“Hey hun, did you forget something?” Sandra said from across the busy restaurant.
She seemed happy to see me again. She was walking back to the kitchen with her arms full of dirty dishes and a notepad of new orders. A bunch of new customers waited at the entrance for a clean table.
“Sandra, you guys are hiring?” I asked timidly as I walked toward her.
“Oh my God, you’re hired. Can you start right now?”
She laughed like she was joking, but I could tell she was serious.
“I could start right now, but I have to be honest, I have zero experience. Like, none.”
“Do you know how to take dirty dishes off a table and put them in a bucket?”
“I think I could figure it out.”
“Well, what are you waiting for, girl?”
She tossed me an apron.
“You’ll pick up the rest as you go.”
I caught the apron and couldn’t believe it.
Did I actually just get my first job?
It was all happening. I tied the apron behind my back, grabbed a dish bucket and cloth, and headed out to start clearing tables. I would never have pictured myself so happy to be getting my hands dirty in other people’s food scraps, but there I was, smiling from ear to ear.
The day flew by. Sandra and I made an amazing team. It was crazy and hectic, but so much fun. Even though she was swamped, she really helped me learn the ropes and was so patient. Near the end of the day, she even encouraged me to take a few orders. My feet were aching, but I felt great.
Sandra walked to the front door, locked it, flipped the sign to closed, leaned back against door, and let out a huge sigh of relief.
“We did it, Meadow, and you were amazing. You did great. Thank you for saving the day.”
I laughed nervously.
“Oh, you know me. Saving the day’s my speciality.”
She laughed.
I was never much good at taking compliments, but her words meant the world to me. I’d never been told I was good at a job before. I smiled bashfully and picked up a cloth.
“So what should I do first to start closing?”
I wanted Sandra to know she wouldn’t regret giving me the job. I wanted to prove I was hardworking and competent.
“Oh, cleaning up can wait a few minutes. We deserve a break. Have a seat.”
She put two coffee mugs on the counter in front of me. She then bent down and popped back up with a chilled bottle of white wine and a sly smile on her face.
“Wait. Uh oh. Why did you make that face? Don’t you like wine?”
Sandra must have caught me cringing when I saw the bottle. I guess it had become an automatic reaction for me.
“Oh. Well. I used to love wine, but I’ve avoided it like the plague recently.”
“Ha, did you party a little too hard? I had to take a serious break from Vodka after a night out gave me the worst three-day hangover of my life. I couldn’t even come close to the stuff for months,” she said, filling our mugs with wine anyway.
“No. Worse. Remember earlier when I was causing a scene with all my crying?”
“Vaguely,” she replied with a friendly wink.
“And how I mentioned I had a cheating husband?”
“Yup. That ass,” she said, coming around the counter to sit next to me.
“Well, the last time I caught him cheating, it turned out to be more than just a random one night stand. He was having a full blown affair with a woman from out of the city. For two years.”
“Ouch. How did you find out? And what does this have to do with wine?”
“I started to notice that his work trips were a lot more frequent and longer than usual. He was never home. It got to the point that I was feeling like I was always alone. Just the thought of him cheating on me again was too much. I ignored it for a long time, but it eventually became impossible to ignore.”
“So you confronted him?”
“Not quite, but one day, very early in the morning, before the sun was even up, Matt came into our room to kiss me goodbye before leaving on yet another work trip. I offered to give him a ride to the airport so we could spend more time together, but he declined. He said he didn’t have enough time to wait for me to get ready.”
“But you were feeling suspicious?”
“Damn right I was. The second I heard the garage door opening, I threw off the covers and was already dressed with my hair and makeup done. I got in my car and followed him as he drove away. I’m not proud that I became that type of woman, but he gave me no choice.”
“Of course. You had to know what was going on.”
“I stayed a few cars behind him on the highway, as he drove past all the exits for the airport. I felt sick Sandra, so sick. He never went to the airport, he drove out to the valley. I followed him all the way there, then parked a safe distance from his car once he finally stopped. I watched as this gorgeous woman walked out to meet him.”
“Oh, God,” Sandra said, taking a sip of her wine.
“Matt got out of the car, gave her a kiss, opened the door for her, and they drove off. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle seeing my husband treating another woman like that. Never in my life did Matt open a car door for me. I had seen enough and I drove back home.”
“That’s awful. Did you call him on it when he got home? I would have had all his stuff burning on the front lawn. What did you do?”
“Nothing. I couldn’t. If I said something, he’d know I followed him. Plus if I acknowledged it, it would have become real. At least, that was my logic at the time. I always denied to myself what was happening, but this one got the best of me. I got snoopy. I checked his texts and read their emails. That’s when I realized it was a full blown, emotional affair. There was never any mention of me, his wife. She didn’t even know I existed. This woman was in love with him, and he was in love with her. He was living a double life and I just wanted to die.”
“Meadow! He’s sick. I’m so sorry.”
