Can You See Me?

by Nikki Vale

  A little bell tinkles when we walk through the front door. It’s a cute 50’s style diner and it’s not very busy today. I hostess with sharp cut bangs and fire red lipstick fitting the theme of the diner, greets us.

  “Welcome to the Grove, would you like a table or booth?” she asks.

  “Booth,” Jon answers before I get the chance. I look at him puzzled. “I thought you could slide to the end of the booth on one side and prop your leg across the rest of the seat,” he explains. I’m actually impressed with his logic. It will also be less conspicuous than sitting with my leg propped up on a chair at a table.

  We follow our hostess to a booth and get situated. I look across the table and observe Jon in his black V-neck sweater that fits snugly over his chest displaying his physique. His dark hair is spiked in the front. He clears his throat and flashes a devilish grin.

  “You like what you see?” he questions.

  “Meh,” I respond, shrugging my shoulders. He laughs and I laugh with him. “So what’s good here Jon?”

  “Believe it or not, almost anything you order here is delicious. It’s all home cooking type of food. Their lunch specials are on the back of the menu,” he advises me, reaching out and turning my menu over in my hands.

  I hear the tinkle of the bell on the front door and look up to see Dawn entering the diner with Darren and her other friend Trixie. Looking at Dawn now you’d never know she’s been in a terrible car accident just two weeks prior. I wish I could say the same for myself.

  My eye catches Dawn’s as the hostess shows her and her friends to a table not too far from me and Jon. Dawn sees me looking at her and quickly averts her eyes. I guess I’ll just pretend I didn’t see her since she’s obviously not ready to acknowledge my existence. This is absolutely crazy.

  “How much longer before you can get out of that cast? I’d love to take you dancing,” Jon says wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Six weeks and if you took me dancing I’d probably dance better with the cast on,” I say playfully. “I may be able to carry a tune but dancing to the beat is definitely a talent I don’t possess. Dawn, on the other hand, can set fire……” I trail off lamely.

  “I saw them come in,” Jon comments. “What’s your sister’s deal? You save her damn life and she treats you like the scum on the bottom of her shoe? Ungrateful Brat,” He seethes.

  “Hey, cool your jets, she’s still my sister. From what I understand, Dawn’s been telling people that I don’t like men. Apparently she was attempting to keep her crush, from developing an interest in me. It’s all so stupid, she had nothing to worry about anyway,” I finish quietly.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jon asks confused.

  I sigh. “Just that Cooper’s parents wouldn’t approve of our dating even if I was interested in dating him. Which I’m not saying I am,” I clarify.

  “Are you saying that Cooper’s parents wouldn’t approve of you dating Cooper because of your mixed heritage? That doesn’t sound like Shirley or Harold at all,” he remarks in surprise.

  “His mother was very kind. It was his father that made his feelings towards me loud and clear. I’m too ethnic for his tastes,” I explain.

  “He actually said that? He asks incredulously.

  “Yes, in so many words.” I look at Jon frowning. “Have you ever had that happen to you? Someone’s parents don’t want you dating their daughter because you’re not their ideal skin tone? I can tell you this isn’t the first time it’s happened to me, but it doesn’t make it sting any less.”

  He leans back against the seat of the booth and shrugs his shoulders. “Sure, it’s happened to me before, but I could care less. I’m dating the girl, not her parents. I could see where it could be difficult having a conflict with your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s parents but if you and your partner are in it together you’ll work it out.”

  I’m really surprised by Jon’s answer. He’s not just a handsome face with a charming personality. There’s actually some depth to him.

  “At this point in my life, it doesn’t matter what a woman’s parents think about me because I’ve just been having fun. Of course that could change any moment if the right girl came along,” he says, smiling meaningfully at me. “I wouldn’t date someone just because I knew there wouldn’t be any racial issues or family conflict to make the relationship easier. I hope that’s not what you’re doing with me, Skye.”

  Damn, he’s perceptive too. “I can’t lie it did cross my mind. I think you’re sweet and funny. I find you very attractive but I did think to myself, it would so much easier to date Jon than it would Cooper,” I shamefully admit.

