“Yeah, in an office. It’s okay. Not very challenging but at least it’s a paycheck. A small one but all mine, ya know?”
“Oh cool, well,” she said and laughed then stood up, “I better go get to work, I’m already late. Maybe see you later?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said and smiled up at her, squinting to get the sun out of my eyes.
“Okay, see ya!” Chloe said and bopped off down the street, her fiery curls bouncing in time to match her steps.
I glanced past her at the front of the hotel and saw Adam coming out the front door. He was with an older woman I hadn’t seen before. From my vantage point I couldn’t hear their conversation but he handed her an envelope then she leaned in to hug him.
As Chloe approached, Adam held up a finger to indicate he needed her to wait for a minute. He handed her a similar envelope and she also leaned over to hug him. I wondered what made both women so happy. Was it money? I wondered why Adam would be handing out money and the moment the thought crossed my mind he caught my eye. His eyes darted between the two women, he smiled and waved at both of them then the ladies went off in their individual directions and Adam started walking right towards me.
I was not at all prepared to talk to him this morning and prayed my family would call. Regardless of how hard I willed my cell phone to ring, the Jedi mind trick didn’t work. He was standing next to the bench in mere moments. As he came to a complete stop his cologne continued on the path he had been on and ended up right in my nose. I felt my belly react to the sweet and spicy mix.
“Good morning, Deb.”
“Morning,” I said in response.
“Your car, I’ve got an update.”
As fast as the butterflies showed up they were gone. I was so nervous he was about to tell me Betty was dead on arrival. That I was stuck in Cedar Falls forever. Though, as the sun kissed my face and I thought back to my brief but friendly conversation with Chloe I wondered if that would be the worst thing in the world. The town was starting to grow on me a little bit.
“Okay, but if you tell me she’s a goner I have to warn you, I’m probably going to cry.”
He laughed then shook his head in the universal sign for ‘no’, “It isn’t dead, just the alternator like I thought it might be. So I ordered that this morning. They said I could run to Paso Robles to pick it up later today or they can deliver it tomorrow afternoon.”
“I could get back on the road today?” I asked with an encouraging excitement building in my gut.
“Uh, no unfortunately that’s what I was going to tell you. I can’t get out of here today, there are a bunch of things I need to take care of in town. I’m sorry but I have to wait for delivery but I can get you back on the road on Monday.”
“Monday?!” I asked in a shout, clamped a hand across my mouth then removed it and said, “Sorry but that’s just so much time. There’s really nobody else that could go pick up the part today? Not Mr. Cooper? I mean, the guy practically owns this town, he must have some pull with the auto parts store, right?”
“Uh, no I’m doing the best I can but there are a lot of people counting on me for stuff today and I can’t just drop my prior commitments to get your surprise car trouble fixed. I am sorry but that’s the best we can do.”
He frowned and avoided my eyes then tapped the toe of his black army boot on the concrete a number of times. As if part of his personality he started wringing his hands like the grease rag was there to add or remove the slick substance from his fingers. He was fidgeting like a ten year old who couldn’t sit still in class. Was he nervous?
“What am I supposed to do today all day while I wait? Tomorrow? Doesn’t seem like there’s much to do in this town,” I said, a slight pout forming on my lips. Where was my father? One phone call from him and I’d be out of here in a couple hours.
“There’s a movie theater a couple blocks behind the hotel. The movies are second run but the popcorn is pretty great.”
“Let me guess,” I said, “Cooper Theater?”
“Uh, ha ha, no.”
“Wow, something in this town Mister Richy-Rich doesn’t own? I’m shocked.”
“Rich?”
“I assume the guy must be loaded considering the number of people in the diner alone every day. And the fact he paid for my hotel room? A room that fancy? I mean, I didn’t really need the help but that was maybe the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. He’s got a pretty sweet gig here in town,” I said and stood up to face Adam, “I’d love to meet this guy so I can thank him for being so nice to me, a stranger.”
His eyes darted away again and he took a half step backward as if I’d invaded his personal space.
“Uh, yeah, anyway, so the theater opens at noon. I’ll let you know if anything changes on the car repairs,” he started backing up and almost tripped over his own feet, “oh, uh, yeah see you later, Deb.”
I couldn’t believe it. He was nervous. What was that about? I mean, the first time the guy saw me I looked like something that crawled half-dead off the cover of a metal album, and today I wasn’t wearing any makeup, had pulled my hair up into a ponytail, and donned jeans and a sweatshirt. My no-effort outfit. But there was no denying he seemed skittish. I felt like I channeled Chloe and bopped over to the movie theater, smiling the whole way.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A few hours later, full from Junior Mints and popcorn every bit as delicious as Adam had professed, I squinted as the late afternoon sun hit my now tender eyeballs. I hated going to the movies alone but since I didn’t know anyone else in town besides Chloe and Adam, both working, I braved the darkness by myself and took in the 12:45 showing of Pulp Fiction. As I let my eyes adjust to the sunlight I pulled the phone from my purse and turned it back on.