“I became obsessed with her. I creeped her online constantly. Her name was Lacey. I wanted to know why Lacey was so much better than me. What did she have that I didn’t? It hurt like hell, but I needed to understand why Matt was choosing to spend his time with her, and not me. I did so much digging that eventually I found out she owned a wine business with another woman in the valley.”
“I see,” Sandra said, motioning toward the wine.
“One day, it was like I became possessed. I felt like I had no control over my thoughts or actions. Next thing I knew, I had driven back to the valley and I was in the parking lot of her business.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did!”
“Did you go in? Did you call her out? Did you give her a piece of your mind?”
“I didn’t. I just went in to buy wine. I wanted to see her up close. I wanted to look her in the eye. I wanted to see what was so great about her. The worst part was that she seemed great. She was friendly, helpful and beautiful. I instantly regretted that I was there. I took the first bottle of wine that she recommended and got the hell out.”
“That’s awful, Meadow.”
“I felt numb, Sandra. In a sudden fit of rage, I threw the bottle of wine against a dumpster and screamed. I got back in my car and burst into tears. I drove around the block, out of sight, and that’s where I sat for hours, crying.”
“Well now I completely understand your aversion to wine.”
“That wasn’t even the final straw.”
“It gets worse?”
“Eventually, there was a weekend that Matt actually spent at home with me. In the morning he rolled over and pulled me close to him. I melted into his arms. It had been forever since he’d held me like that, and despite everything, it felt nice. He reached his head over, close to mine, and gave me a kiss on the cheek before saying ‘Good morning my beautiful, Lacey’.”
“No. No, no, no,” Sandra cried, in a state of gut-wrenching horror.
; “That’s the moment things got ugly. I’ve never been the type to yell, but I yelled. I yelled and I screamed at him. I told him I knew all about Lacey and that I was done letting her ruin our home and marriage. I also told him I knew about the other women too.”
“What did he have to say for himself?” Sandra said, still in shock.
“At first, he tried the usual tactics of buying me off with gifts, but it didn’t work this time. I told him I’d followed him. I told him I’d read his emails. I told him I’d been face to face with her. I could tell he felt awful. He apologized and begged me not to leave him, but it wasn’t enough. I needed him to prove to me that it was over and he was ending it with her.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He said he would talk to her and call it off, but I didn’t trust him. I made him sit next to me while he called. I needed to hear him say the words, to her that it was over. She didn’t answer, but he left a voicemail calling it off and telling her they wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”
“I would have done the same thing. How could you ever trust him after what he’d put you through? So was that it?”
“Well, the affair ended, and things got a bit better, but it didn’t last. I should have known we’d never be able to recover from the betrayal. As time went on, Matt made it clear he didn’t want to lose me. The expensive gifts kept coming. Deep down, I knew he was just worried about his reputation. A failed marriage wasn’t an option for him.”
“Jerk,” Sandra said.
“With each expensive, meaningless gift, I felt myself pulling further away. I couldn’t look him in the eye anymore. I felt such rage and resentment toward him. He felt like a stranger to me. He took my love and devotion for granted. I’m not sure I’ll ever trust another man.”
“I get it,” Sandra said holding up my mug of wine to me. “Girl, you need a drink.”
I tanked the mug. It tasted delicious.
We both laughed hysterically. The combination of exhaustion and empty stomachs was enough to make us both tipsy very quickly.
Sandra was the only person I’d ever told the whole story to. Talking about it felt therapeutic.
I poured myself another mug of wine and we clinked our cups as a solid friendship began to take form. For the first time in a long time, I was feeling good. It really felt amazing to talk about what had happened with someone I could trust and who didn’t judge me.
No more secrets.
No more shame.
“Let’s clean this place up and head to the brewery to grab some dinner and more alcohol,” Sandra said as she turned up the music and we both got to work.
CHAPTER 20
KANE
Paul and I were able to get the boat finished so early we even finished two other jobs after it. It was a productive day at the shop and it felt good. Finally putting closure on the Steph thing really helped me focus.
We decided to reward ourselves by cracking open a couple beers. That’s not to say we don’t have the same reward on our unproductive days.
There were only two beers left in the shop fridge, which we made short work of. After, we were both starving, so Paul suggested we head down to the brewery to eat.
“Very funny,” I said. “You banned me last night.”
“I’m in a forgiving mood,” he said.
I hit him on the shoulder and we made our way. It wouldn’t take long for our friends to show up there too. Life really was predictable in old Pismo Beach. I liked it. I liked my world quiet and predictable.
“So, have you heard anything back from Steph?” Paul asked as we waited for our pints at the bar.
“No. Nothing. Which is strange for her. I think she knows it’s really over. Which is a relief.”
“You think she really left for her sister’s?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t know, but it would be nice not to run into her for a few days, that’s for sure.”
Suddenly we were distracted by the howling laughter of women. We looked behind us at the entrance and watched Sandra walk in, almost in tears from laughing so hard. She had clearly had a few drinks already and was having a great time.
Right behind her, an equally drunk and equally happy Meadow walked in. They made their way to the end of the bar, laughing and making enough noise that the entire place had their attention.
