The Water Hole, Part One

Mira got the text two days before Christmas. She was outside doing some last minute shopping at the local plaza, the sound of Christmas music filling her ears as she fumbled in her purse for her phone. The air was mild and she didn’t need to wear gloves, nothing Christmasy about the weather this year. The text was from an unknown number.

Hey Mira. You don’t know me, or at least we’ve never met. This is Matt’s wife, Carolyn. I’m wondering if maybe you’ve heard from him? Or maybe your husband has? Matt only had your number in his phone. He’s left it at home and I can’t find him. Can you call me when you get a chance??!!

The text hit her like a punch to the gut. Mira looked for the nearest bench to sit down, the wood warm from the sunshine beating on it. She read the text over and over again. Matt was married. She knew that, had known that for years, but had tried not to think too much about it. They weren’t friends on social media, hadn’t spoken since she had called him the night of her wedding, begging him to reconsider the declined invitation. He didn’t, and after that day he became firmly rooted in her past. 

Seeing his name again still brought an ache to her chest.

She was still friends with Matt’s sister online. Mira knew that Carolyn had married Matt three years ago in a destination wedding on the beach. She had worn a simple A-line tulle dress, Matt’s suit a light gray. Carolyn had a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and light brown hair. Mira had no idea how they met or what she did or where they lived. They weren’t invited to the wedding, didn’t exchange holiday cards or check-in texts. Mira was surprised that Matt still had her number in his phone. He must have deleted Oliver’s.

She took several deep breaths before calling Carolyn. She hated calling, hated talking on the phone, wished she could just text her back. But Carolyn had asked her to call and she knew if she was reaching out to Mira that she must be desperate. 

She pressed the call button on her phone, her heart fluttering with anxiety.

“Hello?” Mira heard almost immediately. Carolyn’s voice was deeper than she imagined it.

“Hi, Carolyn?” Mira said, her voice light and wavering.

“Oh my God Mira,” Carolyn said. “Thanks for calling me back so quickly. I’m sorry I texted you but I didn’t know what to do without worrying Matt’s family.”

“What’s up?” Mira said so casually she almost believed this was a normal conversation.

“Matt’s missing,” Carolyn said. “He’s been gone since this morning.”

“Did he have work? Or maybe he needed to meet someone? Have you talked to the police?” It felt odd connecting with a person she didn’t know, someone connected to Matt.

“No,” Carolyn said. “He lost his job a month ago. He hasn’t been himself lately. I thought it was just the job and then regular holiday stuff but then we had a fight and he’s left his phone at home and disappeared.”

A lump formed in Mira’s throat. “When was the last time you saw him?”

Carolyn took a deep breath and Mira could hear how difficult it was for her to talk. “This morning,” she said. “He was up with me before I went to work. Told me he was gonna fix the leaky pipe under the sink.” Carolyn paused, a small sob escaping. “That’s when we argued, just stupid bickering, really, and I left for work angry. He didn’t text me all morning and I felt awful so I came home on my lunch break to talk to him. I found the driveway empty and his phone on the kitchen counter.”

“Do you know anyone who could’ve seen him?” Mira asked. “He hasn’t been missing for long. Is it possible he’s just out to clear his head for bit?”

“No,” Carolyn said, her voice breaking. “The neighbors didn’t see anything and I’ve asked everyone I can think of. He’s just gone. He doesn’t do stuff like this. I know contacting you was a long shot, I just thought that maybe you would know something.”

Mira’s words were stuck in her throat. There was a time when she may have known something, would never have imagined not knowing where Matt was. But that time had passed so long ago.

“I’m sorry,” Mira said. “I haven’t spoken to Matt in years.”

“Do you think Oliver would know?” Carolyn asked. Her voice was pleading, desperate.

“Maybe,” Mira said. Oliver knew Matt better than she did, had known him since they were in kindergarten together. “I’ll call him and get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” Carolyn said. “And thank you,” she barely whispered.

“Of course.” Mira disconnected the call, her hands shaking, head spinning.

She had met Matt during her freshman year of college. They were both in Intro to Chemistry, Matt’s sandy brown hair and easy smile immediately catching Mira’s attention. They were lab partners and Matt was patient and kind, smart and funny. He was everything eighteen year old Mira could ever want in a boyfriend. In class, she imagined them as Matt and Mira: their names fitting together perfectly. It didn’t matter that Mira didn’t really feel much of a spark; these things took time, she told herself. And so she flirted with him in class and lab, liked the attention that he gave her, liked the way that she felt when she was with him. That had to be close to love, she had thought back then.

