Bruce shifted his weight indecisively between his two feet.
“You’re looking well,” he managed to mumbled, then wondered why he’d said that.
“Thank you. So do you.”
It was an obvious lie, but as he analyzed it, he noted a trace of something, but it wasn’t malice. If anything, she sounded like the friend she’d always been when they were colleagues.
“Surprised to see you out of your cubicle,” Bruce said. “I remember I was never able to pry you away to a restaurant for a meal.”
She chuckled. “Well, there aren’t any more mortgage payments eating up half my salary, so I finally took your advice and started treating myself to something more than a tuna fish sandwich.”
Bruce smiled as well. He’d never forgotten how natural it had been to talk to her. The two of them had gotten used to calling each other their office spouse, and the whole building had played along, calling them their favorite power couple.
“So what brings you down here, Bruce?” For the first time that he could remember, she sounded guarded while speaking to him, and he finally recognized that what he was picking up in her voice wasn’t malice, but nervousness.
Why would she feel nervous around me?
When he’d first turned to see her, he’d found it hard to meet her eyes. It was embarrassing to be seen by someone who knew him before his fall. Now that he’d spoken to her a little, and saw she was the same woman he’d chat up every Monday through Friday for six years, he felt emboldened to project himself as the person he’d been when he’d still been a valued employee at Hadley.
“Well, you know…I used to own this district,” he said, repeating a line he’d told her often enough in the office, hoping to put her at ease. “it’s been awhile, thought, I’d visit the old stomping grounds.”
That seemed to do it. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t contain her smile.
“Yes,” Miranda said, trying to sound serious. “This place just isn’t the same without you.”
His false sense of bravado was fleeting as they stared at each other in silence. Bruce snuck a few peeks down at his attire, hoping it wasn’t as tattered as he felt it was. His beard started to itch, and he hoped the fleas weren’t visible to her.
The silence between them felt foreign. They’d always been able to strike up a conversation, even if it had been weeks since they’d see each other due to a combination of hectic schedules and vacations. He couldn’t speak for her, but Bruce knew the only reason he’d settled for being her “office husband” had been because she already had an actual one waiting at home.
“Well,” she broke the silence. “I should be getting back.”
Bruce was taken aback by the abruptness of her attempted escape. “Oh…um…I just thought…” he stammered.
“Yes?” Her eyes studied him eagerly, but all he could fixate on was her voice. He finally recognized the nervousness she’d been speaking with.
I frighten her, he thought sorrowfully. He used to adore every minute he got to spend with her, and now, he repulsed her. Even still, he didn’t want to say goodbye.
“I just…just…thought…now that you were treating yourself, you might want to take the afternoon off. We could catch up.”
His skin crawled as he watched the nervousness spread to her eyes. They danced back and forth faster than a tennis ball in a heatedly contested rally. Finally, they slowed to a stop, settling on his.
“You mean you’re not mad at me for firing you?”