A Way (The Voyagers Book 1)

by Tara Lutz

  Miss Allie looked pointedly at the white skirt she was wearing. The garment had already acquired a ketchup stain, during the short time since her shift had started. Jessie thought she was about to be reprimanded about her messiness, but instead Miss Allie helped with the cutlery, that was close to slipping off the high stack of plates.

  “I think it’s going good, ma’am. A few of my friends are coming in before the dance tonight, so I thought I could try waiting on them. Make it my first table?” Jessie raised her eyebrows in question.

  “Right, the dance. I forgot that was tonight. That’s a good idea, it’s probably going to be a busy weekend. No one likes to cook in this heat and we’ll need all the waitresses we can get.”

  Jessie had been shadowing one of the more experienced employees, Dana. She had overheard the end of their conversation when she joined them with a full tray of her own.

  “What do you think, Dana? Is she ready to take a few tables on her own?” Miss Allie asked the question, like Jessie wasn’t standing right there, listening.

  “Sure she is, it’s not rocket science.” Jessie grinned at her, Dana returned a knowing look. No one wanted to spend their entire shift cleaning up the mess the customer’s left behind. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  The door of the restaurant swung open and the boy, that narrowly missed hitting Jessie on the street, walked through it. She thought she saw the light drain from Miss Allie’s face, and a look of distain, but it evaporated, before Jessie could fully analysis it. The expression reminded her of the one that her mother’s face had displayed that morning when she was standing in Jessie’s bedroom doorway.

  “Hello again, imagination. What problem could her boss possibly have with this stranger?” Her inner voice, asked.

  Jessie took the opportunity of a distracted Miss Allie to grab a menu, a pen, and head to the newcomer’s booth. This single customer would be an easy start. She rounded the front of the counter, when Miss Allie regained her composure and clinched her arm. Her perfectly groomed nails dug painfully into the soft flesh on Jessie’s upper arm. With her free hand, Miss Allie yanked the menu out of Jessie’s and in one swift movement, handed it to Dana. Her eyes never left the customer. His eyes were looking in the other direction, staring out the window.

  “Let Dana take this one, Jessie.” She released her arm, suddenly aware of the unintentional grip she had on it. “You can help me finish up back here.”

  Jessie peered at her with confusion splashed across her face. Hadn’t she said, just moments ago, it was a good time for her to start serving patrons.

  “Ok, but wouldn’t it be better for me to start out slow? What’s slower than one order?” Jessie asked.

  “Dana’s got him.” Miss Allie stated firmly and gave her a ‘the subject is closed’ look. “Won’t your friends be here soon? We should get this done first. I made some pies earlier that have cooled enough to be cut. See, lots to do.”

  She headed towards the cash register, to ring in a couple that had finished the root beer floats they had been sipping on, since Jessie arrived. A trail of sickly sweet perfume trailed behind her.

  “You can run his food out to him, Jessie,” Dana said, handing the order ticket to the cook. “I need to run and get a few groceries for my solo supper tonight, before the store closes. I won’t have a chance after you leave for the dance. Richie, is looking forward to it too. Maybe you will see him there.”

  Dana’s son went to Jessie’s high school, but he was two grades behind her. They didn’t have a friendship past politely acknowledging one another when the passed in the hall.

  “Sure, ok, I can do that,” Jessie said, troubled, watching Miss Allie, watch the boy who was trying hard not to look at her.

  “Dana,” Jessie lowered her voice to a whisper, “have you seen that guy before?”

  Dana turned to look at him and studied his profile for a half second. “Nope,” she answered, with conviction. “Funny though, he kinda looks like you. You have the same eyes.”

  Her co-worker’s attention was grabbed by a customer at the counter, signaling for her to fill up his recently emptied coffee mug. Jessie looked again at the red convertible driving, sandy haired, tall stranger. Dana was right, that was what she recognized in him, herself.

