Mind the Gap | ✔️

January 14 @ 10:15 AM: Evan

"Evan!"

The familiar voice easily pierced the students' hubbub as I crossed the foyer of the university.

Helen.

I turned my head to face my formidable ex whose blonde hair was, as always, immaculately styled. She was wearing a pearly white blouse tucked into a smooth, violet-colored skirt.

Her scrutinising gaze flicked over my crumpled, coke-stained winter coat and my old sweater.

Yet she smiled.

I raised my eyebrows, warily. I was well aware that she wielded that smile like a saber—a weapon as elegant as it was deadly.

She crossed the distance between us, her high heels clicking on the dusty stone floor and shooing away a group of slouched students. They knew better than to stand in the way of the Head of University Administrations.

Helen came to a standstill a mere step away from me. Her smile faltered as she studied my wardrobe, but it quickly reasserted itself.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" she asked, without much preamble.

Taken off guard by her question, I felt myself blushing. Was it an invitation to do something together? She wouldn't want to spend time with me, would she?

She chuckled at my confusion. "Is this a yes?"

"I.. I...." I swallowed, fleeing her mesmerizing blue-eyed stare by concentrating on the tip of her upturned nose. "I actually have plans."

It was nothing but the truth. I did have plans. I was going to go skiing with some colleagues from the institute. Well, they'd be skiing while I would learn the basic moves of the sport. Carl had promised to teach me.

"Aww, that's a pity." Her lovely smile was gone and her lower lip pushed itself forward.

As usual, she wore no lipstick or makeup whatsoever. All natural colors and no braces; she formed the perfect contrast to the marshmallow-dyed woman I had just seen on the other train.

What had her hair color been again? Turquoise? Aquamarine blue?

Helen snapped her fingers before my nose. "Hey, anyone at home in there?"

"Oh, sorry, what did you say?" I ran my palms through my hair, fumbling with words.

She frowned. "I was just asking you if you could spare some time for your beloved ex this weekend."

"I'm actually going to Pats Peak with the guys from the institute, skiing." I moved my hands and hips as if slaloming through a maze of gates on a downhill course.

She laughed. "Skiing? You? Don't make me laugh. Now that would be an accident waiting to happen."

"Carl will show me how it's done." I pressed my lips together. 

She motioned me towards the stairs ascending to the math department, briefly squeezing my arm while doing so. "Oh, that's too bad. Because, you know, I was going to ask you a favor."

A favor? That clued me on what might be coming next.

"Couldn't you go skiing another weekend?" Helen asked. "Because I know Janice would love to spend this one with you. She was so hoping to go horseback riding with her daddy." She was literally purring now. "I'd love to go with her, but as you know I'm allergic to animal hair."

According to my calculations, this was a mommy weekend, not a daddy weekend. And for some reason, I had strong doubts Janice had come up with those horseback riding plans without some prodding from Helen herself.