  “I don’t want to win your affections by default. I have too much pride for that Skye. If you and I ever decided to become a couple I would need to know that you chose me because of me and not because the fact that I’m not white. What you need to ask yourself is this. If Jon and Cooper were Black, Native American, Chinese; whatever it is you want us to be. Which would you choose?” he asks rhetorically, staring at me intently. I don’t say anything as I think about what he just asked me.

  “I’m going to tell you something that’s not going to help my cause at all,” Jon sighs and places his hands on the table clasping them together. “Cooper is a great guy. He would never let what his parents thought about you keep him from being with you. As a matter of fact, I can pretty much guarantee you he spoke to his father about his behavior. Cooper has an inherent sense of right and wrong and is always a gentleman. I know because he’s always trying to get me to be one too,” Jon stops and clears his throat. “Um, yeah so that’s all I’m going to say about that. “Choose wisely grasshopper,” he jokes, making me laugh and lightening the mood.

  This is absolutely mind boggling. I have two gorgeous men vying for my attention and each man knows the other is trying to win me. What’s even crazier is that each suitor is helping the other one out. Cooper set up this lunch date with Jon and while on the date Jon tells me how great of a guy Cooper is. I feel like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. I don’t think I can handle all this.

  “I think I’ll have the open faced roast beef sandwich covered with mashed potatoes and gravy and a cherry cola,” I announce happily.

  “You do know that’s not what I meant when I said to choose wisely, right?” Jon teases me and reaches across the table to place his hand over mine.

  I ignore his question countering with one of my own. “Why is Dawn’s friend staring at us with murder in her eyes?” I ask him. I noticed that her eyes kept wandering over here to us but when Jon held my hand her eyes practically popped out of her head.

  “Darren’s had a crush on me for a while, but alas, he’s not my type,” Jon replies, trying to be funny. I roll my eyes and wait patiently for a serious response.

  “Okay, Okay. I used to fool around with Trixie Roberts. Not one of my best moves, I know, but it’s over now” he provides with a glum smile.

  “How long has it been over?” I ask with dread in the pit of my stomach. “Jon, how long has it been over?” I ask again.

  “Since the night of Dawn’s party,” he reluctantly admits. Great. What is wrong with Cooper and Jon leaving a trail of broken hearts everywhere they go? This town is too small. They need to start dating women from the surrounding towns.

  “I’m going to excuse myself to the ladies room. If the waitress comes while I’m gone can you order for me?” I ask him as I attempt to scoot out of the booth. He stands up, reaches over and gives me a hand to a standing position.

  “Sure you’ll be alright?” he asks kindly. I nod my head and hop my way to the women’s bathroom on my crutches. I get inside the restroom and make my way over to the sink where I look at myself in the mirror while I wait. I don’t have to wait long before Trixie walks in.

  “Are you here to try to kill me again?” I ask in greeting.

  “You’re damn right you fucking whore!” Trixie yells and runs at me bringing a steak knife from behind her back. Her eyes look
crazed. The same way they looked the night of Dawn’s party when she was dancing with Cooper and watching me dance with Jon. I didn’t think anything of it until his revelation at the table just now.

  I sidestep and block her with one of my crutches. Admittedly this wasn’t one of my brightest ideas. Healthy I could take this little girl down no problem, but I’m severely handicapped right now and crazy trumps brawn even on a good day.

  I swing my crutch at her and connect with her shoulder but she keeps her grip on the knife. Trixie screams like a wild woman and jumps on me knocking me to the ground flat onto my back. She slashes wildly at me and I feel a searing pain in my shoulder when the jagged knife cuts into my flesh. The pain snaps me into reality and propels me into action. I’ve got to do something or this crazy bitch is going to kill me.

  I reach back my right arm as far as I can against the tile floor of the bathroom and aim it at her face slamming the palm of my hand into her nose with as much strength as I can muster from my position. She howls with pain and scrambles up off of me. I hear the bathroom door slam open and see Dawn standing there in shock. Trixie rushes towards Dawn pushing her out of the way as she makes her escape out of the restroom.

