Idon’t thinkI’vebreathed since my gasp and my hand is still on my mouth. “Areyou okay?Didyou get a concussion?”
“Nope!Noconcussion,”Livisays, way too cheerfully. “Iknow because we went to the hospital to check.And, of course, whenFelipe’sparents were telling the story to the doctor, they called me ‘the help’ and once were alone in the room, his mom turned to me and apologized for it by saying, ‘Youunderstand that we couldn’t show more of a connection to someone who would be caught in such a compromising situation.’”
“Shedidn’t,”Isay.
“Shetotally did.Felipehas always been such a great guy!Sodiscovering that he has parents like that was completely unexpected.SoIplaced my hand on my bruised hip— which was at least covered with a hospital gown by then— and responded to his mom with, ‘Itlooks like we both got to see a side of each other today that we didn’t expect to see.’”
Andthen she starts laughing and it’s so contagious thatMaggieandIstart laughing, too.Luckily, we are in front of an empty lot, because they aren’t the quietest laughs.
WhenLivimanages to catch her breath, she says, “Hismom stormed out of the room, followed closely by his dad, and thenFelipesays, ‘Youknow we have to break up, right?’SoIresponded with, ‘It’sokay.I’vealways wanted a dramatic exit story.’AndthenIget up to dramatically exit andIremember thatI’mstill in the hospital gown and so my backside is, once again, exposed.”Andthen she starts laughing even harder and so do we.
Whenour laughing finally dies down,Irub a hand in a circle on her back. “Soare you okay?”
“Yes.Thehead and hip feel fine, the doctor certified meA-okay physically, and althoughIreally likedFelipe,Iknew he wasn’t forever material.Iknew that this day was coming—Ijust didn’t know yet thatFelipewould be the one ending it.Oh, and there’s this cute guyIwork with whoIthinkImight be interested in…”
“Ofcourse, there is,”Isay and wrap my arms around her in a giant hug.I’vebeen her best friend long enough to see her through dozens of breakups, soIknow that tonight will suck, tomorrow and the next day she’ll be a little melancholy, but then she’ll bounce right back to normal quickly.Shealways does.
“ButI’mhappy for you that you’ll be seeingJaceagain!” she says.
“Me, too,”Isay, becauseIam.Ijust hope that it’s the right choice.
CHAPTER15
THE TABLES HAVE TURNED
JACE
Icrouch down in front ofRoxyand rub the fur on the sides of her neck, just like she likes. “You’resuch a patient girl.Iswear we will go on a much longer walk in just a minute.”
Then, toCharlie,Isay, “Willyou tellGiannathank you again for letting us borrow her dog?”
Giannamust be nearby becauseIhear some muffled talking through my earpiece beforeCharliesays, “Giannatold me to tell you that she guarantees that ifRoxycould talk, she would be saying ‘Thankyou for coming to get me,UncleJace.Ilove yousooooomuch.’”
It’sfaint, butIcan hearGiannasay, “That’snot whatIsaid.”
“Closeenough,”Charliesays. “Differentwords; same sentiment.”
Thebrindle and white greyhound is a great dog, andIwould take her anywhere, anytime.Well, anywhere that would be safe for her, at least.It’shard to have a dog when you’ve got the kinds of unpredictable schedules we’ve got, but somehow,Giannahas found a way to make it work.Giannais a friend and has let me hang out withRoxylots of times before, but this is the first timeI’veused the dog for a mission.
WhenIshowed up atMackenzie’swork onMonday, she’d said she was free at seven, butIknew she got off earlier than that.SoIchecked with herFBIshadows, and they confirmed that she went on a walk right after work and that she likes to take the exact same path each time.IfIcould tell her whoIam and howIknow that information,Iwould definitely tell her to vary her pattern.It’ssafer.
Buther predictability is working in my favor today.
“Howdo you thinkMackenzieis going to respond when she sees you?”Charlieasks through my earpiece.
“Idon’t know.Ihad such a hard time getting a read on her last night.Therewere timesIthought things were going well and times whenIwas sure they weren’t.”Butthere were also times whenIalmost completely forgot thatIwas on a mission and just let myself be me, and thenIwould remember and try to pull back.I’mnot sureIwas in the clearest frame of mind to judge well.
Theuncertainty about how she feels is whyIwasn’t willing to risk asking to see her again today—Iwas too worried that she’d say no, which would mean thatI’dhave to find another way to be around her, and awkwardness lies in that direction.SoIopted for showing up randomly and hoping for the best.
“Whatwas your take?”
Charlieheard the entire date through my earpiece and saw most of it through my button camera.I’mused toCharliebeing with me on every mission and seeing any mistakesImake.Butit’s a different story when the mission isMackenzie.Specifically,Mackenzieand me on a date.EspeciallysinceI’mdeveloping some serious feelings for the woman.Ifeel likeI’mbeing judged on my ability to woo a woman.
No, that’s not it—I’vebeen on plenty of missions where its success relies on me wooing a woman.It’smore likeI’mbeing judged on my ability to be a good date.Ittakes me right back to the time whenIaskedMelissaWorthingtonon a date to the movies, butIdidn’t have my driver’s license yet, so my parents drove us and sat three rows behind us.
“Ithink she’s going to tell you to leave,”Charliesays.
Oh, no.
