39. Chapter 39
Chapter thirty-nine
Sam
O n tired feet and legs, I drag myself out of my office chair after a long, exhausting day. Granted, most of my job involves sitting and listening to patients talk about their lives. Then me trying to help and guide them through their problems.
My work is mostly mental, but that doesn’t mean, on certain days, those patients don’t weigh heavily on my mind. Also, our computers and phones went down, which was a major inconvenience. Talk about stressful.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to heading home and relaxing with a pizza, some scotch, and maybe a movie with Mikey.
I say goodbye to my workmates, their laughter and chatter fading into the distance as I walk to my car. My heavy footsteps echo against the pavement as I try to make a decision about my evening plans. I pull out my phone and shoot a text to my son.
Me: Hey. How about pizza and a movie tonight? Unless you have other plans.
Which wouldn’t surprise me. His social life is much more robust than mine, even when Cara was in the picture .
Plus, lately, I have been introducing Mikey to the movies that I loved growing up or were released long before he was born. I want to show him one of my favorites tonight. Men in Black . So I hope he doesn’t have anything going on.
I swiftly slide my phone into my back pocket as I reach my car, parked in its usual spot, resting beneath the shade of the tree. For some reason, I never want to park anywhere else.
Well, I know the reason.
This spot will forever be associated with Maria, particularly the sight of her walking into work in those darn pink scrubs.
I shield my eyes from the blinding glare caused by the sun shining through the branches onto my face. As I wave goodbye to one of my workmates, who’s parked a few spots away from me, I hit the unlock button on my key fob. The familiar chirp of my car unlocking fills the air.
“Looks like you might have gotten a ticket,” she yells to me.
A ticket? Did I hear her right? What in the world could she be talking about?
“A what?” My voice echoes as I holler back at her.
She points, which directs my attention to the windshield. Something’s pinned under the wiper.
What the heck?
“Thanks!” I wave back to her as she gets in her car, and I reach to grab whatever this is. I know we are allowed to park here. This is a shared lot between the hospital and the office building. The one Maria used to work in.
Unless they changed the parking arrangement and now this spot is off limits. A host of thoughts are running through my head as I lift the wiper blade and retrieve the white envelope without giving it a second glance. If it’s a parking violation ticket from the hospital, it’s strange that it would be in an envelope. Honestly, I’m too tired to care.
After the day that I’ve had, I don’t want to deal with it, so I open the car door, get in, and throw the envelope into the passenger seat. Just then, my phone vibrates. It’s Mikey.
My Cool Kid: Sure. Sounds good. No plans for me .
After ordering the pizza, I toss my phone into the car’s center console, ready to put this day behind me.
“So, K just goes and lives his life after reconnecting with his woman?” Mikey asks as the credits roll on Men in Black .
“That’s right.”
“And now J is going to take over?”
His excitement about one of my favorite movies is clear, and it brings a smile to my face. “Yep. So, you liked it?”
“Heck, yeah! It was awesome. Is there a second one? I want to see what happens.” He stands, picking up the empty pizza box and our two soda pop cans.
“There is. How about next week?” I watch him carry everything into the kitchen, and I wonder how I got so lucky. Erica and I were a mistake as a couple. But it’s crazy how that mistake created something so perfect, and for that, I will forever be grateful to her.
“Hey, Dad, what’s this?” He’s holding the envelope that was on my windshield.
I heave myself up from the couch and start walking towards the bathroom. “I think it’s a parking ticket from work.”
“But it has your name written on the front. And it says, ‘Please Read,’” he yells as I walk away. The echoing of his question stops me because that is weird. Why would I get a parking ticket with my name handwritten on the envelope? I hardly glanced at it earlier, so I didn’t notice my name or the written plea to read it.
With my curiosity piqued, I turn on my heels and head back toward the kitchen as Mikey extends the envelope to me.
As I take it from his hand, everything around me stops. In handwriting that I would recognize anywhere, my name stares back at me .
It’s from Maria.
DAMNIT! Why didn’t I open this earlier?