  “Hellllllp! Hellllllllp!” Dawn starts screaming.

  I’m still lying on the bathroom floor holding the open wound on my left shoulder closed with my right hand. Jon comes busting into the bathroom and quickly rushes to my side kneeling next to me. He quickly assesses me with his eyes taking in the blood seeping from around my fingers that are pressed against the wound.

  “How badly are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere else?” he demands, pulling out his cell phone.

  “She cut me pretty good on my arm, but nowhere else,” I reply.

  “Yes, I’ve got a twenty-five-year-old woman with a knife wound at The Grove Diner, send paramedics immediately.

  That’s just what I need, another medical bill. Jon has removed my hand from the wound and is applying pressure to it himself. My stomach starts rumbling loudly. “Hey, Jon?”

  “Hmmm?” he replies.

  “Do you think they’d put my food in a doggy bag for me?” I ask seriously.

  “Damn it, Skye, this is serious shit,” he says laughing. I don’t know why he’s laughing. I’m absolutely serious. I’m not looking forward to hospital food again and I have a feeling I might have to stay in the hospital for observation because my ribs are throbbing and I think my cast might need repair, but I don’t tell Jon all that.

  I hear a thundering voice drifting into the bathroom. “Skye?! Skye?!” Cooper shouts frantically.

  “In here Cooper,” Jon answers for me.

  Cooper rushes into the bathroom and falls to his knees by my side next to Jon. I smile up at them, my two heroes side by side. They’re both so handsome and kind, but my heart skips a beat when I look at Cooper. I don’t get that feeling when I look at Jon. I smile sadly.

  “We’re having a meeting in the ladies room,” I say in a singsong voice and giggle.

  “How much blood has she lost?” Cooper asks in concern. He puts his hand against my forehead and frowns. I start to shiver. “She’s going into shock. Where the hell is the ambulance?” he bellows. He turns and looks at Jon. “You couldn’t keep her safe for a few hours?” he accuses him.

  “No, no,” I quietly plead with Cooper. “Don’t blame Jon, it was all my fault. Stop your fussing and comfort me the way you do,” I tell him sleepily. My thoughts are getting fuzzy. I feel Cooper brush his hands through my hair and across the side of my cheek. Yes, that’s what I needed.

  “I think she’s in more pain than she’s letting on. I think she might be about to pass out,” he informs Jon, and that’s the last thing I hear.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cooper

  “You’re going to make me go gray at an early age woman,” I say teasing her. She had me so scared. I hate feeling so helpless.

  “I’m alright Cooper, and look on the bright side; at least, we know who’s trying to kill me now. I thought for sure it was Hailey,” she informs me.

  I told her before she got out of the hospital the last time, that Hailey had an alibi for the night of Dawn’s birthday party. She went home with the bartender Mitch that night and was there until noon the next day. I made it my mission to talk to Hailey right after speaking to Dawn about the accident. I had no idea that Skye had made an enemy in Trixie because of Jon.

  This poor woman has had nothing but trouble since stepping foot in this town, and she’s not out of the woods yet, with Trixie still at large. I have Skye on around the clock surveillance even though I haven’t left her side, and I have no intentions of letting her out of my sight until she’s out of danger.

  I set my guitar case against the wall and pull a chair closer to her bedside. I grab a hold of Skye’s right hand and look into her eyes.

  “Look Skye I’ve taken off from work so that I can personally keep an eye on you. I can keep an eye on you in a professional capacity but am asking you here and now if you’ll give me the right to do it in a personal capacity?” I ask her beseechingly.

  “First. What’s the guitar for?” she inquires, her gray eyes straying to the case against the wall. I expel a deep breath. She’s definitely making me work for it. I stand up and grab the case removing my acoustic guitar. Her eyes widen in surprise.

  “You play?” she asks me. I nod and sit back in the chair adjusting in my lap, strumming it a few times and fine-tuning the strings.

