9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
“Heartburn is a common ailment during pregnancy.”
A Young Woman’s Guide to the Joy of Impending Motherhood
Dr. Francine Pascal Reid (1941)
“ F uck a duck,” I breathed.
″Well, I’ve never tried that,” Cory simpered, “but if you insist, I’ll give it a go.”
″Casey? Casey Samms?” asked the man standing beside Cory. The man I was staring at with an expression of amazement, disbelief, and complete shock.
″How…” I couldn’t even finish the thought.
″Oh, my God!” David Mason exclaimed. “Is it really you?”
Cory’s bald head swiveled between me and his friend. “Do you two know each other? Did I do a good thing?”
“David?” I whispered. “Is that really you, or is this some sort of weird falafel-inspired daydream? I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it so fast because now I’m going to get the worst heartburn in the history of the burning of the heart if the heart really can burn from eating a falafel.” I noticed Cory looking at me with a strange expression, but David had a look of amusement and—could it be? —affection mixed with surprise on his still-handsome-but-now-with-some-wrinkles-in-the corner-of-his-eyes face. It made me feel warm all over. “Sorry. Babbling.”
″You always did that.” David smiled wistfully I hoped it was a wistful smile !
″Oh, how fun!” Cory clapped his hands with a deafening smack. “You do know each other! Let’s have a reunion!”
″I can’t believe this,” David said, shaking his head. “How long has it been?”
I shook my head as if I were mimicking him. “I don’t know.”
Before I could start firing off questions, a woman entered the store and came straight to me to ask a question. I had to yank my eyes away from David to help her, which was hard because all I cared about right now was drinking him in.
I last laid eyes on David Mason twelve years ago, when I told him in no uncertain terms I planned on traveling to Europe that summer unencumbered by any sort of involvement. Those were pretty much the exact words I used as well. I ended the healthiest, longest relationship I’ve yet to have with a thirty-second speech two hours before my plane was due to take off. To say it wasn’t the smartest move is like saying we Canadians are well on our way to becoming Americanized by today’s culture—you can argue how much, but there’s no doubt that it was a dumb move. Especially considering how I’d spent every day of my twenty-three years planning on having a baby, and when I finally had in my sights a great guy who had his eyes set on a future with me, ending things for two months of freedom wasn’t my best move.
″This… wow!” I finally said after I’d sent the woman on her way with three bottles of Chardonnay. “How, how are you?”
″A wine store?” David asked with confusion. By this time, he and Cory had set bottles on the counter, waiting for me to ring up their purchases. But I didn’t want them to go—well, Cory could leave, but not David. “I thought you were going to be a teacher?”
″Oh, I am. I teach kindergarten, but only part-time. I used to teach grade three.… Long story,” I trailed off. “Yesterday was the last day of school,” I added unnecessarily.
″So how do you know each other?” Cory interrupted bossily. He marched up to the counter and leaned against it, ready for the dirty details.
″We, actually…” David was stammering now.
″University,” was the only thing I could say.
″Were you boyfriend and girlfriend?” Cory exclaimed, clapping his hands again. “Oh, how sweet!”
David and I glanced at each other, both with silly grins on our faces .
This couldn’t be possible. There was no way that David could have just strolled into the store unannounced, unexpected, and even more unbelievably, so soon after Morgan and I had a conversation about him. Then of course, since the filter in my head that normally stops me from blurting out things didn’t seem to be working right now, I said just as much to David.
″I really can’t see how this can be happening,” I said in amazement. “Because if you’re really here standing in front of me, then that means Morgan is some sort of psychic, which she is definitely not because how on earth could she predict that it would be you walking in here today? Not that she said today, and not that she said it would be you either, since how…” I trailed off again when I noticed both men were looking at me like I’d grown an extra head. I clearly had an issue with verbal diarrhea today.
″Are you okay, hon?” Cory asked with concern. “Is this too much of a shock for you?”
″It is a bit of a shock,” I admitted weakly. I gave David a glance under my eyelashes, but he was looking delighted now.
″Morgan!” he said. “How is she?”
I gave him a quick rundown on Morgan, and then myself after he asked what I’d been up to. Cory finally started wandering around the store again, collecting a variety of bottles as David and I talked. As I talked actually—David didn’t offer much except an endless supply of questions.
