Chapter Eight - Going back to the world part 2

“Good Morning Dan!” Kirsten said to me with her usually morning smile.
“Hey Kiki. Good.” I said. “How are you?” I asked kindly.
“Good… actually perfect! I just met someone and I tell you,…”She said happy. “He’s so damn hot! And nice, and well I think we can put a date to our couple date.” She said smiling.
“Nice…” I said smiling. Now she will talk about this date the hole day.
“Ah!” She said. “Before I forget, Pete called. He wants to talk to you. I said you’d call him.”
“Thanks Kiki.”

The weather today was strange. The sky was dark gray, and was raining. Really cold. In the office everyone was with blouses, and the smell of coffee in the air was making me hungry.
I made some stuffs I had to do and then I called Peter.
“Hey Dan!” Peter said.
“Hey Pete! How are you?”
“Fine, and you?”
“Fine too.”
“You’ve been kidnapped or something?” He said laughing.
“No why?” I said.
“You never call.. never showed up here… Is everything ok?” He asked.
“Of course it is. And you also didn’t call or show up ..”
“Yeah… My fault. But what have you done lately?” He asked.
“Not much, but I met someone.”
“Really?” He said loudly. I bet if there was someone close to me would hear it.
“Yeah, why the surprise Pete?”
“Nothing. I need to know this woman…. I mean you never talk about your dates..”
I just laugh. I wasn’t in the mood to tell him about Josh, and especially about me.
“So I called you so we could make something this weekend.”
“Sorry Pete… my mom called inviting me to her house and I can’t say no.”
“Hum. Ok, but Monday then?” He asked.
“I don’t know, I call you, ok?” I said.
“Ok…”
“And Ashley? Are you guys still together?” I asked.
“Yeah man, she’s wonderful! You need to meet her. She’s so funny!”
“Yeah. I bet she is.”
“I know!. We could hang out together, I mean… Ashley and I, and you and… sorry I didn’t ask her name, what’s her name Dan?”
“Her name…?”
“Yeah…”
“I won’t tell her name…” I said trying to laugh, but it didn’t work out very well.
“Come on man! It’s not funny!” He said.
“Is better this way, and first I want you to met hi.. the person alone.”
“All… right.. well I have to go Dan. But was good to talk to you! And I’m so happy for you man!”
“Thanks Pete. I’m happy too, and I’m happy for Ashley too. We talk Monday!”
“Yeah!”

This was the first time that I lied to Pete. We’ve been friends since ever and I never had to lie to him. I needed to tell him, but I really wasn’t in the mood. I needed coffee.

I was in the kitchen making my coffee, it looks like I wasn’t the only one with hungry here, and then Richard walked in.

“Hey Dan!” He said.
“Hey Richard. How are you?”
“I’m fine and you my boy?”
“Fine too…”
“Crazy isn’t? The weather?” He asked with his forced smile.
“Yeah… Not much. Yesterday I was in the beach and was pretty much like today…”
“You went to the beach?” He asked curious. “Then you don’t know why you get ill.” He said nodding his head.
“Don’t worry… I didn’t were in the beach… I was in this restaurant in the beach.”
“Well. Still a beach.” He said angry.

I don’t know why but Richard always had this parental thing with me. He is always trying to make sure I don’t get hurt. Is strange.

“Don’t worry Richard… seriously.” My coffee was ready and so I left the room.


My office now had the scent of coffee, and that was really cozy. Strangely Kiki didn’t visit me once, and I had the all noon free to work without being interrupted, though Richard came to see if I haven’t died two times.

Was 17:30 and I turned my pc off. Cleaned my office and went to Kiki’s table. She wasn’t there. I asked about her to Patricia, the cleaning lady that she used to talk, and she said Kiki left earlier because she had a date. Probably was the guy she talked in the morning. I thought.

As Kiki wasn’t there I went home. In the way I stopped in the market and bought red bulls and some cokes.
I came home earlier then I thought. The traffic wasn’t terrible as usually.
I put the red bulls and the cokes in the fridge, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
I didn’t took so long, as I was crazy to call Josh. I put my pjs and grab the phone.

He took a while to answer the phone.

“Good night love.” I said.
“Good night love.” He answered.
“Is this a bad time?” I asked.
“No.”
“So how was your day?”
“Boring… I had this couple here in the diner that pissed me off. They took ten minutes to choose a juice. And then another ten to the next juice. I was going crazy.”
I laugh about it. It looked pretty much boring.
“Sorry to hear this. My day was strangely normal.”
“How you mean strangely normal?” He asked curious.
“I don’t know… Kiki was so strange. After I said yesterday to her that I had a date she started acting strangely. And this morning she said she had met this hot guy. And then she left early, something that she never does.”
“Maybe she’s angry with you, and is trying to make you fell bad. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah…And about tomorrow. You came out with something?”
“Nope. And you?”
“Me too. I’ll call my mom next. And if you go after this thing?” I asked hopeful.
“I haven’t thought about it. But I don’t know. You really want me to go?”
“Yes…. No…. I mean you can go if you want, don’t need to go because me. I would be very happy. But if you had another plans don’t cancel them because of me.”
“I’ll see what I do. I promise. I have to go Dan. Sorry, love you.”
“I love you too.” But he had hang up before I said those words.
Did I do something that he didn’t like? Or he was having troubles, or he was just tired?

I called my mom and she got very happy with the news of me going there. “I thought you wouldn’t come.” She said to me.
I drank one red bull and went to bed। Tomorrow I'd have to get up earlier.

©Leonardo Martins