Poppy's Fall

Chapter 1

Poppy Hartley sat at the small round table of her New York City apartment cradling a cup of coffee between her hands.  Her head was pounding; an unfortunate side-effect of being awake so early, but not so much as her heart was at the thought of the man who had just left.  Poppy’s lips curved into an easy smile as she remembered the tangled sheets and sweaty bodies of the night before.  The feel of his warm skin against hers had her purring. 

Thirty year old Kyle Edwards was the definition of a man, as far as Poppy was concerned.  And with Kyle being a Coast Guard, the uniform was a nice bonus.  She had first laid eyes on him in the gym of their apartment complex.  Poppy didn’t use the gym frequently but she knew most of the people who did and a new face had not been hard to pick out in the crowd.  His russet colored eyes and chiseled jaw, with just enough stubble, was enough to drive a woman crazy.  She loved that he was tall and his body reminded her of a swimmer’s; lean and fit. 

After the first sighting at the gym it seemed to Poppy that Kyle was suddenly everywhere.  He had been sitting with a friend at the coffee shop around the corner where Poppy got her favorite chai latte.  They recognized each other immediately and he had confidently sent her a wink.  Thinking nothing of it, Poppy had returned it with a small wave then went on her way.  No more than a day later there he was at a hot new nightclub.  Going to a club was not usually at the top of Poppy’s list of exciting things to do but a friend had begged her to go.  For some reason Poppy had found it reassuring that Kyle had looked infinitely uncomfortable there as well.  Two days after that, while picking up her mail from the mail boxes at the apartment complex there he was.  That was when she found out he was a Coast Guard as he had been in uniform.  She had embarrassingly slammed into the side of the elevator while staring at him.  Lucky for her, Kyle had found it endearing and asked her to hold the door for him.  Now, two months and a handful of dates under their belts, things had taken a serious turn.  Or at least Poppy thought so and since she didn’t believe Kyle was the type to be casual, she figured sleeping together meant something to him as well. 

Poppy went about her day, taking a few calls for work in the morning then met with a friend for lunch.  Being a life coach made it possible for her to work from home.  She had an established client base and was damn good at what she did.  Poppy had struggled to find her niche until, that is, she sought the advice of a life coach herself.  It soon became apparent that she had found what she wanted to do with her life and never looked back.   She loved being able to help people achieve their goals, whatever they may be. 

It wasn’t until later that evening, when she was sitting in front of her television set mindlessly watching some sort of reality show that she realized she had sent Kyle a message that morning and he had yet to respond.  Poppy reached for the cell phone sitting on a side table beside the couch and checked her messages...nothing.  She wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.  He would never sleep with her and then fall off the face of the earth, she refused to believe that.  And she wouldn’t become some nagging girlfriend, or whatever she was to him, who expected him to answer within seconds. 

A knock at her door had her looking up in relief.  “There you are.” She muttered.  When she opened the door, however, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.  “Hi Agnes”

Poppy reached over to a bowl sitting on a tiny table beside the door.  When she produced a key, her elderly neighbor grinned.  Agnes White, as lovely a neighbor as she was, misplaced her keys an upward of four times per week.  After a few times of Agnes having to ask Poppy if she could use her phone to call the landlord, Poppy suggested leaving an emergency key with her so the old woman wouldn’t have to wait or pay to have her door unlocked. 

“Thank you dear, you’re a lifesaver”

Poppy watched Agnes shuffle across the hall to unlock her door.  Tiny and frail, a strong gust of wind could knock Agnes over.  Add to that her large round bottle glasses, curly mop of white hair and a weakness for bright pink lipstick, she was one of Poppy’s favorite people.

Once the door was taken care of she returned the key to Poppy.  “I’m sorry to hear about you and your man.  I thought you made a lovely couple.”

“Oh, thanks, we’re…”  Poppy stopped mid-sentence and stared at Agnes.  “What do you mean you’re sorry?”

Agnes’s hands fluttered to her throat. “You don’t know?  When I saw him climb into that woman’s car this morning I figured you had broken up.”

“He left with a woman?” Poppy suddenly had the urge to sit down.  She needed to find a chair before she dropped to the floor. 

“Yes, I waved to him but he seemed to be in quite a hurry.” Agnes placed her hands on Poppy’s arm. “He had a bag with him.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Putting on a brave face, Poppy claimed to suddenly remember something important. “I forgot he was leaving for the weekend with his sister.”

“His sister?” confusion was clearly etched on Agnes’s face.  The old woman was certain Kyle had mentioned that he was an only child.  Then again she had lost her slippers one day and found them on the bottom shelf of her refrigerator the next morning.  It was entirely possible that she had misheard.

Poppy nodded enthusiastically as she started to shut the door.  “Yes, that’s right.  His sister, Sophie” There was no way even Crazy Agnes was buying this. “They were headed to their annual family gathering.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad.” Agnes replied as she stood at the now closed door.  She had seen the look of heartbreak on Poppy’s face.

                                                                                                 ***

As she leaned against the door, Poppy desperately searched through the messages on her phone.  There was a simple explanation for his sudden departure.  He had left a message, she was sure of it and she had somehow missed it.  Frustration crept in and then denial.  She didn’t know how long she stood there, scouring her phone for messages that just didn’t exist.  Finally, Poppy slid slowly down the length of the door.  The sun faded to make way for the silvery crescent moon and still she sat there.  How could he do this?  They had been happy, hadn’t they?  He had called her his girlfriend as they sat in the coffee shop around the corner. 

With the taste of bitterness in her mouth, Poppy angrily threw the phone to the floor shattering the screen.  Great, just great, she thought.  She hadn’t been clingy.  She hadn’t nagged.  She had been damn perfect.  But no, he had seemingly gotten what he wanted and left her out in the cold.  Never again.