Chapter 6
Dina
"You sure you’re doing alright, Dina?”
Pam was leaning on the counter next to the grill, watching me as I scrubbed at the counters for what had to be the dozenth time that day. I lifted my head to look up at her, plastering a smile on my face in the hopes of passing for convincing this time.
"Yeah, I’m fine," I replied. "Why?"
"You’ve just seemed a little...quiet today, that’s all."
"It’s been busy," I pointed out. "I’ve had a lot to do."
"I get that," Pam replied, but she was still studying me, tapping her finger against her chin as though not convinced by what I was trying to sell her. And I knew I couldn’t sneak anything by this woman, try as I might.
She knew me too well. We had worked together at the diner here for the better part of the last ten years, and she could always sense when there was something off, even when she was the last person I wanted to talk to about any of this.
Though, to be quite honest, I was hardly in any kind of rush to speak to anyone about what happened with Felix the other day.
After he paid up our account at the store, I let my mom think that I was going to let it slide, take it as the act of kindness it was so clearly intended to be.
But instead, as soon as we had gotten out, I had withdrawn nearly all the money in my account to pay him back.
And he had accepted the money, eventually.
Or, at least, he had stopped trying to thrust it into my hand again, as he insisted that he didn’t want a cent of it.
I got it, I really did, this money to him was nothing.
He could hand it over and not have to think twice about it.
But I knew all too well what it meant to be in debt to someone, I had seen what it had done to my father, and I had always promised myself that I wouldn’t let the same thing happen to me.
Maybe it was unfair. But I would never forget the long nights I spent as a kid, staring at the door to the living room, where light would spill out underneath till late into the evening hours.
My father would sit up all that time, trying to figure out how to pay back the loans he had taken out because he had just been so sure that this was the investment that would allow him to break it big.
And I had sworn that would never be me. That I couldn’t let it be.
It had consumed my father, eventually broken up his marriage to my mother, and he hadn’t been in my life for years now.
Not that I wanted him here, given that I was pretty sure all he would do was try to guilt me into lending him money, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a part of me that wished I could have some kind of relationship with him that wasn’t so tainted by the debts he’d left us with.
But he had missed out on Danny growing up, on seeing the man he was becoming; on watching the weight finally lift from my mother’s shoulder as she began to relax again, the color returning to her cheeks.
He had lost it all just so he could go and prove to himself that he really did know what he was doing, even if anyone with a brain could tell that it was a lie.
I would have told Felix all of that, I think, if it hadn’t been for the way he had phrased it.
He talked to me like I was some kind of quaint charity fundraiser.
He hadn’t meant it that way, I was sure, but it’s not something I could just shake off, as much as I might want to.
Whenever I was around him, I knew that it would be hanging over the two of us, and I didn’t want him to have to deal with that any more than I did.
Mom had peppered me with questions when I had returned home afterwards, as we had unpacked the groceries together, trying to figure out a little more about this mystery man who had been so generous with us.
"You should have told me we had someone like that around!” she remarked. "Someone so willing to help out. You work too hard, Dina, you should take a bit more time off."
"I don’t need to do that," I replied firmly, as I stacked the boxes of pasta in the cupboard, gently nudging them till they formed a perfect line.
"Oh, come on, when was the last time you took two days off in a row?" she replied, planting her hands on her hips and looking at me pointedly. I hesitated before I answered, and she chuckled.
"See? You don’t even remember," she added, triumphant. "Whoever this is, I’d like to meet him. So I can thank him personally."
I could just picture how well the two of them would get on, how easily Felix would be able to charm her. No, that was the last thing I wanted to happen. As far as I was concerned, I was done with him, and I needed to keep him from getting even more entangled in my life.
"Yeah, maybe," I had replied, making sure not to commit to anything. My mom was always the kind to jump to conclusions, and no doubt she would be telling all her friends about this if she caught wind of the fact that I had been to dinner with the heir to a huge real estate empire. I didn’t want everyone in town knowing, thinking I was some kind of gold-digger. As much as I hated to admit it, my family’s money problems hadn’t exactly flown entirely under the radar, and I knew that would lead people towards certain conclusions, whether I liked it or not.
