by Sara Marion
Duke stared at Jack. He didn’t know how to reply to that. He heard the sincerity in Jack’s voice. It brought Duke back to the place he was at the bar and grill when he knew he needed to work things out between them. “Congrats, by the way,” Duke finally said.
“For what?”
“Your engagement. It hurts man, I’m not going to lie. I fell in love with Paxton. I was falling hard and then you came back. I crashed and burned and everything hurt. She threw me aside for you. After everything I did, she forgot about it, including my love. That’s what hurts the most.”
Jack didn’t say anything but he nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Looks like we are at a crossroads. We stepped over the lines of friendship into dangerous territories. Let’s take a few steps back and try to remember why I became friends with you,” Duke joked. He had a feeling this was a place they were going to start over at.
“It’s going to take some time, especially with you and Paxton at ends but I think it’s worth the try. Just don’t expect miracles overnight. Paxton is very upset with you and I’m walking a fine line here,” Jack looked away.
“I know. I’m going to try, Jack. I still can’t believe I was going to be a father. She knew Jack. She knew and she kept quiet.”
“I’m not going to say what she did is right, but you have to let that go. Let it go, Duke. Move on. One day at a time, okay?”
There was a knock on the door before Duke could say anything. Dr. Maclyn came in. “Sorry, got caught up with another patient.” He set the chart down at the end of the bed.
Duke saw him grab his trusty penlight and click it on. “How’s your pain now?” He asked as he checked Duke’s eyes.
“About a 7. When can I take an aspirin or something?”
“I would say the day after tomorrow, if you have any pain you can take something then. The dilation is coming down, but still present. Just get lots of rest and have someone check on you a couple times throughout the night tonight and you should be good,” he smiled. “But if the pain gets worse, or dizzy spells start, come back and get checked out.”
“Sounds good.”
“Alright, I will get the papers started, you should be able to leave soon. Any questions before I go?”
“Nope, just ready to get out of here,” Duke smiled.
The doctor smiled and left the room.
“Want me to stay at the house tonight?”
“No, I can get someone else to. I’m sure you want to spend time with Paxton.”
“She’s going to be here for the next 48-hours. So I guess I wasn’t really asking, you’re stuck with my buddy,” he laughed.
Duke couldn’t help but laugh with him this time. He ignored the pain it caused in his head. It felt good to laugh with his friend once again.
NINE
Duke stepped out of the shower. Drying himself off and wrapping the towel around his hips, he was thankful that he almost got a full night’s rest. His head still ached but it was dull thanks to the painkillers he was allowed to take for it now. The bruise on the side of his head was turning darker colors and just like the nurse said when she came in with his discharge papers. When he looked closer in the foggy mirror, he could still count the laces but they were quickly fading into the darkness of the bruise.
He walked back to his room and changed into a pair of athletic shorts. He had nowhere to be. He hadn’t been cleared for driving yet or going back to work. It had been about a week since he was discharged. Heading towards the living room, Duke sat on the couch with a pile of papers to grade. He grabbed his trusty red pen and got to work. Drake had brought him plenty to do as his sub followed his lesson plan, surprisingly. Duke couldn’t wait to get back to work on Monday, that was if his doctor cleared him. Apparently a swollen brain took awhile to heal and they didn’t want him to stress out with work, but he was just stressing at home so their argument was invalid. Playoffs were here and finals were right around the corner. Sighing, he set about his task of grading.
Duke was lost in his work when he heard Jack pull up to the house. He heard giggling as they got closer and he just stared at the door, wondering what was going on. The door burst open and Jack and Paxton both fell in, laughing and kissing. Duke cleared his throat.
“Oh,” Paxton exclaimed. She quickly tucked herself against Jack.
“Hey,” Duke said as Jack smiled at him. “Don’t mind me, I will just take this back in my office.”
“No, your fine. Stay you have everything already set up out here,” Jack wrapped his arm around Paxton and began to lead her back to his room.
“Have fun you two,” Duke turned back to the papers in front of him, although he found himself not wanting to grade any longer. He felt the need to get out of the house, it was entirely too small for all three of them to be there at the moment. Deciding to do something to relieve that feeling, he picked up his phone and called Drew.
Drew made his presence known about thirty minutes later when Duke heard a horn blaring in the driveway. Duke left a note for Jack and Paxton not wanting to interrupt anything, although the giggling stopped about ten minutes ago. Why they didn’t go to the cabin, Duke didn’t know, but he was grateful for a reason to get out of the house. He had been cooped up all week. With that thought, he headed out the door.
“Hey what’s up man?” Drew asked as soon as Duke entered the car.
“Nothing just needed to get out of the house.”
“You still look like shit man.”
“Gee thanks,” Duke laughed.
“So where to?”
