Push

Push [chapter 8]

Chapter 8

The next few days passed by in a blur. It was business as usual, with nothing out of the ordinary at all. Jamie came to work the next day, much to my relief, and gave me a wry smile which just made me feel silly for worrying about him. He came back unscathed, cheerfully whistling, and just being Jamie. Still, I couldn't help but feel worried about him when he went out at night for his "classes." I also felt a bit like I was betraying Arthur for not telling him about what Jamie's been doing. Surely, he would have wanted to know what his nephew was up to?

Speaking of Arthur, I wondered where he went that night. When he opened the pub the next morning, he was just as cheerful as Jamie - which I'm pretty sure was impossible. Whenever we tried to press him, he turned it against us. Well, mostly me. They still wouldn't let the Sophie thing go and it was getting annoying.

At least, I think it was. I don't know why but I found myself thinking about her more often than I expected, even when the Campbells weren't putting me in the hotseat. I found myself wondering where she went with her parents that weekend, what she was doing in class, if she'd found that bar or club she was looking for. Every morning, I kept expecting for her to eat at the pub for breakfast and felt a twinge of disappointment when she didn't. It was nerve-wracking and Arthur and Jamie noticed it.

While Jamie was content just ribbing me, Arthur took me aside one time.

"You okay, Ryan? You're fidgeting like an epileptic cat that got wet," Arthur told me gravely.

"I don't even know what to make of that comparison," I said drily. "I'm fine, boss. Really."

"Yeah, right. You've been acting like that since after your date," he said, obviously unconvinced

"It wasn't a-"

"Oh save it, boy," he said disapprovingly. "It was a date and you can shove your excuses up your ass for all I care. What happened there?"

"Nothing," I said firmly. He peered at me scrutinizing and nodded, probably deciding I wasn't lying.

"Ah, so that's what got you down," he said, still nodding.

I looked at him, annoyed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's obvious. You were hoping that something would happen. And it didn't so now you feel hung up on it," he said.

My mind flashed to when Sophie and I were sitting on the park bench. "Hey, I'm the psychologist here," I said, though in a subdued tone.

Arthur grunted. "I say go for it."

"I've only known her since Friday," I said. "And now it's Tuesday."

He shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching. I was suddenly aware that I had stopped denying it. "My older brother, Jamie's dad only met his wife at a bus terminal. They struck up a conversation and kept in touch even though they had three states between them. They hooked up once somewhere in New England and two years later, they got married."

I shook my head, still unconvinced. I've heard that story before. Jamie always used it as an explanation whenever he hit on some girl who obviously wouldn't be in town for long. "What's that got to do with it?"

"Okay," he continued. "How about this: I met a lass a couple of years ago. Beautiful as anything I've ever seen. We became friends and stayed that way for months even though I wanted something more. She left town with me never opening up that door that could have been something good."

"Or bad," I added under my breath. Arthur had never told me that story before and it was strange seeing him in that kind of light. The guy was fifty for God's sake; he had a receding hairline and wisps of silver amidst his dark hair and beard. I always imagined him as a grandfather with a dead wife he's never told me about; certainly not a bachelor with a long lost love.