Chapter 2
ELI
I’m on edge and have invented at least seven imaginary text messages from my mom that I’ve unexpectedly received, which would mean I have to leave while waiting for Sapphire to return from the restroom.
But I can’t. I have to do my part for the company. I’m annoyed, though. Really fucking annoyed. At my brothers. Max and Cole specifically.
I lift my cell phone off the table and text my brothers in our group chat.
Me
You two fuckers have properly screwed me over.
Max
Aw, don’t be like that. I like her.
Me
She’s loud.
Max
She’s fucking beautiful, you should ask her out on a date.
I ignore him.
Me
It’s not my turn to help organize this year’s staffing event.
Cole
I knew you’d ignore Max. When was the last time you went on a date?
Me
Shut up.
Nathan
I know it’s not your turn to help organize this year, but with a baby on the way and a wedding to plan, I’m too busy. Max did it last year, and Cole the year before. I’ve moved you up a year. I’ll do it next year. Promise.
Cole
That seems fair.
Max
And we all agreed to be actively involved in the annual event. Like Dad, we’re being hands-on and staying in touch with our staff. It’ll be good for you. You’ve had your head stuck in that merger document for almost a year now, and that’s unhealthy.
Me
I don’t mind helping to make the decisions about the staff team-building day, but having dinner with a walking, talking pinata wasn’t what I had in mind for tonight.
Cole
Chess was though, right? Yawnnnnnn.
Max
Our steaks have arrived. Enjoy your meal with Little Miss. Kaleidoscope *winking emoji*
Nathan
Her name is Sapphire Feelgood. Stop calling her a kaleidoscope.
Me
I hate you all right now.
Cole
Just make this year’s event memorable.
Make sure you tell Sapphire to use local services only.
After last year’s disaster, when our speakers had to cancel because the airport runway was closed for emergency maintenance, we decided to book local vendors this year and for every year moving forward.
Me
She already has that covered. She employs several local specialist speakers and facilitators.
It’s what she told me on the way here in the cab. An electric cab, because according to Sapphire, it’s a step toward balancing Mother Nature and Earth.
I didn’t tell her I drive a gas car that weighs the world down. I think that’s how she described it. She’s deeply committed to a greener future and cycles everywhere on a pedal bike, but she made an exception tonight.
She’s so… good. And interesting.
There’s a lot to keep up with, and she makes me think. Something I already do a lot of. I don’t need to overthink more stuff; my brain’s already packed.
Nathan
Keep us posted. Got to go. We’re off to buy a stroller.
Max
Sounds like hell.
Cole
Max is screwing his face up. *laughing emoji*
Nathan
Never say never, Max.
Max
Never. There, I said it.
Nathan
Asshole.
I chuckle to myself at how much of a commitment-phobe Max is. Hell will freeze over before he commits to anyone.
Closing my cell phone, I slide it into the inside pocket of my suit jacket and lift my glass of water to my lips, hoping it will help alleviate the headache that refuses to go away.
“What are you laughing at?” Sapphire returns from the restroom; her joy-filled tone makes her sound like she’s singing.
“Nothing.” I shake my head as she slides into the private seating booth, forcing my emotions down and letting my smile slip away.
“Were you texting your brothers to see if they could give you an excuse to leave?” she asks, eyes shining.
“No,” I scoff. I may not have asked them, but I did consider it. No doubt Sapphire is a clairvoyant, too.
“Liar,” she counters, reading me like a book.
Called it, she is intuitive. Not that I believe in any of that woo-woo voodoo shit. But it’s like she’s already inside my head. How did she do that?
“Okay, I considered it. But only for a second,” I admit, straightening the silverware and spacing them evenly apart.
“Oh, I know you did.” That broad smile of hers returns, and I like that she’s not offended by my confession. “Having dinner with me tonight caught you off guard, Elijah, and I can tell you like organization and things done a certain way. You hate having things sprung on you.”
I nod in agreement. “What else do you think you know about me?” Color me curious.
“You’re quiet, thoughtful, and serious. You probably do Sudoku in your free time. And”—she pauses thoughtfully—“you like to use your analytical mind playing games such as chess. You also enjoy botany. Specifically bonsai.”
What the hell? My eyes widen in surprise. She got all that from one cab ride? When I didn’t reveal anything about myself.
