Quick, quick, slow....

Later when she thought about it all again Jamie would be amazed at how fast the human mind works. How quickly it processes information and forms ideas. How fast she went from one idea to the next. But that would be later. Later when she was stuck in the bog where thoughts formed slowly and time didn't pass so much as plod. But that would be later.

Friday 5:15 PM
When she looked across the parking lot and saw Eric's truck the first thought she had was that he had come to surprise her with dinner out after her seminar.

But then she realized that she hadn't told him that she would be in this seminar today, it had slipped her mind when they talked last night about what they were working on.

Then she started to get a little mad. Had he followed her? His trust issues frustrated her to no end. He always wanted to know where she was, who she was with, when she would be home. They had argued about it and he had promised that he would back off. But now here he was.

But then she realized if he had followed her he would have been there since 8 this morning when she arrived. And if he had followed her in to the hotel then he would have seen her go in to the ballroom marked "Excel and You: Mastering the Tricks of the Spreadsheet"

Then she thought, maybe it's not Eric's truck after all. It could just look like it.

But then she saw her locket hanging from the rear view mirror and knew it was his.

Then she saw his assistant Eileen walking across the parking lot to the truck. Oh of course, she had just taken the truck to come scout the hotel for a location for a training seminar, or maybe the company Christmas party, it was early October, but Eileen was good about planning ahead.

But then after Eileen started the truck she slid over to the passenger side.

Then she saw Eric. Okay...he had come along to scout the location. Right? Or was there another meeting happening today that she had missed? Maybe they had both been there all day in adjoining ballrooms listening to different speakers and had no idea? That would make a funny story at dinner.

But then Eric looked around quickly and kissed Eileen as he slid behind the wheel.

5:18 PM
...

5:45 PM
Jamie realized that she had been staring at the empty parking space for almost a half hour since Eric and Eileen left.

6:10 PM
Jamie's cell phone rang...

"Hey, babe, when are you coming home? I was going to go for a quick run and didn't want you to worry if I was gone when you got here... Babe?... Babe? Are you there?"

"Yeah, no...go ahead. I'll probably be gone when you get back."

"Oh, I didn't know you were working late tonight. I wish you would have said something."

"Yes, I'm sorry I made you rush home for nothing."

"Are you okay? You sound a little tense."

"Just a long day. Bye."

6:15 PM
"Hey, Stacy? It's Jamie, I was wondering if I could crash on your couch tonight? Cool. Thanks, I'll see you soon."