You must be at work. I tried to call but your phone keeps going to voicemail. Call me?

-Eloise

The message is innocuous enough, unless you know we haven’t spoken in months. And not just months of Mondays.

I’m not sure I’m ready to face her. I don’t want her to know what a failure I am. Why does she leave me a note without knocking? Does she want to make up? Does she miss me as much as I miss her?

Maybe it’s time to bite this bullet. Soon. I’ll talk to her soon.

Chapter Eighteen

“Hey, Jane. You okay?”

I turn on the sidewalk to face Alex, his lovely face setting off an explosion of warm fuzzies in my stomach.

He’s clearly nervous. Now since I know everything that happens on this day, it’s so obvious. I was always the most anxious one in the room and it made me blind to everything else.

As soon as he’s within hearing distance, I decide to proposition him. “I’m playing hooky. Wanna come?”

His head tilts and one corner of his mouth ticks up in an adorably confused half smile. “What?”

“I’m going to explore the city. Want to come with me?”

He looks back at the building, then at me. “You’re leaving?”

I was fired. Again. But now, I’ve really given up caring about it. Like for reals this time. I don’t like this job. I don’t know why I keep trying, except it feels like I have to.

I left Hugo the costume outside his door with a note this morning, and even though the fog is heavy and things haven’t really changed for this day, I feel . . . better.

“Yeah. I’m leaving. I’m going to play tourist.”

“You know, it’s funny you mention that. My parents sent me tickets to the double-decker tour, and I haven’t had a chance to use them. I think they expire next week.”

I smile. “It’s kismet. And I could use a break. Maybe you could too.” I nudge him with an elbow.

He pauses, eyes searching for a moment before he grins. “Yeah. That sounds like fun. And on the way to get the tickets out of my glove box, you can explain to me why you’re leaving work early on a day you had an important meeting.”

I smile. “Tickets first.”

He lifts both hands. “Okay, fair enough.”

I follow him down the block to his Bronco and stop on the sidewalk, tilting my head back to gaze up at the heavy gray sky while I wait for him.

His head pops out from the passenger side of the truck. “Should we drive?”

“Let’s walk. It’s a beautiful day. There’s a stop up at the civic center.”

He shuts his door and jogs around the front to meet me on the sidewalk.