April 7th, 1984

George hasn't bothered to call me.

I know he knows my number.

While Jeena was on the phone with Andy yesterday, I took the phone and nearly started begging him to put George on.

"He's busy." He'd said. "He's also a little stressed so I wouldn't want you to worry he's still mad at you."

I had scoffed and shoved the phone back into Jeena's hands, stomping away.

I hadn't taken out the earring. Not once. I didn't plan on it, either. Now I was sitting in my room, the silence slowly making me crazy. I stared at the black tv screen

Then my phone rang.

I sprang off of the bed and yanked it, nearly making the dial fall over. "Hello?"

"Hey." It was Miss Smith. "How are you holding up?

I figured I should start dinner soon, since it's already almost seven. I was starving. "I thought you were George calling to apologize."

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "He hasn't even asked about you to anyone?

"No." I rubbed my forehead. "I can't stay long, I have to start dinner."

"Okay then. I'll send good luck your way." She promised.

I nodded even though she couldn't see it, and put the phone down.

I walked out and into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to see if we hopefully had something.

I pulled out tomato sauce. I guess we'd have to stick with something basic. Ish. I wasn't just gonna boil pasta and throw cold sauce on there.

I pulled out a pan and turned it on medium-low heat, coating the bottom with a little bit of olive oil. Thankfully, we had garlic that I could dice up.  I threw in some red pepper, salt, then the actual tomato sauce. Well, that was the quick version. It wasn't nearly that fast.

Okay, I guess this isn't that basic.

The water didn't take long to boil after I put a lid over it. Before it could boil over, I grabbed two random pasta types and went to Jeena's room, standing in the doorway. "Which one?"

She was on the phone, and looked over. "That one." She pointed to the shorter noodle. Smart choice.

"Is it Andy?" I asked.

Jeena hesitated, like she was worried I'd get upset. "Yeah,"

"Isn't it not even seven in the morning there?" I asked.

"Yeah. But he was just calling to talk to me before he... you know... went to set stuff up for their performance..."

My teeth were clenched, but I smiled anyway showing no teeth. "Farfalle it is."

I stomped back out to the kitchen, talking to myself. "Is he that immature? What in the hell is wrong with him? I did nothing and yet he's holding some grudge about, "using him for money" and "being a two timer". What a load of-"

As I poured in the pasta too aggressively, a large amount of boiling water splashed onto my hand. "Shit!" I basically screamed.

Jeena came speed walking out of her room. "What?!"

I groaned, went over to the sink and turned on the faucet to cool water.

"Oh, did you burn yourself?"

I nodded, keeping my head down. "I..."

She heard my voice crack. "You what?"

Tears were filling up in my eyes. "I miss George."

I let my sobs escape that I never really let out. They were loud and truly devastating. I knew I had dinner to work on still but I couldn't stop. Jeena seriously wasn't sure what to do but rub hand on my back in slow circles. "Hey... I'm so sorry he's doing this. I would hate it if Andy was ignoring me. I promise I will get him on the phone soon, and force him to talk to you."

I stood up straight and whipped my cheeks. "I hate him."

She clicked her tongue and scoffed. "No, you don't. You hate that he's doing this. I promise you he'll come around. If it makes you feel any better, Andy says George is a lot more sad now. He says it's because you're not there."

My heart felt happy then. The corners of my mouth twitched. "Really?"

"Yep," she got a fork and started stirring the pasta for me so it didn't stick. "I bet you he's just afraid that even though you want him on the phone, you'll yell at him instead of talking it through."

I shook my head. "I just want him to come back and hold me and tell me everything is okay."  I inhaled dramatically, and choppy. "And I know that sounds corny and weird but that is what I want!"

"I know, I know." She came back over and continued rubbing my back. "He'll come around. He's George, and if what Andy has told me about him is all correct, I bet he'll come home unexpectedly."

I liked the idea of that. Him not telling me when he and Andy are coming home. So when they do, I get to be twice as excited George's beautiful face is back in my presence.

"I have to go back, Andy is still on the phone. I told him I'd be right back pretty frantically, so I'm sure he's worried. By the way, dinner smells great."

I watched her walk back across the small living room and into her room. I stirred up the sauce a bit, making sure none of it was sticking.

When I served out our portions, and laughed at Jeena's eager-to-eat face, we ate on the couch. Promising each other we wouldn't drop any noodles. I hoped she kept hers.

A couple of good shows were on, but nothing special. I had to work soon, in less than an hour Actually.

I scarfed down the noodles pretty quick, and rinsed off the plate and fork before putting them in the sink. My uniform had thankfully been washed, and my magnetic name tag was on my bureau like always.

