Page 35 of Fierce-Matt

“No. I’m just ecstatic you’re giving me a chance. You’re calling the shots here.”

“Really?”

“Yep. You name the place and time.”

“Okay. I need to go home, shower and change. I’ll text you soon.”

“You’re not going to change your mind?” he asked.

“You’ll have to trust me too.”

9

TESTING HIM

Watching the clock hadn’t been one of his pastimes, but he was doing it a lot more lately.

It was five and he still hadn’t gotten a text from Anya.

Trust her, she’d said.

It was what he’d do. Or try to.

He’d already showered and changed.

After picking his phone up one more time to see only four minutes had passed, the text popped through from Anya.

Sorry. I showered and changed, then my mother called. I’m all set.

He texted back:Everything okay with your parents?

His phone rang in his hand. “Hi,” he said.

“I don’t like texting long things,” she said.

“It’s fine. Are your parents okay?”

“They are. My mother wanted to say that my father had a good day. A good day is one with no fights or major confusion issues. He takes his meds, she brings him to work and it’s as close to normal as can be. He lost his license last month so she’s bringing him everywhere.”

“I hadn’t known that,” he said. No one brought it up, but he had the medical reports that Elliot was in no position to be making sound and rational decisions consistently.

“He ran into the garage door. He forgot how to open it and had a panic moment, hit the gas rather than the brakes. My mother had driven with him a few times and he ran stoplights or signs. It was too dangerous. The doctor sent his paperwork to DMV and he failed the written tests twice. It was better coming from them than my mother.”

He couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to lose his independence like that.

“I’m sure,” he said. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m very sorry for everything you’re going through.”

“So am I,” she said. “But it’s life. And speaking of life, I’m starving. Do you have a preference where we meet?”

“Nope,” he said. “You’ve got the game plan tonight.”

“Good,” she said. “I’ll text you a place. How about we meet at six? I’m not sure where you live and how far away it is.”

“I’m in a condo close to downtown.”

“Oh. I’m not that far from downtown. Maybe two miles, but traffic adds to that. I’m in an apartment, not a condo. This pub is outside the city, closer to me.”

“Perfect.” Then it might not be as busy. “I’ll see you at six.”