by Melody Anne
“You better be careful if you’re already talking to yourself,” he told her with a chuckle. “I didn’t start that until my late sixties.”
“If I don’t talk to myself I get too lonely,” she said, trying to make it a joke. But the truth was that she was often lonely. She knew she did it to herself, but that didn’t change the fact that she was missing something extra in her life.
“You need a nice young man to talk to instead,” he told her. “My Martha and I talked every single day for fifty-three years. Sometimes I still talk to her, and I can hear her voice just as clear as day with a reply. I replay her voice on our answering machine when I truly need some healing.” He stopped talking as tears shown in his eyes.
“I don’t know, Mr. Melville, seeing the heartbreak of losing someone you love so much sort of scares me to look for that. It hurts too much when it’s over.”
He gave her a kind smile. “I wouldn’t give up a single minute I had with Martha, not one single second, hour, or day, not even in those early years when we’d fight over the silliest of things. That allowed me to get to know her better and appreciate all she did for me, our children, and then our grandchildren. I’d do it all over again, even knowing how much my heart aches now.”
“You’re breaking my heart,” she told him. He was holding a red piece of his puzzle and looking all over. He set it down and grabbed another. She picked it up and placed it in the correct place. He smiled at her, a secret smile that told her he was in a good place in his mind and heart.
“You always help me with the hard ones,” he said. “You truly are a good woman, Erin. I believe my Martha led me here to help me heal.” He placed his piece and picked another up before looking at her again. “I’ll miss you a lot. Will you allow this old man to write to you?”
Erin felt unbearable sadness at his words. “Where are you going?”
He was quiet for several moments and she waited, giving him time to form words. When he looked up again, there were tears falling down his cheeks. She handed him a Kleenex box she kept beneath her counter, and he gratefully took a few of them, wiped his cheeks, then tucked them in his pocket.
“When Martha was going through her cancer treatments she made me promise I’d move into the retirement place that’s three blocks from our oldest son’s home. I told her I didn’t want to leave the house we’d built together, raised our children in, and made our memories in. She told me I had to promise to move there, to be with others, and to live my life. I finally said I would, but I haven’t been able to keep that promise until now. My son took me there last month and there were wonderful people who shared stories with me, saying it was just as hard for them, but with others around who loved to share stories of their lost loved ones, they said it was the smartest thing they’d ever done. My grandkids can walk over and spend time with me. Of course, all four of my children begged me to move in with them. We raised good kids who are all successful, and offered to build me a suite of my own. But I’ve been independent my entire life, and I want to feel that I still am. I might be moving a little slower these days, but I still move good,” he said. He patted the cane next to him. “I like this more as a prop than a real need. I can knock someone’s knees if they get too frisky with me.”
His final sentence made Erin laugh. “I’m sure you’ve knocked a lot of knees, especially in your years in the Air Force.”
“I had a lot of adventures in the Air Force. Many of the men I served with are now gone, but a few of us are left. They were great men.”
“I bet they were and are,” Erin told him. “I’ll miss you a lot. Maybe I can come by and have lunch with you sometime.”
He beamed at her. “I’d truly love that.”
The door dinged, and both of them turned to see a large man walk inside. It only took a couple of heartbeats for Erin’s eyes to widen in shock at who was walking through her front door.
Joseph Anderson — in her diner — in the middle of nowhere — at two in the morning.
“Good evening,” Joseph said as he sat one seat away from Mr. Melville. “I hear this place has the best peanut butter pie in all of the state of Washington.”
“You’d be correct on that,” Mr. Melville said with a smile. It was difficult to find anyone in the area who didn’t know who Joseph Anderson was. “I’m Buck,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Anderson.”
“The honor’s all mine, Buck. Please call me Joseph.”
“What can I get for you Mr. Anderson?” Erin asked, proud her voice wasn’t stuttering too badly at basically having a celebrity in her place.
“I’d love a cup of decaf and an extra-large slice of peanut butter pie.”
“Coming right up,” she said.
Erin’s fingers were shaking. She’d been thinking about how miserable she was and then she’d had a great conversation with one of her favorite customers, and now Joseph Anderson was in her place. Both of them had gone through so much more than she could imagine enduring. And there were so many people in the world who went through a heck of a lot worse than her. She truly had nothing to complain about.
She came back with the pie and a cup of coffee, then resumed her place at the counter, leaning to take extra weight off of her leg. It was still sore, but she was much, much better.
“What happened?” Joseph asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
“What happened with what?” Erin asked.
“Your leg. I notice you’re limping,” he replied.
“Oh, it’s not that exciting,” she said. “I was foolish and running somewhere I shouldn’t have been, and I tripped and got a branch shoved into my leg. It’s much better now.”
“Ouch,” Joseph said. “I’ve done a few things like that in my lifetime.”