  CHAPTER 29

  Ding, ding, ding. The order bell went off, vibrating Jessie back into her surroundings; the smell of fresh fries and chicken tickling her senses. Of course she was hungry, she was always hungry and working at the diner didn’t help. She would be lucky if they didn’t have to roll her out of there at the end of the summer. Jessie grabbed the order, chicken club and fries, her mouth watering, and carefully carried it to the waiting customer.

  “Here you go.”

  She cautiously set the full plate in front of him, but still managed to spill a few crispy fries onto the table. She could feel herself turning red. How did she think someone afflicted with her lack of coordination could do a job like this? She quickly recovered, in appearance not confidence, and quietly cleared her throat.

  “Did you need anything else?”

  He smiled up at her, the dimples that bordered his grin making a shy appearance. “I think I’m good.”

  Jessie started to back away to leave him to his meal. Next stop, kitchen. That sandwich looked delicious.

  “Oh Jessie?”

  She stopped, startled. How does he know my name?

  Reading her mind, he responded to her question. “Your name tag.”

  He pointed a french fry that was on its way to his mouth, in her direction. She ran her fingers over the plastic button that her name was etched on. Of course, she would never find the conspiracy she craved.

  “Right.” She gave a nervous laugh and tried to steady herself. “I sometimes forget I’m wearing it. What did you need?”

  “Is there any way I can get some extra mayo?”

  Yep, definitely nothing here to feed her active imagination. She was relieved, the jumping jacks her stomach had been doing were starting to settle down.

  “No problem. I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried back to the kitchen to fulfill his request when Miss Allie stopped her again.

  “Jessie, those pies won’t cut themselves. I told you to let Dana look after that table.”

  “He just wanted a little extra mayo. It will only take a second.” Jessie tried not to feel annoyed, but couldn’t understand what the big deal was. There was only one other customer in the diner, it made sense that she helped out with one of them.

  Miss Allie sighed, impatiently. “Fine, but no more small talk. Let him finish eating so he can get on with the rest of his afternoon.”

  What was that supposed to mean? She had scarcely said more than ten words to him. Jessie decided to let it go, nodded her head signaling that she understood, and pushed through the swinging door, into the kitchen.

  After delivering the small bowl of condiment, his mouth full when he mumbled, “thank you,” Jessie finished moving the clean dishes into the cubby under the counter and cutting various cream pies. With every slice she cut, it took all her will power not to run her finger over the whip cream drenched knife. A few more people started to drift into the diner, for the fast approaching supper hour.

  She completed plating the slices from a chocolate pie and noticed a car occupied by Will, Becky and William, pull into a parking spot across the street. The boys climbed out of their vehicle and huddled around the red car parked in front of the pharmacy, oohing and awing. Becky picked at her nails; obviously bored. When the Will’s felt like they had admired the car’s beauty long enough, they walked in tandem across the street, to the diner.

  The hanging door bell, sweeter sounding than the sharp kitchen bell, rang out when the three of them made their noisy entrance. Becky was scolding Will for something he just said. His perturbed laugher filled the diner, causing most of the patrons to look up from their meals. They spotted Jessie behind the pie display and sauntered towards her.
/>   “Jessieeeeeee,” Becky exclaimed, obviously already sneaking one of the beers William promised to bring. He glanced apologetically at Jessie.

  “Did you see that car out there, Jess?” Will asked.

  Again, with the Jess. She didn’t bother to waste her breath to correct him.

  “It must be someone’s from the city,” he deduced.

  Without her friend’s noticing, Jessie’s eyes travelled to where the car’s owner was sitting. He was just finishing up his burger and scraping the last of fries through the mayo. Her attention returned to Will and company.

  “Enough about the car, Will,” Becky whined. “Let’s find a seat. I’m starrrvvvinnng.” Jessie hoped everything she said that night would not include an extended pronunciation.

  They were surveying the restaurant for the perfect spot to eat when the stranger approached the counter with the bill Dana had left on his table. Her intended grocery shopping was delayed when an unexpected amount of diners started to stream in. He walked straight through her cluster of friends.