“I’d like a glass of your finest white wine,” Meadow blurted out to the bartender. “Today is a new day and me and white wine are friends again.”
The bartender shrugged and went to get the drinks.
Meadow and Sandra burst out laughing and everyone around just looked confused. They were clearly finding themselves very amusing.
“That’s the woman from last night,” Paul said under his breath.
“I know who it is. I already saw her today,” I said to him, trying to avoid getting her attention.
“You did? You didn’t tell me that. When?”
“With all the Steph stuff, I didn’t think of it.”
“What happened? Where did you see her?”
“We ran into each other at the café. I went over to apologize.”
“Good,” Paul said, cutting me off mid-sentence. “I was beginning to worry about you.”
“Worry I was turning into a complete asshole?”
Paul nodded.
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Well, don’t relax too much. It didn’t go well.”
“Oh come on. Why not?”
I looked at Paul. He was shaking his head, like he was beginning to lose all faith in me.
“I don’t know man. I just lost it again. There’s something about her.”
“You lost it again? What’s wrong with you?”
“I told her I was sorry about what happened here. She was nice about it. We were getting on fine.”
“And then?”
“And then she mentioned that she watched me surfing this morning.”
“At your spot?” Paul said, already knowing where I was going with the story.
“Yeah, and whatever it was, I just couldn’t handle the emotion. I flipped out and told her to go back to wherever she came from.”
“Charming.”
I nodded.
Paul sighed.
“I understand, man. I know you’re touchy about that spot.”
“Touchy?”
“You go there to be alone. You go there to think back on what happened.”
“Yeah. I shouldn’t have lost my cool, though. She must be certain I’m a psycho now.”
“Fair assumption.”
“Shut up,” I said.
I rose my hand to the bartender, ordering us two more beers.
“What was she doing at your spot anyway? You’re usually there at the crack of dawn.”
“I don’t know. Taking in the view, I guess.”
“I know this is a touchy subject,” Paul said, being careful not to upset me, “but you do realize she has absolutely no idea what happened to you down at that spot right? As far as she’s concerned, you were just one more surfer catching a few waves before breakfast.”
He was right. I knew I’d overreacted at the café.
“Dude, you need to cut her some slack.”
I took a sip from my beer. I looked over the menu, unsure what to order. Truth be told, I wasn’t even reading the words. I was glancing to the side, watching Meadow and Sandra together.
They were laughing and talking like they’d been friends for years. I knew Sandra was a friendly waitress, but she’d clearly gone the extra mile this time. And the way Meadow laughed, it was infectious. It made me want to smile myself, and I was the guy who never smiled.
Paul started talking again, this time about something he’d heard on the news. I looked up like I was listening to whatever he was going on about, but I didn’t hear a word he said. My eyes were looking past him and were locked on Meadow.
There was something so different about her now. Sure, I’d thought she was a
ttractive from the moment I saw her. I’d fantasized about bending her over the bar and teaching her some manners. But there was more to her now. She had confidence. She was glowing.
I was brought back to the present by Paul, hitting me on the arm.
“Hello. Earth to Kane. What are you going to order?”
I hadn’t even noticed the waitress standing there, waiting to take my order.
“I’ll get the bacon mushroom burger with fries.”
The waitress wrote down my order and left.
“Dude. Jason’s in the back today,” Paul said when she left. “He’s experimenting with a new brew. We should go back and see how it’s coming along.”
Paul was a beer enthusiast and loved working at the brewery. We got up to head back to the tanks.
We walked behind Meadow and Sandra. They were in their own world and I was sure they hadn’t noticed us. I was glad. After talking to Paul, I was feeling embarrassed about how I’d overreacted earlier.
I didn’t know what I’d say to her this time. I could apologize again, but now I didn’t trust myself not to say something stupid right after. There’s only so many times you can make an idiot of yourself in front of a girl before she writes you off as a clown.
We made our way through the restaurant to the back where the beer tanks were. Jason wasn’t around when we got there.
“Hey, Paul, you look for him. I’ll be right back.”
CHAPTER 21
MEADOW
“Hold that thought lady. If I don’t go to the bathroom now, I’ll be in big trouble when you make me laugh again.”
I got up, grabbed my purse and made my way to the ladies room. I smiled and laughed to myself as I walked there, replaying our ridiculous conversations in my mind. I was having the greatest time. I shook my head in disbelief when I thought about the complete one-eighty my day had taken.
I looked in the mirror to check my hair and makeup. Something was different. I looked different, and it wasn’t just my new Walmart top. It was my smile. Even my eyes were smiling. I hardly recognized myself. I looked like the old, happy Meadow. Meadow before she was ever cheated on. It was nice to see myself again.
I bent over and messed my hair to give it some volume. I touched up my red lipstick and added a coat of lipgloss to give it a sexy shine. I felt amazing. I felt happy. I unlocked the door and strutted out with confidence. I strutted out with so much confidence that I ran straight into a man passing by.
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