Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
A NNIE
We arrive at this cozy little diner on Fourth Street, called Pat’s Diner. The server greets Jack by name and sits us in a comfy corner booth. He orders traditional pancakes with some bacon and, of course, a coffee. I decide to live on the edge and order the pancakes with marshmallow cereal baked into the batter, whipped cream on top, and a glass of whole milk. This is another reason I run, so I can eat what I want. When our food arrives, I carefully pour half of my milk over my pancakes and look up to see Jack making a mock disgusted face.
“What?” I ask. “You don’t put milk on your pancakes?”
“Um, I’m pretty sure no one, except you, puts milk on their pancakes.”
I give him a dismissive look and reply, “That’s ridiculous. I’m sure lots of people do. My dad did. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.”
He chuckles. “I’m going to have to take your word on that, Annie. There is no way I’m trying that. ”
Jack digs into his pancakes, and we make small talk while we’re eating. When he’s done with his food, he pushes his plate to the side. “So, what made you decide to move up to Elladine from Columbus?”
I’m looking down and cutting off another bite of my pancakes, and I hesitate, trying not to be awkward while I decide how to respond.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” he says, clearly noticing my discomfort.
“No, it’s okay, really. I want to,” I say. I’m surprised to find that I do want to answer, which is weird because even Janie doesn’t know all the details about what happened. I’ve not really been able to bring myself to talk about it much up to now.
“Well, let’s see.” I pause, thinking of how to word it. “It’s kind of the typical cliché heartbreak story,” I start, smiling self-depreciatingly. “I was engaged to be married before moving here. Jason and I met when we started working in the ER right out of school five years ago. Neither of us really knew what we were getting into when we took the job. TV makes it all look a lot easier than it is in real life.” I chuckle. “We kind of bonded initially over that first shock of being a new grad in the ER and became friends. After a few months, we started dating. Things were good, at least I thought they were, but I had dated very little before that and never too seriously. Anyway, we dated for almost four years before getting engaged last summer.”
Jack leans in, resting his head on one hand while he watches me. I find myself shocked at how easy it is to tell him my story and how little sadness I feel as I tell it. It almost feels very… clinical.
“We were supposed to get married this April. Jason had been picking up a lot of extra night shifts for a few months, I assumed to help pay for the wedding.” I reach across the table and take a sip of his coffee, which causes him to smile. He smirks when I make a face at how overly sweet it tastes.
“Geez, Jack, do you want some coffee with your sugar?”
“This from the woman who’s eating pancakes with sugary cereal mixed into them.” He laughs.
“Touché,” I say, smiling at him. God, he’s so damn handsome. “I digress… Anyway, one day I went into work at five a.m. instead of my usual seven a.m. because my sister had gone into labor that night. So, I wanted to see the baby before my shift. Since I had to work that morning, I stopped down in the ER to put my things in my locker and bring Jason some coffee from his favorite shop. Then I planned to head to the maternity ward to see Kelly.” I hesitate.
He sits up straight and grabs my hand. “Annie, really, I’m sorry. You don’t have to finish telling me.”
“Nope, I’m finishing, hold on.” I grab another bite of my pancakes and finish my milk. “Okay, where was I? Oh, right, so I’m down in the ER but I don’t see Jason as I walk through the main part. And everyone is looking at me with an ‘oh, shit’ look on their faces and I can’t figure out why. Then, when I’m walking to the back of the department, toward the locker room, I dial his cell phone number. That’s when I hear it ringing as I pass the Assistant Nurse Manager’s office.”
At this point, I wonder if the three glasses of wine I drank this evening at the reception have made me too loose lipped, but figure I’m committed now. I also notice that he is still holding onto my hand and stroking his thumb in circles on my palm. You’d think it would make me feel awkward, but it’s really soothing.
“So, I open the door to the office and find my fiancé having sex with the night shift ER x-ray tech,” I say matter-of-factly. “It turns out it had been going on for a few months and lots of my coworkers knew, but no one told me. To add insult to injury, I had been up for a promotion to Assistant Nurse Manager and that would have been my new office that Jason used for his… extracurricular activities. I ended things and tried to stay in the job, but I just didn’t want to be there anymore. Everything there felt tainted by what happened. Jason wouldn’t find another job, and between him and my mom badgering me to let it go and move forward with the wedding, I just had to leave.”
JACK
God, I feel like such a jerk for making her relive that, but I also can’t believe any guy would be foolish enough to cheat on this amazing woman. I catch myself as I push my hand through my hair, grabbing a chunk with my fist—something I do when I’m upset or stressed, according to my mom and sisters, anyway. I grab my coffee mug with that hand to keep myself from repeating the gesture.
“Wow, Annie, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. For what it’s worth, he sounds like a total asshole.”
She smiles a sad smile, then looks up at me with big doe eyes and asks, “Do you want to do something to make me feel better?”
Thinking I’d do just about anything to make her feel better right now, I tell her so. “Absolutely. You name it.”
