Where to Belong

by W.J. Smith

CHAPTER THREE

  I See You

  It was late in the morning when she finally awoke. The street below her window sounded busy with the mixture of raised voices and steady traffic. Madison took her time getting up. Victor was no help as he offered a fleeting bit of warmth against her back.

  Before heading to the market for groceries, she checked with her neighbor one door down. Dafne was an elderly German woman whom lived alone. She didn't get out much with the colder weather, so Madison volunteered to add her list to her own on her regular grocery trips. This trip only took on a few extra items, fresh fruit and vegetables.

  Two trains later she was at her favorite market area. There were plenty of places to get groceries in her neighborhood, but she had grown fond of a little store just off the Magnificent Mile. Not only did she find everything on her list, there was always something new to discover. The store offered home deliveries for both call-in and on-line orders, but she thoroughly enjoyed each trip there. She felt like a kid in a candy store every time she set foot in the establishment.

  The grocery list was tackled easily and well within budget. To celebrate, Madison chose a few additional things she had been considering from past browsing. She talked herself into some homemade tamales and a small wheel of locally made, sharp cheddar. A can of organic cat food even made it into her basket.

  As she was waiting in line at the register, she again got the feeling that she was being watched. She ignored it at first, telling herself she was being paranoid. But after flipping through a magazine, the feeling remained. She scanned the area around her and even stared out the wide-open double doors. Nothing seemed out of place.

  The cashier had to repeat her greeting to gain Madison's attention. She talked lightly with the younger woman in hopes to push out the nagging feeling. The teenager bagging her purchases joined in the conversation as he sorted the items so as to fit them all within two paper bags, as usual. He normally helped carry her groceries to the bus stop if the store wasn't too busy, but they were packed today.

  Though she was by herself as she walked towards the stop, she still felt she wasn't truly alone. Madison carefully set the two bags down, avoiding the puddles of slush, and kept her back to the waiting shelter. She held her place for a few minutes before deciding she needed to keep moving.

  The feeling didn't subside as she kept pace with the pedestrian traffic. She made her way into the busier part of the shopping area where she was shoulder to shoulder with the people around her. Her course wound through the complex as she went in stores through one set of doors and out another. She didn't slow until she reached the far end of the widespread row of shops.

  Madison turned down a side hall that was marked for employees only and paused, shifting to hide behind a sale banner. She breathlessly watched each passing person. Everyone appeared to be well occupied with taking in all the offered venders. Individuals wove through the crowds, couples walked closely and unhindered by the congested walkways, and families strolled on. No one seemed to notice her spying from the alley as if she were just another part of the snow dusted scenery.

  She gave herself a good chiding as she merged back into the flow of the bundled peoples. Her anxious pulse returned to normal, and she began to feel the full weight of her carried bags. She adjusted her hold on them and nearly ran into the woman in front of her who had stopped to retrieve her wandering child. The blushing mom apologized for the close call. Madison easily assured her all was well.

  A small sidestep got her back on her way. She went a short distance and then the feeling come flooding back. She was being watched. The notion was unbearable and she spun around to face it head on. Her breath caught as she met those blue eyes she could never forget.

  "Skyler?" She last laid eyes on him the day after Morgan's death. Skyler himself was released from the back-alley hospital with stitches tracing the vicious knife wound across his chest. She had dropped him off at his girlfriend's house with the promise to return as soon as she cleared their own home of all indications of them and Morgan. Instead, either driven by grief or fear, or both, she hopped the first of many mind-boggling flights zigzagging across the country.

  The fair skinned man with jet black hair gave a smile of recognition. "Madison, is that you?"

  The two stood awestruck for several breaths completely unaware of the traffic jam they were causing. Madison could only stare in disbelief at the man she knew she would never see again.

  "It's so good to see you," Skyler started again. "You look great."

  Madison shook her head to recover from her speechlessness. "You too! You're here, in Chicago? What a small world."

  He flashed his all too familiar smile and gave a nod. "Small world," he agreed in a hushed tone. "Let me help you with those." Skyler reached without awaiting her answer and took one of her bags. He gestured for a clearing a short ways down from them, "It's dangerous to stand in the middle of these sidewalks, we're going to get run over."

  She followed his lead as he slipped through the parade of people and to a far less crowded breezeway. She was still in a bit of a stupor as she grasped the fact that he was actually here, right in front of her. He looked just as she remembered, if not a little more clean cut and matured in the gray slacks and a long, black coat.

  "What brings you to town?" she posed as he turned back to her. "Are you planning on being here long?"

  "I'm here on business. It depends on the success of a current project as for how long I'll stay. You?"

  "I live here. Well, I live in Little Italy, not too far from here." She gestured over her shoulder, assuming the way home from where they were standing.

  "I've been there," he said with another nod. "Good food."

  "Very good food," she laughed.

