Page 11

Hello Old Friend

T he week had passed slowly, but once Saturday evening arrived, Hans kept a steady watch on the clock. It took forever, but finally he was buttoning his shirt, rolling his sleeves up, and pushing them back to his elbows.

When he and Sage had returned to the Sunset Lounge to pick up their keys before going their separate ways, Sage had stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Why don’t we meet up again next Saturday night?” Sage had inquired.

“Where do you want to go?” Hans should have said no but there was something about her that had him addicted. He was still riding the high from the night before.

“It will be a surprise, but dress nice,” she said with mystery in her voice. Before Hans could respond, she was blowing him a kiss and ducking into Marco’s car.

Hans tucked half his shirt into his pants and stared at himself in the mirror. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Staring at himself, he couldn’t decide if he looked better with his shirt tucked or untucked.

Untucked .

He swiftly went to his closet to select a tie from the rack. Red, blue, or black? Hans shifted his body to look into the mirror attached to his closet door, holding each one up trying to make a decision as to which one looked better.

Black.

Flipping his collar up, he put on the tie and cinched it up as tight as it would go without cutting off his oxygen.

Looking at the floor of his closet, Hans also selected a pair of black dress shoes to complete his ensemble.

Unsure of whether or not he was about to have the time of his life or wish he was dead.

A few moments later there was a knock at his door.

She’s here.

Hans looked back into the mirror, and roughed up his hair, giving it a bit of an edgier look. Damn, I need a haircut.

He made his way toward the door, grabbing everything he might possibly need for the night ahead of him. As he opened the door, taking a hit off his vape, he realized that the person standing there wasn’t who he had expected.

“Hey stranger.” A woman from Hans’ past stood there, a goddess in all black.

Her dress sat low revealing the perfect amount of cleavage while there were slits up both sides of the skirt, exposing her tattooed legs beneath her fishnets.

The woman’s hair was long, wavy, and the color of blood.

She looked like a woman of the night, a vampire.

“ Marcy. ” He choked on the vapor he had just inhaled.

Hans had first met Marcy a few years back on a case that he had been working on.

During that case she went from being in one of the happiest relationships he had ever seen, to going through a messy breakup.

He and Alana had broken up around the same time, so he and Marcy had come to confide in each other.

Even though Marcy seemed numb to the overall situation, it ended up being too much for her to stay in town.

The last he had heard, Marcy had opened up her own little funeral home somewhere in New York and had found success living her dream.

Marcy was the first person who Hans had felt comfortable opening up to about Gretta aside from Alana or anyone who had known both of them personally.

She always remained positive that he would one day find the answers he was searching for. She had no idea what he had discovered.

“What are you doing here?” It had been years since they had previously spoken.

“You didn’t think Sage was going to show up here and risk being seen did you?” Marcy’s sapphire eyes pierced his soul.

“Oh, you know Sage, too?.” Hans rolled his eyes at the realization Sage had clearly been following him around a lot longer than he originally thought.

“We’re old friends.” Marcy winked at him. “Of course, I had no idea the two of you knew each other, let alone the fact that she was the one you had been searching for all these years. I do feel like had that tiny detail been shared we could have avoided this entire disaster.”

Everything clicked with Hans. “Sunshine, the girl who had left you… That was Sage?”

Marcy pressed her lips together, nodding her head while awkwardly swaying back and forth.

“I’ll admit when she contacted me yesterday and said she needed to come clean, I thought she was going to tell me she ended things because she had cheated, not because of the extracurriculars that she didn’t want to get me involved in, or the fact that her initial interest in me was… you.”

Curiosity piqued his interest.“How did that make you feel?” A sudden cool breeze stirred the air inside the apartment and Hans, keeping his gaze steady, and invited Marcy to come inside.

Marcy had never been inside Hans’ apartment, he watched as she looked around, seemingly assessing her surroundings while using it as an opportunity to gather her thoughts.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” The look that Marcy gave Hans when she said those words made him realize that he might not be the only one trying to decipher any lingering feelings for Sage.

“I’ve missed her. I haven’t dated anyone since because I was left with so many questions.

I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t good enough for anyone, that I was the one who had fucked up. ”

Hans agreed. “She definitely has a way of doing that.”

They fell silent. Both unsure of what to do or say next, until Marcy cleared her throat and gestured at the door. “Are you ready or are we just going to stand here all evening?” she asked, attempting to change the subject.

Hans stumbled over his words. “Let’s get this over with.” Hans opened the door and the two stepped out of the apartment into the night. He pulled the door closed behind him, twisting the knob to ensure that it was securely locked before locking the deadbolt, pushing on the door one last time.

“I don’t think anyone is going to budge that.” Marcy laughed at Hans’ overly prepared door-locking skills.

“One can never be too cautious… Sage proved that to me time and time again.”

Marcy smiled. “Lucky for you she’s going to be at the same place as us for the entire evening,” she reminded him.

“True.” He nodded in agreement. “What an interesting night this shall be.” The two made their way to Marcy’s car, Hans tried letting go of his nerves still unsure of where he was being escorted.