CHAPTER 9
It was now Saturday evening and Calleigh was at home, waiting for Horatio to pick her up and bring her to her car. He had called her earlier in the day when he was on his way to work and asked if she wanted to get her car then or wait until he was done. She made a mistake of telling Horatio that she could wait until he was finished with his work. Horatio told her that he would be over in about 4 hours. Despite his tendency to be a workaholic, Calleigh figured that he wouldn't work that long on a Saturday. Besides, he wouldn't leave her waiting around. However, it was now approaching 7 hours and no sign of Horatio. Calleigh was about to call him on her cellphone and give him a piece of her mind when her cellphone went off. She looked at the number and answered. "Horatio." The frustration in her voice was not lost on Horatio. After a brief pause, he spoke. "Calleigh, I'm sorry. I got pulled into a case that the weekend team was working on. I should have called earlier." "It's ok, H." Calleigh replied, remembering times that she would be halfway out the door at work, only to be literally dragged back in over a case. "How soon are you to being here?" "I'm about 5 minutes away." Horatio answered as he switched his cell to the other ear. "I hope that you didn't have any major plans this evening." "No, I didn't. I just want to get my car, and get something to eat." Calleigh rubbed her forehead, still recovering from last night's drinking. "I'll see you in a few minutes." Calleigh closed her cellphone and placed it back down on the table. She got up and went to the bathroom to take some aspirin. As she placed her glass down, thoughts about last night again popped into her head. She half-smiled to herself when she thought about sitting next to Ryan and talking to him. The smile turned to a frown when she remembered again Eric's comments about Ryan leaving to pick up his "friend". She was so close to making a connection with Ryan when she got sick. Then having to hear Eric's remarks when she got back to the table just ruined the rest of the evening for her. Months ago, the thought that Ryan was with someone else would had never bothered her. But that was then. Now she wanted that "someone else" to be her. She looked into the mirror. Calleigh could see a face of sadness staring back at her. "Did I blow my chance to tell Ryan how I feel about him?" Calleigh spoke out loud at her image in the mirror. "There's no way around it," Calleigh thought to herself as she left the bathroom. "I have to tell him. If only to have peace of mind. I'll tell him after work on Monday."
The knock on her door jolted Calleigh from her thoughts. "Cal?" "Hold on H.," Calleigh said as she reached the door. Calleigh opened the door to let Horatio in. "Are you ready to leave?" Asked Horatio, who walked over to the sink to get a drink of water. "About 3 hours ago." Calleigh muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes at no one in particular. "What did you say, Cal? The faucet was running." "What? Oh nothing, H. I'm ready." Horatio placed his glass in the sink while Calleigh grabbed her purse and cellphone. The two talked about work on the way to the bar, with Horatio mainly discussing the case that he got pulled into at the last second. A few minutes of silence passed before Calleigh spoke up. "I've decided to finally talk to Ryan. I need to get this off of my chest and get over with it." Horatio didn't respond. He just kept staring straight forward. "H.? Did you hear what I said?" "Yes, I did," Horatio answered as he still looked forward. "You don't think I'm doing the right thing by talking to him?" Calleigh studied the side of Horatio's face, waiting for a reaction. Horatio slightly turned his head and looked at her. "Calleigh, I think you're doing what you feel is right in your heart. You know I will stand by your decision. But Wolfe-" "What about Ryan?" Calleigh didn't like what Horatio was getting at. Horatio continued to speak. "I don't know how he would take it. I know that I can trust you to keep it together professionally, as for Ryan…I don't know how he would react to your news." "Are you saying that I should stay quiet H. and just let this eat me up inside?" "No, I'm not. I'm just saying that I hope it goes the way you want it to go. Actually, I'm not sure what I'm saying. Just follow your instincts. I know you'll do the right thing." The Hummer pulled into the parking lot of Bayview's. Horatio parked next to Calleigh's car and got out. He walked over to the passenger side to open the door for Calleigh and to help her down. "Thanks for the ride, H." Calleigh said as she pulled out her keys. "You're welcome," Horatio replied. "Again, I'm sorry for being late to pick you up." Calleigh looked at Horatio. "It's ok. I'll see you at work Monday." Calleigh closed her door and started her car when Horatio leaned over and tapped on her window. "Yes?" Said Calleigh, as she rolled down her window. "What I said about following your instincts," Horatio said as he looked into Calleigh's eyes. Calleigh let out a sigh. He paused for a moment to think before speaking again. "Don't follow your instincts. Follow your heart. Always follow your heart." Calleigh's face brightened up as she gave Horatio a big smile. "Goodnight, handsome. Thanks again for the ride." Calleigh threw the car in reverse as Horatio backed away. "Oh, don't turn on the charm now," Horatio managed to say before laughing. Calleigh winked at Horatio as she drove off.
