“Hey,” Hannah calls as I get home. “Something arrived for you.”
“From who?” I ask, taking off my coat.
Hannah tilts her chin. “Who do you think?”
“What is it?”
She grins. “It’s on the table.”
I take three steps before spotting the bouquet of flowers in varying shades of purple. Weeks ago, while doing homework, a football game was on in the background. Nolan asked me to pick what team would win, and I picked the team with the purple jerseys, telling him it was my favorite color. I don’t know if he remembered or if it’s a happy coincidence, but something in my gut assures me it’s the initial. As Nolan had pointed out, even in the beginning, there was something between us, something greater than either of us—something that makes being apart nearly unbearable.
“That’s not all,” Hannah says, stepping beside me. She points at the wrapped box on the chair. A card is crudely Duct Taped to the top.
“Is it a prank?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Nolan’s pretty smart when it comes to social cues. I don’t think he’d pull a prank right now.”
I open the card to read it first:
Since I’m not here to warm them up.
-Nolan
With my brow furrowed, I tear open the wrapping and discover a box covered in layers of Duct Tape.
“He has to know it’s too soon, right?” Hannah asks, looking less confident as I grab a pair of scissors from the knife block.
I slice open the box and find a dozen pairs of holiday print socks inside that Hannah laughs at as she rifles through the box. But that ache in my chest has returned with a vengeance, feeling like it’s about to swallow me whole.
With my heart beating unevenly, I text Nolan.
Me: Thank you for the flowers and socks.
Nolan: It’s going to be cold tonight. You might need to wear two pairs.
I wouldn’t if he were here.
* * *
I wake up with the startling realization that today is going to be a doozy. Not only do I have to give my final speech today for the first time, but I’m also going to be seeing Nolan in our shared global business class.
I get ready and head downstairs. Over the past several weeks, I’ve begun waking up earlier to have a few extra minutes with Nolan before he leaves. The house is quiet, and the basement door taunts me as I prepare the coffee pot.
I hate that he’s gone.
The doorbell rings, startling me out of my thoughts. It’s loud enough to wake the house. I cross to the front door, hope making each of my footsteps lighter as I look out the window to see who would show up at this hour.
Nolan isn’t outside. No one is.But a bag is sitting by the front door.
I unlock the door and grab the bag that I take with me to the kitchen table where I unpack the same pancakes, breakfast sandwich, and biscuits and gravy that Nolan had ordered when making his first truce following the prank with Lenny.
Katie appears, eyes still blurry. Like me, she needs coffee when she first wakes up.
“You didn’t stay at Carsen’s?” I ask.
Carsen appears behind her, looking at me and then at Katie. “She looks fine to me.”
Katie elbows him, eliciting a grunt.