"You know, that’s us for the night," Pam told me, cutting through the little reverie I had been lost to.
"Oh, really? Already?"
"It’s nearly eleven," she pointed out. "It’s closing time. I’ve already locked up out front. You should be getting home."
"Oh, you’re sure there’s nothing else that needs doing around here?
I cast my gaze around, searching for something that might occupy me for another few moments before I had to go.
I knew that it was silly, but I didn’t like the idea of being alone right now.
I could only imagine how my mind would sink back in to thoughts of Felix, and I had done enough of that to last me a lifetime.
But I was exhausted, a wave of tiredness hitting me as soon as she mentioned closing up, and I had to stifle a yawn before I replied.
"Yeah, you know, that sounds like a good idea," I agreed. "I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"See you then."
I headed outside, and I was about to stroll out towards the road beyond when it struck me; my car was finally back from the garage, and I could drive home.
There had been something wrong with the ignition, and I had been unable to get it to start.
And had to drain another chunk of my savings to make sure I got it fixed.
But it cut a good forty minutes off my commute each way, and I needed as much time as I could to rest up and take care of my life outside of work.
I slipped into the front seat, inhaling the familiar scent of the lemon-pine air freshener before me, and put the keys into the ignition. Turning them, I waited for the engine to splutter to life beneath me. But was met with a stone cold nothing.
"Oh, come on," I groaned, silently urging the car not to screw with me like this. I just needed to get out of here already, and the idea of being alone with my thoughts if I had to make the walk all the way home made my chest feel heavy.
I attempted it a few more times, but the car didn’t budge.
I couldn’t believe it. How much had I paid to get this fixed?
And now, it still wasn’t even working? I was so annoyed, but there was nothing I could do about it right now.
I already knew that Pam would offer me a lift home if I went back inside to let her know that I was stuck here, but honestly, I didn’t really want to have that conversation with her right now.
All that time, alone in the car with her, for her to interrogate me about what was really going on inside my head?
Yeah, that sounded kind of like my idea of hell.
So, I had no choice but to get to walking if I wanted to make it home.
The air was, at least, clear and pleasant enough; the last few days of summer had gifted us with the memory of the warmth that had warmed this place all through the season, and I wasn’t going to go taking that for granted.
I headed for the road, glancing out towards the hills beyond, where I could make out the sound of the Whisper Falls thundering just out of sight.
Even at a time like this, there was something soothing about it, a reminder that, no matter what was going on in my own life, there would always be that sound rushing in the distance.
It wasn’t too far home, but my legs were already aching from a day on my feet at the diner by the time I reached the road.
I wondered if I should give my mom a text, ask her to come down and pick me up, but it was late and I didn’t want her to have to get out of bed.
She was getting older now, as much as I wanted to pretend otherwise, and she needed all the rest she could get.
I kept my feet moving, putting one foot in front of the other, and before I knew it, I had made it a quarter-mile or so from the diner, the lights dim in the distance.
Now that tourist season was coming to a close, this place was quieting down, returning back to the usual residents instead of the busloads of tourists passing to and from.
Much as it meant the diner would always be full, I liked the quiet, the ease of it, the knowledge that I didn’t have to put on that game face for anyone...
But, just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard the purr of an engine behind me.
I swiftly stepped all the way out of the road, on to the soft earth at the side, and lifted a hand to shield my eyes from the headlights so I could see who was passing by.
I expected it to be someone I knew, some friend from town, a regular at the diner, something like that.
But, instead, I found myself staring at a man I had been doing my best to get out of my head. A man who, despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t seem to get away from.
And a man who, despite it all, made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with excitement as he slowed the car down next to me and rolled down the window. Felix hooked his elbow over the open window, leaning out and raising his eyebrows.
"Need a ride?”