Touch

by Kris Bryant

  “Can I do more behind the scenes work? I mean, I can be your backup and have minimal contact with her,” I say.

  She smiles at me. “Whatever you’re comfortable with. You’ll have some contact though so know that going in.”

  Right now, I feel confident and I’m in a budding relationship, so I know I won’t have a problem with Alison. “It’s okay. I think it will be harder for her than me.”

  Gloria nods. “Okay, well we will meet next Thursday so if you want to attend, it will be over lunch since we all have busy schedules. I’ll just order us food. I know, I know, salads for everyone.” She rolls her eyes, knowing how health conscious Alison is.

  “I’ll have pizza waiting in the wings.” In reality, I’ve lost weight since I moved out. I’m sure it has to do with the stress of everything, but now I eat what I want, within reason, and I don’t feel bad physically or mentally.

  “Sounds like a plan. Finish your heart attack waiting to happen.” She eyes my turkey club croissant sandwich and kettle fried chips.

  “Hey, there’s fruit here, too.” I point to grapes in a baggie.

  “Noon. Next Thursday.”

  Ugh. Our breakup is still relatively new, but hopefully Alison is moving on. I hate that she’s our contact. She always told me she was so busy at the hospital. Maybe she wanted to work with us again. Maybe because she knew she would work with me. I don’t know, but I’ll know the minute I see her face. She’s horrible at lying.

  My phone buzzes with a text from Rachel. Hey. What’s going on next weekend? I’m headed your way and thought it might be fun to hang out on Saturday.

  Rachel’s latest customer is downtown, only about ten minutes from my house. We’ve already talked about hanging out when she schedules a meet and greet trip.

  I’m hanging out with my friend Rachel. Why? I’m so happy she’s finally visiting.

  Yes! I will be there Thursday and Friday, but not available until late Friday. Will that mess up your plans?

  I love my new social life. No, it’s perfect. I’ll think of fun things to do.

  I just want to hang out and drink wine. She ends it with a smiley face.

  I love her honesty. And her plan sounds perfect. I text her my address. At least now I know to add cleaning my whole place and getting the guest room ready to my list of weekend plans. Sarah Michelle Gellar might have to wait.

  * * *

  It’s late but I text Stone anyway.

  How was the game?

  She doesn’t respond. I know hockey nights run late. Plus, I don’t know if she had plans with the team after. Hopefully no plans with a fan. I can’t imagine that, especially after the last several weeks. Our relationship is moving nicely.

  I finish washing the sheets in the guest room and remake the bed. It’ll be nice to have a visitor stay here for a night or two. My parents haven’t even visited yet. I check my phone a few times hoping Stone texted back, but the only activity is local news advising me of bad weather moving into the area. I decide to get some sleep since it’s almost midnight. I’ll have to talk to Stone tomorrow.

  After seven hours of restless sleep, I drag myself out of bed and head to the kitchen for much needed coffee. I check my phone and frown that Stone still hasn’t texted me. I hope that she’s okay, but I don’t want to hound her so I curl up on the couch and start my mini-marathon of Buffy. By noon, I give in and text her again.

  Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you.

  I know she’s probably at practice so I don’t expect an answer right away. Her Saturdays are packed with either practices or public appearances. It isn’t until I finish the first full season that I hear back from her.

  I’m fine.

  Really? That’s all I get? I’m pissed. She is being completely dismissive. I breathe in and out a few times so it won’t be my anger answering. I didn’t hear from you last night or today and I thought maybe something happened. That tells her that I’ve been thinking of her and I hope she’s physically okay and her leg isn’t hurting or busted again.

  Sorry. Busy. A lot going on.

