I glared at the agent. “He was gone a week. He said he didn’t have time to make phone calls.”
“What else?”
I stared at a couple holding hands. They walked from the café deeper into campus.
“He had to go unexpectedly. And when he got there he thought it was only going to be for two days, but it turned into a longer trip. He had to push back our first date.”
“Hmm.”
“Does that mean something to you?” I asked. “Is he in Germany now?”
“I’m the one asking questions, not answering.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t have anything else.”
In the past weeks I hadn’t been given any information on Vaughn. I didn’t know where he was. And there was no way to know. I had never been to his apartment. I had never seen his office. And of course that made complete sense to me now. Neither were real. There was a reason we always slept at my place. He was waiting for Greer, and he never wanted me to have a glimpse of his life. He had prepared for this moment.
“Are you sure? Did he say what city? How long it took him to get there? Anything like that?”
I rolled my eyes. “He did bring me a gift.”
“He did?”
“A box of liquor-filled chocolates. It was sort of an apology gift.”
“That’s a new one.”
“They were actually really good.” It was a childish reaction to defend the gift.
“No, I mean the gift. I don’t remember him doing that before.”
I looked at the agent. I hated it when he compared me to the other marks. The women before me Vaughn had used. Only to them he hadn’t been Vaughn. He was Jake or Scott. Edward one time. It made my head spin thinking of all his identities. The stories he must have told. The careers he invented. I imagined each one played into the interest of the woman he seduced. He learned about what they liked. He studied their families. He took them to bed.
“Anything else?” I looked at my phone. It was time for me to walk to the shuttle.
“I’ll follow up tomorrow.” He turned off the recorder.
“I’m going to New Bern for Thanksgiving,” I informed him. “I assume I get a break for the holiday, or do you want to have pumpkin pie with my mother?”
He chuckled. “You are quite the smartass, Miss Charles.”
My stomach cinched. Vaughn had said that not long ago. He always called me “smartass.”
“Good night.” I walked toward the shuttle. “I’ll see you after Thanksgiving.”
“Good night, Miss Charles. Enjoy your ho
liday.”
The leaves rustled at my feet as I crunched over them. The wheels of the shuttle squeaked to a halt and I climbed aboard.
I hadn’t forgotten I had the apartment to myself tonight. Greer and Preston were on a date. She described it as a chance for them to get to know each other again. He had decided that Greer wasn’t as toxic to his career as he thought. No one in the Senate seemed to have even noticed they were dating.
I was in no position to give her relationship advice. So I kept my mouth shut and told her I’d be fine on my own. I had exams to grade. Exams that were mostly composed of essays. I needed quiet if I was going to get through them. Tonight it was better that I was left alone.
I held the bar overhead on the Metro. I commuted home on autopilot. I didn’t notice the signs anymore, or strain to listen for the crackled announcements. My body had learned how to count the minutes from Tenleytown to Adams Morgan. My legs carried me up the stairs to the street level without prompting. I was a part of the crowd now. One of the many D.C.’ers. I blended in in my Keds.
I didn’t think it would happen, but over time my appetite came back. I had lost five pounds from the grief. Tonight, I made a small pot of pasta and poured a glass of wine while I pulled up the submitted exams online.