With the Iron Guard patrol car circling around her neighborhood outside, Dahlia managed to sleep during the night despite being alarmed earlier at the memorial service. Her alarm went off at six in the morning. After a few quick stretches, some morning carbs and a couple cups of tea, she was ready to head into work.

Cy showed up at her house at seven-thirty. He was freshly shaved and his hair looked slightly damp like he stepped out of the shower only a short while ago. “How are you feeling today?”

“Better than last night.” She was glad he asked. She eyed his hand on the steering wheel and had a brief memory of when he touched her hand to reassure her last night. A flutter of heat went up her spine when she thought of his hand on her back, too.

“What’s on your agenda for today?” he asked once they reached her office building.

“Three interviews and two video tutorials. The launch is in two weeks. The rest of this week, my team and I have to really work hard.”

“Knowing you, you’ll do just fine.” He shut off the ignition. “I’m not saying that to flatter you. You do work hard.”

“You can be sweet sometimes.”

He tilted his head and an angle. “Me and that term don’t go together.”

The way he said it made her chuckle. “I disagree. I know you have an image to uphold, though, so I won’t argue with you.”

He got out without saying another word. Dahlia wondered if she had said too much. Did he think she was flirting with him? Did she? She made an attempt to be friendly, yet he kept that guard up nearly all the time. Sometimes he let it down, but it was for a very short time.

She shook her head. I can’t worry about it. She had other things she needed to think about. If Cy could be all business, so could she.

She worked all day, clocking in for her last interview with an influential blogger at four-thirty that afternoon. Cy drove her to Jumpy Java where the interview took place. Along the way, she noticed the skies turned grey and a light rain began. She checked the forecast and saw that it called for freezing rain later that night.

The interview wrapped up at a quarter to six. She got up, planning to order another cup of coffee. Cy sat at the table across from her, blending in effectively with the other caffeinated patrons. “I’m getting one for the road. Want anything?”

“No thanks.” His phone rang. Dahlia saw him stiffen immediately and stare at the number on the screen. “This is weird.”

“Who is it?” 

He regained movement in his body. “Sorry, I have to take this.” He hit the green button and put the phone to his ear. “Mom?”

Cy’s mother was calling?  That was unexpected. Dahlia stepped away to give him privacy to speak. She could still hear him in the quiet surroundings.

“Jeff?  Are you serious?” He put his hand to his forehead in exasperation. “Grounding him is a great idea.” He ended the call and walk towards Dahlia with a sigh.

She debated whether to say anything. “It’s none of my business, but is everything good?”

“It’s my little brother Jeff. My mother called to tell me he’s grounded for two months because he got suspended from school for fighting.”

She remembered Cy’s little brother when he was in kindergarten. Now he was getting in trouble for fighting other kids in high school. Guess he wasn’t so little anymore. “Sorry to hear he got suspended.”

“Me, too. I’ll talk to him to get him straightened out.”

“You’re a tough older brother. Those are usually the best.”

That got him to smile. “You’re an only child. How would you know?”

She shrugged. “It’s what I hear.”

He put on his coat. “Guess we’d better make the drive to your house before it gets too late.”

“What about your brother?”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow after he cools off, since he doesn’t have school in the morning.” His phone rang again. “It’s my mother. She’s really upset.”

“Go on. Take the call. I’m not in a hurry.”

He gave her a grateful smile before he answered. “Hey, Mom.”

Dahlia stepped aside again. There was something sweet about watching him talk to his mother. Just as she was about to take more steps away, she saw his entire expression change. His jaw clamped down hard.

“Mom, please listen to me. You need to stay in the house. Keep your phone by you along with the charger in case he calls. I’m on my way.” He put the phone in his coat pocket. “Dahlia, I need your help.”

She was surprised to see him this way. “What do you need me to do?”

“Jeff left the house while my mother was talking to me on the phone. She’s scared he’s trying to run away. Can you sit with her while I go look for him?”

“Absolutely. Has she called the police?”

“They can’t do anything until he’s missing for twenty-four hours. We’re not going to wait that long.” He shot past other people in the restaurant to hurry outside to his car.

Dahlia ran after him. As soon as she had her seatbelt fastened, he put the car in reverse and hurried to back out of the parking lot. Less than two minutes later, they were racing down the highway.

Cy passed a driver who was in the slow lane. “We should be there in about twenty minutes. They live on the other side of Atlanta.” He shook his head. “I hope my brother doesn’t get far in that time, but knowing Jeff...” His voice trailed as he motioned his head right and left again.

“Has Jeff tried to run away before?”

“Once. He stayed at a friend’s house overnight the last time. My mother was worried sick.”

She knew he had been worried too, even if he didn’t say anything. “I can imagine how frightened she would be. Maybe he’s at the friend’s house now”

Cy took the next exit. “Maybe. Jeff’s been having problems lately. Ever since our parents split last year, he’s been getting bad grades in school and talking back to his teachers. This is another act of rebellion.”

“You’ll find him.” She wanted her words to be comforting and encouraging. Seeing Cy worried made her feel uneasy, too.

The road seemed to stretch on and on for miles. He got off on another exit ramp and left the highway. The new road led down past a stretch of trees and a lonely gas station. Dahlia assumed he was taking a back road. The sign illuminating the gas station grew smaller in the passenger side rearview mirror.

Dahlia watched the minutes pass on the time display in the car. She counted sixteen of them before the car looped a corner and got back on the main road. Cy turned down another street and pulled into a residential development.

