Heart and Soul – End

Chapter Fourteen – Goodbye

Mike pulled into the driveway, and was surprised to notice the house was still dark. Chen worked so close to home, and rarely had to stay over – and Mike was late leaving his office. Maybe he had to run an errand, Mike thought – he unlocked the house, and went inside. No – no mail on the table – Chen always got the mail and set it on the table – no sign he’d been home. Mike shrugged his shoulders, and went to the mailbox – bills, circulars, nothing out of the ordinary – he put it on the table, went to the fridge, and got himself a soda – then went into the kitchen. The evening menu was, as always, on the fridge door – two lists – one for Mike to do, one for Chen to do – Mike started doing the prep work and making the salads, so that when Chen came in, everything would be ready for him to make quick work of dinner. In the back of his mind though, Mike was uneasy – on the way home, he’d felt something – a brief flash of intense flushing, almost like a heat flash, centered deep in his chest – it had startled him, because he’d also seen Chen’s face ever so briefly – then it was gone. He called Chen’s phone – voicemail – hmmm –

Mike finished his prep work, put things in the fridge to keep them fresh, went out into the yard, and started checking on the new plants they’d put in – but something kept him distracted – something wasn’t right – he ambled back into the house, worried – but not knowing really why – Chen just wasn’t late – or late without calling or texting – unless something came up with one of their friends that was an emergency – he walked about aimlessly for a minute, then turned on the TV to the news – Mike never watched the news – nothing there –

Eight o’clock – Mike was grabbing his keys, headed for the garage – Chen wasn’t home – his cell phone continued to go straight to voicemail – Mike was going to go to his work first, then – well, the plan would have to evolve from there.