A knowing grin spreads across her lips. “You have a chess set in your office, several bonsai trees, and the completed Sudoku in the newspaper today was sitting on your desk, which you probably did first thing this morning.”
This woman is not only unbelievable but also highly observant.
“I could also see the pain in your eyes at the thought of spending the evening with me, Elijah. You’re either not used to being around someone as chatty as me, or your girlfriend will be pissed at you for having dinner with another woman you barely know.”
“Please call me Eli.” I clear my throat, lining up the salt and pepper mills to the left of the small vase of flowers on the table. “And I don’t have a girlfriend.” Or a friend with benefits or any other kind of arrangement.
Being alone isn’t a failure; it’s an opportunity to grow.
That’s the lie I’ve been telling myself for years. The truth is, I’ve never met anyone recently that I could imagine spending my life with. I would never tell anyone, but I am lonely. Although I know no one could handle me the way I am now.
Broken.
And no one wants that.
Since I learned that my dad was unwell and what he had was incurable, it flipped a switch inside me that struggled to accept his diagnosis.
I’m different now, questioning the meaning of life and what happens after death.
In short, it’s fucking ruining my days and nights, when what I should be doing is thriving and enjoying every minute of this successful, beautiful fucking world I live in, but I can’t seem to get out of my own head.
I was closer to my dad than Max and Nathan because they were older and busy with their own lives, while Cole, my youngest brother, was always with Mom. Dad’s diagnosis hit me differently than it did them.
When I was younger, after school, I would go to the office to help Dad with filing, archiving, photocopying, pretty much anything to learn from him.
Like a human sponge, I listened, soaking up everything there was to know about law procedures, policies, the people he defended, and the profession.
My dad is my idol, and all I ever wanted is to be like him—driven, successful, and a true inspiration.
Growing up, on Saturday mornings, while Nathan, Cole, and Max either played tennis or football with Mom in attendance, I went into the office with Dad, where he would walk me through the opening and closing statements he was preparing for the week ahead.
Saturdays were always my favorite, the best part of my week.
Now he’s in a memory care home, his mind and body wasting away, when he should be thriving, enjoying his retirement, and living the best years of his life with my mom.
I redirect my thoughts away from the ugly thoughts that roll in my head daily and focus my attention on Sapphire then say, “The pain you saw in my eyes is because I have a headache.” That’s not a lie, but she was half right about me wanting to run for the hills instead of having dinner with her.
“Oh, I have just the thing to help with that.” Sapphire dips her hand into her purse and pulls out a small U-shaped device.
“It’s an acupressure clip for migraines,” she informs me before demonstrating how to use it.
“You place it between your thumb and index finger. Just like that.” She places it between her fingers, then holds up her hand.
“It helps by applying pressure to the L14 acupressure point, and I promise your headache will disappear within minutes. Here, try it.” Sapphire slides it off her fingers and hands it over.
It’s amazing how comfortable she is around me.
Well, not just me, but everyone. Her hair seems to be a common topic she enjoys discussing.
The restaurant hostess was practically swooning over Sapphire as we walked in, chatting with her like they had known each other forever.
In comparison, it takes me a while to get to know people.
My brothers think I’m the serious one, but in reality, I’m not.
It’s just that they are more spontaneous than I am, especially Max, who is a daredevil and enjoys jumping out of planes in his free time.
My stomach does a back flip just thinking about what would happen if the parachute failed. Nope, that’s not for me.
I hold up the headache device and examine it to distract my spiraling thoughts.
No way is the thing that looks like a woman’s clit vibrator going to help me.
“Trust me, Elijah.” Sapphire places her hand on my thigh, making me flinch from the intimate contact.
I look up and study her face, her pupils holding me prisoner. They look like they’re painted in the deepest blue and sprinkled with flecks of silverish white. They resemble what sapphires with moonstone trapped inside would look like.
I gulp and correct her again, “It’s Eli.”
A small tug pulls at her lips. “Eli, trust me.” She nods, gesturing for me to place the acupressure clip between my fingers as she showed me, before her hand slides off my leg.
There’s so much kindness within her, it practically takes center stage.
Without a word, I place the device between my fingers and do as she asks: trust.
Splaying her fingers, she says, “Five minutes. That’s all it takes.”
That’s a big promise. How can five minutes cure a headache I’ve had for longer than I can remember?