Abby saw the email. It was him. She thought she would never hear from him again. But, there it was. She didn't know if she should open the message or just delete it. It has been almost 20 years. What did he want now? She had moved on. It had been hard, but she found someone else and got married. No here he was trying to squeeze back into her life.
Abby let the email sit for a week. She sat down and took a deep breath.
From: KWill68 Subject:Hey Message: Hey. Just wanted see how ur doing. K
Abby replied. From AbbliciousTheQueen Subject: Hey Back.. Message: How did you get my email? What do you want? Abby
It took only a few minutes for a reply
From KWill68 Subject: Can we meet? Message: Got your info from a mutual friend. Wanted to see if you would like to meet for lunch or something. I feel bad about how things ended. K
Abby laughed out loud. She was the one who ended their dead end relationship. It was going nowhere fast. She wanted someone she could marry and have a happy life. She was tired of sneaking around to be together. For him, it was always about the sex, only about the sex. She wanted more. She wanted someone to love her, someone she could take to family dinners, someone who would take care of her. He wasn't willing to do any of that.
From: AbbiliciousTheQueen Subject: or Something? Message: I could meet you for lunch somewhere. Lunch only. There will be no "or something." It has been over 20 years. What on earth could we have to talk about? I moved on and so did you. -A
From: KWill68 Subject: I'm sorry Message: I just want to see you again for old time's sake. How about Wednesday at 1pm at Carlo's Italian at exit 56. I hear they have good pizza and lasagne. K
Abby though about it and finally agreed. What the heck did she have to lose? Her marriage was over, but K did not have to know that. It would be good to get out and have a nice lunch with an old " friend." So that was it. She would go.
When the day came, Abby wanted to look nice, but not too nice. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a dark blue sweater. She brushed out her hair and threw on some simple make up. She wanted to look natural but not like she had really tried. She still wore her wedding ring and twisted it, wondering if she should take it off. In the end, she switched it out for a plain silver band.
The restaurant was about 30 minutes away. Abby arrived early. She went inside and found a table where she could watch the door. Abby was fully prepared for K to stand her up. It was his normal mode of operation. When they "dated" he regularly left her hanging. But not this time. He was on time, even 2 minutes early. He walked in the door, and she caught her breath. She grabbed her cell phone and pretended to be talking to someone.
K was wearing jeans, black t-shirt, and a leather jacket. He looked better than she had ever seen him. His hair was starting to turn grey. It was shorter than it had been when she last saw his picture on Facebook. She stalked him and kept up with what he was doing. He no longer had a clean shaven face. He had a neatly trimmed beard now.
Abby stood up and motioned for him to come over. He walked across the room toward her. She took another deep breath and tried to fight back tears. She continued talking to no one on the phone. They both sat down and she ended her imaginary conversation.
"Well, hey," she started. "Hey, back," he replied. They stared at each other for a moment only to be interrupted by the waitress taking drink orders. "Well, this looks like an ok restaurant. I like Italian food, " Abby said. K replied, " I remember. So, what have you been up to?"
Abby couldn't imagine what to say. How could she compress the last 20 years into 5 minutes. "I keep busy between my family, the kids, and work."
K wanted to know more. He stalked her online, too. He knew that she and her husband were separated. He knew that her kids were all out of school and in college. He knew she had a dog named Honee and a cat named Lucy. "I have a farm," he blurted out. "I have some cows and chickens. You should see it. The house is over 100 years old. I have totally renovated it."
The waitress came back and took their orders. Abby decided to surprise him and not order lasagne. Instead, she choose a small pizza. He ordered the spaghetti. They kept talking, becoming more comfortable with each other. Before the food came, Abby had finished a full glass of tea and went to the bathroom.
The food had arrived when Abby returned. The pizza was delicious wood fired with cheese and real pepperoni. The waitress has refilled the tea. The pizza made Abby thirsty and before she knew it she had finished another glass. K slowly ate his spaghetti, never taking his eyes off her. He asked Abby to tell him about her kids and what they were like. He asked her about her dog and cat. Abby was feeling warm and a little fuzzy. She didn't feel so well. She finished her pizza and went to the bathroom again. There was more tea when she returned.
"I fell a little weird," she said. "I think it's time to go," K replied.
K paid the bill and helped Abby to stand up. She felt really dizzy and almost drunk. That pizza sure was good and the tea was even better. She said she wanted a to-go cup and K grabbed one for her. They walked towards the door. Abby was not sure what she was going to do. She could not drive like this. When they got outside, K led her to his jeep and help her inside. Abby felt like it was 20 years ago and they were kids again. K hopped in the drive side. He opened a pill bottle and took out a capsule. He opened the lid on her cup of tea and poured the contents of the capsule inside. Abby had her eyes closed. "Here," he said, "Drink some tea." Abby sipped the sweet, sweet tea from the cup.
K drove for what seemed like hours to Abby. She was sleeping and dreaming of flying over green fields. She dreamed of flying down a hill covered with snow. Finally, the jeep stopped. K helped Abby to get out. She looked around and saw that they were in a barn. He led her to a door and down a staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was a door. He opened the door and took Abby in. There was a mattress on the floor. K laid Abby down. He went back upstairs and brought her tea and more food down.
Abby was groggy. She felt like she was drunker than she had ever been. K undressed Abby. She moaned, "No, no. I'm cold." He told her not to worry he would get her some warm clothes. He put her things in a garbage bag. Then, she watched as he turned on a heater and could fell the welcome warmth. The only light in the room was from a string of clear Christmas lights strung across the top of the wall. Abby fell asleep and hoped all of this was a nightmare.
YOU ARE READING
Should have known better
ChickLitAbby saw the email. It was him. She thought she would never hear from him again. But, there it was. She didn't know if she should open the message or just delete it. It has been almost 20 years. What did want now? She had moved on. It had been hard...
