Running Northwest by Michael Melville Page B

him feel, he never talked badly about me. He would not allow our friends to talk badly about me either when he was around…they did not like it, but they knew that is how Thomas was. He loved me still and despite how mad and hurt he was, he wouldn’t resort to saying horrible but well deserved things about me. I don’t think Thomas could ever hate me really. He just blocked me out and was gone; and that might be worse than him being mad at me.” Stephanie said, her eyes red from tears that had begun to run dry.
    “So what did Thomas do?” Karen asked.
    “He left Karen,” Stephanie said as she started sobbing again, “He left the same wee k that the other guy and I broke up . He did not say goodbye to me, didn’t tell me he was leaving he just moved back to Oregon just like that. He had stopped trying to call so I did not know he had even left until like two weeks later. He told our friends not to tell me he was leaving and they had no problem doing what he asked. But he just left, after saying goodbye to some of our friends and his family,” Stephanie said, adding, “I asked our friend Derrick Pazinkski who eventually moved out west with Thomas in Oregon if I was the reason Thomas had left. He told me Thomas never said why he was going, but that he just had to leave; that it was finally time. They all knew I was the reason he left in the way he did, why he left so soon. Everyone knew but I still would not admit to it. Derrick was embarrassed to have me as a friend and mad as hell about what I did to Thomas, we didn’t talk for a long time either.”
    Stephanie sighed as she finished what was she was saying and curled up into a ball on her couch. The two women were quiet for a little while and just drank their wine until Stephanie spoke up again.
    “I never got to tell him I loved him. The one thing I always wanted to say to him and I never got to was ‘I love you’ because I screwed things up so bad,” she said quietly, barely audible.
    “Well, maybe you still can, Steph,” Karen said without thinking what she was saying all the way through.
    “Yeah right, I lost him Karen and I know I lost him. He loved me and I lost him. He’s long gone and has moved on I’m sure. I don’t think Derrick would let me within 10 feet of Tommy.” she replied.
    A short while later, Karen left to go home after giving Stephanie a long hug good bye and telling her to get some rest and that she would see her at work the in the morning. Stephanie did not even bother picking up the mess they had made and took a long hot shower, trying to lose the effec ts of all the wine she had drank . Her eyes hurt and were already puffy from all the crying she had done. She laid down in her large bed and pulled the covers up over her shoulder and petted her husky named Shadow who curled up next to her and licked Stephanie’s hand. She fell asleep staring at the picture of Thomas that she had carried in from the living room.

Six
     
    Thomas sat quietly in a corner of his small coffee shop. In front of him sat a notepad and his usual regular cup of coffee. It was Friday morning now and the previous few days had been a mixture of stress and Thomas’ typical and much preferred easy going days. He had dropped a very moody Daniel off at elementary school earlier that morning. Tuesday had come and gone and Thomas had neither seen nor heard from the young man that had ‘interviewed’ with Tracie Monday evening. Not that he was going to complain now. Berating him for lying and treating customers let alone his son for that matter like crap, would in the end have been waste of time and breath.
    Across from Thomas now was an empty chair that had a leather coat hung over the back of it. The occupant who was a potential new hire was in the restroom. She was in his mind a somewhat attractive 21-year-old female college student named Alexis. Who also happened to be Tracie’s cousin. She had the barista experience Thomas was looking for and was also