Interrupted (The Progress Series)

by Queau, Amy

  “Nice catch,” Jess said, lifting his brow and winking. He threw a twenty on the bar and walked out.

  *

  The beach was gray that day—the sky, the water, all of it varying shades of pewter, silver and black. Taking a run on the beach, Jesse slowed as he realized his energy was depleting quicker than ever before. He stopped to rest, panting and bending over with his hands to his knees. Catching his breath, he stood and looked straight out to the water.

  Staying active was something he had tried to maintain. After he pawned his bike three weeks earlier, it was getting harder to keep his thoughts in check. Things were always a little easier to handle when he was riding or exercising, as it distracted him enough to concentrate on one thing at a time; his paranoia and obsessive thoughts weren’t as difficult to manage.

  Directly in front of him were a lighthouse and a small fishing boat just off the rocky coast. The ocean had carved a bay into the landscape and the beach curled around so that the boat was at a distance. The small lighthouse sat atop an island and the waves were crashing in around it.

  A piece of driftwood that had washed ashore caught his eye. His eyes squinted and he tried to adjust his focus, making sure they weren’t deceiving him. He started walking toward it and everything else around him vanished. His pace quickened until he was running toward it in full force. He crashed down to his knees and desperately scooped the wet sand around it, prying it from its position. Dipping the wood into the ocean to wash it off, he ran his fingers over the surface and smiled.

  It’s perfect.

  Jogging back to his apartment, towing the piece of wood under his arm, Jess ripped the door open and ran to the bedroom closet. He carefully unwrapped the unfinished project that he had stowed away until he had found the right piece. He compared the three legs of the table to the wood he found on the beach and another smile spread across his face.

  I can finish it. The grain is perfect. It matches the other three legs and the base. I can finally finish this.

  After letting the wood dry for a few days, he couldn’t wait any longer to assemble it. He got to work in his small apartment, hand-sawed the wood to the perfect dimensions and carefully drove the screws into place. Sanding, polishing—everything had to be perfect. The end result was a coffee table that he had made with his own two hands.

  This was the first time in longer than he could remember that he felt proud of something he had accomplished. This small project that he started and was able to see through to the end was enough to help him sleep that night.

  *

  It had been six months since he’d slept a full eight hours.

  Chapter Three

  “Hey, Lily,” he said when she answered the phone.

  “Jesse? Wait. Is this Jesse Anders?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “No. This can’t be the Jesse I know. You see, he never calls me. I always call him. And, whoever you are sounds a hell of a lot better than the Jesse I spoke to last week. So, who is this, really?” she said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he laughed.

  “Oh, Jess. You sound so much better. Did I just hear you laugh? I haven’t heard that sound in almost two years.” Jesse heard her exhale.

  “I’m thinking about coming home. But I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of. Do you think I could stay with you for a bit?”

  “Of course you can. Whatever I can do to help.”

  “I’ll call when I’m on the road. It will probably be a week or two.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad. I don’t like you being so far away.”

  For the third time since he arrived in New Hampshire, he smiled.

  *

  Putting in his notice for his apartment, getting a change of address from the post office, and packing up a few belongings that he’d be able to shove into his car occupied his morning. At noon, he headed out to get some lunch at the café in town—the same place he had gone every Friday afternoon since he arrived.

  Choosing the familiar booth near the window, he sat with the menu closed and waited.

  A tall, red-headed waitress walked up slowly, smiling and shaking her head.

  “Back for more, huh?” she said.

  “What can I say? Your biscuits and gravy are the best in town.”

  “Uhm hmmm…right. They’re the only biscuits and gravy in town. And you don’t fool me, Jesse. You barely eat anything, anyway.”

  He shrugged, never turning away from her eyes.

  “So, why do you come here every week? I don’t think you fancy any of the girls around here, otherwise you would have made your move already. I’ve heard what people say about you around town—” she said, seemingly looking for him to confess.

