Free The Space In Between by Brittainy Cherry

borrow some cash from Ladasha.
    I stepped out and went to hand him the money, telling him I
would be right back with the rest. He pushed the cash back to me. “Keep it.
Take care of yourself, all right? And if you ever need a ride, give your ol'
buddy Joe a call. I know how easy it is to get lost in the Big Apple, and I'm
pretty good at helping people find their way home.” He handed me his card,
delivered me a warm grin, and pulled off.
    After that night, Joe became my official driver for my
nightly flings with Cooper. He never charged me, which was sweet, but he also
never judged me, which was even sweeter. He spoke to me about his wife, how
much he loved her, how much she cared for him. He spoke of their struggles and
how they worked through the issues no matter what. They had been married for
almost forty years, and he prayed for forty more.
    I wondered sometimes if I would ever get married.
     
     

     
     
    DERRICK STOOD ON stage in front
of the microphone, looking handsome as ever. When he performed he became the
song, transforming into the lyrics, fully committing to the words. I just
turned twenty-one, so I was filled with excitement to see him perform for the
first time in a bar. He was so amazing up there. Such a natural.
    A few of his friends filed in and surrounded me, looking
as proud as I was to see him up there. His best friend Steve slugged me in the
arm and before I could smack him, he pulled me into a hug.
    “Welcome back home, soon to be Mrs. Stevens.” Steve said
as he sat down next to me.
    “Thanks. Good to be back, as always.” My eyes looked up
to Derrick who was grinning in my direction and I turned to Steve, “Does he
ever talk about how he misses me?”
    Steve picked up his beer and rolled his eyes. “Don’t do
that Andie. I’m not your messenger boy.” I fed Steve my best puppy dog eyes and
whimpered. “He wrote you a new song.”
    My eyes widened with excitement. I loved when he wrote
songs about me. I bit my bottom lip and looked up to my baby. “He loves me,
huh?”
    Steve cleared his throat and nodded, chugging his drink.
“The best way he knows how.”
    Derrick finished his song and spoke into his mic. “A big
thanks to everyone coming out tonight for your love and support. Now I’m gonna
take a small break and go have a drink with my future wife.”
    He slid in next to me and kissed my neck. “You did
amazing.” I beamed with pride.
    “I’m so happy you’re here. I called you earlier, but it
went to voicemail. Figured you weren’t going to make it.” He smiled and picked
up my cell phone.
    “Of course I was going to make it, don’t be dumb.” I
warned him. Kissing my nose, he went searching through my phone. “What are you
doing?” I wondered out loud.
    He held up his finger to me and began speaking into my
cell phone. “Hey! You have reached the voicemail of the soon-to-be Mrs. Andie
Stevens. She cannot get to the phone right now, but leave her a message and
she’ll call you back! Bye!”
    I smirked at his corniness and grabbed my cell phone back
from him.
    Mrs. Stevens. I could get used to that.
     
     

     
     
    I SAT ON the couch, looking at all
the missed calls on my cell phone from my mom. Seven. It had been awhile since
I’d spoken with her, but I couldn’t listen to her sob on the telephone anymore.
I looked at the number of voicemails on my phone, which was exactly seven, too.
Rolling my eyes I prepared to listen to my mom beg me to come home.
    “Hi, Anders, it's your mother. I was just calling to see how
you are doing. I haven't heard from you in a while. I wanted to see if you were
able to make it to Thanksgiving. I know you said you were busy with your
jobs…but…we would really love to have you. We’ve never had a Thanksgiving
without you…”
    I placed the collar of my shirt into my mouth and bit down
on it, as if to hold back my tears. “It’s already sad enough that Derrick’s
family won’t be joining us. His mom is pretty lost. But to