
“Something happen at work?”
I crumple my wrapper and shove it into my paper bag. “Work was fine.”WhenI wasn’t distracted and forgetting to remove ticks. “You actually said something this morning that surprised me, and I wanted to ask about it.”
“Was it the part where I said I was looking forward to you and Naomi murdering each other with your eyes tomorrow?”
I give him the finger. “No, but it’s related.”
“Huh.” He leans back into his bench and clasps his hands behind his head. “I can’t believe this day has finally come.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What day?”
“The day you finally admit you’ve got it bad for Naomi.”
The asshole must have gotten a concussion at work. “If by having it bad you mean I despise Naomi and every poisonous word out of her serpent mouth, then sure—I have it bad.”
