The day had ended normally for Daniel. Though, the day had felt different to him. Usually, most days, he never wanted to go home. He wanted to stay out and see people, try to talk to people. But he couldn’t wait to get home.
People had noticed a difference in Daniel. He was walking different, talking in an unusual clear tone, and smiling. He was always the shy one, but he was talking.
When he got the phone call from Violet, he moaned and groaned at Caroline coming after him. She was walking down the hall, pointing her skinny tiny finger at him. “You get back here.”
He had nowhere to run, so he stopped and let her little legs catch up to him. “I’m sorry for personal calls at work-“
“Oh shut up, you know I don’t care unless State is here. Roommate? When did you get a roommate?”
“Last Friday.”
“Roommate, or you know . . . roommate?”
He was starting to walk away with his eyebrow raised, “Some word, Caroline, so . . . roommate?”
Caroline followed him. “You know what I mean by . . . roommate.”
“It’s not like that,” he waved her off. “Not at all.”
“Daniel, you can tell me if you’re dating someone-“
“Gross.”
“Gross?” she asked.
He realized she didn’t understand the situation. She didn’t know what was going on, she was in the black zone of his life, just like most people in his life. “Look,” he stopped, turning back to her, “It’s really not like that.”
“So . . . just a friend?”
“I’m helping her get on her feet. She’s only 21-“
“Goddamn Daniel, I thought you were joking about the Russian bride.”
He was confused for a second and shook his head. “No, no, no, not like that. Jesus, listen. She was homeless since she was 13. I’m having her work at my brother’s café, just to get her some help.”
Caroline crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Why are you doing this? Is this some charity thing?”
He rolled his eyes. “Caroline, it’s just a friend helping a friend.”
“How long have you known her?”
“Since Friday.”
“Friday . . . like, just this past Friday?”
“That’s the one,” Daniel winked and pointed his finger to her. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Daniel,” she nearly whispered as he was walking away.
“Caroline, please, it’s not-“
She walked up to him and gently had him turn his body to hers. “Daniel, you know we care about you. We will do anything for you. I know you’ve been through a lot. If this is some . . . some type of thing to reverse . . . to try to get even with God, too. . . I don’t know... .Daniel, please don’t get hurt.”
He patted her hand. “I’m giving this kid a chance no one gave me at that age.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
They smiled at each other and understood. As he walked away, he wanted so badly to turn around and yell. He didn’t feel anger, he didn’t feel fear, he just wanted to be understood. He wanted people to understand he was trying to help. That’s all he wanted. Nothing else.
For the rest of the day, he was content. He was antsy, but he was at peace with himself. When he clocked out, he almost ran to his car.
He looked at his watch. It was almost 5. He was going to see his brother for just ten minutes, and then head home. That’s all.
When he drove over to his café, Karl and Lily seemed to dancing and spiriting around the building, cleaning and making coffee for the few people there. Daniel had never seen them glow so much before.
“Daniel!” Karl shouted.
“Hey! Congrats,” Daniel said, bending down and hugging his brother. Lily came up, and he gave her a big hug too.
“I’m doing the hard work here, don’t congrats him,” Lily joked.
Daniel mockery bowed. “Yes, Queen Pregnant Lady.”
Lily put a hand on her hip. “Very cute,” she rolled her eyes. “So, we have a new girl tomorrow, eh?”
“Oh, Violet? She’s going to be amazing. Boss her around all you want,” Daniel joked.
“Yes,” Lily cheered. “Always wanted to boss someone around.”
Karl looked over. “You boss me around all the time!”
Lily kissed his nose and said, “You’re my husband. It’s in the contract we sign.”
“Well, I don’t remember that part.”
They all ended up sitting at a table. They had coffee and a snack. They did sit there and talked about the usual stuff. How these stupid Indie bands were actually sellouts. How the customers have been coming in more than usual. It felt very nice to sit there with them, and passing the time.
When he looked outside, he saw that it was nearly dark. He panicked to his watch. “Oh shit, I have to go home.”
It was 6 o’clock.
*-*-*
Violet was beyond anger. She felt enraged, she felt abandoned. She walked up and down the stairs, wondering where he was. He promised to he would be home by five. He was not. He was away. She did not care about her.
Hard to love it creature like you.
She had to shake the voice out of her head. It was the one that she couldn’t forget about. That man’s voice.
As she sat on the staircase, waiting for Daniel to enter, the feelings from that night had come back. She wanted to scream and shout and run.
And run, and run, and run.
ns 15.158.61.50da2
