by Jamie Knight
I grabbed a pile of blankets out of the linen closet and threw them on the couch, making a nice, cushy pallet for me to lay on. I was still buzzing from the date, so I tried to will my mind to stop spinning. I probably won’t even see him again, I thought. My heart sank to my feet and a small cloud of sadness encompassed me. Good things like that just didn’t happen to me.
Then, I remembered what I was going to be doing the next day: putting down the deposit for my shop. I smiled to myself. Nothing could take away my excitement for this, something that I’ve been waiting on for a long time. I tried to push the sad thoughts out of my head and focus on the storefront.
I drifted off, smiling excitedly, with thoughts of how I would decorate my shop and imagined seeing my name on the building.
Chapter Twelve - Reid
“I see that you’ve finally taken to heart what I was saying to you about cleaning up your act at work,” said my father, who had dropped by the hotel unannounced and unexpectedly. “I’ve noticed dramatic improvements in your work ethic in the past couple of weeks. The other employees have noticed it, too. You may not realize it, but the changes that you have made have boosted morale around here. Keep up the good work, kid.”
It had been a long time since I heard my father call me “kid”. In fact, I was probably in grade school the last time he had called me kid. That was right before I started getting into trouble and disappointing him all of the time.
Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I liked being in my father’s good graces. It made him more pleasant to be around. It made me feel like he was more of a friend than my father.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, smiling weakly.
My dad stopped and peered closer at my face. A worried look covered his face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You look depressed or something.”
I was a little shocked to hear my father say that. Because I actually had been feeling depressed, but had tried to ignore it. And I was hesitant to talk to my father about it, because I was afraid that he wouldn’t understand.
“It’s nothing really…” I started, my voice trailing off.
“No, there is something wrong,” he insisted. “You can tell me, son. I’ll hear you out.”
That meant a lot to me, the fact that my father had been willing to take time out of his busy day and still be my dad. If this is how he responds by me doing what I’m supposed to do around here, I might do this all of the time, I thought.
“Well…” I said, rubbing my neck and looking him over, trying to gauge if he could really handle what I was going to tell him. “There’s this girl. Her name is Amelia. I met her in a restaurant and took her out on a date. We had such a great time and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since. And I want to talk to her. But, I can’t just call her. Things are…complicated…”
I didn’t want to tell my father about the auction because I wasn’t quite sure how he would take it.
“You said that you met her at her job,” he said, rubbing his chin pensively. “Can you go back there?”
“I mean I can, but she won’t be there,” I said. “She quit her job at the restaurant owned by her parents.”
My father cringed. I’m sure he was imagining what it would be like if I quit working at the hotel. I didn’t see why I ever would, though, all things considered. I knew that I had a cushy job and so did my father. And even when he had been coming down hard on me for not working well, we both knew that I wasn’t going anywhere.
“So, it must have been something bad that made her quit on her parents,” he said, looking at me. “You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”
I thought about the scene in the middle of the restaurant, but I decided against bring that up to my father.
“No, at least I don’t think so,” I said. “But, going to her job just isn’t an option.”
My father fell silent for a moment.
“So, you don’t know any other place where she might be? Do you know where she lives, maybe?”
Of course I knew where she lived. I had dropped her off. But, I thought that it would be weird for me to just walk up to her door for no good reason. What was I going to say?
Then, I remembered her telling me about the storefront over on 11th street. I told my father about it.
“Well, there you go,” he said. “That’s your excuse! You want to bless her new business with a bouquet of flowers and just to see how she was doing.”
I tried to think of a reason why that wouldn’t work and couldn’t. I actually thought that that was a pretty good idea. I kicked myself and felt like an idiot for not thinking of the plan myself sooner. But, my dad was a pretty together and smart guy. That’s how he’d been so successful in business. I knew that I could learn a lot from him.
“That’s a great idea,” I said, my spirits beginning to brighten. “I’ll go down there right after work.”
“No, no, no,” said my father, taking the folders out of my hand that I was organizing. “Why don’t you go take an early lunch and go down there now? Things are pretty slow around here so I don’t see why you can’t.”
Clearly the offer was to reward my recent efforts, and I wasn’t about to turn down his generosity.
“Okay,” I said, happily. I grabbed my coat and car keys and hurried out the door before he had a chance to change his mind. But, I guess that he was willing to reward me for all of the hard work that I had been putting in around the hotel. I had been doing repairs, going above and beyond in customer service, and keeping the office in tiptop shape. I had never worked so hard in all of my life and, honestly, it felt good.
And now, I was on my way to see Amelia. I had missed her more than I cared to admit. We hadn’t spent much time together, but I found myself lost in thought often, thinking about her, wondering what she might be doing, and wondering if she was thinking about me at all.
I ran to a flower shop and grabbed a dozen roses before heading towards 11th street. When I got to the storefront, I pulled up across the street, where I had a good view of the storefront’s big picture window.