She instantly goes from that sad look to a huge smile and I think I might have been played.
“Take one bite of my pancakes and see if you don’t realize what you’ve been missing out on your whole life,” she says. She’s grinning like the Cheshire cat.
It takes a solid two minutes for me to convince myself to try them, being egged on by this vixen. When I do, I’m shocked by the taste, and I give her my best smile. “Holy shit, these are amazing! Can I finish them?”
She nods, laughing, and I’m pleased as hell that she’s happy. I pull her plate to me as she puts her elbows on the table, cups one hand under each side of her jaw and says, with a glimmer in her eye, “Now, tell me why Joel Reid dislikes you so much.”
Finishing up Annie’s pancakes and washing them down with my last swig of coffee buys me a few precious moments to think of what to say. How do I explain Joel is holding on to a high school rivalry without sounding, well, high schoolish?
“Joel and I went to school together and got along pretty well for our freshman and sophomore years. We hung in the same circles with the jocks—just not best friends or anything. I played hockey and Joel was on the football team.”
“Yes, the quarterback, so I’ve heard once or twice.” Annie winks. “Now hockey, that’s a sexy sport,” she jests, with a sparkle in her eye.
Jesus, all this woman has to do is flirt with me a little and I get a semi. What am I, sixteen?
“Oh yes, the quarterback. I can’t forget that detail. So, we both had a crush on the same girl, Maggie, who was one of the cheerleaders,” I continue. “She and I had a lot of classes together and eventually started dating, which really pissed Joel off. He couldn’t grasp how she’d not want to be with him,” I say. “Maggie and I dated for the next two years, but Joel kept asking her out. He even tried to have one of the other cheerleaders lie and say she and I had messed around. It was all very immature. So, he’s hated me ever since.”
“What happened to you two? You and Maggie.”
I pause for a second, smiling up at our server as she refills my coffee and grateful for the few seconds to think about my wording before I reply .
“After high school, I enlisted in the Marines. I was set to ship out to basic training in September, barely eighteen years old. We were sure we were going to be together forever, so, in all the wisdom of our eighteen years, we did what any two honor students would think to do and we decided we should elope.”
Annie raises her eyebrows at me, and I put up my hands in a mock defensive position, teasing her. “Hold on, hold on, I’m not still married. No need to come up with another creative curse word for me.”
She laughs and throws a balled-up napkin at me, then reaches into her purse and pulls out a hair tie, twisting her mass of gorgeous curls up into a sexy, messy bun on top of her head. It momentarily distracts me. Is there anything this woman can’t make look hot?
Gaining my composure, I start again. “I was deployed for the better part of the first four years of our marriage. When I came home, we tried to make it work for two more years, but realized we had grown apart so much in that time and wanted different things. We could never bridge the distance that had grown between us. Eventually, Maggie asked for a divorce. In retrospect, she was stronger than me in that regard. I think I would have stayed, even though neither of us were happy.”
“I’m so sorry, Jack.” She pauses for a few seconds, looking a bit sad, but then smiles shyly. “Boy, you and I are just the picture of cheer tonight, aren’t we?”
I chuckle. “It’s okay, really, it was for the best and it’s been five years now. I’m healed from it and just wish her the best. And as for being the picture of cheer, I’m actually really enjoying myself tonight.”
She blushes a little, smiling at me, and I realize I’d do just about anything to keep seeing that smile.
ANNIE
Jack and I sit for a few more minutes while we wait for the server to bring the check. Jack makes eye contact with her and subtly gestures toward a man sitting out on the sidewalk.
Hmm, I wonder what that’s about.
A few minutes later, we get our check, and Jack insists on paying. As we make our way toward the door, the man from the sidewalk is now sitting at a table by the door with a cup of coffee and a plate of food in front of him. “Thanks, Jack,” he says, looking up.
Jack just pats him on the shoulder, smiles, and continues walking.
My eyes momentarily tear up when I realize Jack likely signaled the server to get a meal for the homeless man. That he knows Jack’s name means it probably wasn’t the first time. Jack Donley just got even more attractive in my eyes. I might be in real trouble with this one.
A few minutes later, we pull up to my apartment and Jack insists on escorting me to the door but also on keeping me and Bean company as I walk him around the block.I try to tell him that Beanie won’t let anyone bother me, but he insists that his mother would “box” his ears if she ever she found out he’d left a woman to walk outside in the dark at midnight—even if said woman was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
As we circle back to the house and approach the door, Jack hesitates and then says, “This might sound weird, and it’s okay to say no if it is, but would you be interested in coming to the station tomorrow for a brunch sendoff for Teddy and Emily before they leave for their honeymoon? Gracie will be there, and Bean could come, too. The station yard is fenced in so they could play.”
I hesitate for a second, thinking I probably shouldn’t, with my rule and how damned attracted I am to this man. This same man I keep saying I need to get off my mind. But then when I make eye contact with him, I answer, “I’d love to. What time, and what can I bring?”