  He clenched his jaw and nodded. “I’m sure I’ve heard it, too.”

  She nodded and reluctantly changed the subject. “Your regular order, then?”

  He paused. “No, not today. Do you guys make patty melts?”

  “Sure, we can.”

  “Yeah, one of those. And a cherry Coke.”

  “Oh, a cherry Coke today, eh?” she said.

  His eyes moved up and down her body and his stare seemed to arouse her. He could feel her sexual intensity as her cheeks flushed.

  “Anything else then?” she asked, biting her lip.

  He hadn’t heard her words and he gave his head a slight shake. “What?”

  “Tell me something, Jesse. Why do you always stare at me like that? Every week you come in here and you look at me like, like I’m some sort of oil painting. I’ve never, in my thirty years, had a man stare at me like you do. Do I remind you of someone?”

  He scratched his chin and his mind retreated. “No. Go away now,” he said, waving his hand, shooing her away.

  Her eyes widened in shock at how inconsiderate he was and she slowly turned to walk toward the kitchen.

  His knee began bouncing under the table and he felt uneasy again. He attempted to keep his thoughts away from Charlie. The last time he let himself mourn her, he had become fixated and almost drowned.

  Pull your shit together. This is the final test. If you pass, you can go home and face her.

  The waitress returned with his soda, without a smile.

  “Wait, come back,” he said.

  She turned and lifted her eyebrows. “Something else you needed?” she asked sharply.

  “Yes. Please,” he said, extending his hand out to gesture to the seat across from him. “Please, join me. I’d like to ask you a question.” He followed it up with a seductive smile, which was evidently all it took.

  She grinned and looked around. Cautiously, she took a seat.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

  Her answer was a shy smile.

  “Good. It’s a date, then. I’ll pick you up here at the restaurant around seven.”

  *

  That afternoon he returned to his apartment and packed his car with his drum set. He brought it to the pawn shop and collected his two grand for the trek home.

  Chapter Four

  “I don’t think I know your name,” he said as the waitress got in his car, bringing a rush of air in with her. Jesus, she’s even wearing Charlie’s perfume.

  “Jolene. Hey, what happened to your car, anyway? It looks like someone keyed it. Not to mention that you have a completely different color passenger side door.”

  He put the car into first gear and stepped on the gas. “Girls can get pretty crazy sometimes.”

  She laughed as he drove them The Lobster Shack for dinner.

  *

  Sitting down at the fanciest place in town (complete with white cloth napkins and a fire burning in the fireplace), Jess ordered a bottle of wine.

  “You like Merlot?” she asked.

  “If it has alcohol in it, it’ll suffice.”

  She giggled. “Well, it’s my favorite.”

  “I know it is. I overheard you talking to another waitress last Friday. See, I’ve been paying attention,” he said. He l
ifted his water glass in a toast. She smiled and lifted her glass. “Oh and Jolene, I was choosing the perfect time to make my move. I was just making sure you had noticed me, too.” He clanked their glasses together and licked his lips just before taking a sip.

  “You don’t seem so bad. I don’t know what all the girls in town—” She stopped herself.

  He set his glass down just as their server brought their bottle of wine and took their orders.

  “You were saying?” Jesse said with a crooked smile.

  She cleared her throat, hoping he had forgotten that she had mentioned the other girls he had been with. She giggled uncomfortably. “Oh, I’ve just heard some stuff, that’s all. What I really want to know is why you got fired from The Crimson Cellar last month.”

  “I busted a customer’s nose. But that’s not a very exciting story. Tell me what the girls say about me.”

  She laughed in astonishment. “I’ve heard a few stories, but mostly just that you’re crazy. You know, like insane crazy.”

  “Well, that’s the problem with small towns, everyone thinks they know everything.”

  “So, you’re not crazy?” she asked, lifting her eyebrow.

  He hesitated. “No. Not crazy, but not exactly sane, either.”