And then I saw her. She had her hair up in a bun and wore a big, grey sweater that hung off of her shoulders and a pair of tight, ripped jeans. Even from my place across the street, I could tell that she is having a good time. She shone with laughter and smiles, making her look even more beautiful. I felt like angels were playing harps as I sat there looking at her.
All of a sudden, everything seemed to come to a halt.
There was a guy in the shop with her. He was about a foot taller than she was and they seemed to be very friendly. They had paint rollers in their hands and were painting one of the walls together. But, they were playing around so much, flicking their rollers toward each other, it seemed like they were getting more paint on each other than on the walls. She kept throwing her head back and laughing. She was relaxed and happy, having a great time.
Was she having as good of a time with this guy as she claimed to have had with me on our date?
Then, I saw her lean over and land a peck of a kiss on his cheek. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. I pounded my fist against the wheel, sounding the horn. Their heads turned toward me. I quickly slouched down in the driver’s seat, hoping that they wouldn’t see me.
I started to feel angry. Why was I out here hiding like some kind of coward? I should have been rushing inside and punching this guy out, letting him know that she was mine and that he had better keep his distance.
But, part of me knew that that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I saw how happy she looked with him. I had seen her happy like that before, with me. But, even if she couldn’t be with me, if she could find happiness anywhere, who was I to get in the way of that?
So, I left.
My heart hurt as I drove.
What if she had a boyfriend this whole time, I thought. What if she had just been using me to get her storefront an
d had been playing me?
Well, if that was the case, good riddance. I didn’t need someone as manipulative and conniving in my life.
Had it really all been bullshit?
Chapter Thirteen - Amelia
It had been a few days since we had gotten the walls painted and I figured that I’d let them dry before we started moving furniture in.
I walked in and sniffed hard, loving the smell of the dry paint. It made everything smell so fresh and new. I had barely enough time to set my bag down before there was a knock at the back door. I opened it and it was Jeff, Candy’s cousin.
“Jeffie!” I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck. “Come on in and check out our work.”
He walked in, looking at the soft pink walls in awe.
“Melia, this is amazing,” he said, spinning in circles. “This is going to be so incredible, honey.”
He hugged me hard.
“You are such a good friend,” I said, squeezing him hard. “You’ve been such a great help with my shop so far. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. Jeff, how would you like to be my very first employee?”
“Employee?” Jeff scoffed. “I don’t know about all of that, I’ll have to give it some thought. But, I’m not opposed to helping you out with labor to get things set up. But, then you will owe me a favor.”
“Okay, sure, whatever you want,” I said.
“I’m glad you said that,” he said, pulling away from me so that he could look at my face. “I already know what I want. I want you to help me with a ring for Scott. I want to propose to him and I can’t think of anyone that I would want to create a masterpiece for my Scott to wear as a symbol of our life than you.”
My heart swelled at his compliment.
“Aw, Jeffie!” I said, blinking away tears stinging my eyes. I’d met Jeff’s boyfriend, Scott, and the two of them were perfect together. “You’re going to make me cry. Thank you. That’s so sweet of you. Of course I will help you make an engagement ring for Scott. Just make sure I’m there when you actually propose. I want to see the look on his face when you whip it out on him.”
“Look at you, naughty girl,” said Jeff playfully.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said, batting at him playfully.
“Oh, I’m kidding,” he said. “Lighten up, boss.”
I beamed at him using the word boss. I really was the boss. This was my shop. It felt good to finally be able to say that.
“The furniture should be here soon,” I told Jeff. “I want to make sure that this is a comfortable space where the people who come in are able to, not only view my pieces, but can enjoy a welcoming atmosphere as well. Blame it on all those years of working in the food industry. But, I don’t see why the same theory couldn’t apply here.”
“I’m totally with you,” said Jeff. “Break out the champagne and let’s have some mimosas.”
I laughed.
“Well, maybe not just yet,” I said. “We do have a lot of work to get done and we don’t want to be tired out from drinking before we even get started.”
Jeff moved closer to look at my face.
“You DO look really tired, honey,” he said, tipping my chin up with his fingertip to examine the bags under my eyes. “Is everything okay? Are you just stressed about the shop coming together? If not, you don’t need to be. You know I’ve got your back.”
“I guess it’s been stressful,” I said, scratching my head as I thought about it. “But, honestly, you and Candy have made this process so easy for me I can’t even say that that’s it.”
“Then, what is it doll?”
He looked at me affectionately, the way that a caring big brother would look at you after you’ve fallen down and scraped your knee.
“Well, there is this guy…” I began, turning away from him.
“A guy? I should have known? What did he do? Who is he? I’ll kick his ass!”
I laughed as Jeff put his fist up and shadow boxed in a circle a couple of blows.