I got out to my car, and didn't bother turning the radio on. I remembered how tonight was a huge football game, I wasn't sure who was playing who though.

I thankfully wasn't allowed to do the bar. I didn't want to worry about any men cat calling me or anything.

When I got out of my car, the sun had almost fully set, and a few stars were poking out already. One of them was bigger than the others. Unless, that was a planet of course.

It twinkled though. I sniffed the air deeply, filling up my lungs as much as I could. I looked at the one star with pleading eyes. "I just need something. Luck, a sign... anything that will give me hope."

For a while I just stood there, craning my neck, until I realized I had a job to get to. When I walked in, a blast of warm air sent chills down my arms. It was already getting to be a full house, but I thankfully wasn't late anyway. I clocked in, and went up to Amanda. "How is everyone else holding up?"

"John is working the bar with Amy, and everyone else is doing tables. People are sitting outside since it's not too cold out, I'd say start there." She didn't really seem too cheerful today, which I didn't take personally.

I nodded and jogged over with my pens and notepad out to the outdoor seating.

I counted tables, until I found my first target.

Nothing fun or interesting happened tonight. Besides the team that most people were rooting for won. The men were horribly loud, but that was of course expected. A couple of people nearly injured themselves passing out, but of course, friends helped them home.

I drank a glass of water once everyone left. I felt it go all the way down.

Amanda was nearly asleep when I found her resting her head on the podium.

I whacked her head. "Wake up, you need to go home."

She seemed to have trouble opening her eyes, like they felt heavy. "So do you."

"Maybe I should drive you. I don't think you can even hold your head up." I said.

"No that's okay, John is taking me home."

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, so are you and John talking?"

She gave me a funny look. "Just because he's taking me home, doesn't mean anything."

"Whatever you say." I waved to her as I walked out.

The bright star had of course moved, but I could still see it.

I looked at it for a while again, then moved on to look at the rest of the night sky. The moon was no where in sight, so stars were everywhere.

A warm breeze swept my neck. It felt nice with the weather getting colder...

Was that a breeze?

I got stiff. I didn't even want to move. Suddenly, I felt that I wasn't alone.

I felt the warm air on my neck again. "What's a pretty young thing like you doing out here so late at night?"

I knew that voice from anywhere. My heart dropped.

I swung my arm around with my bag clutched in my hands, and whacked the person right in the head.

While the familiar dark figure was dazed, I got into my car, turned it on, and listened to my tires screech as I sped away.

When I got home, it was very quiet. I did my best not to make too much racket, even though all I wanted to do was sprint to my room. I assumed Jeena had already gone to bed. Lucky lucky her.

I was frantic to get under my covers. I locked my bedroom door and shut the curtains completely. When I got into bed, I was panting. I closed my eyes, ready for sleep...

The phone starts ringing.

I jumped up nearly screaming, and felt my way around the room like a blind person. I finally found it, and held it to my ear. "Who in the hell is calling this late?"

Nothing on the end but breathing.

I almost started crying. This has to be a dream.

I slammed the phone down and jumped into bed, burying myself under the blanket.

"I want George back." Now I was actually crying. "I want George back I want George back I want George back."

I was shocked to find when I opened my eyes next it was morning. I wasn't sure if I fell asleep or not.

When I got up to peak outside through the curtains, I noticed trees were getting some of their leaves back. It brought me some joy. Even though I prefer the cold, I was ready for beachy weather.

When I walked out, Jeena was still sleeping. Of course, since it was Saturday. Not even eight AM yet. Most of the adrenaline was gone, but my anxiety levels were still at it's intermediate levels.

I wasn't hungry, so I just went outside on the deck. It wasn't chilly but it wasn't warm. A small breeze did come by and brush my cheeks. The air smelled fresh, calming me a little further.

I didn't plan on telling Jeena about the guy. I didn't want to worry her, or get someone to be my body guard.

I didn't need someone following me around for most of my waking moments.

That would almost be the same out of creepy for me. Even if it's for protection reasons. Forget that, I'll learn karate myself.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea.

I must've woken Jeena up, because then I heard the sliding door open behind me. "Why are you awake so early?"

"I just woke up energized. I figured I should take advantage of it. I might go for a walk."

She nodded, and left to go back to her room.

I slid on some comfy shoes and walked out of our apartment, making sure I took the key with me.

When I got outside, the sun made the temperature a little easier to handle. I walked around to the sidewalk, and admired the trees. I remembered when George and I had come down here, and it was so darn cold.

The familiar bench soon enough came into view and I smiled, biting my lip. I remembered the warm, fuzzy feeling he gave me when he kissed my nose. Not just there, but my entire body just felt so warm, and comforting when he did it.

I hope I can feel that again soon.