My Healthy obsession

Another time

Chapter five

I woke up to an empty space beside me. The faint sound of running water drifted in the bathroom, followed by the hum of his voice. He would always hum under his breath whenever he was getting ready. For a moment, I stared at the ceiling.

One thing at a time.

The words from last night echoed louder than I wanted them to. Maybe he was right, maybe I was getting ahead of myself. A few minutes later, he stepped out, already dressed for the day.

“Morning,” he said, leaning to press a quick kiss to my forehead before heading downstairs.

“Morning.” I watched him disappear through the doorway before climbing out of bed myself. I quickly freshened up and made my way downstairs, he was already pouring himself a cup of coffee. There was no tension. no awkwardness. Just another ordinary morning. I found myself waiting for him to mention last night, but he never did.

He leaned in and pressed another kiss to my forehead before grabbing his keys on the counter.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you.” I watched him leave before pouring a cup of coffee myself, gulped it, and made my way upstairs to get ready for work. It didn’t take long for me to get ready, I grabbed my handbag and apron and headed out for work.

The café was quieter than usual when I clocked in. Only a handful of customers occupied the tables leaving the usual morning rush to trickle at its own pace. “Morning, Ellie,” Sarah called as she tied her apron around her waist.

“Morning.” I slipped mine over my head and tucked a loose braid back into place.

She glanced at me once…then again.

“You look tired”

“I didn’t sleep very well”

“Hmm” I busied myself arranging clean mugs beside the espresso machine, hoping that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.

“ you’re usually humming to yourself as soon as you come in, but I’ve noticed for sometime that you’ve barely been yourself, you didn’t even smile today.”

I forced a small one. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “ just didn’t get enough sleep.”

Sarah studied me for a moment before giving a small shrug. “If you say so.” She folded the cloth in her hands. “ I’ve noticed that sometimes people don’t need advice, the just need someone to notice they’re not themselves.” My hands paused around one of the mugs. “ and if it ever gets to that point..” she continued gently, “don’t carry it all by yourself”

I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. “Thank you.”

She smiled, as though satisfied she’d said enough.

“Now, enough of me sounding old.” She nudged a tray toward me. Go help me make this place look like we actually know what we’re doing before customers start judging us.” A laugh escaped me. “Yes ma’am.”

“There she is.” Sarah smiled. “ I was wondering where that smile had gone.”

When my shift ended, I didn’t head home right away. Without giving it much thought, I found myself stopping in front of a kitchen supply store.

Rows of mixing bowels.

Cake stands.

Measuring cups.

Piping bags.

Decorating tips.

Everything I’d ever wanted sat neatly arranged beneath brights lights. I picked up a set of Russian piping tips. They were beautiful. I turned the box over, my eyes landing on the price tag. My smile faded. Carefully I placed it back on the shelf. Another time. The words I’ve learned to say more often came so naturally that it scared me. I left the store buying nothing.

When I got home, I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The house was filled with his presence. A small smile found its way to my face before I could stop it. Tonight we’d just have dinner, and I won’t think so much. Then tomorrow would be different.

The rest of the evening passed quietly. Dinner was simple. The television murmured softly from the living room while we ate, the conversation over dinner was mostly about work, traffic, and the sit-com he’d started watching yesterday. nothing important. Nothing heavy. Just…us.

Luke reached for his glass of water before glancing up at me. “Oh, I almost forgot.”

“Hm?”

“My mom called earlier.” I looked up from my plate.

“They’re having everyone over for dinner tomorrow evening.” My hand paused around the fork.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” He nodded “mom wants the whole family there. I told her we’d come.”

We.

The word settled quietly between us.

“Okay.” I said, hoping my voice sounded steadier than I felt.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

I managed a smile “no.”

“Good.” He smiled back before returning to his dinner as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Maybe to him, it was.

But the familiar knot had already begun tightening in my stomach. I’d only visited his parents a few times, yet that feeling never went away. I only hoped tomorrow would be different.