  “I’m not one to be the center of attention, but I want to be the center of your attention. So here’s a favorite of mine that I’d like to sing for you. I don’t have the voice of an angel like you do, but this is from the heart. Here it goes,” I tell her clearing my throat. I close my eyes and begin to serenade her with ‘Breathe You in,” by Dierks Bentley.

  I open my eyes to see hers watching me silently with fat crocodile tears running down her cheeks. The woman who didn’t shed a tear when she was hanging off the side of a cliff uncertain if she was going to live or die, the same woman who recently cracked jokes while bleeding out on the bathroom floor of a diner is crying while I sing to her. I want to console her, but I continue the song, I can’t stop now.

  I finish the song to a round of applause. In the doorway behind me stands a bunch of hospital staff, my father, and Skye’s mother, with tears running down her cheeks. I could swear I see the sparkle of unshed tears in my own father’s eyes. I ignore all of them and turn back to Skye; her response is the only one that matters.

  “That was so beautiful Cooper,” she says through sniffles. “You lied. You do sing like an angel,” Skye compliments. I stand up removing the guitar strap from my shoulder and replacing the guitar back in the case. I walk back to the side of her bed. I run my hand over her hair down to the side of her cheek and brush the tears away with my thumb. Skye turns her face into my hand and kisses my palm and nods her head yes.

  “Yes?” I ask breathlessly seeking confirmation.

  “Yes, Cooper. I want this relationship to be more than just professional. I want to be your girl,” she shyly admits. I want to swoop her up to hug her and kiss her till she can’t breathe, but I know she’s hurt so I settle for bringing her hand to my lips and kissing the tips of her fingers.

  I look to the door where most of the staff are clutching their hands over their hearts in sentimentality as they turn to depart, murmuring amongst themselves. My father and Jenny Williams remain standing there.

  “What are you doing here Dad?” I inquire almost accusatorily.

  “I heard that Skye was in the hospital. I had some things I needed to speak to her about,” he responds, hanging his head. “I happen to run into Jenny in the hall and we spoke. We agreed that you kids needed to know about our history. I guess it’s best that you’re both here,” he says looking at me and Skye. I’m still standing next to the bed holding her hand in mine.

  “You see, when Harold and I were just teenagers we were sweet on each other,” J
enny informs us. That’s odd. I’d never heard about any of this before. By the look on her face neither has Skye.

  “Anyway,” Dad picks up where Skye’s Mom left off. “I was best friends with your father Chogan Williams. His parents, your grandparents Skye, used to run The Grove Diner. I spent a lot of time with Jenny and Chogan. I guess during that time they began to fall for each other,” he apprises us, looking forlornly at Jenny.

  Jenny has the decency to look ashamed. “Chogan and I never meant to fall in love Harold. It just happened,” she admits hanging her head in shame.

  “It devastated me, to say the least,” Dad candidly admits. “Spoiled rotten brat that I was, I was determined to make their life a living hell. I had my Dad buy the diner from underneath your grandparents noses. They were leasing it because they couldn’t afford to buy it. I made sure they never got it, and then I made sure that no one in town would hire Chogan.”

  Jenny chimes in again. “That’s when your father and I eloped and moved to California to start over,” she addresses Skye. “I thought after all these years Harold would have forgiven me, obviously, I was wrong,” she concludes.

  “No. I said what I did to Skye out of spite and jealousy. You have a beautiful daughter Jenny. I lashed out because I could see Cooper looking at Skye the way I used to look at you, and I was angry. I wanted someone to hurt the way I had been hurt. For that, I’m sorry Skye. Seeing you two together brought it all back to me. I realize how foolishly I reacted but the damage had already been done,” my father admits.

  “What about Mom?” I ask him.

  “Oh, your mother knows all about this little drama from my past. She’s the one who told me to grow up and come and apologize to Skye like an adult. Son, I love your mother. This had nothing to do with lingering feelings for Jenny. No offense Jenny,” She raises a hand, shaking her head as if to say no harm no foul. “This was all about my stupid pride. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Skye,” Dad says walking up to the other side of Skye’s hospital bed.