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I racked my brain trying to figure out what I could have said that would get on her nerves. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I got.
If she has a problem why won't she just tell me what it is?
It was driving me crazier than I thought it would. A long tongue swept over my cheek and I groaned.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm supposed to be feeding you guys."
I got back to work taking care of my chores, but my mind stayed on Joanne. It felt like she was slipping away again and there was nothing I could do about it. I at least wanted to stay friends with her. It had been great reconnecting and getting to know each other all over again. That's what I wanted more than anything even if she was leaving.
Okay, stop thinking about it. I had to stop letting her cloud my mind every five minutes. She didn't want to deal with me and I had stuff to do.
It bothered me though. As much as I wanted to pretend that it didn't, it did. Every woman I'd ever dealt with including Joanne had disappeared and left me on my own. It was a pattern that I was used to seeing, but that didn't make it okay.
I thought about what Dan said. Maybe I needed to go over and say something to her at least. I had given her more than enough space to deal with her problems and I didn't want her to leave and I didn't get a chance to say something to her. I figured she had another week to go, but I wanted to do it now.
Once all the chores were taken care of I decided to just drive in and see her. She would probably be happy to have some company. Maybe she's just distant because she's having a bad week. Or she really is overly busy.
I tapped the steering wheel as I drove. The closer I got the more I forgot about the problems and realized I was just happy that I would get to see her. That smile she wore when she looked at me made me want to hug her until she popped. I grinned at the thought of her telling me to get off while I hugged her until she laughed.
When I pulled up, I froze. The outside of her house was busy. A moving truck sat in the driveway and she walked outside to point around directing them. Her car had boxes and bags packed into the backseat and as I watched she stuffed one last bag into her trunk and slammed it closed. I climbed out of my truck.
"Jo, what are you doing?" I asked.
She looked startled for a minute before her face went back to being almost blank. She opened the back seat and pushed some things over. Once she'd made space, she asked one of the movers to stick a box back there. They worked together to get it to fit before she slammed the door and wiped a hand across her forehead.
"Hey," she said quietly. "Just packing everything up."
"I can see that. I didn't think you'd have everything together so quickly though."
Joanne shrugged. "I need to get a move on. Everything's just about done."
"I came to see if you needed any help."
She shook her head. "Nope, like I said I'm almost done now. There are a few more boxes and a little cleaning, but then I'm going to be going."
I stared at her. "You're going? You mean you're leaving already?"
"Yeah," she said slowly. "That was the plan, remember? I clean this place up, get it up for sale and then go back home. That was always the plan."
The way she said it made me think she was trying to convince herself that, not me. I frowned as she wouldn't look at me, her eyes on the ground. What the hell is going on? I stepped forward and she moved back.
"Joanne, what the hell?" I muttered. "I knew you were going back, but why didn't you tell me it was going to be so soon? Why didn't you tell me anything? Lately, all I get is a one or two-word response from you and that's it. What's going on?"
"Nothing," she said as she sighed. "Like I said I was busy."
"I get that you were busy. I get that. The problem is that I offered to come help, offered to take you out to get something to eat, just checked on you and you dismissed all of it. Now you're taking off without a word?"
She stared up at me. "What does it matter? We both have our own lives. It's not that big of a deal."
She turned and started walking away, but I wasn't about to let her just say something so stupid and keep going. Last time I'd watched her walk away and never said a word. Not this time. The anger that built up in my chest felt like it was choking me, but I refused to back down. How could she just shut me out like it was no big deal?
"It is a big deal," I said as I followed her into the house. "You can't just hop back into someone's life and then take off again when it suits you. That's bullshit, Jo and you know it. Why the hell would you not tell me anything? I think I at least deserve a good-bye or something!"
Joanne scoffed. "Excuse me? I don't owe you anything."
"Not even a goodbye?" I asked. "Not even five minutes out of your busy day to say that you're going? I mean, I'm not asking much here."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, it was just going to get emotional and messy if I did that. Besides, we haven't seen each other in years and you've been doing just fine. You didn't need me then and you don't need me now. Just let me go."