“He’s the guy from the auction,” I said. “The one who took me out on a date. It’s just that…I haven’t heard from him since the date. I mean, I know that our date was arranged and all. It’s not like he asked me out on his own and I accepted. I get it. But, I can’t stop thinking about him. We had such a great time that night, I never wanted the night to end. And now, I’m afraid that I’ll never see him again. And that makes me sad.”
“So, if you miss him all that much, why don’t you just call him?” asked Jeff.
The thought made my breath quicken.
“Oh, no, I could never do that,” I said, trying not to sound panicked. “What if he tells me to get lost? That he never wanted to see my face again? I just couldn’t take that kind of rejection. And besides, I probably was nothing more than a charity case for him, one that he was happy to be rid of once the night was over.”
“But, didn’t you say that he went all out for the date?” asked Jeff.
“I mean, it seemed like he did, but maybe that’s just what he’s used to. He is loaded, after all. Fine dining is probably something he does every day of the week.”
The room fell silent. I clapped my hands together and walked over to the radio to put some rock music on, wanting to banish Reid from my thoughts and focus on the dream coming together.
“Let’s get to work,” I said. We started sweeping up the floors and moving everything out of the way to make room for the furniture. The loud music echoed off of the walls and ceiling, reverberating throughout the room. Jeff worked quietly and quickly, dancing whenever a good song came on. He was such fun to be around.
But, not more fun than Reid was to be around. I smiled to myself thinking about the jokes that he had told and how much we had danced that night. I felt like there could never be a dull moment with him.
Stop thinking about him, Amelia, I thought to myself. But, no matter how much I tried, my mind just kept drifting back to Reid and that night.
And my mind also kept going back to the dirty dreams that I had been having about him since before the auction and after. I thought about the way that we had kissed and how I had wanted more.
But I couldn’t get greedy, right? He’d already given me so much. So even if didn’t want me the way I wanted him, he’d still made my dreams come true, and for that, he’d always have a place in my heart.
Even if that place is a little broken.
Chapter Fourteen - Reid
“Whoa, buddy!” yelled a guest as I accidentally almost mowed them down with the cart of towels that I had been pushing.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, pulling the cart to a screeching halt and letting him pass.
“Are you okay?” asked Ron. “I saw you almost run that guy over there. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, pushing the cart against the wall. “I think I’m just tired.”
“Okay, I understand,” said Ron, patting me on the shoulder. “Maybe you should go take a nap or something. I’ll cover for you.”
That actually sounded like a good idea, a rest to revitalize myself. I thanked Ron and headed into the back office.
But, I knew that the real problem was that I couldn’t stop thinking about Amelia and her boyfriend- or whoever that guy was. Seeing her laughing with him and touching him and even kissing him, even just his cheek, made my blood boil. I wish it was me that was having a good time with her, like we had on the date that we had gone on. Part of me wished that I’d be the only guy that she spent time with like that, in a more intimate setting.
I felt betrayed. Used. Like a huge joke had been played on me. It made me sick to my stomach. How could she have done this to me?
I wanted to get back at her. And I had a great idea of just how to do that.
I pulled out my phone and called up Elliot.
“Hey, bro,” he answered. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going pretty well,” I said, sitting
on the couch in the office. “Hey, listen I’ve got an idea that I want us to run with. Hear me out.”
“Okay…” said Elliot, reluctantly. “What is this all about?”
I took a deep breath and blew it out.
“Look, the auction was a hit! I didn’t think this small town had it in them, but it actually went over well. So, I was thinking that maybe we should strike while the iron was hot.”
“What do you mean?” asked Elliot.
“I mean why not put on another auction. This time we can put it together. I mean, who knows this town better than us, anyway? And this time, we can add our own flair to it. I’ll put up all the cash for it and we’ll work out the other details. But, what do you think?”
The phone was quiet. I checked to make sure that the call hadn’t dropped. It hadn’t. Elliot was just silent on the other end of the phone.
“I’m in!” he yelled. “Fuck yeah, man. You have no idea how long I have been wanting to do something like this. Wow. It’s like you read my mind. Okay, so, where are you thinking that we can host this thing? I’m sure that your dad is going to go for you using the hotel for something like this.”
I thought about how red my dad’s face would get if I put on an auction here and he saw the things that go on at them. He would yell at me all day and night. I didn’t want to go through that, especially since our relationship had taken such a good turn.
“No, he wouldn’t go for that,” I agreed. “But, what about the flower shop? Do you think that Sheila would go for letting us host it there again?”
“Nah, bro,” he said. “Doesn’t sound like she’s interested.”
A light bulb went off in my head. I had a great idea of where we could host the next auction. I told Elliot that I would call him back later and quickly hung up the phone. I stepped back out of the office to the front desk where Ron sat staring at a computer screen.
“Hey, Ron,” I said. “Would you mind too terribly if I stepped out for a bit?”