4. Chapter Four #2
Beth hurries off to take care of an elderly lady across the room.
I observe her, taking in her sharp sense of style.
She’s in a bright pink bedazzled top and has bangles lining her thin arms. I think it’s Judith.
Beth has mentioned her eccentric style and dramatic flair before and this woman fits the description.
Graham grabs a utensil packet from the back counter and unrolls it, taking the fork and stabbing it into the cake pan.
“Mmm.” He nods approvingly after taking a bite. “Don’t tell your aunt I said this,” he says after he swallows, his voice low, “but this is way better than hers.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Penny warns, as if it’s a competition between me and Beth.
Graham holds both of his hands up in the air and says, “Hey, just speaking the truth.” He looks at his watch and adds, “Thea, it’s great to see you again but I’ve got to get to work.
Brian is going to kill me if I’m another minute late.
” He disappears into the kitchen, leaving Raquel, Penny, and I alone at the counter.
“I suppose I should get back to work, too,” Raquel sighs. She looks around and sees one of her tables waving her down. “Duty calls,” she adds as she pushes off the counter and takes off.
Graham appears behind the kitchen window and gives me a wave with his spatula. I find it endearing and offer a small wave back.
“So,” Penny begins, “I’m having a pool party at my house tomorrow night. Just a small thing, a few of my husband’s buddies and Brian, Graham, and Raquel. You are more than welcome to come, if you’d like.”
“Yeah,” I say. “That sounds like fun.”
Penny opens her mouth to say something else but is interrupted when we hear Beth call my name.
She is sitting with the elderly woman now and they’re waving me over. I hop off the barstool and cross the diner to them, taking a seat beside Aunt Beth in the booth.
“Thea,” she says, “this is my good friend, Judith, that I’ve told you so much about. Judith, this is my niece, Thea.”
Judith beams as she looks at me and reaches for my hands. She takes them in hers and pats them as she says, “Oh, dearie, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you! Beth has told me so much about you.”
I blush, meeting strangers always makes me anxious. Judith seems sweet and Beth has mentioned her enough times that I know she really likes her.
“How are you liking Driftbay?” she asks.
“I love it so far,” I gush. “It’s a lot different than what I’m used to, but I think I’m settling in nicely.”
There’s a moment of silence at the table for the unspoken reason of why I left Seattle.
“Are you still in college?” Judith asks.
I shift in the seat. “I dropped out last semester. It just…wasn’t right for me at the time. Maybe I’ll go back and finish one day.”
Beth jumps in. “Thea’s very bright, though.”
Judith smiles. “That’s okay, college isn’t for everyone. Give yourself time to figure out what your heart truly wants.” She leans across the table. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Oh my God, you don’t have to answer her,” Beth says.
“No,” I laugh.
“Oh,” Judith pauses, “You got a girlfriend?”
“Also no,” I say.
“Nothing wrong with either.” Judith leans back in her seat and looks at Beth. “What?” she asks. “Just trying to get to know her.”
“You are insufferable,” she laughs.
The bell above the front door dings and Beth glances in that direction. Seeing Charlie, she motions for me to get up so she can get out of the booth. She hurries over to him, well past his normal visit time as I sit back down with Judith.
“There you are,” she says. “I was worried about you.” She places a hand on her hip as they stand in the middle of the diner.
Charlie rubs his face, looking like he hasn’t slept in days. “Had an early morning case I couldn’t step away from.”
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” Beth takes off for the back counter and Charlie slowly follows her to his usual barstool.
“That man,” Judith mutters under her breath. She looks me dead in the eyes as she adds, “I don’t know how, but we have got to get your aunt and that man together.
“Oh, so you’ve noticed it, too?” I ask.
“Noticed it?!” she gasps, stirring her coffee. “Honey, I may be old but I am certainly not blind.”
I laugh out loud. I can see why Beth likes her so much. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as she adds, “I think the only two people who don’t see it are Charlie and Beth themselves.”
She’s not wrong. Sometimes the people closest to a situation are the ones who can’t see it for what it truly is.
“I keep telling her to go after what she wants, but she won’t listen to me,” Judith says, feigning annoyance. “It’s simple, really. The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“I doubt she would listen to me, either,” I say. Aunt Beth is quite hardheaded.
“Well, let’s brainstorm on it, alright, dearie?” Judith takes a sip of her coffee. “And come up with a plan.”
I glance back toward Charlie and Beth. She's laughing at something he said and their heads are dangerously close together, as if they’re sharing a secret at the counter.