  She sat back in her chair and compassion filled her eyes. “You know, I studied psychology for a semester in college. Maybe I could help?”

  He smirked, swiping his thumb and index finger across his bottom lip. He glanced up at Jolene, at first planning to make a joke of her words. But as her blue eyes stared back at his, his system jolted and his thoughts ran away about Charlie. Flashes and scenes of when he found her the most beautiful: her pink flush when she was embarrassed, the way she would gracefully stretch her back when she thought no one was watching, the dimple she’d get in the corner of her mouth when she was mad at him, and the few times she let her guard down and spoke to him about the things that mattered most to her.

  Staring through her, his voice low and hushed, he murmured, “Have you ever felt so high…that when you came down you broke inside? Not really knowing how to put the pieces back together?” He continued without blinking. “I ran away from you, Charlie. And I have no intention of doing that again.”

  Jolene looked around the restaurant, wondering what she had gotten herself into. “Um, Jesse? Who’s Charlie?”

  The server approached their table and set their dinners in front of them. “Anything else I can get you two?” An uncomfortable moment lapsed as Jesse ripped himself away from his reminiscence.

  “No, no thank you,” Jesse said sternly.

  God damn it! I screwed this up already. I’m not ready. I can’t face her.

  What can I say now? How can I get this back on track?

  He glanced at Jolene quickly and her face was still dumbstruck, wondering what he’d say next. With that, he laughed.

  “Gotcha. No, I’m not crazy. I just thought I’d mess with you a little bit.” He winked.

  Jolene exhaled deeply. “Jeez, you scared me! I thought you were gonna go all Charles Manson on my ass.” She picked up her fork and took a mouthful of her mashed potatoes. Laughing again, she pointed her fork at Jesse. “That was a mean trick.”

  He reached for his glass and brought it to his mouth to mask his irritation.

  “Don’t worry, Jolene. I won’t do it again.”

  And just like that, with the way her name purred off his lips, he knew he’d have her in his bed that night.

  Part IV

  Charlie and Jesse

  Chapter One

  As they approached their one year anniversary, Charlie and Sam’s life was shaping up better than she had ever dreamed. After her dad’s death, she buried herself in work. There were fewer hours to be had at The Crimson, so she eventually quit, leaving behind some of the best memories she had from the beginning of her new life—Jesse, Angie, Paulina, Karalee and Marco all began to fade from her mind as she focused on the path ahead of her.

  “Ugh. Do you have to go?” Charlie pleaded.

  “It’s only a week, babe. I gotta meet with the band so that we can go over their ideas. Besides, I’ve never been to New York. I want to go,” Samuel said, cuddling up to her on their bed.

  “Can’t they find someone else to design their cover?”

  Sam’s head slowly shook back and forth and he rolled his eyes.

  “When do you leave?” she asked, pouting.

  “Next weekend.”

  “Boo. And you’ll be gone for an entire week?”

  “Oh come on, Charlie. Quit being so melodramatic. Cheer up! My mom will be here in an hour.” He pulled Charlie to a wavering stance. “Now go.” He slapped her butt playfully. “Get in the shower.”

  “Fine. Oh, why is your mom coming over tonight? Should I have something ready for dinner?”

  “Oh, no. She just said she’s stopping in for a bit. Something about a housewarming gift and some Tarot Cards.”

  She laughed. “Wait. What was that last part?”

  “You know my mom,” he said, laughing his way into the living room. “Oh, babe! I brought in the mail. We gotta start checking that thing more often. The box was overflowing! I put the stuff on the table.”

  “Okay!”

  After a quick shower, she pulled her hair back into a bandana and threw on some lip gloss. She heard a knock at the door as she poured the decanter of water into the coffee maker.

  Looking through the peephole, all she could see was a forest of green leaves and a few strands of long brown hair. “Hey babe, your mom’s here,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Hello!” Maxie tried to move her head around the very large Ficus tree she was sustaining with a tight grip. She shuffled her way into the entry and plopped the tree down next to the dining table.

