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He nodded but carried on packing, his face tight and closed off.
“I’m sorry about all that,” I said, meaning my behavior, the way I’d acted.
Again, he said nothing.
But he took his jacket, then his bag and said to me, “You should have told me the truth. We’ve known each other for what, fifteen years? You couldn’t be honest?”
Ah, man, the Germans where so correct. Even Felix, it seemed, had a rule book for friendships.
“Listen, Felix…”
“No,” Felix shook his head. “I thought we were friends. Maybe we were once, but we’ve moved on, right? That happens.”
“No,” I said, trying to fix what was coming undone right in front of my eyes.
“Wait, Felix! We are friends, come on, you can’t think that this…what happened… changed any of that?”
He looked at me, a strange mix of pity and dislike in his eyes. “You have changed,” he said, softly.
“You are not who you used to be.”
“Of course not!” I called out. “I’ve grown up, we all have. But we are still friends!”
“No,” Felix said carefully. “Not anymore.”
Then he walked out the door and down the stairs. I should have gone after him but his words had a curious effect on me, paralyzing me. I didn’t want to face him again, continue this conversation. If he wanted to go like this, it was fine by me. He’d hardly been blameless in the whole affair. Typical of him not to want to take any responsibility for his actions. He knew the kind of pressure I was under.
I went to take a shower and thought about Evie, how good it felt to feel her skin against me again.
Chapter 19
Evie
“Aren’t you going to work?” Luisa asks me the next morning, when I come out of my room after nine, still dressed in my pajamas.
“Nope,” I say.
She frowns, looks at me suspiciously. “You don’t look sick?”
“I’m not,” I say and then give a big grin. “I just quit.”
She stares at me. “Why?”
“Long story,” I say, not keen to get into it now. “Not a good fit? Isn’t that what the HR people always say?”
Luisa looks at me like I’m going insane. Maybe I am. I’m certainly acting out of character. But then she grabs her things, “What are you doing today?”
“No plans,” I say and she asks if I can do her a favor. She was supposed to do the shopping for her granny but she has a busy day and could I help her out?
“Of course,” I say.
“You’re an angel!” Relief spreads across Luisa’s face, but then she becomes serious again.
“I’ll text you the list. It’s not a lot, but she gets certain things from certain shops, like the chorizo from the deli. I’ll share the location with you. Don’t try to get it from Costco, ok? She’ll know and give you hell!”
I can’t help but smile at the thought of such a difficult old lady.
Soon after Luisa left, I got a call from Jill from HumanITy.