“Anywhere, just drive.”
“Wanna go down to Aggieville and get a bite to eat?”
“Sounds great,” Duke agreed. He tried thinking about what he had to eat today and he realized he hadn’t. It was almost dinnertime now.
Drew pulled up to PJ’s Bar & Grill. Duke sighed knowing that this was the place where Jennah worked. He was going to possibly see her for the first time since she dropped him off at the emergency room. Heading in, he felt reservations grow within him. He knew he needed to stay away from Jennah. He wouldn’t put himself out there to get hurt once more. He prayed that she was not working tonight.
***
Jennah was wiping down a table when she heard the hostess greet someone at the podium. She hoped that they would be seated elsewhere as she wanted to get off on time today. Jennah ran to the back as the cook called her name for an order that just came up for one of her last tables. As she was delivering it, she saw the hostess seating the two men in her area. Great, she thought. She figured they would be here a while as they were busy chatting instead of looking over the menu. She set the food down for the proper table and when they needed nothing else, she smiled and headed over to her new table.
“Hey all,” she said turning the corner of the booth and setting down drink napkins. When she looked up she was surprised to see Duke sitting there. She didn’t recognize either of them when they walked in.
“Hey Jennah,” Duke smiled.
Jennah looked at the bruising trying not to be obvious that it caught her off guard. The bruising on his face would make anyone cringe. She tried to hold her face neutral to it, but obviously failed.
“I know, pretty bad isn’t it?”
“No, sorry, it’s just that when I left you at the hospital you could only see the laces. Chase smacked you pretty hard didn’t he?”
“Chase was the one?” Duke’s face lit up with surprise.
“Yeah, he didn’t mean to,” she quickly felt the need to defend her nephew. He was so torn up about it when she got back to the house, that she spent almost twenty minutes trying to convince him that it was okay.
“No, I know he didn’t, just surprised me I guess. I still have trouble remembering what exactly happened. I was told that you brought me to the hospital. Thank you.”
“No problem, anyone could have done it but I just happened to know what I was doing at the time.”
“Apparently. I should take you
out to thank you.”
“That’s not necessary.” Jennah knew that spending more time with him would not be good. There was just something familiar about Duke. When she first saw him at the first game she attended, she felt a pull towards him. Like he had a string attached to her and he was slowly reeling her in, closer to him. She couldn’t resist and found herself not wanting to, although she should. She needed to run as far away from a relationship as she could. After all, it is what she is good at, running. She ran from Josh. She took Dobry in the middle of the day, packed two bags and just left. She was finally getting to the point where she could breathe without looking over her shoulder to see if her past was there.
“It is, just one meal, that’s all I’m asking. It’s just a thank you.”
Jennah felt silly for making this sound like it was more than what it was, but the emotions Duke pulled out of her scared her. She didn’t understand them and she didn’t want them to deepen just as she found herself getting back on her feet. She did the only thing she could, “Rain check?”
Duke smiled and nodded. Jennah was thankful that he was satisfied with that. Hopefully now he will just forget about the rain check and never cash it in. “So what can I get you two to eat?” she quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
They quickly picked out what they wanted and Jennah was thankful she was able to escape Duke’s gaze. She went over to the Point-of-Sale system and put their order in. She sat there staring at them over the top of the monitor. They were in her line of sight when she was standing there.
“Who’s the bruised up guy?” her coworker asked. She looked over at Stephanie who was eyeing Duke.
“Just Chase’s coach,” she answered automatically.
“You going to quit staring at him anytime soon and finish up?”
“I’m not staring.”
“You are too.”
Jennah huffed. She didn’t need this teasing. She wasn’t in high school and she didn’t need drama around her. She finished placing their tickets on hold in the system and headed to check on her other tables. She needed to bury these feelings Duke brought out of her. Duke would be her downfall and her undoing. She had enough in her life to deal with right now and she didn’t need the distractions.
Jennah went about her duties as she was waiting on Duke’s food order to get up. She kept glancing over to his table. Duke and his friend seemed to be in an intense conversation over something. She was never introduced to Duke’s friend, but Duke’s friend had been glancing in her direction every so often. She hoped this friend wouldn’t continue staring and giving her dirty looks. She remembered when another couple sat with Duke, the woman stared at her like she was looking at a ghost. She didn’t understand it. Duke ended up leaving before she was able to check back in on them that night. She wondered what happened as he left his food without a bit taken out of it. He did leave a good tip for her that night so she couldn’t complain too much.
“Jennah!”
Jennah turned towards the kitchen where the cook bellowed. He pointed to the food sitting under the warmer. It had to be sitting there a few minutes if he needed to holler out to her to pick the food up and deliver it. She was normally on top of things and her food never sat under the warmers. She smiled and moved to grab them.
