Beyond Denver

Chapter 31

Ten in the morning came without signs of Maroney. Now it is twenty past ten, and he never made it on time to pick me up. Should I call him or wait a little longer?

I'm dressed and ready for the lake adventure he'd promised me, my white casual dress exposing my swimsuit underneath it. I won't text or call Maroney now, though. Maybe I'm judging him when he's been working hard this all week and should give him some credit. Isn't this time of the year when real states are selling more houses?

I can't help but turn on Netflix. Vampire Diaries again? Sure. Elena is just about to kiss Damon, so I let myself focus on the episode and the next one even though it is almost impossible to have my attention there one hundred percent. He still doesn't text me or call, so I do myself a favor and text him to ask if everything is fine.

Thirty minutes after my text, I finally hear the soft knock on my door, revealing Maroney one hour and a half late after the initial time agreed, which was ten in the morning.

"Let's go," he rushes me to his car with a small smile across his face. I grab my beach bag with a few items inside, including the sunscreen and a bug spray. I want to ask him whether something is wrong or whether we should cancel for today. As I follow him down the stairs, I suddenly remember that I'd forgotten my beach towel.

"Oh. I left my towel and a few sandwiches in the fridge. Let me go get it." I tell him as I'm ready to enter his vehicle.

"We are not getting inside the water," he tells me. "And about the sandwiches...don't worry. I have a few in my bag, too. They are delicious," he reassures me with a smirk. I stare at him, and his smile doesn't seem genuine as something very wrong happened.

"Oh. Are you sure? Mine is good, too."

"I don't want to get to the lake too late."

I enter his car as he quickly introduces me to his lab, who excitedly greet me with his tail.

Butter is a beautiful beige happy canine dog that loves attention. His tongue is sticking out of his mouth, and I'm wondering whether he is thirsty. As Maroney drives off the lot, the first thing he does is roll his window down and lights up his cigarette. The wind blows the smoke inside, hitting my face and hair, but I stay silent as I don't want to come up as the annoying college student girl with straight A's. So, I ignore the nicotine scent that makes me sick to my stomach.

The entire drive to the lake is silent with Maroney, and I'd rather have stayed home than going out with him. I have some catching up with my mother, who wants to come here for Memorial Day.

"Look, we can do this another day," I finally tell him. "I have plenty of projects for next week." I don't want him to feel obligated to spend his precious time with me.

"Why? That's okay. I'm just having a bad day. That's not your fault, though." he finally spills the words out of his mouth.

Should I thank him for that?

"You could've told me." I remind him. "We could have gone another day. I waited for almost two hours."

"Sure thing, but I wanted to see you," I see the smile forming on the corner of his lips. I really don't understand him. "And I'm sorry I came late."

Does he want to see me? Really? His actions tell me the opposite.

"This is Stoughton," he points to the small town we are now driving through. He parks the car in a small lot under a tree where I see the lake stream. "You know, it isn't exactly a lake, but I love coming here for fishing."

I gaze at the dark green algae spread all over the water.

"I think the other side is better," he comes and opens my door to let me out. He asks me to follow him, and we cross the bridge, his dog following us without a leash and sometimes running into circles.