It was already near 3:30 when I got out of the theater and I knew I probably had messages from everyone wondering where the heck I was and what had happened. The phone took a minute to power on so I looked up from the screen just in time to see Adam’s car passing the end of the street. I wondered just how many jobs the guy actually had and how he could possibly dedicate any real effort to any of them when he was trying to juggle all of them.
The cell phone was up and running so I dialed to pick up my voice mail.
“You have, no, new messages.”
My forehead scrunched in confusion. Had nobody gotten my messages? Since they probably were all at uncle Gary’s I decided to call back over there again. I walked back toward the hotel as I dialed, hopeful that Ray picked up and not my uncle. He was the worst at phone conversations.
The machine picked up instead.
“Hey Uncle Gary, um, it’s Deb and I’m just trying to get in touch to let you guys know I probably won’t make it to town until Monday. I’ll explain later but if you see my dad can you have him call back my cell? Thanks and, again, I’m so sorry about Aunt Sylvia. Okay, bye.”
I hung up and slid the phone back into my bag. Something in the back of my mind sounded like my brother’s voice. It was shouting at me to give it up. To get over all of this family bonding stuff. I pushed the thought away as I turned the corner at Main Street. The Maxima was out in front of the hotel. The guy sure did get around. I entered the lobby expecting to see Adam there but only Chloe stood behind the counter. She was talking on the phone and waved as I passed. I decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Halfway up to the third floor I wondered if it was a bad decision. My thighs were burning and I felt winded like I was a pack a day smoker. I forced myself to finish the journey and pushed into my room like I’d never sat down in my life. I plopped down on the bed and grunted. Just as my head dropped back and hit the other side of the mattress there was a knock at my door.
Despite my fatigue I bolted upright with a start. I had no idea why I was so on edge and shook my head as if to chastise myself for being so weird. It was probably just housekeeping. Or Chloe. I traversed the room in three steps and flung open the door. It was Adam.
“Uh, hey, Deb. I was thinking, so I don’t know if you already ate dinner? No of course you haven’t, it’s senior citizen hour. But anyway, any interest in having dinner with me across the street tonight?”
His words came out as if in one long string. I felt somewhat endeared to him at that moment. Nervous but asking out a new girl in town. He was so hot. And turning out to be a really sweet guy too. What could it hurt to have a meal with a guy like that?
“I’d love to. What time were you thinking?”
“Oh, great. Uh, how about an hour?”
“Sounds perfect,” I said and smiled as he turned on a heel in a full 360 degree spin, waved at me, then made his way to the stairs taking them down toward the lobby.
I closed the door and, as soon as I knew I was alone, did a little dance for nobody but myself. I had a date!
An hour and ten minutes later I was downstairs in the same outfit I’d been wearing earlier. It took me half the time after he left to convince myself that if he asked me out in that outfit he wouldn’t care much if that’s what I wore to get food at the diner. Not to mention I only had so many clothes with me and most of them were more funeral appropriate attire. I sensed Cedar Falls wasn’t the type of place where anyone got too fancy. A designer suit wouldn’t fit in at Cooper’s Diner.
I walked across the street and spied Adam sitting in the same booth as usual except his back was to the front of the building. He didn’t see me but I realized he sat in the missing spring side of the booth. I couldn’t believe how nice he was being to me now.
Suddenly my stomach turned. And not in a good way. What in the world was I thinking? Could I go on a date with some random guy who lived hours away from Santa Barbara? I was definitely moving back home. I needed to get back to my family. Too many of them had died already and who knew how much time I had with the rest.
My feet backed up a step or two, eyes fixed on my date waiting for me in our booth. Our booth? I thought. No. Damnit, I couldn’t get attached to someone like Adam. I took one more step backward and my body connected with another.
“Oh!” We both announced and I spun around when I regained my balance.
“Mrs. Yandell I am so sorry,” I said and reached a hand out to the older woman’s forearm, “Are you okay?”
“Fine, fine. I planned to cut behind you, my fault really. I saw you thinking about getting dinner and didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Yeah, I’m supposed to meet Adam for dinner.”
“Adam?” She asked and I watched something pass across both of her eyes. Was it mischief?
“Yeah, he wants to, um, talk about my car,” I said, trying to cover.
“Sure sweetie, your car,” she said and smiled so wide I knew my thin attempt didn’t fool her.
But I realized that I was stuck. No getting out of my potential date. If I bolted, where would I even go? And Adam would soon find out from Mrs. Yandell that I was on my way in before I disappeared. I didn’t want to be mean. But if I was being honest, I was afraid to meet him outside of anything professional in nature. He was gorgeous, nice, available, and I didn’t know if I could let him think anything could happen between us. My dad needed me at home.
