Vanishing Acts

I step out of the cab at exactly 12:26 pm. I look toward the restaurant, eyeing the table that we usually occupy, to see if he is here yet.
No.
This doesn't bother me because he is usually running late.
I giggle because I really can't wait for him to get here.
The hostess smiles as I approach her and guides me over to the table in the corner of the restaurant. I sit down and ask for a martini.
I glance at my wrist watch again-- 12:31.
Alright, Sloan, stop being so precise....you know he takes forever to do EVERYTHING.
I decide to look at the menu. As I scan over the familiar entres, I can't help but start to feel anxious.....I glance at my watch again-- 12:45.
Where are you?
I decide to call him from my cell phone.....he doesn't answer. So typical...but this isn't okay. The anxious feeling is beginning to consume me as I try his cell again. No answer.
I wave the waiter over and hand him a twenty. "Keep the change," I say as I get up from the table. It is now 1:05 and he is still not here.
The ride to his apartment seems endless, even though it is only three blocks down. The whole way I have his number on redial, endlessly calling him......never getting an answer.
The receptionist gives me a smile as I click through the sliding doors of his apartment building.
I get into the elevator and push the number 9. As each button begins to light up, I start to get more and more anxious.
I'm sure he is fine.....maybe he forgot? No. He specifically told me 12:30 at Imagio's. He wouldn'tve forgotten this.
Finally number nine lights up and I get off, heading straight across the hallway to room 901.
I knock.
No answer.
I press the redial button on my phone as I scrounge through my purse, looking for my set of keys.
I open the door, ear still pressed to my phone, hoping that he will answer this time.
That's when I hear it--the soft chime of his cell phone ring. I follow the sound and find his cell phone sitting on his bedside table, along with his keys and wallet.
That's funny...how did he manage to lock his door without his keys?
I decide to wait for him.....when he gets back, boy is he going to get it.
"Where are you?" I think to myself as I sit down on his couch.

I wake up to a growling stomach..
do I really have to eat?
Seeing as I barely have the energy to get up oout of bed, I make the decision to go to Manny's to get something....maybe a luna bar....or some beer.
I end up deciding not to get anything but some beer and my usual camel lights.
As I walk back up to my apartment room, I hold the door for the woman behind me-- "Thanks," she said, timidly. "You're welcome." My voice cracked...I don't think that I have talked to someone in over a year.
My apartment smells like rotten eggs.
I don't care.
God, I want him so badly right now. I want to smell him, I want to kiss him, I want to hear his voice. I want him so badly right now it hurts.
I gulp down my beer and decide to go back to sleep. Even though I relive that nightmare everytime, it's better than actually being awake.