  It was Becky’s face Jessie saw first, before she thought she heard her croak, “it can’t be.” Her tanned cheeks turned whiter than the whip cream Jessie had sprayed onto the fresh pies. She jerked back, grabbed Will’s arm, and almost knocked over a paper stand. Will let out a surprised, “hey,” and prevented her from losing her balance.

  “Becky, what the hell?” Will shouted.

  Becky’s lips trembled and Jessie could see her legs keeping time with them. It was the third time that day Jessie had witnessed the fear filled expression. Who was this guy?

  The scene drew the attention from the rest of the diner that their entrance hadn’t already disrupted, except for the blond haired stranger, who stared unfazed at Jessie, and passed her his bill. She tried to focus on ringing in the total and not be distracted by listening to Becky trying to explain herself to Will. William stood off to the side, watching them with guilt. Jessie’s suspicions were correct. He had given her some beer and now she was making a fool out of herself. She refocused, gave the total, and watched as the customer counted out the money in his wallet.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Get her to drink some water and eat something. She’ll be fine.”

  There it was, that smile; mimicking the one she saw in the mirror.

  “I hope so. Are you in town long?” Jessie wanted to divert the subject away from the embarrassment she felt for Becky. She nervously tugged at the chain around her neck.

  “I was just here for a few days, but I think I might stay a bit longer. I found something and need to figure out what I’m going to do next.” His gaze made her drop her own to the cash register. She pretended to play with some coins in the drawer.

  Will was the next to speak. Becky had her head buried in his shoulder. “Is that your car?” He asked. “I’ve never seen one that color before.”

  “It is,” he didn’t elaborate.

  Jessie sensed he wanted to leave and get back to it as soon as possible. Her friend’s overly dramatic whimpering was making everyone feel uncomfortable. He thanked Jessie and spun around on his heel to leave, but stopped in front of Will. Becky’s boyfriend shrunk under his intense stare.

  “Her name’s Jessie, not Jess.”

  He opened the door; his exit carried in a wind that hit Jessie’s arm, sending a shiver all the way down to her fingertips.

  William helped Will move Becky to a table and the rest of the customers returned their attention to their food. The disturbance was already a thing of the past. Jessie stayed grounded to her spot behind the cash register by an imaginary adhesive. She heard Dana return to the dining room, carrying orders from the kitchen.

  “There’s your first table, doll. Let me know if you need any help. Becky looks like she might be a challenge tonight.” She breezed past, a trail of savory soup steam floating after her.

  Jessie blinked, her eyes refocused, and felt a slip of paper clutched tightly in her hand. She realized that she was still holding the bill for the customer. She smoothed the crumbled paper against the front of her shirt and put it in its designated spot in the till. The tab flicked down to hold it in place inside the drawer and Jessie noticed a scribbling on it that was different from Dana’s neat bubbly writing. She looked closer, it read, ‘Thank you, Gerry.’

  His name was Gerry, she wondered if she would ever see him again.

  CHAPTER 30

  Becky’s color returned, after slurping down a vanilla milkshake, and eating a few fries from Will’s hamburger platter. Her friends were finishing dinner when Jessie finally got a chance to slip into the back washroom, to change.

  She released her hair from the elastic, blond curls cascading down her back, and dug through her bag to locate her brush. She had remembered to throw in it before she left the house that morning and commended herself. She was surprised she hadn’t forgotten it, and looking at the mess of her hair, it made her even more grateful that she hadn’t. The shirt she picked to pair with the skirt, was a plain, blue v-neck. She knew that it made her eyes pop. The low collar accented the treasure that she found buried among her mother’s other neglected jewelry. While her reflection was wearing it, Jessie inspected it. The gold chain sparkled and the yellow gem that dripped off of it, caught the gold sparks in her eyes; normally only visible when they were damp with tears. Looking at the bobble, alone on the chain, made Jessie feel lonely. She kept staring it as she pulled the brush through the tangles that grew in her hair over the course of the day. It didn’t take her long to hide the leftover ponytail bump under the curls. With a final, somewhat satisfied glance, in the grimy mirror, she opened the door of the single person bathroom and smacked into William.