  I put my phone on the coffee table and start season two. I have a feeling I’m in for a long weekend. Something feels off. I don’t know if I’ve pissed her off, how I’ve pissed her off, or if she’s just done with me.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  I love that we celebrate Halloween at Elite. Tina did an excellent job of decorating the place. The kids are very excited that they’re allowed to wear their costumes to PT and trick-or-treat after they’re done. All of our employees have candy to hand out and the place is full of excitement. Only I’m not chipper like everybody else. I haven’t heard from Stone since that short text message Saturday afternoon. It’s been three days. I called her Sunday night, but she didn’t answer. I’m not going to beg. I’m an adult and so is she.

  “Why didn’t you dress up?” Gloria stands in my doorway dressed as a witch, her broom a shiny Swiffer. The green face paint is terrifically scary and her look is topped off with a giant, hairy wart on her cheek.

  “More importantly, why didn’t you?” I laugh at Gloria’s pout. She always goes above and beyond, and this year is no different.

  “Most of the kids are your patients. I can’t believe you didn’t dress up. Are you not feeling well?” That sounds like a good excuse.

  “Yeah, I haven’t been feeling the greatest all week really.” My explanation is lame.

  “You’re going to have patients who are super excited about today. You know how much kids love dressing up in costumes. I highly recommend you figure something out,” she says.

  “Agreed. I’m sorry. I’m sure I could find something to wear around here.” I’m almost positive we have a janitorial jumpsuit I could put on and come up with some water guns to look like somebody from Ghostbusters.

  “Your first patient will be here in half of an hour. Go,” she says.

  I head straight for the closet and find a gray jumpsuit that’s too big, but I roll up the legs and sleeves to fit me. I don’t have boots, but I do have my running shoes in the car so I grab them. The proton pack is trickier. I find a backpack, a water gun, and some hose. I duct tape the crap out of it until it looks remotely like the weapon used in the movie. By the time my first patient arrives, I’ve worked up a sweat.

  I use a name tag and write the name Holtzmann on it. Two people will get that reference. I look at myself in the mirror. Not bad for a last minute job. I walk into Gloria’s office and raise my eyebrows at her. She purses her lips and looks me up and down. I slowly twirl for her.

  “The shoes. They throw me off.”

  “It’s all I have except for heels and that’s going to look really weird,” I say.

  “I wish we had slime. That would be fun.”

  “Says you. Somehow I think I would end up wearing it. Okay, I’m off to work. Get your candy out. Once we’re done, we’ll bring Davis and Kenna by.”

  When I head into the room, I smile for the first time in days. Matt is working with Davis this morning, and I’m with my new patient Kenna. She’s already informed me that she’s going to be a mermaid. Her removable cast is rainbow themed and perfect for a four-year-old. Davis is a cowboy and my little mermaid is adorable.

  “What are you supposed to be?” Kenna asks. Of course she isn’t going to know who I’m supposed to be. She’s four. I’m hopeful Davis saw the movie. I guess I dressed up more for Gloria than my patients.

  “I’m supposed to be a ghost catcher.” She won’t know what a Ghostbuster is, so I explain it in words I think she will understand. I’m not even sure I should have explained that. I wonder if Kenna even knows what a ghost is. If she doesn’t, I don’t think I should be the one to explain it to her.

  “Like Casper? Why would you want to catch him?” Innocence. I love it.

  “Well, when Casper doesn’t do his exercises, I have to catch him and watch over him to make sure he does,” I say. She giggles.

  “Casper is friendly and listens to h
is parents and his doctor,” she says, matter-of-factly. She’s so clever. I carefully remove her cast and we start working.

  She’s anxious to finish up and go trick-or-treating so she can show off her mermaid costume. Davis had to take most of his costume off for PT so we wait for him to get dressed. Kenna is wiggling with excitement. I find out that they aren’t allowed to wear a costume at her preschool so this is a treat for her. “What kind of candy is there? I like chocolate and gum.”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough, huh?” She bounces up and down. I know she wants to tell Davis to hurry, but she doesn’t know him so she stands next to me and we wait. Matt helps Davis with his cowboy hat and gun belt. I haven’t seen kids this happy in a long time. “Let’s go.”