″So you know Cory?” I finally asked. It’s not what I wanted to ask, but I figured if I started probing with the are you married, any kids, want to get back together queries, I might just send him running for the door. Besides, I’d been surreptitiously checking for any sign of a wedding ring, and I’m happy to report there was no sign of one, not even a tan line. Of course, that didn’t mean anything since some men choose not to wear them, but it did produce a fluttering in my stomach to think David was still single.
It’s been twelve years since we broke up, and I’m a different person now. There’s no way I would even consider getting back together with him, even if he wanted to, which I’m positive he doesn’t. For sure I don’t. What’s done is done. I’ve gotten past my regret of losing David, of missing him so much my heart literally ached and I would bring up his name in any conversation with mutual friends, desperate for any tidbit about his life. Having David step back into my life is just a momentary blast from the past, a poignant memory come to life, a—
Bullshit !
Who was I trying to kid? Inside, my heart felt like it was bouncing around on one of those jumpy castles the school rents for the spring fair, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
″We work together,” David told me. “I’m over at City Hall.”
″But didn’t you move to Vancouver? I heard something about that.”
″I did,” he said with an amused smile. “I moved there after… I came home about six months ago.”
″Oh. Oh! That’s, that’s nice. Um.” Frantically I searched my head for a nonthreatening question to ask. I noticed there was a line waiting impatiently behind David.
″Look, Casey, I’d love to stay and catch up with you, but there’s probably going to be a bunch of legs crossed at my place if I don’t get home. I have dogs,” he explained. “I have to get home to let them out.”
″Oh. Dogs. That’s nice.” I knew my face fell when he said that, but I couldn’t help it. Did I have to sound so lame? This was worse than the subway this afternoon. Then I focused on David, because like the sun moving from behind the clouds, what he was saying took away the dismal grey in my life.
″You look pretty busy here, too.” He stepped to the side so that I could ring up the next person in line.
″Uh, a little.” I swiped the customer’s Visa card and gave it back without checking the signature.
″I’d love to get together,” I could hear David say, although it was a little hard to believe. “If you’d like to meet and catch up and all that good stuff, that is.”
″I would! I really would! That would be good—great. Everything’s good tonight,” I said embarrassedly. I could feel my face flush. “Thank you, enjoy the wine,” I told the customer happily as she left.
″Well, that’s good,” David said in a bemused voice. “Look, I’m busy tomorrow, but how about Saturday night?”
“Or Saturday during the day?” I eagerly suggested and then kicked myself. Saturday night would be like a date while getting together during the day said let’s just keep it casual—but I didn’t want to wait any longer than I had to. “I mean, if you’re not busy? I don’t have any plans, and I thought it might be good—”
″That would be great. Why don’t you come down to my place and…”
His place !
″I live down by the beach, and we could go for a walk, grab some lunch, and hang out for a bit. Sound good?”
″Sounds wonderful,” I told him with stars in my eyes. I was officially a loser, and now a whole line of customers knew it because they were all listening with rapt attention. Most of them were grinning now, including Cory, who brought up the end of the line, three people away.
″Great. Give me your number, and I’ll text you the address.” After which I apologized to the next customer in line and rang up David’s wine. Then he gave me a big smile and said he’d see me Saturday about eleven. Then he was gone, vanishing as quickly from my sight as he popped into it. In fact, if it wasn’t for Cory standing in front of me with four bottles of merlot and a gleeful expression, I might have thought I dreamed the whole thing.
″Well, that was fun!” Cory said loudly from the end of the line. “Fancy seeing each other after so long like that.”
″Old boyfriend?” asked an older woman in front of him, just a little too eagerly.
″How could you tell?”
″Oh, you can totally tell,” said a thin guy who wasn’t much more than twenty. When he smiled, the ring in his eyebrow stuck out. “You’re all flustered and smiley.”
″She can’t stop smiling,” the older woman said with a smile of her own.
″She’s glowing,” Cory announced.
″Well, now I’m just embarrassed,” I told them as I felt the colour mount on my cheeks. But I couldn’t seem to get the smile off my face for the rest of the night, despite the wicked heartburn I ended up getting from that falafel.