Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
GRAMERCY
Idid not get home from Calliope’s place until the sun started to come up.
She had the good sense to print out all the messages from Glen, saying she was going to use them for research for her new book.
He seemed to say all the right things, almost to the point where it felt scripted.
She hasn’t dated in years, yet, she chose this guy to jump into the dating hell that we are all dealing with.
When I asked her why, she just shrugged her shoulders.
I start a pot of coffee, and run through everything she said, trying to formulate a plan.
She picked a great place to meet him. Bryant Park is very busy with a lot of things going on.
Not that it matters; this is New York City.
You can be standing in a crowd and something bad could happen to you and no one would notice.
I wonder if the dog is legit, or just something to make her more comfortable?
I could always take Chica with me and pretend to run into her.
I grab the pot of coffee and what’s left of the chocolate Bubka before heading downstairs to talk to Grandpa.
“Good morning, Grandpa. Before you say anything, I know you want me to call you Jerry, but when we are inside the walls of this brownstone, you are my grandpa.”
“Did you breathe at all during your rant? I agree with you. Now, pour the coffee and cut the babka,” he orders. I smile as I pass him his coffee and cake.
“What are you smiling about?”
“I’m a very lucky girl to have such a special grandpa in my life,” I answer. He waves his hand as if he is shooing away a fly.
“Why don’t you fill me in on what is going on? Don’t say nothing. This is way too early in the morning for you.” He has a point.
“It’s Calliope,” I answer, “She has been talking to someone on the site. Now she is going to meet him for coffee on Friday at Bryant Park. He said he has a dog. I’m not sure if he is telling the truth.
I thought I would borrow Chica and go to the park.
What do you think?” He begins to cough and now I’m thinking this was not a good idea. ”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry; I nearly choked with laughter. You want to borrow Chica? You hate her! She will go nuts on you, bringing attention to yourself that you don’t want. I’ll go with you.”
“No. I don’t want to worry about you. I need to focus on Calliope. What if he is evil?” I throw my hands out.
“You mean like that show we watched where the rich guy put fentanyl in the hand sanitizer and then kidnaped the young lady? Gramercy, it’s the park.
We will both be there and so will Chica.
” At his mentioning her name, she leaps into his lap, looks at me, curls her lip, and growls.
I struggle to find the words, knowing all too well that I’ve already lost this argument.
“Maybe I need to keep you away from those crime shows you’ve been watching.”
“Maybe you should be watching them with me. Anyway, I will be ready on Friday, and I promise I won’t say anything to Calliope about our plan. Now, cut me another piece of that Bubka, and don’t be so stingy this time.”
It didn’t take us long to finish off the cake. While Grandpa went to shower, I decided to head upstairs to check my own progress on the dating site.
My fingers are trembling as I open my laptop.
Quickly, I log into the dating site, and I have three new messages.
One from the dog guy. I open that one first. The minute I do, a circle next to his thumbnail photo shows up.
That means he’s online now. I click on live chat, and a box pops up.
I decide to type a message before I lose my nerve.
“So, tell me, Dog Approved, why are you hiding your face?”
“I find women can’t resist a cute dog, and my dog Chunk is cute. Why did it take you so long to respond?”
“That still doesn’t answer my question.” He doesn’t answer.
Instead, a photo pops up. It’s a group of marines in their blue dress uniforms. As I lean in closer, I see all the faces in the faded photo, including my husband: Rian.
I feel the room begin to spin. I squeeze my eyes shut and the memories come flooding back.
Memories I thought I buried a long time ago.
Who is this man and why does he have this photo?
As I slowly open my eyes and wipe away my tears, I see there is another message from him.
“Are you still there?”
With trembling fingers, I hold my breath and respond. “Who are you and why are you sending this to me?”
“I served with Rian. I was supposed to be in Fallujah that day, but the night before I was pulled out and sent stateside. My mom was in hospice, and I was given an emergency leave to be with her. Rian took my place. I didn’t want to put my picture up until I spoke with you, just in case you recognized me.
I’m standing on Rian’s right.” I focus in on his face, and he is vaguely familiar.
“Why now? It’s been over twenty years. Why bring all this up now?”
“I recently got divorced and decided to join the dating site. The computer matched us on the first day. I never forgot Rian and was shocked when I realized it was you. I could have said nothing and moved on; however, I couldn’t bring myself to do that.” I wish he would have just moved on.
“Why play games? Why not just message me like you did now?”
“When we were going through training camp, we were so young and close, like one big happy family. After everything happened, I thought I should contact the rest of our group, but I didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you?” The light is flashing, but he’s not responding. Finally, a message pops up.
“Survivors guilt. I would much rather talk about this face to face. Would you like to meet for coffee? No strings attached—just talk.”
“I need to think about it.” With that, I log out of the site and close my computer.
Why now? I closed that chapter of my life so long ago.
What good would it do for me now? After all this time, will it help him with his survivor’s guilt?
I reach for my phone to call Calliope but stop myself.
She doesn’t need me to dump this on her, not now.
She is finally being brave, and I’m not going to be the one to interfere with that.
I head into the shower, not sure what I’m going to do.
So, for now, I’m doing nothing. Hell, that might not be the best option, but it’s still an option.