“My mother and Jeff moved here after the divorce.” He drove past three houses and stopped at the fourth one in the cul de sac. He parked in the driveway and got out. Dahlia kept up with him to the door.

He fished in his pockets. He muttered something under his breath before saying aloud, “I can’t find my key.” He made a fist and knocked on the door.

Dahlia heard the sound of light footsteps running. The door pulled back to reveal Cy’s mother. Her forehead was lined and her eyes were red as though she had been crying. She threw her arms out upon seeing her son. “Thank God you’re here.”

Cy hugged his mother. “I came as soon as we got off the phone. Mom, I don’t know if you remember Dahlia. She and I went to high school together.”

His mother blinked as she looked at Dahlia for the first time that evening. Recognition slowly changed her expression. “I think I remember her.”

Dahlia folded her hands in front of her and tried to work past her nervousness. “It’s good to see you again. Sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

“Dahlia’s going to keep you company while I go look for Jeff, Mom. I’ll call you soon. Love you.” He kissed his mother on the cheek. He caught Dahlia’s hand as he turned and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you,” he uttered in her ear as he flew by to get back in his car.

Cy’s mother shook her head as though she were waking up from a dream. “Come inside, Dahlia. It’s cold out here.” She folded her arms around herself as she turned to go inside the house.

Dahlia stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She removed her coat in the warm space of the hallway. “If you show me where the tea or coffee is, I can make a cup for you.”

“The last thing I need right now is to get the jitters from caffeine, but if you want coffee, there’s some single cup pods you can stick in the machine.” Cy’s mother wandered into the living room to the right of the front door.

Dahlia found the kitchen straight ahead and to the left. The space was dim except for a light above the stove and one over the microwave. She flipped on a switch to turn on the overhead lights and found the single-serve brewer on the counter next to the toaster. Cy’s mother kept the pods stored on a metal rack beside the machine. Dahlia looked through them until she found chamomile tea. She plucked it from the rack, along with an orange pekoe tea pod for herself.

She set the chamomile tea pod in the machine first and went searching for the mugs. She found those in the cupboard above the machine. She placed one mug under the pod just in time to collect the steaming tea.

She looked around the kitchen while she waited for her own tea to brew. Cy’s mother must have just recently moved into the house. The kitchen didn’t seem to be completely set up. Brown boxes had been broken down and stacked neatly behind the wastebasket. She looked on the refrigerator and saw two magnetized pictures on the door. The first was a picture of Cy and his brother Jeff when they were younger. Dahlia guessed it was taken when Cy was in high school. He had on his track jacket. The other photo was one of Jeff by himself, as a teenager. He wore a Hawks basketball jersey, the school’s mascot.

Her tea finished brewing. She carried both mugs into the living room, where Cy’s mother sat on a couch, peeking through the window blinds. Dahlia knew she was keeping an eye out for her son Jeff, and it saddened her to see the woman distressed. She sent the mugs down on the coffee table. “I found chamomile tea.” She pointed to the yellow mug. “I can go back into the kitchen to get sugar.”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” Cy’s mother took the yellow mug and held it in her hands instead of taking a sip. “You said your name was Dahlia, right?”

“Yes.” She stared into the brownish orange depths of her pekoe tea.

“Cy said you went to high school together. How did you run into each other now after all those years ago?”

She brought the cup to her lips, anxiety making her tighten her stomach. What was she supposed to say? It was one thing to make up stories about her relationship with Cy to strangers and business associates, but she didn’t want to lie to his mom. “I’m actually a client of his.”

“A client in his security business?” The woman’s eyes got big. “I hope he’s taking care of things for you and you’re not having any problems.”

Seeing her immediate alarm and concern,  Dahlia quickly shook her head. “No, ma’am. Cy is doing a great job.”

“I’m glad. I was worried for a moment.”

“Please don’t worry about me.”

“Sweetie, I’m a mother. I can’t help it.” Cy’s mother set her cup of tea down on the coffee table and rubbed her hands together as though she were still trying to warm them up. “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m bad company right now. With my son gone missing, I’m such a nervous wreck.”

“I can imagine how scared you feel, but Cy’s out there looking for Jeff. He’ll find him soon.”

“You don’t have to talk to make me feel better. I don’t know if Cy told you. His little brother got suspended from school for fighting. Then we argued in the car when I picked him up from school. Jeff’s so angry. He’s mad at me for getting a divorce. He’s mad at his teachers. Just mad at the whole world.” She stopped to wipe her eyes. She looked at the black smudges on her fingertips afterwards and gave a little hollow laugh. “Look at me. My mascara and eyeliner are running.”

Dahlia reached into her purse and took out a little packet of makeup remover towelettes. “Here you go.”

“Look at you.” She accepted one. “How is it you come so prepared?”

“I’m a makeup artist. I carry a little bag of tricks with me at all times.”

“Really?” Cy’s mother dabbed around her eyes with the towelette. “I’m starting to remember now. I think I saw Cy talking to you several times when I used to drop him off at school. You seemed to be into fashion and makeup then, too.”

“Right.” If Cy didn’t say anything about her or his teenage dating life to his mother before, she wasn’t about to divulge their history now. “I love makeup. It’s a creative outlet for me.”

“One you’ve made into a career.” His mother fiddled with the towelette between her fingers. “This is going to sound silly. Do you think you can help me with my eye makeup application? I’ve been meaning to try new colors, and this would be a good distraction for me.”

Dahlia couldn’t hide her smile. “I’d love to.” She reached into her purse again to produce two eye palettes. “Do you prefer neutrals or bold colors?”