Chapter 40 Owen
M y phone continues to buzz in my pocket. I’d answer it if it weren’t for the four boxes of cat toys, including a new cat tower, balancing in my arms as I unlock my apartment without them toppling down the stairwell.
After work, I took a little trip to the pet store and found several promising options to bring out when Samson needs something to distract him from Poppy being in my room. I’m quite happy with the options too. He’ll probably curl up in the boxes instead of playing with the toys for the first day or so, if history is anything to go by.
“Hey bud,” I say, opening the door and craning my neck to see around the boxes so I’m not accidentally stepping on him. The boxes aren’t heavy, they’re just big and I feel like I’m about to drop them since they’re all different sizes.
His body flashes in and out of my limited vision as he circles my feet. “I’m trying to get to the table so I can open these for you, so if you trip me, you’re going to have smashed toys that you can’t use.”
He ignores my warning and continues to make my short journey treacherous, but the toys and I survive. Setting the stack on the table, I grab my phone and walk back to shut the door as my mom’s face fills the screen.
“Owen, is everything alright?” she asks, moving her head around like she might be able to see past me even though she’s on the phone.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” I say, feeling confused over her back-to-back-to-back calls.
“I was worried when you didn’t pick up on the first call since you usually do in the afternoon.”
The door clicks behind me and I kneel down to remove my sneakers with one hand. “I’m good, Mom. I was just coming home with some new toys for Samson, so I couldn’t get to my phone.”
“What’s wrong with his old toys?”
I’m not about to explain the real reason behind these new options even though my mother and I are close, so I settle on saying, “I figured he could use something new since school has been back in session for a bit.”
She nods knowingly. “Well, that’s sweet of you.”
“Thanks.” Samson comes in front of the camera to rub his face against my chin. “How’s Dad feeling?”
“Good, he’s still at the store for another hour. He promised me he wouldn’t stay until closing and that he’d let Marty handle training the new guy.”
“Is he using the scooter?” I ask, feeling guilty, once again, that I’m not there to stop by and see how he’s doing.
“Yes, and that’s helping keep the swelling low since he refuses to rest longer now that his stitches are out.” She waves a dismissive hand at my stubborn father’s need to be hands-on. He took over the flower shop that gave him his first job as a teen. The owner retired fifteen years ago and had made him a manager when he was in his mid-twenties so it wasn’t surprising that she made an offer for him to take over. He’s poured himself into that little shop, making sure it’s just as loved by the neighborhood as when it opened.
If I was there, I could have still taught and helped run the store after school so he would rest longer. Another thing that I feel guilty about even though he always encouraged me to do what I was passionate about. “Enough about your father, I want to hear more about your weekend. Mae said you went for a run? I could hardly believe my ears.”
Of course my aunt heard about the run after I told my cousins. “It wasn’t as terrible as I expected.”
My mother’s facial expression falls flat and she blinks a few times. “You’ve always hated running. I wasn’t born yesterday, Owen. What got you out?”
“Oh, so Aunt Mae didn’t have all the details?” I tease.
“If she did, I would have already been asking you about the person, so,” she pauses and makes a circling gesture with her hand for me to start talking.
“My friend, Noah, from school, suggested a few of us go for a sunrise run. He’s the counselor, you’ll have to meet him when you’re here this winter.”
“And, someone joined you…” she says, fishing.
Brandon or James must have hinted that I might be seeing someone. Not that I’m hiding what’s happening with Poppy, well, except at work.
“Actually,” I say, ripping the Band-Aid off even though I’m not sure if we have a label yet. “Andi, Brandon’s wife, has a friend who I teach with and she’s the other person who was invited on the run. Her name is Poppy and she’s the art teacher at my school, but we met at the wedding.”
“Is she the reason you left the reception early?”
“Where did you hear that?” My cheeks have to be beet red right now.
“That’s a yes, then,” she says, smiling. “So it was Poppy who got you out for that run.”
Chuckling, I shake my head at myself for being surprised she already had a hunch. “Yes, mom. And Noah didn’t even show up, we think he planned it all on purpose. But, we spent some more time together over the weekend and we’re seeing each other now.”
“I knew something had shifted for you. Call it a mother’s intuition.” She taps her temple. “So tell me about her.”
“Do you want to tell me what you already know?” I joke as I sit with my back against the door and let Samson curl up in my lap, purring.
“I just had a few details, nothing major. I know Mae thinks she’s a very nice gal.”
“Well, she was traveling last semester, doing some photography work, so I didn’t meet her until the day of the wedding. We hit it off and we had this little thing where we were “just Poppy” and “just Owen” which was nice. I didn’t need to explain to her that we were almost coworkers when I hadn’t even told Brandon I didn’t get the job, and she was enjoying one more night of her time away.” Thankfully, my mom doesn’t ask for more details about Poppy’s request for anonymity. That’s not something I feel comfortable sharing for her. “We didn’t exchange details or anything, but I was planning to move back to the city. Then I got the call and, as you know, had to scramble to unpack and get ready for the start of the year.”
“So have you been seeing this Poppy since the school year started?” She raises her eyebrow and gives me that look only my mother can give. The one where I’m potentially in trouble.
“No, Mom,” I say. “Yesterday was our first date, actually. So I promise I haven’t been keeping a relationship a secret from you.”
“Okay, I was worried something had happened that made you feel like you needed to hide it.”
“Absolutely not,” I reassure her. “In fact, we first needed to navigate suddenly being coworkers, and then, through a little help from Noah, who I think was playing matchmaker, we started hanging out.”
“And running,” she adds.
“And running, which would have likely been a disaster if we had run the full route. Thankfully, we stopped at the jetty to the lighthouse and then walked back. I’m sure she was going easy on me, but I kept up with her.”
“You look happy,” she says after a moment.
“I am.”