Setting the plates down in front of each of them, she smiled. “Alright, anything else I can get you?”
She was used to the customary look between the people at the table before they told her what they needed or that they were good.
“No, I’m good,” his friend said.
“Me, too,” Duke answered.
“Alright, I will be back to check on you in a bit,” she smiled and turned.
After awhile, she noticed that Duke and his friend were finished eating. They were the last table in her section and she wondered if they would be leaving soon. She was due to get off any minute now and she didn’t want to be late getting Dobry. Figuring they had enough time to chat, Jennah knew it was time to start pressuring them about leaving.
“How was everything?” She picked up their plates and started clearing the empty dishes.
“Great!” his friend smiled.
“Perfect,” Duke answered.
“Any room for dessert?”
“No,” they both answered with a laugh.
“Can we get our checks please?”
“Sure thing, I will be right back,” she grinned at Duke’s friend. She grabbed their tickets and delivered it back to them. She was grateful after she left they filled it out. They talked a few minutes longer then got out of the booth. She quickly went over and cleaned the table. She noticed a piece of paper stuck in one of the ticket trays. She pulled it out and it was from Duke.
Jennah—
Call me when you are ready for that rain check.
- Duke
At the bottom, Duke had written his number. She smiled at the thought and felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach. She couldn’t help but get as giddy as a schoolgirl when she read the note again. She tucked it away in her pocket and continued cleaning. She was ready to leave and go get her baby girl.
TEN
Duke walked into the gallery. It was only open for another hour and Drew didn’t mind dropping him off. Duke told him he would catch a cab home. He had been neglecting this place for about two weeks now. He walked through the gallery checking out the new art exhibits. The first recipient of the Ella Avery Foundation scholarship had their work displayed in the gallery already.
The photographer was good. Duke saw the potential in the artist. Ella would have loved to meet this girl, maybe even mentor her. With a little guidance this student could go a long way. She played with light in this series. All her photos were black and white and the moods she set were incredible. He wondered if maybe he would be able to meet each of the recipients when they were awarded the scholarship. Duke made a mental note to check with Ryan on it.
Duke moved through the gallery and he saw a few new pieces of Ella’s hung up. He stopped in front of one where he was the subject. He was looking straight into the camera and laughing. It looked like he was at the house he shared with Ella. He didn’t remember this picture being taken but Ella took many of him that it wouldn’t surprise him if she had a lot of pictures he didn’t remember. He looked carefree, happy. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like the person in that picture hanging in front of him. The man in the picture was long gone. He was trying to move on, but he wondered if he could even get remotely close to being the man he saw before him.
He went to the second floor that housed a few smaller exhibits. It was also the floor that Ryan’s office was on. He wanted to stop by see if he was in. Climbing the stairs, he noticed that Ryan put a few pictures of the groundbreaking ceremony and the grand opening along the way. He looked at Paxton in both of the pictures. She seemed to have gotten some life in her after Ella. She was happy in these pictures, but even she looked changed in those pictures. It was a different side than her other pictures that were displayed around. Duke had little to no hope that he would ever be carefree again. Happiness was a goal, but carefree was the unobtainable dream.
Duke reached Ryan’s office. He peeked in but he was on the phone. He held up one finger as he continued his conversation. Duke signaled he would be looking around and Ryan nodded in his direction. Duke headed next door to where Paxton’s office used to be. Now a gate greeted him and inside Link’s toys were spread out. In the corner, he saw a bed and Link’s food and water bowls. Link was a part of the gallery family. He smiled as the memory of the night he brought Link over to Paxton’s for the first time played out in his head. It was one of the most amazing nights that he had in a long time. It was the day he started looking forward, a possibility of a future, a future with Paxton. His smiled dropped a little knowing that the future he used to envision with Paxton had changed dramatically.
He went on around the corner and headed into another exhibit room. It was another photographer for lan
dscapes and architecture. It was a different feel from everything else he saw in the gallery as he was moseying around. He liked it. It portrayed beauty and power. The buildings made him think about the landmark’s powerful history, the things that may have gone on within the walls of them.
“Duke?”
“Hey Ryan,” he wrapped Ryan up in a hug.
“What happened to you?”
“Apparently I got hit with a line-drive foul ball. I can’t remember exactly what happened, but Jennah got me to the hospital. Had an overnight stay but been home for a couple days.”
“Why didn’t you call me and who’s Jennah?”
Duke was surprised that he hadn’t spoken to Ryan about her, not that he had any reason to. “She’s a relative of one of my players. I met her two games before. I didn’t call because Jack brought me home and I didn’t even think about it while I was recovering.”
“I see so she just took you to the hospital when it happened?”
“Yeah, I guess she was just available without having others miss the game.”