I turn to two women behind the cash register. “Where is the man who owns that jacket? Has he ordered yet? What does he look like?” I repeat urgently.
“Umm,” one of the young women stumbles, “I-I’m not sure. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, just think. Where is he?” I nearly shout at her. The whole place is looking at me when the bathroom door opens and a man comes out, checking his belt.
“That’s him,” the girl at the table calls out.
“It that your blue jacket?” I ask the man.
“Yes,” he answers.
Oh, God. I rub my head.What the hell was that, Savi?Talk about freaking out. I shake my head, feeling stupid.
“I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.” I start toward the door but look back.
“Excuse me,” I call out to him, “are you wearing a red hat today?”
“No, green.” He holds it up.
My stomach drops when I look at his jacket again. It’s different. It’s a pea coat. The other guy’s was a ski jacket. Shit.
I push the door open as someone steps in front of me. I hold the door for them, but they don’t move. I look up and see Paul peering down at me.Oh, shit…
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m sorry, I thought—” I shake my head. I don’t want to say I think I saw Jose Jorge. I’ll sound crazy, and they’ll probably add an extra hour to Dr. Roberts’s sessions. “I’m sorry.”
“You are damn lucky I found you when I did. Cole is—”
“You called Cole?” I snap. “I’ve been gone what, five minutes?”
“No, I called Keith, and you were gone fifteen.”
“Keith!” I toss my hands in the air as I walk around him. “That’s even worse!”
“How is that worse?” He hurries to catch up. “Look, you can’t run off on me like that.”
I stop and turn to him. “I didn’t run off on you. I just thought—” I shake my head. “Look, it won’t happen again. I’m sorry. Can we just forget about this?”
“Fine.”
Lunch goes fairly well after I dodge twenty questions about what happened. Dr. Roberts isn’t buying it, but at least he leaves it alone for now. He and Abigail appear much more relaxed with each other, and they both seem to be looking forward to tomorrow night’s dinner. I slowly come off my adrenaline rush, but the image of blue coat, red hat guy is burned into my memory. Somewhere deep down inside there’s a part of me that thinks it could be him.
Abigail fills me in on their conversation while I was away from the table. I guess he’s wanted to see her for a while now, but wasn’t sure if she felt the same way. Her face is positively glowing. I’ve never seen her so happy before. She hugs me as we walk to the car, thanking me for tomorrow night. The rest of the drive, she prattles on about this and that. I keep catching Paul watching me in the mirror.
Sinking into the couch while Abigail tells June about our day, I glance at all the bags, thinking I should probably get started with the decorating, but I don’t get up. Instead, I close my eyes, needing a minute to think. I hear someone clear their throat, and open my eyes to find Keith looking down at me. His arms are crossed, and he has the look of death on his face.
I hold up my arm. “Go ahead. Chip me.” He rolls his eyes.
“Oh, boy, would I love to,” he snickers. “Are you insane?”
“Possibly.” I sigh, covering my face with my arms. “Does Cole know?”
“Yes.”Of course.“He was there when Paul called.”
“And on a scale of one to ten?” I ask, peeking out.
“It was ten, but now I’d say an eight.”