  Both kids whoop and we walk them around the office, their bags half full by the time we’re done. Our routine continues all afternoon. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted but I have a smile on my face. I didn’t think about Stone every ten minutes. Because I was busy, I only thought about her every twenty. It was a fun day.

  Gloria stops me as I’m getting ready to head out. “Hey, I’m sure you don’t want to go home tonight unless you’re dying to hand out candy to those hundreds of neighborhood kids. How about going out to dinner with me and Pete?”

  I certainly don’t want to be the third wheel to their party so I make up something. “Thanks, but I’m going to go see a movie with friends.” A movie doesn’t sound like a bad idea actually. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to a theatre and it might be a welcoming distraction.

  “Okay, well try to relax a little bit. You still look a little pale.”

  “Thanks. Have a great dinner. I’ll see you in the morning.” I peel off my ridiculous outfit and instead of heading home, I pull up a list of movies on my phone. I settle for a science fiction. It doesn’t boast of love or romance and it sounds perfectly mindless. I hate that I’m wearing a suit, but I fear going home to change in case the costumed children make their way to my house.

  My date for the evening is a tray of junk food and sugary soda. I can’t believe that eleven days ago, Stone and I slept together for the first time. A week later, it was our last. A week. I fell for a girl after only a week. I did everything she wanted. We took it relatively slow because she was worried about continuing the pattern of falling into bed with anybody who gave her attention. At this point, I’m upset at myself. Obviously, she doesn’t want to talk to me. I’ve tried several times now and at some point I have to walk away. Our relationship was very new so I can’t demand anything really. I need to be an adult about this.

  Thankfully, the movie starts and I’m taken from my problems into problems out of this world. Aliens versus people. Stone would like this. No, get out of my head. I take a deep breath and push her out of my mind and force myself to get lost in the movie. Despite my wandering thoughts, I actually start to enjoy the movie. Being alone isn’t the worst thing. I’m just happy it’s not Valentine’s Day. I would be devastated. Luckily, I have plenty of time to recover. I need to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas first, but those are pieces of cake. Both are quick trips to my parents’ house, nothing major. It’ll be the same as it’s always been. I sneak a peek at my phone because I’m strong for only a little bit, but no message. I turn my phone completely off because it’s only distracting. I focus hard on the movie. I might as well stay and enjoy it because I just can’t go home yet.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  “Yay, you made it.” I grab Rachel and hug her.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I wasn’t expecting the meeting to last as long as it did.”

  “So, come on in.” I take her bag. “Make yourself at home.”

  “This is really a cute place, Hayley,” she says.

  “Thank you. It has charm and it keeps me hidden from the rest of the world. Or so I thought it did.”

  She follows me into the kitchen where I pour us wine. “Are you still dealing with Alison?” she asks.

  Oh, boy. She doesn’t know anything about Stone. “We need to sit down before we have this conversation. Settle in.”

  Her eyes widen and she grabs the bottle. We get comfortable on the couch. “What is going on? I’m completely on edge over here.”

  “So, I broke up with Alison, right? Then I started dating a hockey player who was a patient at Elite. We didn’t actually start dating until she quit therapy. Yes, it was fast, but it really wasn’t a rebound thing for me. I’m not one to jump into a relationship, but there is just something about this woman. Here’s the kicker though. We haven’t spoken in a week.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “A week? Big deal. Sometimes that’s normal.”

  “No, you don’t understand. We were really getting along great. I mean, not just the sex, but we were having fun just hanging out. We were talking every day. Something must have happened. Something big. Just last week she took me on a romantic hayride at her orchard and it was perfect. We both felt something. Then nothing. I texted her a few times and even called her. Not in a stalker kind of way, but just ‘how are you doing’ type messages.”

  “Nothing from her at all?” she asks. I shake my head. “What do you think is going on?”

  “I don’t know. I thought things were good. We were too new to talk about being exclusive so I hope it wasn’t because of somebody else. I really thought we had something special.”

