Abby watched Ed leave the furniture store and headed to the restroom. She fluffed up her brown hair, which in the dry climate of Colorado tended to do whatever it wanted. Under the fluorescent light, the red tones she painstakingly added herself every month didn't even show up. She squinted at herself and rubbed her button nose. Her eyes were hazel and lately always seemed to look tired. She didn't mind the smattering of freckles across her cheeks; she never could get out of bed early enough in the morning to wear much makeup. But, she sighed out loud to herself about the recent encounter. She thought of how handsome Ed had looked, even with the phone call. He was out of her league anyway she told herself as she left the restroom. Cheryl was waiting for her, asking her to plan to help assist putting the bed together that evening.
"No, I can't, Cheryl. Really. I've promised myself I would make it to my kickboxing class," Abby announced, straightening up her posture a bit.
"I thought you said they laughed at you," Cheryl said.
"Well, they do sometimes. I'm not terribly coordinated, but I am getting better,"
"Okay then. Don't break anything," Cheryl said.
"Ha. Ha," Abby grunted.
Four months later Abby received an unexpected voicemail message, "Hey Abby. Was wondering if you might want to have coffee or something. It's Ed Spenser. Give me a call."
Abby's heart skipped a beat when she listened to it again to write down his phone number.
They met at Starbucks at 11 am on a Sunday. Abby hardly recognized Ed. He was pale with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a bit longer and flat, without his characteristic spikes that she recalled he always wore in college and had at the furniture store four months ago. Abby waved him over to her table. He took a seat and Abby could tell he appeared to be trying too hard to not slump in the seat. The expression on his face was sad. Broken.
Abby asked him what he wanted to drink and jumped up to get in line at the counter and order for them both. They both decided on hot tea and upon ordering the girl working the counter rolled her eyes at Abby. Abby caught herself wishing she could make a pithy comeback about the girl's lip piercing or the hygiene of her nose piercing, but decided against it.
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