Chapter 33 Enough Sparks
ENOUGH SPARKS
“How was your weekend away?”
Anya pivoted from where she was setting up behind the bar Thursday morning to get ready for the doors to open.
“It was excellent,” Anya said. “There is no reason to ask you how you found out about it. Grace most likely told you at your party on Saturday.”
Jolene was having a hard time not dancing on her toes.
Had she looked at the schedule to see when Anya was working again? Yep, she had. And she knew that Anya would be early to set up and give her time to gather some information.
No reason to hide anything since it was out in the open.
“That’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s always nice to get away to a change of scenery and recharge.”
“It is. I’m assuming you know we went to Charleston?”
“I wasn’t aware of where you went, only with who.”
“You should see your face right now,” Anya said. “Your eyes are all lit up brighter than a Christmas tree in a dark room.”
Jolene rubbed her hands together. “I know. I’m so excited for the two of you. I called it when I saw you walk away from Matt on the dance floor.”
Anya leaned against the bar. “How could you know that?”
“Well, there were enough sparks flying to light the sky up like the fireworks the two of you most likely watched a few days ago.”
Anya let out a sigh. “There were.”
“And now they are there in a different form,” she said. “Even better.”
Anya’s nose wrinkled in annoyance. She’d become immune to it. You had to in her line of work... hobby. Not work.
“I have to open soon,” Anya said. “But I’ve been warned about you. What do you want to know?”
“Oh my. You’re going to let me ask specific questions?”
No one let her do that.
“Maybe. It depends what they are.”
Jolene tapped her finger to her chin. She had to be strategic about this. Justin would be in any minute to start work and Anya wouldn’t answer much after.
“How long have you been dating?” she asked.
Anya grinned. “Almost two months. I’m sure you figured that out once you talked to Grace. I gave it away mentioning I was at Carowinds.”
She laughed. “I hadn’t thought much of it.”
“Yes, you did,” Anya said, pointing at her.
“Fine. I didn’t imagine you went alone and was fishing to get a name.”
“You went running to Grace with the bait to see if she’d hooked anything with Matt. Admit it.”
She loved that Anya was giving it right back to her. “Actually, Grace put it together since she’d known Matt was off the same day. She got him to spill his location at Carowinds.”
“It was easy enough,” Anya said. “No one was keeping it a secret. All you had to do was ask me.”
Her jaw hit the floor. “You mean if I brought Matt’s name up and asked if you were dating, you would have said yes?”
“Yep,” Anya said. “Oh, hi, Justin. Jolene was grilling me about my love life. It’s your turn.”
Anya slipped away behind the bar. Sneaky, but she liked it.
“How is Steph doing?” she asked Justin.
“She’s great,” Justin said. “But you’re not interested in me. I love how Anya just snuck away from you like that. She’s catching on.”
“Yeah, she is.”
Jolene left before the crowd arrived. She got more than she thought she would and would take that win.
“You can just tell her no and she won’t hold it against you,” Justin said when he walked behind the bar where Anya was finishing the setup.
“I know,” she said. “But it’s fine. It’s all in good fun.”
“Do you know who she is trying to set you up with?”
She’d said it wasn’t a secret so there was no reason to keep this quiet.
“I’m dating someone. I have been for a few months now.”
Justin frowned. “Who? Jolene would have left you alone if you told her that.”
“No,” she said, laughing. “Well, maybe she would have since the person she had in mind for me is who it is.”
Justin shook his head. “I don’t know how she does it. It’s no one here. I’d know that if it was the case.”
“It’s Matt Kelly. Ben’s brother.”
“The dude in the suit that’s been here a few times?”
“Yes. That’s him. I thought for sure you knew who he was.”
“No,” Justin said, pursing his lips. “I don’t keep track of many. I’ve seen him in here before, but never put it together with Ben. Damn. I’ve got to ask…did you know him beforehand? How would Jolene even match that up?”
“I was best friends with Phoebe, Matt and Ben’s younger sister, when we were kids. I spent a lot of time at their house. Matt and I never got along. Or it was more of the keep your enemies closer type thing.”
“Ahh,” Justin said. “Annoying older brother turned into a nice guy?”
“Something like that,” she said. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, so she pulled it out and noticed her mother calling. “Hi, Mom. What’s going on?”
“It’s your father,” her mother said frantically. “He fell off the ladder at the store. I didn’t know he got up on it. He’s hurt. The ambulance is here and taking him to the ER now.”
“How hurt is he? I’ll try to get there as soon as I can.” Justin was waving his hand at her and mouthing, “go.” She nodded, grabbed her purse and hurried toward the door. “Where is he hurt?”
“He fell and hit his head. He’s not conscious and he’s bleeding. His leg is broken. I know that. Oh God, Anya. I shouldn’t have let him come here today.”
“Don’t you dare blame yourself.” Her mother’s teary voice was ripping through her gut with a dull butter knife. “You can’t watch him every minute.”
“I know. But this isn’t good, Anya.”
“I’m in my car. I’m on my way.”