  “Hey, Maxie,” Charlie said.

  “Hi, honey. I know I’m a few months past due with your housewarming gift, but better late than never!” Maxie gave Charlie a hug and went to the fridge for a bottle of water.

  “Thank you. This thing is huge. Is it real? I mean, do I have to try and keep it alive?”

  “I’m afraid so. I would never buy a fake plant!”

  Oh, great. Charlie found a home for her new pet in the corner of the living room, next to a shelf that held a photo of her dad.

  “Charlie, I’m so glad you’re here. Listen, I just got my Tarot Cards in today and I was wondering if you’d be my guinea pig. I know you’re not really into this sort of thing, but Sam refuses,” she said, glaring in his direction. Sam crossed his two index fingers toward her.

  “Tarot Cards? Really?” Charlie said skeptically.

  “Yes. I’ve always wanted to try them, and since you’re here, I was really hoping you’d be a good sport and just…humor me? I took a class last week and I’m really excited to try them out on someone.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine, I guess. What do I have to do?”

  “Oh, great! All you have to do is pick something that you want me to do a reading on. Like, your work life. Or, your relationship with Sam. Whatever you want the answers to, the cards will tell you,” Maxie said.

  She retrieved a box of oversized cards from her purse as Charlie watched her hands move quickly. Setting the stack on the table, Maxie hastily gestured for Charlie to sit across from her.

  Oh, right now? Okay.

  Taking her seat, Charlie watched as Maxie pulled the cards from the box and retrieved a small booklet on how they were to be read. The cards were about twice the size of a regular deck, each one gold with black and purple scrolling on the front. After panning the directions, Maxie set the deck in front of Charlie. “Okay, so it says here that the questioner, that’s you, shuffles the deck until they’re satisfied. Remember to keep in mind what the reading is about while you’re shuffling.”

  “What? Wait, can I just make a cup of coffee first?” she asked, walking to the kitchen and preparing a cup.

  “What do you want the answers to?” asked Maxie.r />
  “I don’t know. We can do Sam and me. That works.”

  “Great! So, I’ll keep it simple. We’ll do your Past, Present, and Future. You will draw three cards and I will read them for you.”

  Sounds simple enough. I’ve got nothing to hide.

  Charlie sat down and picked up the deck. She shuffled four times, thinking solely about Sam, and set them back in front of Maxie, who then fanned them into a half circle, defining the space between herself and Charlie.

  “So, the first will be your Past. Feel each card, let it pick you. If you have any hesitation or don’t feel right holding the card, then let it go and allow your hand to go to the next. If you feel a tingling or any connection to the card at all, that’s the card you’re supposed to choose.”

  Ha! Hocus pocus. Love it. Fun fun.

  Charlie let her fingertips swipe against each card. To focus, she closed her eyes. Sam mumbled something from the living room and she smiled but kept her eyes closed, thinking nothing but Sam and her love for him.

  No tingling sensation, no overwhelming need to pick a certain one, she plucked up a card from the table and flipped it over. Opening her eyes, she saw a card staring back at her labeled “The Lovers.” She smiled and waited for Maxie to flip through the booklet to find its definition.

  Maxie let a soft giggle escape when she read the card. Finding its meaning, Maxie looked back down at the card and furrowed her brow. “Is that upside down? Wait, is it upside down to me, or is it rightside up? How did you flip the card?”

  Charlie laughed. “I don’t know! Does it matter if it’s upside down? It’s fine, Maxie. This is just practice for you, anyway.”

  “Okay, so I’ll just read how it lays. It’s upside down to you, so it’s the reversed meaning of ‘The Lovers.’”

  Curiosity getting the best of him, Sam got up from the couch and stood behind Charlie.

  “Failure to meet the test. Unreliability. Frustration in love and marriage. Interference by others. Fickleness. Unworthiness. Unwise plans,” Maxie said, frowning.