“Yes, we all have to make some mistakes to grow and learn,” Mr. Melville said.
The three of them shared small talk for the next thirty minutes. Erin went out to help another customer while Mr. Anderson and Mr. Melville talked about the good old days. Erin noticed two large SUVs in her lot with a couple of large men standing outside. She hadn’t thought that a man like Joseph Anderson wouldn’t be able to simply slip from his house in the middle of the night and show up at a diner without some sort of protection. Even though Joseph was a large man, he was also very famous and some people were incredibly jealous of him. She appreciated he was trying to hide his security, trying to just be like any other man in a normal world. She was probably safer than she’d ever been at her diner with his security detail outside.
Of course, having that thought made her think of Steve and his friends. She’d felt pretty dang safe when they’d been at her place as well. All of these people led exciting lives, and here she was standing still. Even Mr. Melville pressed forward, taking the next step in his life. And she was still at the diner. Her grandparents would be so disappointed in her. That was a thought she hadn’t had in quite a while. Was it time for her to move on? The thought of letting go of the diner broke her heart. But couldn’t she keep the diner and still go back to school? She wasn’t sure.
She moved behind the counter, hating that she was walking slower than normal. She chose to work the night shift because she loved the customers who came in — well, most of the time. Sometimes real jerks came in, but they were the exception and not the rule.
“Do you want refills?” she asked the men.
Mr. Melville put on his hat as he scooted from his seat and slipped his jacket on. “I have to get back home. As much fun as I’m having chatting with Joseph here, I know my body, and I’ll be asleep five minutes after walking in my door,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’d love to chat again,” Joseph said, holding out his hand. “It’s truly been a pleasure.” Joseph shook the man’s hand and held out his card. “Please give me a call sometime.”
“I’d enjoy that,” Mr. Melville said. Then he smiled again. “This night has confirmed I’m doing the right thing in moving to my new place. I’m
looking forward to daily conversations. I think Martha will be happy for me.”
“I think she will, too,” Joseph told him with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. “It sounds as if you had a marriage of the ages. I wish my Katherine could’ve met her.”
“Me, too,” Mr. Melville said as he took his leave.
“I’d love to have a refill,” Joseph said. Erin wasn’t sure what to say to this man now that Mr. Melville had departed. He’d been great at keeping the conversation going.
“Of course,” she said. “What has you out so late?”
He put a little creamer in his cup, then sipped it as his gaze zeroed in on her. She felt as if a spotlight had turned on and she was being dissected. She’d never met Mr. Anderson so she couldn’t understand his interest in her. Maybe he’d known her grandparents. He seemed to know a lot of people.
“I came to make you an offer,” Joseph said. He could’ve told her there was a UFO in her parking lot and little green men were asking for French fries and she’d have been less shocked. He sat back sipping his coffee while he waited for her response. It took several seconds before she was able to get words from her mouth.
“What kind of offer?” she finally asked, hoping that hadn’t come out sounding disrespectful.
“I have some very honorable men who work for me and one is going on a mission and needs a partner. I’d like that to be you.” Joseph looked as if he was as comfortable as could be sipping his coffee while sitting on her red vinyl seat with a few cracks in it.
“A mission?” she asked. She might sound like a parrot but she was seriously confused.
“Yes, a mission. Can you go?”
She started to speak, then shut her mouth, then tried again. It wasn’t until the fourth try that words actually came out. “Why in the world would you think I could do a mission?”
He laughed, looking as if he was having a great time. “I think the question is to ask why you think you couldn’t do a mission.”
“I work at a diner in the middle of nowhere,” she told him. “I think my question is much more valid than yours.” She clamped her hand over her mouth, imagining her grandmother smacking her with the broom. She’d been taught to never be disrespectful to people, and those words had come out far too rudely. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound like it did. I’m just in shock. I don’t understand what I could possibly do for you.” Her cheeks were flushed.
Joseph smiled. “I wasn’t in the least offended. I’ve shocked you,” Joseph said. He took another sip of his coffee. “But I do love that you were taught respect and honor. I’ve heard your grandparents were good people. This was their diner, correct?”
“Yes, it was,” she said.
“Do you love working here?”
“Yes,” she automatically replied, then looked down and shook her head. “I don’t hate working here. I get to meet amazing people and I feel close to my grandparents. But I can’t honestly say I love working here. I had dreams once, and then life happened.” Why was she saying this to Joseph Anderson? She was a small pea in a huge bushel of pods. He didn’t care about her story.
“When I lost my grandparents I’d often go back to places they’d taken me. I sometimes still do, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve had the honor of being with them,” Joseph said. “It’s okay to want to be reminded of the past.” He paused again. “But we can’t allow the past to prevent our future.”
