The Summer I Stopped Waiting

Synopsis

For four years, Andrew Parker had never let me ride in his car to work. The day he bought the car, he labeled the glove box with my name. "This spot is reserved for Mrs. Parker," he said. Later, we ended up working for the same company. He said we had to keep a distance, so nobody would start rumors that I only got my projects because of him. To prove myself, I left home an hour early every day. In winter, I squeezed onto the subway, and in summer, I walked twenty minutes to the bus stop. For four years, I had never once let him pick me up. This year, the heat wave hit hard, and the temperature shot up to 106 degrees. One day, I was lugging around the project files I'd been grinding away at for three months. My arms were sunburned and broken out in a rash, and my chest felt so tight that it hurt. For the first time, I turned to him for help. "Can you give me a ride today? I can't tough it out anymore," I said. He didn't even look up. He replied, "When everyone's watching, we can't give them any reason to come after us." I told myself to be understanding. That afternoon, I walked out of the office park as usual. Andrew's car was parked by the curb, the AC blasting. Lucy Shaw was sitting in the passenger seat, draped in his jacket, holding the sun umbrella I'd left in the car. She laughed and said, "Come on, Mr. Parker, didn't you swear no one would sit in your passenger seat?" Andrew leaned over and buckled her seatbelt for her. He said, "You're too much of a princess to handle the heat. That's not the same thing." That was when she finally noticed me. "Hey, Ms. Quinn, you look awful. Want a ride?" she said. Andrew didn't open the door. "She's tough. She's used to cramming onto the bus," he said. The car drove off right before my eyes. I squatted there under the blazing sun. I had no idea whether what was dripping onto the pavement was sweat or tears.