How to Say Goodbye

The one where he confesses

I wake up at 10 when Keith knocks on my door .

We head down to breakfast together once I'm ready .

"I really wanna go out to eat . You remember any good places ?"he asks me during the meal .

"My parents used to own a café here actually . And before we moved we sold it to someone named Paul probably . I don't know if he still kept it a café or turned it into something else ." I sip on my morning coffee as I tell him . The coffee has too much sugar for my liking but I don't complain . It feels foreign in my tongue and at the same time it tastes like how this town would .

"That's cool. That's something you never told me either ."he says once he's done chewing on his toast .

"Like I said before , small town not many stories to tell."

"You could have at least said you guys used to own a café."

I lean further into my chair and cross my legs . My coffee still at hand . "Maybe we can ask the manager if he knows a good place ."

"Yeah . He'd know ." Keith replies putting an end to our morning conversation .

After breakfast Keith heads towards the little office to get the managers' help as I walk towards the only telephone in the hotel . It looks rusty and I can tell people hardly use it since everyone has their own these days . The teal color's almost faded . The phone looks like it's gracefully served its' years and is ready to retire .

I reach for the little drawer under the table that the phone sits on and find the book I was looking for . It's not too big but not too thin either . And I knew this could help me find the people whose names I do remember .

I open the phonebook as I sit on the sofa next to the table .

I go through A's and then the B's and I keep on going and it's not until I hit the J's that I find someone familiar .

Brice Johnson . There's a bit information about him as well as his number . It seems like he was still running his family business .

Back then they had the only Chinese restaurant in town . And it looks like they still own it . I smile having found someone familiar .

Just as I close the book Keith walks up to me .

"Any news?" I ask him as I stand up.

"Yeah , he said there's a place with good Chinese food . And the place is called Johnson Johnson . Can you believe that?" he laughed as his eyes sparkled .

I smiled at him . But just as I did his laughed minimized .

"Why are you smiling like that?" he asked almost instantly .

I tilted my head back and shoved my hands deep inside my pants pockets . I didn't know what he meant . But I knew we were going to see someone from the past that keeps on coming back to me.

"You all set?" Keith asks me once I get out of my room .

"Yup." I say as I lock the door and put the key inside my bag .

"You look nice ."he says .

I smile . I'm wearing the dress my mother sent to me on my birthday last year . I never wore it before since it was yellow and that'd not my ideal color . But this place makes me want to be vibrant .

"Do you think the heels are too much?" I ask showing my genuine concern regarding the four inch red heels .

"Nah . They make you look bold ."he smiles .

Even in my heels he towers over me . He's almost as tall as my brother . And his curly brown hair along with his olive skin just makes him look so much more appealing .

"You look pretty cool yourself." I sling my little black bag on my shoulder .

"Well thank you my lady ." He says with a slight bow making me shove him a bit.

His green shirt and beige dress pants look like a perfect combination . I always admired how he could pull off any look .

When we reached the lobby the manager greeted us with his regular chirpiness . "Off to that date? "He said with a smile .

I blushed and opened my mouth to say no but Keith beat me to it as he said , "Yes."

I eyed him but he brushed me off as he kept on talking to Mr. Sanders .

"Well I have the keys for what you asked for ." he said and passed Keith a key .

"Oh thank you ."he said with a smile and slung a hand around me as he pulled me towards the exit.

A black Chevrolet was parked outside . It was old , I could tell just by one look . But it was clean and still looked gorgeous .

Once we were in the car I finally turned to look at him . "What was that?" I asked and I knew my voice sounded snappier than I meant it to be.

"What was what?" he asked as he turned on the engine .

"Why would you tell him we were going on a date?" I asked huffing and crossing my hands in front of my chest .

"Well , just because . If it bothers you think of it as a date between friends ." he said with a shrug as if it was that simple.

"I'm sure that's not what Mr. Sanders is thinking ." I argued .

"Jesus, I'm sorry . Okay? I didn't think things through . Just said what I wanted this to be and I'm sorry if it bothered you ." he said sounding frustrated .

It took awhile before his words sunk in my mind and at the same time I guess they sunk in his too . Since he did a full turn to look at me , for a few seconds straight . He had unwillingly just confessed and I didn't know what to do . So I did the thing I had always done well . The thing that might be labeled bad but it was something I relied on and held on to .

Thus despite him hoping for a meaningful reply I ignore his needs. Instead I just say , "It's okay ."

Like nothing ever happened and what he said didn't bother me at all .