The Distance Between Us

of hearing range, a voice says, “You taking in strays now, Xander?” followed by more laughter.
    My jaw twitches as it tightens more. Why am I so angry? This only confirms everything I already know about the rich. Xander may be a slight exception, but those people in there are the rule. I change my direction and head to the hostess station instead.
    “Can I borrow your phone?” I ask her when she turns my way.
    “Of course.”
    I call Skye and she agrees to pick me up. Then I go back to face the room one last time. I watch Xander as I approach, before he notices me. He’s listening to someone across the table. He has a small smile on his face, but it’s nowhere close to bringing world peace. It almost looks like a practiced smile.
    I tell myself to behave when I reach the private room. None of them acknowledge me so I don’t feel any obligation to do different. I reach Xander and lean over. “I have to go. I’m not feeling so great.” I feel slightly guilty for lying, but then I remember the “stray” comment his friend made and the feelings are gone.
    He starts to stand. “I’ll take you home.”
    “It’s okay, I called Skye. I’ll see you later.”
    “Caymen—”
    “No, really. Stay. Have fun.” I push on his shoulder, forcing him back down, then leave the room.

Chapter 18

    I grab hold of the shop door and yank, but my arm jerks to a stop.
    “Is it locked?” Skye asks.
    For the first time I notice the windows are dark. I cup my hand over my eyes and press my nose to the window. My mom isn’t there. Digging the keys out of my pocket, I unlock the door.
    “Mom!”
    No answer.
    “Don’t you normally close at seven on Saturdays?” Skye asks.
    “Maybe it was slow.”
    Skye looks confused and she has every right to be. We’ve never closed early. She doesn’t say anything about it but rounds a baby cradle and leans against the counter.
    “I’ll be right back.” After looking in the party room and stockroom and not finding her, I go to the register and open the drawer. Empty. She must’ve taken the deposit. But why would she close early just to do that? I wasn’t that late.
    I rush upstairs and into the apartment.
    “Mom!”
    I’m greeted with silence. The answering machine we’ve had since I was a little girl doesn’t have the red blinking light of a missed call. But on the counter right next to it is a note.
     
Caymen,
I had a 5:30 doctor’s appointment. Since you weren’t here, I decided to close the store and take the deposit on the way to my appointment. Don’t worry about reopening. It’s been slow anyway. Hope you had a fun day.
    Mom              
     
    I reread the note. It’s hard to tell from a piece of paper if someone was angry when they wrote it. I turn it over and run my hand along the back side to see how deeply the words are pressed into the page. Then I hold it up to the light to see if the handwriting looks rushed or angry. It seems to check out as being written by an average-tempered person. I sigh and place the note back on the counter then look around feeling a little lost.
    I go back downstairs. Skye’s on the phone so I grab the shelf cleaner from under the counter and start cleaning.
    When Skye hangs up she says, “Henry is coming over.”
    The bell on the door dings.
    “Like right now.”
    I let out a laugh. “That was fast.”
    Henry waves then looks up. “Why’s it so dark in here?”
    I point to the overhead lights. “The lights are off.”
    Skye laughs sweetly. “I’m sure he meant why are the lights off.”
    I’m distracted. “Oh. Right. We closed early. So what are you guys up to?” I look back and forth between Skye and Henry. They obviously had plans before I intercepted Skye for a ride.
    “Henry came over so we could all hang out with you.”
    “Oh. Cool.”
    Henry flicks at his cheek twice, making a pinging noise. “Um . . . you also invited Tic over tonight. He’ll be here in a little while.”
    “What?”
    Again he pings his cheek. “We told Tic you invited him to come hang out at the shop.”
    “Wow, that was nice of me. Why would I do that?”
    Skye smiles. “Because after he kissed you, you were smitten.”
    “Is that why I haven’t talked to him in two weeks? Because I was smitten?”
    She shrugs her shoulders.
    “Tell me you didn’t tell him that.”
    “Just relax. Come on, we’ll chill in the back and then you won’t feel like we’re standing around waiting for him.” She pulls me to the