Leaning forward in her seat to stretch, Adrianna reached around to try to massage the ache in her lower back. In addition to being immobile for the last three hours, she hadn’t gotten much exercise in the last two days and she was feeling the effects. She couldn’t wait to get home and utilize the fitness ball Jack had gotten her.
“Do you need me to stop?” Jack asked, moving Adrianna’s hand out of the way and replacing it with his own. He dug his fingers into her muscles deeply, just like Adrianna needed. She moaned at the relief.
“No, it’s okay, we’re almost home,” she replied.
Jack continued to massage her back while he stared at the road ahead of them. He didn’t speak again and Adrianna wished she knew what to say to distract him from his thoughts. She had tried several times to strike up conversations with him at the beginning of the car ride, but he shot down every attempt with a one word answer. Though she felt glum at being so useless, she told herself that after a few days Jack would be okay.
When they arrived at Adrianna’s apartment Jack parked and carried her bag to her door. He didn’t go in though and left the bag on the floor at her entryway.
“You’re not coming in?” she asked with disappointment.
“I’ve gotta get back to my place,” Jack explained. “Check on the bar.”
Adrianna nodded. “Do you want to come back later?”
Jack’s eyes wrinkled and his head tilted to the side as he gently told her, “I think I’m gonna stay in tonight. Is that okay?”
Adrianna hid the hurt she felt when he didn’t invite her to his place. She put a smile on her face and told him it was fine.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said and then kissed her goodnight.
“Men don’t know how to deal with grief,” Heather offered, sitting at her kitchen table with Adrianna as they spoke over coffee. “Men are comfortable with three emotions: horny, hungry, and tired. Anything else throws them completely out of whack.”
Adrianna laughed, thinking Heather was spot on in her analysis. Jack had called her that morning but to tell her he was going to be busy dealing with more of his father’s affairs. He was also working at the bar open to close and he didn’t say if he would see Adrianna after. She didn’t ask, either. Instead she spent the day shopping for scrubs, which she would be wearing at her new job, and though she had until September before she actually started, she was still excited about working soon. After having dinner in front of her television alone, she went across the hall to pay a visit to Heather.
She had explained the whole ordeal with Jack’s father passing away and how his behavior had changed drastically. Though she was still was hopeful that after just a little time they would be okay, she still was unhappy about him being so distant.
“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I feel like he’s slipping away and I hate that I can’t help him like he helped me.”
Heather studied Adrianna for a minute and smiled. Gone was the haunted look she always had in her eyes and though she had been sitting for almost twenty minutes, she wasn’t fidgeting every few seconds.
“He has helped you, hasn’t he?” Heather mused.
“In more ways than you could possible imagine,” Adrianna admitted.
Heather’s six-year-old, Trevor entered the kitchen and Adrianna smiled. He had blonde hair but his mother’s freckles and she thought about how she would be working with children his age soon. The idea made her anxious for September.
“Mommy, can I have some juice?” he asked and Heather rose from her seat to go to the refrigerator. Adrianna watched wistfully as her friend handed her son a cup, which he took with a small thank you. When he finished he handed it back to his mom, who kissed his head and swatted his behind before he scurried back to his room to play.
“I want kids,” Adrianna blurted when Heather returned to the table.
“Really? Does Jack?”
“I don’t know,” Adrianna answered.
“You should ask him,” Heather countered. “Conversations like that are important in serious relationships.”