  "Speaking of," Skyler shifted and gazed about the plaza, "I was just on my way to grab some coffee. Would you like to join me?"

  Madison smiled and answered without hesitating, "Of course," then frowned and looked at the bags of groceries. "Oh, I can't stay for long. I need to get these in the fridge."

  "I'll take what I can get. How about we get the coffee to go and I drive you home?"

  She gazed at him and wanted to snatch up his offer. Yet, a part of her felt guilty for agreeing to the coffee in the first place. She didn't understand the remorse, but neither could she ignore it. Perhaps she was just that unprepared to see him. "Sounds great," she finally answered. "I'll catch the bus, though. I don't want you driving me clear across town in this traffic."

  Skyler led the way to his planned coffee spot. The chorus of coffee grinders and espresso machines filled the air. Madison was unfamiliar with the shoppe and was immediately taken by it. Another hidden treasure trove among the vast array of storefronts along the plaza. She picked a table by the window and was content to be relieved of the groceries.

  She still couldn't help but gape at her long-lost friend as he stood in line innocent of her staring. Memories of their carefree days raced through her head; late nights cruising the streets of Miami, catching sunrises on the beach from the hood of his car. They were invincible once upon a time.

  "Upside-down caramel macchiato," he announced as he handed her the blue paper cup with a white sleeve. The scent of coffee and hot caramel wafted from the cup as she grasped it.

  "Perfect. Thank you." She inhaled the sweet smell and held the cup with both hands, the heat from the beverage soaking through the thick sleeve. She hadn't told him what she wanted in her daze. He must have remembered her usual order after all these years. Madison glanced over at Skyler as he sat across from her and stirred at his own coffee.

  "So, where were we?"

  "Hmm?" She was lost again.

  "Ah, what have you been up to lately? It must be something good, you look happy." He shrugged off his coat and leaned on the table. His eyes glistened with the brightness of the snow packed along the windowpane beside him.

  Madison
had no idea as to where to begin. She cautiously sipped the coffee and tried to think of an answer. Should she stick with her recent happenings or was he hinting at the eight year gap since their last conversation? "Well, I've been in Chicago for five years now. I thought I knew this place like the back of my hand, but you just shot that down." She glanced about the shoppe and gave a nervous smile which he mirrored.

  "Five years in the city and you didn't know of the best coffee shoppe to ever call Chicago home?" he teased. He let out a chuckle when she lightened at his musing.

  "Something like that." She studied him and felt her nervousness settle some as he appeared to relax. "There is always something to be discovered here. I think that's why I've stayed so long."

  "I've been here four months now and still get lost everyday."

  "You've been here four months? And I didn't even know it? That's unfair." Madison replayed each trip to this area in the past four months and pondered the chances of her walking right past him without even knowing.

  "Small world, big city," he said with a shrug.

  Madison agreed and raised her cup, Skyler acknowledging with the same gesture. "But here we are. You can't hide from me now. I know you're here and I think we have plenty to catch up on."

  "I can live with that." His tone was just as warm as his smile. He took a long sip of his coffee and gazed out the window at the passing people, then looked to Madison. "If I wasn't working tomorrow I would say we could start then."

  "When do you get off?"

  "Who knows?" He shook his head with a shrug. "We're trying to close a deal and something changes everyday. The only day I know I have free is this upcoming Friday."

  "Friday," Madison murmured to herself and thought. "I think I'm actually off Friday."

  "Then it's settled, dinner Friday." Skyler gave a smirk and turned his coffee cup in circles on the table top. Madison smiled at the remembered habit, his dancing drinks. He hadn't changed a bit.

  "Where are we having dinner?" she questioned after a few moments, the quiet between them a little odd.

  "You pick," he answered as he watched his mug. "I picked the coffee. It's your turn." He glanced up and nodded at her, "Where's the best place for dinner in this metropolis?"

  She returned his smirk. "Can I think on it? There's so many places to choose from, you're asking a lot to single one out."

  "Keep me in suspense?" He shook his head, "Too cruel, Madison."

  She laughed with him and tried not to stare. He was real. She kept waiting to wake up and find him to be a figment of her imagination. Yet, she was comforted to know they picked right up as if it were only days that they were apart, not years. She was easily reminded why they were such good friends in the first place.

  Still, there seemed to be a shadow they were both avoiding ...abandonment and sorrow. Skyler and Morgan were inseparable, and to have Skyler sit across from her reconfirmed the dreadful fact that Morgan was indeed gone. As good as it was to see him and talk with him, his presence triggered the grief that was so potent, the grief of her lost love and life. Their shared time felt haunted.

  The conversation never dragged as both steadily kept up. They spoke of everything but nothing at the same time. Maps doodled on the backs of napkins were exchanged as they related different places in the city they thought the other would find interesting. The two reunited friends visited until the coffee ran out. Madison hated to call an end to their time, but the inconvenience of her groceries could no longer be ignored.