“Well, I better get inside, I’m already late. Nice seeing you Mrs. Yandell.”
“And you have fun at dinner, Deb!” She announced and, with a clap of her hands, turned to continue on her way down Main Street.
I took a deep breath and entered the restaurant. It was half full with people I now recognized as regulars.
“Hey,” I said as I slid into the booth seat in the back corner.
“Hey yourself,” he replied and shifted around in the seat.
“So is anything good here besides the cheeseburger?” I asked, not sure how to start our conversation.
Adam replied by listing almost every item on the menu, open in front of me, in the order in which they appeared. He laughed with an edge of nervous energy then wrapped up by telling me the cheeseburger was the best.
After our initial awkward introduction we settled into somewhat comfortable conversation. Mostly centered around the movie I’d seen earlier. It was one of his favorites too. He loved the dancing scene. He wished the diner in Cedar Falls would get car booths like in the flick. Uma Thurman was one of his favorite actresses.
For a couple hours we talked about movies and music, ate cheeseburgers, and laughed. After dinner I admitted I was pretty tired so we waved goodbye to each other and when I got to the lobby door of the hotel I turned back, just for a moment. He was still standing in front of the diner, waved again, and smiled. I felt like I floated all the way up to my room.
CHAPTER NINE
When my eyes opened the next morning I felt better than I had in months. Though I hadn't stayed in many hotels in my life, it was safe to say the bed was one of the most comfortable I've ever sunk into in my short twenty-one years. My bed at home sure wasn't that comfortable. Of course, it was a futon.
I had zero desire to leave the cushy coziness of my blanket cocoon, but my phone buzzed on the desk across the room. Flipping onto my back I let myself release an ugh as I flung the covers off of my body. I would've ignored the phone but I knew everyone must be freaking out after the messages I left yesterday.
As my bare feet hit the rug, I weighed my priorities. Calling my brother. Calling my dad. Getting breakfast. Coffee. An update on Betty. Since I didn't know much about the choices in town, and I had no idea when Adam would call with news about my car, calling Ryan seemed like the right first choice.
In fact, the only reason my phone buzzed was one missed call from Ryan. Though I could feel a sneaking headache from lack of caffeine, I unplugged the phone and went to get ready.
I got dressed, pulled my hair up on top of my head without straightening, and opted for a makeup free face. After rubbing on a little moisturizer, I curled my lashes, topped them with some mascara, and patted on a dab of gloss to my bottom lip. I depressed my brothers speed dial number while smacking my lips together.
“Finally got tired of family blabber and decided to call your brother for some sanity, I see,” My brother announced instead of hello.
“Good morning to you too,” I replied.
“Good morning. So, are you sick of everyone yet?”
“Hardly. I’m not at the house.”
“Why not? Where are you?”
“Cedar Falls.”
“Why does that sound familiar?” He asked.
“Because I mentioned it last time we talked.”
“Oh yeah. How come you stopped? I thought you were dying to get to our father’s house. No pun intended.”
I sighed, “Because, this is me and how my life goes. Betty died right after we talked Friday and then my phone followed minutes later.”
“Like I said before, you need a new car.”
“I love Betty!” I said with enthusiasm but knew he had a point, “But you’re probably right. As usual.”
“What happened to her?”
“Alternator. She’s at the garage in town.”
“The garage? The one in town? No wonder I’ve never heard of Cedar Falls, ha!” He continued to laugh at my expense for what felt like a full minute.
“You need to get over to the house,” I said.
My brother’s laughter intensified, “you apparently became a comedian overnight.”
“I'm serious. Ray could be freaking out right now and I won't be there until Monday.”
“Rachel isn’t my concern.”
“She's your cousin too, Ryan and her mom just died. She needs us.”
“She needs people who care. That’s not me. Besides, our father lives around the corner.”
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see me over the phone, unsure why I kept trying to convince him to take a more active role in the family. Ryan was much older than me, 12 years. I was an oops baby. By the time I was in first grade he was graduating high school. He all but raised himself while the family fawned all over
the new baby. Me. Mom tried, she really did, but even I know he got the shaft while I got the attention.
Five years ago, on Christmas Eve, he let everyone know just how he felt about everything that had happened since our mom died. He asked where all the love went, why nobody got any after mom died. He screamed that he’d had nothing from any of them in years. He insisted dad checked out. He said how selfish they all were, that there was nothing left for him in Santa Barbara, that the family hadn’t been one for years.
At the time, I rolled my eyes. But Ryan pointed at me and said I was the only one in the whole family who even gave a damn. The only one who cared or even tried to act like family. Then he told everyone else to go to hell and he’d see them there.
Alternate Plans (California Dreamin' Series Book 2) Page 5