She had let Matt kiss her one day after class when they were walking outside together, the wind blowing her thick black hair around her face. She was only a couple inches shorter than him, their eyes almost meeting. The kiss had been light and quick and Mira imagined that she felt a fluttering in her stomach.

Oliver had been Matt’s roommate. They had been best friends since kindergarten, were both tall and lanky with brown hair, although Oliver’s was much darker. Still, people mistook them for brothers growing up. It wasn’t until Mira met Oliver that she knew what a true spark was. Matt introduced them on a cold January day shortly after the long break for the holidays. Matt and Mira had kept in touch over the break, instant messaging each other every day, Matt’s messages always making Mira laugh. But as soon as Mira saw Oliver, his dark hair and eyes boring into hers, she felt truly seen for the first time. Mira’s stomach fluttered and flipped.

She didn’t mean to rip them apart, tried to avoid it for so long. But Oliver had felt that spark too, was drawn to Mira in a way that neither of them could ignore. Matt was the one left behind and Mira hated how she had to choose, hated how she felt in so many ways. 

They didn’t start dating right away, there was too much pain once Matt stopped talking to them. In a way, Mira thought that it was a fitting punishment: losing both Matt and Oliver. But Oliver found her when their sophomore year began. Matt was no longer his roommate, they were free to be together, if that’s what she wanted. And she did want that, but the guilt over what she had done had always remained. She still saw Matt in class, both of them biochem majors, but he stared right past her with vacant eyes. To him, it was as if she had never existed.

“Oliver?” Mira said, her phone to her ear.

“Hey,” Oliver said, his voice sounding tired.

“It’s Matt. His wife just called me. Told me he’s been missing since this morning and she doesn’t know what to do.”

“Any chance he’s just out for the day and he didn’t tell her?” Oliver said.

“Carolyn said this isn’t like him,” Mira said. “That he wouldn’t’ just disappear without his phone and not tell her.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “I’m leaving work,” Oliver said. “Meet me at home.” 

Before Mira could reply, he hung up.

Mira beat Oliver home and when he came in the door, he didn’t take his shoes or jacket off. He brushed past her to use the bathroom. 

“I’ve got some food and water in the car,” Oliver said after coming out. “Grab your coat.”

“What?” Mira said. 

“Do you know if he and Carolyn are still in Albany?” Oliver said.

“I didn’t know that’s where they lived,” Mira said.

“Can you call her back when we’re on the road?” Oliver said. “We can pick her up on the way.”

“Are we going somewhere?” Mira said, feeling behind but grabbing her coat anyways.

“I think I know where he is,” Oliver said, opening the front door and stepping outside. 

Mira tried to keep up. “You do?” she said, closing the door and locking it. The temperature had dropped several degrees and the wind had picked up.

Oliver nodded and got into their SUV without another word.

Mira slid into the passenger seat, the car already started. Her head was spinning and she was feeling rushed and confused, but Oliver looked so determined, so sure of himself, that she buckled her seat belt without asking. 

She called Carolyn as soon as they were on the highway. “She says they’re still in Albany and she’ll text me their address,” Mira said after hanging up. “Where are we going?”

“Home,” Oliver said.

Oliver hadn’t been home in two years, not since his mom had died and the house sold. Oliver was an only child and there were no siblings to stay in touch with, nothing to keep him connected to his hometown. The only person from there stopped talking to him years ago.

“How did you know he lives in Albany?” Mira asked, her eyes watching the trees blur by on the side of the highway.

“He texted me,” Oliver said. “Told me a couple years ago.”

“He texted you?” Mira said. She was hurt that Oliver hadn’t told her, wanted to know more. Had they stayed in touch and Oliver had kept it a secret? “But Carolyn said your number wasn’t in his phone.”

Oliver shrugged. “I’ve had the same number since I was eighteen. He probably just knows it.”

Mira suddenly had so many questions about a past that was now finding them in the present but she stayed silent. She could see Christmas wreaths on houses and holiday blowup characters on front lawns as they drove.

Albany was an hour north of them, Carolyn’s and Matt’s street quiet and lined with linden trees. Their house was a small gray bungalow, an evergreen wreath with a red bow hanging on the front door. Mira realized she was sweating as they pulled into the driveway. They both got out of the car but Carolyn was already on the front porch before they reached the steps. It was strange seeing her in person for the first time. Mira had seen several pictures over the years but the large bump under Carolyn’s pale blue sweater had never been in them. It made Mira pause for a moment, made her reorient herself. Carolyn was pregnant. Matt was going to be a father. And he was missing.