Dean ended up leaving after having breakfast with my family. It was an uneventful morning as it was an uneventful night. I was not sure what I anticipated. But I did not sleep very well or at all.
I found myself staring at the door waiting to see if Dean would come and visit me. I knew logically that as much as he does as he pleases things were different now. We both had to keep things on the down low just until we can figure out a work around. 'I must be stupid for hoping he would come.'
After texting him I heard some slight noises but in the end no one entered. 'It must have been my dad going for his late night snack.' My heart raced in anticipation but then slowed as I felt embarrassed at my own actions. 'Geez I should know better.' He can't mess up and have my dad skin him alive or worse. But apart of me hoped he would not care and try anyways. After a while I fell asleep without noticing.
This morning the air was colder than the last couple of days. So I wore a knit sweater and thermal yoga pants. Because I have mainly been home I have been wearing my glasses more often than my contacts. It is much easier for me not have to put on and remove them plus and because of the weather my eyes like having a break from dryness.
Once he had left life resumed as normal for us. At least so I thought but I noticed my Dad acting a bit strange. Normally during his vacations he locks his office to prevent himself from going in and working when he should be off the clock. But after breakfast he went in. My mom went to scold him but all he said was an emergency popped up but he should be done in about two hours.
However he spent much longer than two hours holed up in his office. It wasn't until lunchtime did he come out. His face did not indicate any sign of how the emergency was going. So we had no clue is he already solved the issue or not. "Everything ok dad?" I decided to ask while my mom was busy to see if he would be willing to share but he gave me no hints. "Yeah everything is fine. I don't need to go back in there thankfully so I plan to re-lock the office again."
I did not really believe him but I could also not say with confidence that he was lying. But I could say that I did trust him so no matter what was going on I trusted he was going to be ok and if he needed our help he will tell us.
"Honey are you busy right now?" My Nana had come in from outside and took out an ice cold Coke to refresh herself. That was the one thing she had a strong habit of doing, if humans did not need to survive by drinking water her only beverage would be an ice cold Coke.
"Sure Nana whats up?" She took a second and brought her phone to me. "I have been meaning to buy this for your Grandpa but you know I hate online shopping. I saw they had a physical store nearby, can you take me?"
It was a popular outdoorsy brand whose clothes were made for rugged lifestyles. I had seen the store in the same shopping district I got Deans hoodie from. "I would be glad to! Let me grab my keys and another jacket." Once we got our things I drove us over to the fashion district.
Unlike the last time I was here due to it being in the middle of a workday the stores were not very busy at all. The outdoor mall was extra beautiful as all the trees were changing color and were mixes of vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow.
My Nana stopped for a bit to take some photos before we went directly into the store she wanted. "Oh my this selection is quite nice! See this is why I like to look in person. You can't feel quality online." Like a kid in the candy store her initial mission was forgot as she began to look for things for herself.
I mainly browsed. I had no intention of buying anything for myself at the moment. I was not much of an outdoorsy person, I could handle light walks and some hikes but going camping and doing long several mile loops was not something I did for fun.
"Nana I will be right back I am going to grab us a drink." She gave me a thumbs up and I headed over to the local cafe just a few stores down. The cafe was mainly empty except for some college students who were studying. The barista was a young woman who initially looked bored but then straightened up once she saw another customer walk in.
"Welcome to the Woods Would you like to try our signature fall drink? Its a brown sugar chai." Her voice was very soft, it was hard to hear her despite the lack of noise in the cafe. 'It sounds pretty good but does chai have caffeine? "Um does the chai have a lot of caffeine in it?" Things like chocolate which had very small amounts of caffeine were more tolerable for whatever reason now that I have gotten older but others were not. "Um yes it has a good amount. Would you prefer decaf instead?"
As much as a warm drink sounded good I did not want to risk any cross contamination. "No its ok I am allergic to certain levels so its ok but could I get one chocolate banana smoothie and one sweet tea with extra sugar?" Normally I avoided telling strangers my allergies after the whole incident back in high school but I usually mentioned it in food places just so they can be safe and not give me any issues.
She nodded and changed her gloves before making getting started on my order. Once she was done she handed me the drinks. "Here you go, I changed my gloves just in case but this should be good, have a great day."
I thanked her and headed back to my Nana. I got her a sweet tea since I figured she would like something to drink after shopping for a bit. I got myself a chocolate banana smoothie as it was as close as I will get to an energy booster without the real deal.
As I headed back a young woman ran into me nearly knocking me over. "Hey watch it!" She yelled an apology as she ran into the cafe. She stood out to me as the scarf she wore looked like one Dante had given me. In her hands was the uniform the baristas wore for that company. 'She must have been running late.' While I understood her rush, her carelessness caused my drink to spill onto the floor.
I walked back to the cafe to order myself another drink. Thankfully the other woman was not near when I went back. "Hi someone ran into me and caused my drink to spill, I just need to order another one." The girl this time did not seem surprised to see me. "I saw what happened sorry about my coworker let me make you another on the house."
As she turned to the bar to start the other girl rushed in. When she saw me her cheeks blazed red making the fullness already in her cheeks ever more apparent. She also seemed oddly familiar.