She was horrified when tears sprung to her eyes and spilled over. She quickly turned away and grabbed a Kleenex and wiped her face. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’ve been having a bit of a rough day, which makes me think of them much more, and then I get all weepy. It’s very unprofessional.”
Joseph reached over the counter and grabbed her hand, squeezing. “Never apologize for feelings of love and loss.” She nodded at him. “Now, back to the mission. Just say yes.” It was a command, she had no doubt about it. But coming from him, it didn’t seem rude, it didn’t seem bad. It made her want to say yes without argument.
“Why me?” she again asked.
“Because I think you’re the only one for the job,” he told her.
“Why in the world do I feel like I need to say yes?” She was so confused.
“Because I’m a hard man to say no to,” he said with a laugh.
“I can see why you’ve been so successful,” she said. “I want to do it. I want to do this mission without knowing what it is, without any information whatsoever. I haven’t had this stirring of excitement in . . . well, in forever.”
“Then say yes,” he said.
She shocked herself when she said yes. He laughed again. “I’ll take one more refill, then I need to get home to my wife. She’s soundly sleeping right now, but if she wakes up cold, I get in trouble.”
“I bet you do,” she said, truly liking this man. She hadn’t thought someone like Joseph Anderson could be so fun to sit and chat with. She couldn’t believe he was giving her the time of day. She loved it.
“You’ll be leaving for Paris in . . .” He stopped and looked at his watch. “In six hours. I have a bag ready for you, and a car will pick you up at home and take you to the airport at 0700 hours.”
“Paris?” That excitement in her gut amplified. She’d never been out of the country. She had a passport, because before her grandparents had gotten sick she’d planned on taking a term abroad in Europe. That, like all of her plans, had been changed, but she didn’t regret it. She wouldn’t give up a single second of the time she’d had with the people who’d raised her.
“Yes, Paris. With Steve,” he said, his smile growing at the widening of her eyes. She was sure she looked like an owl.
“How? Who? You know Steve?” she asked, her words definitely coming out all over the place.
“Yes, and now you can see why you’re the only one for the job.”
Joseph stood and pulled out a handful of money, tossing it on her counter. She didn’t even look at it as he began moving away from her.
“Mr. Anderson . . .” she called, then cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I can do this.” She started to panic when he reached her door. He turned and smiled.
“You can do this, Erin. You can do this well,” he said. And then he was gone.
Erin stood there for several seconds, not able to move, much less utter a sound. She watched his big black SUV pull out of her parking lot, and she was dumbfounded. But after the initial shock wore off, she realized she wanted to go.
She’d been so filled with pride she hadn’t been able to beg Steve to see her again, but now the choice had been taken from her . . . and she didn’t want to say no. Not that she could say it at the moment. Joseph was gone. He said a car would pick her up. Did Steve know about this or would it be a surprise to him when she showed up? Would he be upset? She didn’t know anything. But after another few minutes, she realized she was going to go. She wanted to go.
She finally looked at the bills on her counter, then gasped. What she’d thought were small bills weren’t in any way small. She picked them up and counted, wanting to chase down the man who’d left them and tell him he’d given her the wrong amount. But he was gone.
She quickly took the money to her backroom and grabbed an envelope, stuffing the money inside, and sealing it. She’d have it returned to him. It was clearly a mistake — in the amount of three thousand dollars. No one ever left that big of a tip.
When she walked back out to her front counter a man in a black suit and military style haircut was standing there.
“Are you with Mr. Anderson?” Erin asked, feeling relief. She didn’t want to be responsible for the cash.
The man smiled. “Yes, I’m your ride in the morning. I have instructions for you, and your suitcase is in the back of the car,” he told her. He sat at the counter.
“Good!” she said as she slid the envelope to him. “Mr. Anderson left this by mistake.”
The man looked down, then grinned and pushed the envelope bac
k to her. “Joseph said you’d argue about the money. He told me to tell you there will be expenses on your trip and this is for you to use. He said arguing would do no good, and trust me, it won’t do any good. You’ll simply offend him if you try to give it back. So accept the money and the trip, and have the time of your life,” the man told her. Then he looked at the menu printed on the back wall.
“I’d love to have a chocolate shake and a large plate of French fries and onion rings before I head out,” he told her. “By the way, my name’s Ricky.”
Erin was speechless, absolutely speechless. She nodded at him, then took the envelope and locked it in her tiny office before turning in his order to her fry cook. She moved to the counter and made his shake.
Apparently she was going to the City of Lights with a lot of money, and a man she missed and desired. She should be smiling a lot — instead she was in shock. But it wasn’t bad shock. She was excited, really excited. She couldn’t wait to see what would come next. Maybe those aliens were going to land at any minute. She wouldn’t be surprised one little bit at this point.