“The ambulance is leaving now. I’m at my car too. I’ll see you there.”
Anya drove at a record speed to get to her father.
This was the last thing they needed and she refused to let her mind go to the worst.
She called Matt and left him a message. He was in court today and she didn’t want to bother him, but he’d want to know too.
She pulled into the parking lot at the ER, drove around to find a spot, then jumped out and ran in. Her mother was there waiting for her.
“They won’t let me see him yet,” her mother said. “Anya, I don’t know how bad it is.”
“Let’s not think like that. He has a broken leg you said. Not the end of the world.”
Amber grabbed her hand. They were waiting in line for her to give the information about her father.
“He wanted to go to the store. It’s almost empty at this point, but he wanted to do a few things. I didn’t think it’d hurt to get him out of the house. He was having a good day.”
“Mom, don’t beat yourself up over this. You can’t stand guard over him all the time.”
She wiped a tear from her mother’s cheek and hugged her.
“I know. No one was watching him. I don’t even know what he was doing on the ladder. I went to the back to check on something. You know, just helping to clean it out for the sale.”
They should have had the staff do this, but there weren’t many left at this point.
“We can’t go back and change anything.” How she would love to have done that in her life but learned those things just didn’t happen.
“Move forward please,” an employee said.
“Mom, you’re next.”
Her mother moved forward with their insurance card in her hand, gave all her father’s information. They had their pictures taken and bands put on their wrists, then were asked to step aside and someone would come get them to let them in the back.
Their number was called ten minutes later and an aide brought them back to a room.
“Where is my husband?” her mother asked.
“They are running tests on him now. If you’d like to take a seat, someone will be out to get you when he’s done so you can see him or if they know more.”
“There isn’t anything you can tell us?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. My job is to just show people where to go. The nurse’s station is around the corner, but I don’t think they’ve got anything to report right yet. Maybe give them thirty minutes.”
Anya nodded and pulled her mother into the room to sit.
“I want to talk to a nurse,” Amber said.
“Let’s give them a few minutes. There is no reason to stand out there waiting. Take a few deep breaths.”
She was rubbing her mother’s hand and trying to get her to calm down.
Anya had never been good in situations like this. Running and hiding in her room had always been her answer.
But the past year or more of her life, she’d learned to stand up for herself. To fight back.
It was getting her somewhere now.
She looked at the time on her watch and made a note to check in at the desk soon.
“Anya, I know we have to prepare ourselves for the worst with your father in the future, but I hadn’t thought it would be this soon.”
“Shhh,” she said. “Don’t think those thoughts.”
“He’s going to be so ornery when he wakes up. And then him getting around with a broken leg. Our bedroom is upstairs.”
“Mom, stop coming undone. One minute at a time. Not even a day, just a minute. We’ll figure it out.
I’m willing to bet that he will have to go into rehab or something with his leg.
That buys time. You’ve got the spare room downstairs.
We can get a bed in there. There is a bathroom with a shower downstairs too. ”
“You’re right,” her mother said. “I need to focus on something else.”
“Then plan that.” She knew what it was like to need something else to think of.
“Tell me about your trip with Matt. Things are going well there?”
It was not what she wanted to talk about, but anything to get her mother’s mind off of what was going on.
“It was great. He’s so nice and sweet. Not at all like I remembered him all those years ago. I guess that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t have given him the time of day if he was the same.”
Like she’d left him on the dance floor.
“I always saw the good in him,” her mother said. “He was young and foolish.”
“We both were.”
“You were. Do you love him?”
“I do. It was hard to get the words out, but we did say them. It’s funny, they came out in the car drive there.”
“Did he say it first or you?”
“He did,” she said. “But I felt it. I would have said it this past weekend, I was positive.”
“Though you’re glad you didn’t have to be the one to put it out there and fear the rejection?”
“Always that,” she mumbled.
“I want to say you have changed little, but you really have come into your own. You’ve turned out to be such a strong young lady. Any man would be proud to have you by his side.”
“I’m glad few thought of that before. I would have missed this chance with Matt if that was the case.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” her mother said. “You’ve never been one to settle.”
She forced a laugh. “That’s probably why I change my careers so much. I’m not sure it’s because I won’t settle as much as not being satisfied.”
“Put whatever pretty name on it you want, Anya, but I’ve never doubted you’d find your way and what you want. Is Matt what you want?”
She didn’t want to talk about this, but if it’d take her mother’s mind off of her father for a short time, she’d do it.
“He is,” she said. “But we aren’t rushing anything.”
Amber put her hand on top of hers. “Don’t put limitations on your life. Look at your father and me. Things happen beyond anything you can imagine. Take your control and don’t give it back. I mean it. Do what makes you happy and don’t tell yourself there is time yet for things. There may not be.”
Anya put her head on her mother’s shoulder and cried. They cried together.
There was no reason to hold it back. Her mother wasn’t talking only about her father’s accident but his dementia.
All those promises and plans her parents had for the future were long gone.
She wouldn’t make the same mistake.