  “Oh hey, I was looking for you,” he said. “I think we’re ready to go.”

  “Me too.” Jessie shoved her diner uniform, with her name tag still attached, into her bag. “How’s Becky? Maybe she shouldn’t have any more beer.”

  “She seems fine, maybe a bit quiet.” That was not like her friend at all. Especially when they were about to go to the dance she had talked about constantly since the date it was announced. “Will wanted to stop at the railway house and drink the rest of the beer, but it might be a good idea to just go straight to the school.”

  Jessie agreed. The railway house was an abandoned shack where kids hung out over the summer months. It was about ten minutes past the school, at the opposite end of town from the diner. She had been there a few times with Becky and thought it was boring. Jessie felt she was always the one to discourage what her friends thought was fun. She hoped William would be the one to tell Will they didn’t want to go.

  They saw Becky and Will standing by the door and Jessie could tell, the closer she got, that they were arguing.

  “I told you, I’m fine,” Becky hissed through her teeth.

  Seeing Jessie and William approach, she transformed her snarl back into a smile.

  “Oh, hi guys. Will and I were just talking about heading to the shack for a bit. I heard a few people were going to be there,” Becky explained.

  “Do you think that’s a good idea, Becks?” William asked. “You seemed a little unsteady before and –“

  “I’m fine!” Becky said, aggressively.

  She left the diner in the same tornado of air she arrived in, with Will close behind. Jessie and William shrugged at each other and cautiously followed the whirlwind Becky was swept up in. Jessie could see Becky looking fiercely from side to side, as if she was searching for someone. They reached the car and climbed inside: William and Jessie in the back, Becky in the front. Jessie recalled what her friend said when she saw the stranger, who she now knew was called ‘Gerry’.

  “Hey Beck, did you know that guy?” Jessie asked, twisting in her seat to straighten her bunched up skirt. If she had been paying attention, she might have noticed the hair on the back of her friend’s neck stand up under her high pony tail.

  “What guy?” Becky asked, innocently.

  “The
one at the diner. I heard you say, ‘it can’t be,’ or something like that, when you saw him.”

  “I don’t remember saying that. I don’t even know who you’re talking about. It’s kind of embarrassing, Jessie, but I don’t remember much of when we first got to the diner.”

  Finished with their conversation Becky rotated in her seat to address William. “Thanks for the beer, by the way.”

  She gave him a dazzling Becky grin. Jessie’s could feel her skin trying to crawl away. Her friend was lying.

  *******

  Jessie did her best to avoid Becky at the shack, declined a beer from William, and stood off to the side watching her friend. Becky’s eyes continued to dart back and forth, from the door to the small cracked window, on the left side of the dusty one room, building. Jessie thought she looked like a caged animal, desperate to escape. She was doing a good job of suppressing the fear Jessie could see in her expression. It had faded only slightly, since she encountered Gerry at the diner.

  Becky pranced towards her and Jessie straightened, bracing herself, in case she had to defend herself against another outburst. Instead, her friend slid her arm over Jessie’s stiff shoulders and pulled her face close to her. She could smell the beer on Becky’s breath.

  “What’s wrong, Jessieeeee? Why are you standing over here all by your pathetic self?” Becky grinned, to take the sting out of her words. Jessie could tell she didn’t really care if it worked.

  “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just a bit tired after working at the diner, all afternoon,” Jessie lied. She couldn’t tell her friend the truth; that she wanted to put distance between them.

  “Fine, but you aren’t still thinking about Gerald, are you? We won’t ever see that creep again.”

  Becky playfully punched Jessie’s shoulder and skipped back to where Will was sitting. She plopped down on his lap and threw her head back in a laugh. The cackle pierced through every conversation in the room. All attention was on Becky, once again, the way she preferred it.

  Jessie let her friend’s parting words sink in. She never told her his name.