The Space In Between

Chapter Forty-Two

I SAT IN front of Kyle wondering what he was thinking. I’d just presented him with my idea, and he hadn’t spoken a word.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
I nodded.
“And you want me to actually call these people? Listen, like I said before—screw them, they don’t deserve to hear your story.”
“Yeah, they do,” I said.
“All right.” He shook his head as he went to his computer and started to type away. “I must say though, I’m surprised. You really pulled your shit together, my friend.”
I watched as the rain danced against the window, and I bit my thumb. I felt a bit drained after spending the past few months with my mom, but she was doing much better and told me to get back to my life. So I did. Back in the public eye. Back to my so-called-life.
I stood up and stretched a bit. “I’m going to go get some air, maybe grab some lunch. You want anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. But Cooper, this stuff right here.” Ky tapped the packets in front of him. “This is good stuff. If there was anything that could paint you in a good light, this would be it, buddy.”
As I stepped outside of the building, I allowed the water to slap against my face. My hands slid into my pockets, and as my foot stepped off the sidewalk, I heard the tires of a taxi come to a screeching stop seconds before it hit me. Annoyed, I slammed the hood of the yellow vehicle and yelled at the stupid-ass driver. “Jesus Christ! Watch where you’re going!!”
The driver rolled down his window and apologized. I didn’t care; I began to continue walking until I heard the driver holler at me. “Coop? Cooper, is that you?”
Turning back to look at him, I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Jesus!”
He laughed and waved me over to the taxi. “Yeah, well, they call me Joe on the streets. Get in.” I sat in the back of the taxi, amazed I had just run into the one man who’d pretty much saved my life in the mental hospital.
“So how you been doin'? I didn't think I would see you again after we left the clinic,” he said. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t seem as shocked to see me.
“I've been all right. What about you? You still saving lives?”
“Nah, they put me on these meds that make me actually think I'm human. The man's always trying to hold us down. Or I should say woman—my wife puts the pills in my oatmeal.”
“Yeah. Well, I'm sure you make a great human.”I smirked.
“Did you ever find that girl?” he asked. He was the one who told me I would meet someone other than Iris, and he was far from wrong.
“I did.”
“Yeah? And how did that work out?”
My head dropped to the ground. He noticed my look through the rearview mirror and changed the subject.
“Where do you need to go?” he asked as he rounded the corner.
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. You got a minute maybe? We could get some lunch.”