Chapter Five
F elix
Branch and Brew was normally a place Felix had no trouble being at any time of day, any day of the week.
He’d designed it that way, wanting to create a space that was sleek and modern but still welcoming and comfortable for patrons.
The Spanish brown walls were soothing, set off by colorful murals of his family’s orchard as well as his cider press, and the polished light wood and black steel furniture were both aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable.
The air was a garden of aromas. Fruit mingled with hops, barely, and yeast to form a scent that was both unctuous and bright.
It was the perfect place to have a drink and spend some time with good friends, but at the moment, it was the last place Felix wanted to be.
Where he wanted to be was about two hours West in a pottery supply store, watching Autumn as she ran her hands over blocks of clay, picked up tools only to decide she didn’t need new ones, and spent hours in a place that most people would find boring after ten minutes.
Felix normally found spending time at Pottery Playground to be a bit of a chore, but that was before he realized that the most entertaining thing about that store wasn’t on the shelves, but browsing them as a customer.
Thinking of Autumn had Felix replaying the small kiss they’d shared in his mind again.
He’d kept it brief, but doing it in the first place was something Felix had felt compelled to do.
He couldn’t spend another minute of his life not knowing what she tasted like, and since they’d agreed to try a romantic relationship, he decided to test the waters.
Well, the waters were more than fine and he couldn’t wait to wade in them again as soon as Autumn got back.
Felix was smiling sappily at the thought of if Autumn would still taste like caramel like she had earlier when he kissed her again or something else from her day out when Lottie arrived for her shift.
She was wearing one of her signature looks, but she could have been wearing a garbage bag for all the attention Felix paid to her.
It took her rapidly waving a hand in front of his face to finally snap him out of his Autumn induced haze.
Smiling, he nodded to Lottie. “Good afternoon.”
Lottie looked at him surreptitiously. “Apparently,” she said, a wry smile on her face. “Now, what has the boss man in such a good mood, and can I get whatever it is you’re having?”
Felix snorted but couldn’t deny what Lottie was saying.
He wasn’t sure if he was actually glowing, but it did feel like there was an extra bounce in his step and a light trying to shine its way out from inside his chest. “Well, what I am having, I’m not sharing.
” He and Autumn hadn’t talked about who they should tell or not about their relationship status change, and letting it slip to Lottie was probably the worst thing imaginable since she lived to tell other people’s stories, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m keeping Autumn all to myself.”
Lottie gasped and covered her mouth before slapping his shoulder. “Finally,” she exclaimed before pulling him into a hug. “This is so great, and before you even say anything.” She trailed off before zipping her mouth shut and tossing the imaginary key over her shoulder. “It’s in the vault.”
Felix nodded. “I appreciate that. It’s very new and not something I’m sure we’re going to advertise right away, but I’m too happy to not tell someone.”
Lottie chuckled. “That much was obvious. I’m really happy for you guys.
” Felix saw nothing but genuine delight in her eyes and he couldn’t wait to see it in everyone else’s when he finally told them about him and Autumn.
It might be premature to celebrate before they’d even gone out on an official date, but Felix had had feelings for her for a while now.
Trying to hold them back any longer seemed impossible, like the words would burst from his mouth regardless of intent.
He was an overstuffed teddy bear, ready to bust his stitches at any moment from all of the joy and excitement trying to break loose.
Felix was still buzzing with barely contained happiness hours later.
Every time a patron walked through the door, he turned to face it, hoping to see a shock of pink hair and a smile that lit up his whole world.
He was constantly disappointed, and unfortunately the bar was slow for a Friday and offered little in the way of distractions.
He hoped either Autumn would show up soon or the after work crowd would start to pour in to help calm the jittery feeling that he had in his chest.
Felix’s phone buzzed in his back pocket, finally offering a break from the longing.
Assuming it was Autumn, he dropped his tea towel in the middle of cleaning up a spill and pulled it out.
The smile that was on his face as he expected to see Autumn’s name vanished when he saw a random number with the Seattle area code.
Maybe it was his stomach twisting into knots or his heart thumping against his chest, but something had him accepting the call when he would normally flick the unlisted number over to voicemail.
A bad feeling descended upon him as he stared at the blinking screen a moment longer before finally raising the device to his ear.
“Hello,” he said shakily. Felix wasn’t sure what told him the call would be a bad one, only that nothing good ever came from an unlisted number.
At best it would be a telemarketer, but he had the feeling this wasn’t going to be a best case scenario.
A throat cleared on the other end of the call. “Is this Felix Kemp?”
Felix nodded dumbly before remembering that the person was not directly in front of him and he needed to actually use his words. “Yes, this is he.” A short silence followed, but the few seconds where no words were uttered spoke volumes. Something wasn’t right.
“Mr. Kemp, this is Nurse Pendergast at UW Medical Center. We have an Autumn Banaszyński here and you are listed as her emergency contact.” Felix continued to nod at no one in particular, his mind snagging on Autumn’s last name.
All through school people would mispronounce it.
Autumn hated that people couldn’t ever get her name right, and the nurse on the line had done the same, giving the a’s the long vowel sound they shouldn’t have.
“It’s Banaszyński.” Felix made sure to say it correctly, even as his throat got tight and his lungs seemed at half capacity.
Something had happened, and it wasn’t good.
A hospital wouldn’t be calling him to say that Autumn popped by for some mediocre cafeteria food and dropped her phone. “Where’s Autumn?”
Felix listened to the nurse as she explained that Autumn had been in a car accident and that she was then airlifted to the hospital where she was now in surgery.
The nurse couldn’t go into more details, only advised that he get to the hospital as soon as possible.
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll be there.” Felix ended the call, a drop of water falling on the screen that he didn’t realize was one of the many tears on his face until Lottie was handing him a tissue.
Felix wiped at his eyes and nose that had also started to leak, trying not to see Lottie’s brow that was knitted together or face that was drawn as she looked at him. Seeing her looking so serious made everything he’d heard even more real when he wished it was nothing more than a horrible prank.
“What happened, Felix?”
Felix stared down at the phone that was still clutched in his hands, hoping it could explain everything to Lottie so that he didn’t have to put into words the terrible thing that had occurred, or that it would melt from his hand and he would realize this was all just a bad dream.
Neither of those things happened. This was reality, and he had to face it, whether he liked it or not.
Felix gulped and pulled Lottie toward the back.
“Um, Autumn was in an accident.” Lottie gasped as she had earlier, but this time the shock wasn’t coming from a happy place.
“I need to go to the hospital.” Felix patted his pockets before pulling out his keys, the trembling of his hands causing them to jingle.
Lottie stilled his hands with hers. “Let someone else drive you,” she commanded. Pulling out her own phone, she smiled sadly at Felix. “Who do you want me to call?”
Felix mentally flipped through his family calendar to try and remember who was available before uttering the name of the one person he knew he needed there and would be regardless of her schedule. “Can you call my mom?”
Lottie nodded and made the call. Any of Felix’s brothers or even his dad would have been an equally wise choice. All were more than capable of lending him their emotional strength and were the most supportive men you could ever come across, but right then he needed his mom.
Felix had never felt as helpless and childlike as he did in that moment, not knowing exactly what to do or how to process the complexity of emotions that had already started to run through his mind and body. Times like that called for Mom.
Lottie hung up the call and gripped Felix’s shoulder, steering him to sit on a stool before pouring him a glass of water.
Water, food, and even breathing were things that he couldn’t be bothered with at the moment, but he forced himself to drink it anyway.
He was of no use to Autumn if he was falling over from dehydration, and helping her in whatever way she would need it was his number one priority.
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