“Thea,” I hear. I turn around and see Penny at the counter, holding a glass of soda.
“I accidentally got root beer; do you want this?” she asks. She holds up the glass higher in emphasis.
“Sure,” I say. I bid farewell to Judith and slide out of the booth to return to the counter.
Penny hands me the glass and I take a drink of it. The carbonation tickles my nose and I scrunch it as the bell above the door dings again.
Charlie and Beth pay no attention to us and Penny reaches for the plastic bag on the counter beside her.
“Hi,” she says cheerfully as a customer walks up beside me. I turn to look and am surprised to realize it’s Jake from the beach.
“Hi,” he says, smiling at her as he reaches into his back pocket for his wallet.
“Two bacon cheeseburgers, fries, and a side salad,” Penny says, reading off the ticket from her notepad.
Jake nods and pulls some bills out of his wallet. He hands them to her and waits while she makes his change.
“Hey,” I say, getting his attention.
His green eyes slide over to me and it takes my breath away.
“Hi,” he says. I can tell he’s trying to place where he has seen me.
“Thea,” I say, trying to jog his memory, “from the beach.”
“Oh, right,” he says, shaking his head. “I remember now. The, uh, frisbee.” He gestures at his neck.
“Yeah.” I smile and feel a blush burn across my cheeks.
“How are you?” he asks. “Hopefully better than when my friends tried to annihilate you.”
“I’m good. How are you?”
Jake smiles again and I notice as his eyes dance over my body. “Better now,” he says.
Penny returns to the counter in front of us and hands Jake some dollar bills and coins. He gently takes them from her and slips them back into his wallet before returning it to his back pocket.
“So, Thea,” he says. “What do you say to getting dinner with me sometime?”
“Sure,” I say. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” Jake pulls his phone out and swipes at the screen. “What’s your number?” he asks.
I rattle off the digits and watch as he keys it into his contacts.
“How about Friday?” he asks.
I pretend to think about it, as if my schedule is jam packed.
“That should work for me.”
“I’ll text you,” he says as he locks the screen once more. He glances at Penny and nods at her. “Thank you,” he says, grabbing the plastic bag off the counter. “Thea, I’ll be talking to you later.”
I nod in excitement as I watch him turn and head back to the door. I bite my lip as I swivel back to the counter on my barstool. Penny has vanished; off to tend to one of her tables.
This feeling is new. I’ve never been asked out before and never had much interest in dating, but Jake seems sweet and he definitely lucked out in the looks department.
After saying goodbye to Beth and Charlie and offering waves to Raquel and Penny, I head out of the diner. I feel like I’m floating as I start making my way back to Beth’s cottage. So much so, that I don’t even care that it starts raining halfway home and I end up soaked by the time I make it back.
The front door shuts gently behind me and I head down the hallway to my room for a change of clothes. I had planned to spend the day curled up on the porch, reading, but after a fresh set of dry clothes, I decide to call my best friend. I feel guilty that I haven’t talked to her much since I moved.
Raindrops pound the windows and make for a soothing lullaby as I climb onto my bed and pick up the phone. I dial Ireland’s number and put the phone to my ear, waiting to hear her voice.
“Hello?” she answers groggily, after the fourth ring.
Crap. She works the night shift and I’d forgotten about the time zone difference between us.
“Hey,” I say, my breath catching in my throat, “is this a bad time?”
“No,” she sighs, “I’m just annoyed.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I tuck my legs underneath me.
“Tucker’s being annoying.”
Tucker being her five year old miniature schnauzer.
Ireland and I met during our junior year of high school when we both worked at the same little retail shop, specializing in home decor and clothing, and have been best friends ever since.
There’s nothing quite like working the same dead-end job that brings people together.
“So, how is Driftbay?” she asks. “Tell me everything.”
“Well,” I start, “I’ve made a couple of friends here. They all work in Aunt Beth’s diner.”
Ireland playfully sighs on her end of the line. “You’re going to forget all about me.”
I laugh. “I could never!”
“So, you’ve made friends. What are their names?”
I tell her about Raquel, Penny, and Graham. I also mention Charlie and Aunt Beth, and she’s just as invested as Judith is now.
“I met a guy,” I say, almost nervously.
“OH?” Ireland asks, her voice an octave higher. She was always pushing me to put myself out there and try to meet someone.
I nod, as if she can see me. “We met on the beach right after I moved here and then I ran into him again today and he asked me to dinner.”
“That’s exciting!”
“I don’t know much about him, but I have a good feeling.”