During breakfast, Jaime declared through a mouthful of eggs and pancakes that he wanted to visit the penguins because he thought the heat wave was making them sad. And while she found his sincere concern for the penguins adorable, Maggie had to gently remind him that he had school. Not making much fuss, he went back to eating his breakfast and Maggie felt the pang of guilt that most single parents felt whenever they had to say no to something. Which was why after a long morning at work, being riddled with guilt, Maggie decided that if she couldn’t take Jaime to the zoo, she would bring the zoo to Jaime. With a penguin balloon in one hand and a hotdog in the other, she used her hour-long lunch break to buy him the balloon. As the balloon bounced behind her, she made her way back to the Oregonian newspaper building, ignoring people’s jeering looks at her.
Stopping at a street corner, Maggie took another bite of her hotdog and became in engrossed with her lunch. She was midchew when the sight of a familiar face made her choke. The last thing she expected was bumping into someone she knew in another lifetime. In fact, she had thought she would never see him again and had been determined to forget all about him despite seeing his eyes every single day.
Coughing, she couldn’t take her eyes off of Nik. His smile so sweet, reminding her how much she had enjoyed she had enjoyed her time with him. “Nik!” She croaked, trying to catch her breath after nearly choking on a hot dog. Which honestly was not the first time that has happened in her lifetime. “What are you doing here?” She asked, panic bubbling within the pit of her stomach, wanting so badly for the ground to swallow her whole.
For a moment, he stared back at her, still smiling even though her shocked reaction has taken him by surprise. Mostly, Nikhil expected her to smile and run into his arms like someone would in a movie. They’d not seen each other in years, but they shared something special once, and while he wasn’t sure in the end what it was for Maggie, for him, it was first love. Making his way over, he couldn’t help but notice that no time had passed on her face at all, making Nikhil feel a bit of awe that she was still the same. He himself had began to feel old and boring in time. “ I’m...” He paused. There was something in her voice that didn’t sound like joy; it was more like panic and regret as she asked him why he was here. “ I could ask the same of you. I thought you went to New York.” He chuckled a bit.
She didn’t offer, but rather than stand and draw attention, Nikhil invited himself to sit, looking fondly at her. “I’m here doing some work.” He finally said, drumming his fingers on his knee. The air around them felt awkward. Maybe it was the way things ended; sudden and abruptly and without full explanation on his end. He was still a boy back then; inexperienced and wide-eyed and carefree. He knew what he was supposed to do in his future, but he knew he couldn’t explain to her that he was falling in deep and couldn’t allow himself to. Maybe that was the reason her face looked worried instead of happy. Maybe she resented him for ending things and leaving her behind.
“ My family’s... We’re doing some work out here and I’m helping, I guess? But that’s not important -- look at you. You look amazing. How have you been? Well, I hope. It’s been... It’s been so long...”