Thoughts of her have consumed me since Saturday. Right after I professed to her I was all in, I placed her in an Uber and sent her away to be with her hunky boyfriend. Hoping for any sign, message, or phone call from her, I clung to my phone on Sunday, making sure it was always within reach, checking it every five seconds.
But I got nothing.
Which leads me to assume that she and Geoffrey are still together.
So many times, I wanted to text her and apologize. I shouldn’t have said that to her. Told her I was ready. Ready for us. She’s in a relationship, for heaven’s sake. And from what I could tell on Saturday, a happy one.
But there was no way I was letting her slip from my grasp again without telling her where my heart was at. And if I get nothing from her in return, I’m ready to accept that.
But now, this envelope is taunting me.
Mikey interrupts my internal rambling. “Are you going to open it?” I have no clue how long I have been standing here holding and staring at it.
As I flip it over, hope builds in my chest. My finger slips under the glued flap. Paper ripping tears through my ears as well as the heavy expectancy in the kitchen. I pull out a blue-lined piece of paper.
A letter. She wrote me a letter.
I unfold it and read.
Dear Sam,
I’m all in. Meet me at our spot. I’ll be there.
Waiting all day if I have to.
Love always,
Maria
“Oh, my God.” The words spill out of my mouth because I can’t believe what I just read .
This is it.
It’s our time.
After twenty-seven years, can this actually be happening?
“Who is it from?” My son’s question brings me out of my thoughts. With urgency, I shove the letter back into the envelope and run over to the closet to get my shoes. I’ve only recently told Mikey about Maria. Not every detail, but enough for him to know what she meant to me.
As I shove my feet into my shoes, I answer him. “It’s from Maria. I have to go to Pittsburgh.”
I stand up, scanning the living room, my eyes darting over every surface, desperately searching for my keys and wallet.
Where did I put them?!
“Whoa. Like Maria, Maria? The Maria?” Mikey asks, following me around the room as I take my search on foot for my stupid keys.
I’m patting down my t-shirt and sweatpants now, as if they would be hiding in my clothes. Seriously! Where are they?! As I frantically search, I see Mikey out of the corner of my eye, reading the letter. “Wow, this is incredible!” he exclaims, his voice filled with excitement as he sits the letter back down and eagerly assists in the search.
“Yes, Maria! I have to drive to Pittsburgh, Mikey. She wants to meet me there.” I’m lifting and throwing couch cushions. I can’t think straight.
“Dad! Here they are!” I spin my head, only to see Mikey snatching them off the end table and flinging them towards me from across the room. Keys clank together as they soar through the air. I catch them. “Will you be okay here?” I ask as I walk toward him, a beaming smile on his face.
“Of course, Dad. Go!” I rest my hand on his face, grateful that he seems to be happy for me at this moment. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Me too,” I choke out as my throat tightens. Because … yeah.
“Wait, don’t forget this.” He reaches down and hands me back the letter. “Now, go!” Mikey yells as I run out the door, into my car, and toward the future that I have always wanted.
This hour-long drive into the city has been the longest of my life. The moment my car enters the Fort Pitt Tunnel, a wave of anxiety washes over me. My grip around the steering wheel is getting tighter by the second as I drive through. This tunnel has never made me feel more claustrophobic than right now. I just want to be on the other side, with the city in full view and Maria that much closer.
Driving through this mountain, my mind becomes a whirlwind of thoughts, doubts, and fears.
Is she still there?
What happened to Geoffrey?
Is this really happening?
As I exit the other side, the bright lights of Pittsburgh hit me in the face as I make my way to Point State Park. Where I know Maria will be waiting for me. At the Point, by the three rivers and the fountain.
Our spot.
I park, and it feels like I am being charged with electricity from the inside out. I’m in a desperate rush to get out of the car, but before I do, I quickly reach over and pop open the glove compartment. The watch is still there, untouched and silently ticking. I snatch it and forcefully stuff it into my back pocket.
Then I shut the car door and run.