  Rachel reaches over and touches my hand. “I’m sure there’s a reason. There has to be. So did you know this hockey player before you left Alison?”

  I know she isn’t judging me. “I did. She broke some bones. As a favor to her family, Elite agreed to work with her.”

  “But why you?”

  I laugh. “Because Gloria knows I’m really good reasoning with children and I don’t get upset very easily. We both know how hard athletes push themselves and Stone’s no exception.”

  “Stone. That’s her name? That’s very butch.”

  “That’s her last name. Her first name is Elizabeth, but she doesn’t like to be called that. She’s more of a Stone anyway.”

  “Are they playing here this weekend?”

  “Yes. Right now, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon.”

  “We need to go to the game tomorrow. See what kind of mood she’s in. Plus, we can spy and see if she’s flirting with anybody,” Rachel says.

  I roll my eyes even though I know I want to do it. “High school was a long time ago.”

  She’s entirely too excited about this idea and secretly I am, too. “I want to see a hockey game now that I’m in town. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?” She sips on her wine and smiles at me over the rim of her glass.

  “Most of the games are sold out.”

  She scoffs at me and pulls out her phone. After several minutes of her typing furiously, she looks at me and smiles. “We have seats in Unity Communications’ suite for tomorrow night’s game. Pyramid is part of that group.”

  “No.”

  “Truth. Here’s the kicker. It seats twenty so if you want to invite anybody, we have tickets for three additional people.” I know absolutely nobody except for Gloria and some of the other therapists. Since this is a reconnaissance mission, I don’t think I should invite the people I’m trying to hide my relationship from.

  “Not really, but thanks. Is this a good idea?”

  “Of course it is. Then we can observe her and see how she is with anybody else. Spy on her with other players, maybe see if she flirts with any of the fans in the stands.” The look on my face must be pretty devastated because she quickly changes the subject. “I’m sure she just has something going on though. Let’s talk about something else.”

  “It’s okay. I’m upset by it, but I know that our relationship was very new and I shouldn’t be so affected by this, you know? I just was hopeful.”

  She reaches out and touches my hand. “Look, you’re a wonderful woman. Truly. If Stone is going to blow you off like this, then maybe she wasn’t the person
you thought she was.” I’m trying not to cry. I shouldn’t be this attached to Stone. I knew it was a mistake to open my heart so soon. I feel like her rebound girl more so than Stone being mine. I can only nod at Rachel. “Let’s forget about this and watch something mindless, okay?” She turns on the television and we end up watching a comedy that surprisingly takes my mind off of things.

  “Thanks for coming, Rachel. I really need a friend. Most of mine faded away after Alison and I got together. Totally my fault, so I’m glad you’re here.” She puts a pillow on her lap and tells me to put my head on the pillow. She plays with my hair and I fall asleep within minutes.

  * * *

  “Wow, this place is really exciting. Maybe I should consider dating a hockey player,” Rachel says.

  I feel like I’m completely exposed. I want to hide in the booth even though I know Stone is in the locker room with her team and can’t possibly know that I’m here.

  “I’ll let you know soon enough if I recommend it or not,” I say.

  Rachel grabs my hand and drags me up the stairs to the suite. It’s impressively large and if I start feeling visible, I can go to the tiny bar inside and pretend to need a drink or some food. We order beers and I grab a plate even though I’m really not hungry. I have to pretend that being this close to Stone and seeing her in just a few minutes isn’t tearing me apart inside. I’m actually sweating. I’m in an arena with ice and I feel trickles of sweat at the small of my back and between my shoulder blades. Thankfully, I’m wearing a sweater that hides my nervousness.

  Because Rachel is so fashionable, I had to step up my game and dress a bit nicer than I did the last time I was here. I settled on a pair of black slacks and a charcoal sweater with a white oxford underneath. Rachel loans me a necklace that matches my outfit well. She even fixed my hair. We both look great. A part of me wants to run into Stone tonight, but maybe after I get a better idea of what’s happening.