Since she was in the area, Calleigh decided to call to Lombardi's to get her 'usual'. "Lombardi's. How may I help you?" "Oh, hey Gary." Calleigh recognized the voice on the other line. Calleigh was eating or ordering at Lombardi's for so long, by now it was almost her second home. "Calleigh! How are you tonight! Calling to get your usual?" "I'm fine, Gary. Thanks for asking. Yes, I would like a single order of my 'usual'." "Got it." Replied Gary. "Anything else for you tonight?" "No, that will do it for me, Gary. See you in a few." Calleigh closed her phone and headed toward the restaurant. Pulling into the lot, she noticed a car that looked like Ryan's. "That can't be his," she thought to herself. "Maybe I won't have to wait until Monday." Calleigh parked into the first open spot she could find and went inside. Gary was standing at the pick-up counter when Calleigh walked up. "Hey, big guy." Calleigh was intentionally turning on the southern drawl. "Calleigh!" Gary reached over the counter and grabbed her hand. "It's going to be another 5 minutes." "That's ok. I'll go ahead and pay for it now." Calleigh reached into her purse and pulled out 20 dollars. After she paid, she asked Gary if it was ok to go out to the dining room. "Of course, Calleigh. There may be a bay window available." "You know me all too well, Gary." Gary shot back at Calleigh. "I think we all know you too well here." Gary smiled at Calleigh as she laughed at his comment. Calleigh wasn't planning to sit by the bay window this time. This time, she was going to look directly for Ryan. It didn't take long for her to spot him. He was sitting at a table near a corner, directly facing her. Ryan was talking to somebody that she couldn't make out, due to the low lighting. She got closer. When she got close enough, she froze in her tracks. Ryan was talking to a girl with long blonde hair. She was laughing and putting her hand on his. Ryan was looking at her with such happiness. Ryan happened to look over and see Calleigh standing there, staring at him. "Calleigh!" Ryan said as he got out of his chair. "Uh, Ryan. Hi. I-" Calleigh managed to get out before Ryan grabbed her and brought her to his table. "Calleigh, I want you to meet my friend Christine. Christine, this is my friend and coworker Calleigh." "Oh, this is the Calleigh you've been talking about." Christine said as she got out of her chair. It wasn't lost on Calleigh that Christine had a southern accent like hers. Christine stood in front of Calleigh. Calleigh looked up at Christine, who was practically a spitting image of Calleigh, except for the fact that Christine was at least 5 inches taller and a good cup size or two bigger.
"It's so nice to meet you, ma'am." Christine said as she held out her hand to shake Calleigh's. Calleigh couldn't believe it. Here was the man of her dreams having dinner with a woman who was basically a copy of her. It was all Calleigh could do but to reach out and shake Christine's hand. "Interesting accent you have there." Calleigh could barely get the words out. Christine chuckled. "I'm from Corpus Christi, Texas. Southern girl, born and raised." It took all of Calleigh's strength to muster a smile. She quickly composed herself as she asked Christine a question. "Christine, how do you know Ryan?" "We went to college together. He was my best friend throughout school and still is." Christine sat back down and looked at Ryan as he was still standing next to Calleigh. Ryan turned to look at Calleigh. "Are you here to get take-out?" "Yes, uh…it should be ready now. I should leave." Calleigh started to turn away from Ryan and head back towards the pick-up area. Ryan grabbed her shoulder. "Calleigh, would you like to join us?" Calleigh flinched at his comment. "Ryan, I can't. Not now. Please…" Ryan could hear the hurt in Calleigh's voice. "Calleigh, what's wrong?" Calleigh looked down at the floor. "I have to go. Christine, it was nice to meet you." Ryan was about to say something when his waiter arrived with his and Christine's food. "Sir?" The waiter looked at Ryan, not sure at what was going on. "Ryan," Calleigh looked up at Ryan, trying to avoid direct eye contact. "Sit back down and enjoy your evening with Christine. I really have to go. Please." Calleigh brushed Ryan's hand off her shoulder and walked away. Ryan stood there baffled. He wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with Calleigh. "Ryan? Are you going to sit down?" Christine's voice snapped Ryan back to his surroundings. He wanted to run after Calleigh and ask her what was wrong. But he didn't want to be rude to Christine. "I hope I'm making the right decision by not going after her." Ryan thought to himself as he sat back down to eat his dinner and resume his conversation with Christine.
Calleigh could barely keep it together. She walked back up to the counter, where her food was waiting in a bag with her name on it. She grabbed the bag without saying a word to anybody and walked outside to her car. She barely had the car running before she started breaking out into huge sobs. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she left the parking lot and headed for home. Getting home, she was not in the mood to eat her dinner. She threw her food into the refrigerator and opened the freezer, taking out a pint of ice cream. Calleigh headed for her sofa in the living room. She sat down, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging her legs for about a minute, breaking the silence with her crying. "I don't understand," Calleigh thought to herself as she sat there. "I thought all this time he wanted me. What is he doing with a second-rate carbon copy of myself when there's nothing wrong with the original?" Calleigh reached over to the ice cream and started to eat it. Taking a couple of soothing bites, she thought some more. "Instead of being with me, he decides to be with Ms. Supermodel." Calleigh thought about how Christine was taller and more busty than she was, and it made her angry. "Ryan doesn't realize that great things always come in small packages. ALWAYS. Why do men have to be such blind, clueless assholes?" Calleigh took a few more bites of ice cream. Placing the now empty container back on the table next to the sofa, Calleigh felt a sudden urge to sleep. Not wanting to get up and go to the bedroom, she pulled the blanket that she had on the sofa over her. She drifted off, hoping that any dreams she might have would give her some sort of comfort and heal her broken heart.
to be continued…