Page 7 of The Marriage Mission

With his flashlight in hand, Noah peered closer, assessing each connection and junction box. The wiring, though outdated, had been laid out with a precision that spoke of a time when people took pride in craftsmanship. It was a far cry from the haphazard, often reckless installations he'd encountered in his military career, where urgency often trumped accuracy.

A buzzing in his pocket had him pulling out his phone. He flipped the top open and had to wait a moment for the graphics to load. Though Noah liked his wiring up to date, he preferred to keep on hand one of the oldest models of cell phones. Finally, the screen on the flip phone updated to reveal a series of text messages. The letters came through okay, but then there were boxes around question marks as the latest emojis had no place to land in his outdated device.

Being kept out of the emoji loop didn't bug him. Noah smugly watched as his friends frantically updated their phones until the devices were no longer of use, and they'd have to go buy a newer model. Not him. If it ain't broke, don't fix it might apply to his phone, but it wouldn't work with the wiring. The county would fine the restaurant if it didn't do the updates. Noah not getting emojis wouldn't hurt anyone. A wire misfiring because it was out of date could kill.

Looking down at his phone, he saw more letters. Those letters formed words. The word bubbles popped up, moving quickly as different people on the text chain chimed in. The text thread announced a reunion for the remaining members of his old unit.

A tremor went through Noah's fingers. He balled his hand into a fist until the trembling stopped. He held on to the clench, refusing to let the memories take form at the front of his mind.

Noah tapped at the face of the phone until the mute conversation feature came up. His thumb hovered over the choices: mute for an hour, mute for the day, mute indefinitely. He chose indefinitely and slid the phone back into his pocket.

Once the chatter on his phone was silenced, his mind returned to quiet. Once his mind returned to quiet, Noah got back to work. Once he got back to work, he saw the path to the finish line for this job. He'd beat his estimated completion date by at least a few days.

The realization that his time in Chow Town would draw to a close sooner than anticipated cast a shadow over his work. The prospect of leaving, of not seeing Jacqui's fiery determination and passionate focus in action, filled him with an unexpected sense of regret. Each glimpse of her, whether issuing commands in the kitchen or navigating the challenges of running a restaurant, had drawn him in, revealing layers of her character that intrigued him more with each passing day.

"You could come home."

The voice was Jacqui's. She sounded like an angel, but she lured him like the devil. He could follow her. It wasn't as though he had a home to go to. He spent his days working jobs. His nights were spent in cheap hotel rooms or on campgrounds. He preferred not having a place to belong. But if that space came with the amenities of Jacqui Chou's smoky voice, he might never check out.

"I know you're working hard, but it's just that I miss you so much."

Noah took another step toward that voice. He wouldn't have admitted it first, but he'd somehow missed her, too. She hadn't been far from his mind since that first encounter. His fingers still held the memory of her flesh in his. It was a sensation he didn't think he'd ever forget.

"No, no, no. It's nothing like that, sweetie."

Sweetie? Jacqui was on the phone with a sweetie? A growl emanated through the space as Noah envisioned his hands around the neck of any man that dared get close to Jacqui.

"Wait, Jami, I think I hear a dog."

Noah pressed his back to the wall as Jacqui came out of her office, cellphone pressed against her ear. It was a newer model. Likely the most up to date so that she could talk to Jami and get all the emojis. Including the new ones with cats with heart eyes.

"I must be hearing things. James, babe, I know you're out there living your dream. And you're doing so much for the restaurant, bringing back authentic recipes and regional ingredients. I just think it would be nice to have my sister home."

It was her sister. Sweetie-babe was Jacqui's sister. The tightness that had formed in Noah's chest loosened its grip.

"No, no, no, everything is fine."

Noah noticed every time Jacqui saidnothree times, her voice pitched a little higher. It sounded like she was reaching for the panic button to him.

"The restaurant is great. Jules is great. I'm great and… Nãinai? Oh, she's… great."

Another high-pitched panic sounded on that last word. Noah remembered Jacqui speaking on the phone with her grandmother about a man getting his hands on the restaurant.

"No, no, no. Everything's great."

She was lying. She was in his line of sight now. He could tell a lie when he saw it, as well as when he heard it.

Noah's military background had honed his observational skills, making him particularly adept at noticing the subtle tells that someone might be lying. As Jacqui came into his line of sight, speaking animatedly into her phone, her body language spoke volumes to him, even if her words were meant to obscure the truth to her sister on the other end of the line.

There was the rapid tapping of her foot, a rhythmic and unconscious motion that betrayed her nervous energy. Her fingers were twisting a strand of her hair, winding it around her index finger repeatedly then releasing it only to start again. Every so often, her eyes would flick upward, as if seeking validation or the right words from the ceiling.

Perhaps the most telling, however, was the way she bit her lip at the end of her sentences, chewing on it briefly as if to hold back the real words she wanted to say. This action, combined with slight hand gestures that seemed to swat away an invisible annoyance, painted a clear picture for Noah: Jacqui was definitely not telling the truth.

"You don't worry about a thing. Just enjoy Shanghai and send lots of pictures. I love you, too. Bye."

Jacqui pressed the phone to her forehead. Noah wanted to smooth out the worry lines there.

She was in some kind of a bind. Noah's mind worked to unravel the cause, much like methodically tracing the path of tangled wires to find the source of a short circuit. It was a bind that had to do with a man and her restaurant and her grandmother.

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