48. Ryan Fairview
C al didn’t come back the next day.
True to his word, he at least sent me a text to let me know he was going to be gone longer than he anticipated, but still.
My gut was a fucking rock.
The only good thing was I didn’t have any services. I wasn’t in the right mindset to deal with people.
I busied myself with paperwork, and in the afternoon, I went to pick up a body that needed preparation.
The deceased’s spirit, Mr. Renfrew, sat quietly in the passenger seat as I drove him to Fairview. He was a kind man, quiet and elderly. Thankfully, he wasn’t feeling super chatty. I took it as a small blessing, considering I wasn’t in the mood to help him transition into death.
Before snapping on my gloves in the embalming room, I checked my phone for what felt like the thousandth time.
The last text Cal had sent me seemed to mock me.
Cal Sex God Walker:
Hey, baby. Checking in. All’s good, just busy. Won’t be back today like I thought. Maybe tomorrow! Xx
He’d sent that hours ago.
What was he doing that was so time-consuming that he wouldn’t be able to come back tonight? What was he going to do for dinner?
I closed my eyes and shook my head.
I was overreacting and acting like a possessive girlfriend. I may not like what he did for work, but it was still work. When I was busy with a body or a service, it wasn’t like I was on my phone all day. Why was I being so needy?
I wrestled with these scary new feelings, doing my best to convince myself to just give him some space. But… fuck that!
Space? When the fuck did Cal ever want space from me? Since I had met him, he’d been forcing himself into my routine whether I liked it or not.
He couldn’t bully his way into my life, make me feel all these things for him, then just disappear. I may not be as outgoing as him, but I wasn’t a fucking doormat.
Ryan:
Hey, it’s been a few hours. You still good?
I waited, watching the conversation carefully to see if he would read my message or respond. He didn’t.
Mr. Renfew cleared his throat, and I glanced up at the spirit. He was looking at me with something close to sympathy in his eyes, but he glanced meaningfully at his body on the table and then back up at me.
‘You going to get to work, son? My body’s not getting any colder.’
I sighed, glancing down at my phone one last time before nodding.
“Right. Sorry.” I muttered. I fired off one more text before getting back to work.
Ryan:
Just make sure you eat something if you’re not coming back for dinner.
I paused, staring at my text and feeling like it wasn’t enough. Without letting myself overthink it, I followed up with one more, even though I wasn’t double texting anymore… I was shamelessly moving into triple-text territory.
Buzz buzz, mother fucker. Answer me!
Ryan:
Be safe. Xx
Then I slipped my phone in my pocket and snapped on my gloves.
He was fine.
He was just really busy.
Everything was fine.
Cal didn’t come back the next day either.
Or the next.
I would have convinced myself that I had just made him up completely if it weren’t for the fact that he sent me some variation of the same text each day. Every morning, I woke up to a confirmation that he was ‘ok,’ just, ‘ busy.’ It was driving me fucking insane.
By the fourth day, I wasn’t even worried anymore. Just pissed off.
I never asked for him to come into my life and make me care about him, but he had, and now I was waiting around for him to come back like some sort of bored housewife.
On the fourth day, I finally caved and texted Naomi.
Ryan:
Hey, Gnomes. Heard from your brother at all?
Naomi:
Oh god. Not you, too! I’m doomed to be a gnome forever.
Ryan:
Haha, you don’t like being called Gnomes?
Naomi:
*Eye roll emoji* I guess it’s fine. You’re lucky I like you.
Ryan:
lol thanks, I guess.
Ryan:
So… your brother. You hear from him lately?
Naomi:
Nope, but this is normal, Ry-guy. He’ll be back as soon as he can. Don’t worry about him. He’s the dude all the bad guys are afraid of.
Ryan:
Right. Ok. Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine, I was just wondering.
Naomi:
Listen, all my pals are on summer vacation. I’m not doing anything today. You wanna hang out? You can take me for ice cream.
I snorted at that but smiled. I wasn’t doing anything today. We had just wrapped Mr. Renfew’s service, and because I had been obsessively doing everything in my power to get my mind off of Cal, I was super caught up on all my paperwork.
Ryan:
Sure. I’ll come pick you up in an hour?
Naomi:
Oooo yaaaaaas! Can we take the hearse?!
Ryan:
Lmfao. Sure. See you soon.
As much as I would never admit it, I was really glad Naomi had asked to spend time with me. If I couldn’t see Cal, I supposed his little sister was the next best thing. Besides, maybe I could grill her a little more on his past. She probably knew him better than anyone.
Feeling slightly better than I had in days, I grabbed my keys and headed to Cal’s house.