Page 42 of Mountain Bean Dream
He rubbed his beard. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Oh?” I chastised myself for once again reading more into the situation. We had agreed to be each other’s date for different events, but that didn’t mean anything. He was just fulfilling the role of fake boyfriend to help me make Derek jealous so Derek would take me back, but Jeremy was good at making me believe. Almost better than the professional actors I’d worked with.
“Maybe we should go as a couple?”
Ideas ran through my head and I tried to come up with a couple that wasn’t as well known, but I had nothing. “So Han and Leia? Or Padma and Anakin?”
He crinkled his face at the last coupling.
“Fine, we can do Han and Leia. They’re the more superior couple anyway.”
And that worked for me as it was easiest for me to throw together an outfit. The hair, on the other hand, was going to be a problem.
Elliot and Sage exited the office and stopped by our table.
“How are you doing, Molly?”
“Better. Sore, but I think the concussion is wearing off.”
Elliot stood by Sage’s side. “I’m happy to hear that. Yougave us quite the scare yesterday.”
“I’m so sorry about that.” I hunched even deeper into myself and pulled my good arm close. How scary that had to have been to have watched. It was super embarrassing for me as I’d never fainted before.
“Hey, Sage.” I twisted in my seat, swallowing down a lump of shame. “After work tomorrow, do you think you could help me do my hair? There’s a costume party and I am unable to do what I need. I could come to the bookstore to make it easier for you.”
“You’re working tomorrow?”
“Yes?” I looked at Elliot. Originally, I had been on the schedule, unless it had been changed since Saturday.
Elliot cleared his throat. “I thought Nina talked to you?”
“No.” Oh gosh, I was being let go, wasn’t I?
“If you have a minute, we can talk in my office.”
Inhaling sharply, I suddenly couldn’t move. “It’s okay if you tell me out here.”
Jeremy covered my hand, giving it a little squeeze.
Elliot slid a chair over. “Nina’s started the paperwork. Under your benefits package, you’re entitled to time off for injury. Mind you, it’s 80% of your pay, but it’ll give you time to heal.”
The second Elliot’s suggestion left his lips—’Maybe take some time off?’—a knot tightened in my stomach. I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I traced the edge of the coffee mug in front of me, my finger running over the imperfections in the lip of the glaze. Time off. As if this was some kind of vacation.
I forced a laugh, though it came out dry. “Time off. Sure. I’ve always wanted to sit around doing nothing.”
But the bitterness in my voice betrayed me.
Elliot’s eyebrows twitched in concern, but he didn’t push. He never did, and maybe that was part of the problem. Noone was telling me what I was supposed to do now—no orders, no deadlines, no game plans. Just endless, unstructured hours stretching out like a desert, with no clue what direction to start walking.
“Think about it,” he said gently, before turning back to his work.
Think about it? I had nothingbuttime to think lately. Too much time. Time to feel the ache in my elbow that never quite went away. Time to stare at the ceiling and wonder if this was it—if I was going to be stuck in limbo forever, caught between what I used to be and whatever waited for me on the horizon.
The sound of Elliot tapping on the iPad pulled me back to the present. I wrapped my hands around the mug, letting its warmth seep into my palms as I stared out the window. The sky was a washed-out gray, clouds rolling across it like they were trying to outrun something.
Maybe that’s all I’d ever been doing—running.
But what if Elliot was right? What if time off wasn’t just a void to fill but a chance to figure out who I could be without the safety net of work? The thought made my chest feel tight like I was teetering on the edge of something too big to name.