Page 71 of Strangely Normal

Megan came up behind me. “Uh, table three is waiting for their order,” she said sharply.

I turned away and tried to get back to work but it was a struggle. My hands were shaking from the brief encounter and just seeing him again had sent my adrenaline into overdrive. I snuck around the corner to the kitchen to gather my composure before attempting to carry hot plates of food. I braced my hands on the work counter, closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths to calm myself, but Megan came back to find me, obliterating my attempt.

“I knew you were a snake the second I saw you,” Megan sneered. Her ridiculous drama was the last thing I needed.

“Not now, Megan.” I took one last steadying breath and steeled myself against the fact that Jude was sitting at the counter just a few feet away from the food window. Without glancing his way, I scooted to the window and grabbed the three plates, hoping they were the meals my customers had ordered.

My mind was in a flurry of emotion. Miraculously, I delivered the plates to the table without dropping them. Megan was leaning over the counter pouring Jude another cola. She had a smile plastered across her face as she talked to him. I was actually grateful that she was keeping him occupied.

The remainder of the lunch hour was a blur. Somehow I’d managed to serve my tables with only one or two casualties, including a plate of wheat toast and a jar of strawberry jam. Jude sat at the counter for an hour, and I could feel his gaze on me every time I returned to the food window. But I didn’t look at him. Looking at him meant breaking down my resistance. Of course, ignoring his presence was a bit like ignoring a giant, glowing meteor sitting in the center of the room.

Megan watched me with a hawkish stare, and I wondered how she’d managed to get any other customers served with the amount of attention she was paying to the one at the counter. From the corner of my eye, as I reset a table with utensils, I saw Jude pay at the register. Megan laughed wildly about something he said. He was leaving and I had no idea if I’d see him again. My willpower failed and I looked his way. He headed to the door but stopped and looked back at me long and hard before walking out. The breath I’d been holding flowed out of me. Megan had caught the exchange but this time looked more defeated than angry.

I was relieved when the last of the lunch rush had dwindled. My heart had finally settled to a steady beat, and the absurd trembling in my hands had finally gone away. But I desperately needed a moment alone.

“Charlie, I’m going to take a quick break,” I said and slid into the restroom. The cool water from the sink did nothing to stop the tears that burned my eyes. I sat there alone for a good ten minutes sorting out everything that was going on in my head.

At one point, I convinced myself that I’d overreacted and that I shouldn’t have walked out on them. But then I would replay the horrible moments when Jude had blamed me for everything, and I went right back to feeling justified in having left.

I stepped out of the bathroom still in a haze of mind debates when Charlie grabbed my arm and pushed me back inside. She shut the door behind her. “What on earth was that all about?” she asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“Megan is so pissed, she’s ready to spit bullets.”

“So what else is new? What hasyouin such a lather?” Charlie often didn’t make sense when she explained things, but this was silly even for her.

“Well, he gave Megan a really big tip and everything, so he must like her. But the guy didn’t take his eyes off you the entire time.” She took advantage of our cozy meeting in the crummy little bathroom to check her hair in the mirror. “And, boy, did Megan notice. She was shooting death rays out of those blue eyes of hers all the way across the dining room.”

“He tipped her big because he’s rich, and he was watching me because we know each other. I used to work for his dad.” I decided not to say anymore. I’d signed a stupid contract when I got hired on that basically told me to seal my mouth shut about the family business even after I left their employment. I was regretting everything about the job now.

“He’s rich?” Apparently that was the only piece of my confession that’d caught her attention. “No wonder he hands out twenty dollar bills like they are quarters.”

“Don’t tell Megan. It’ll only make her more rabid about him. Let her think it’s because he likes her. That will make life easier for all of us.” I reached for the doorknob hoping our clandestine meeting was over.

“Just watch yourself around her, Eden. She can be real mean when she wants, and after today, I think she’s gonna have it out for you.”

Charlie had been right about Megan’s anger. The glares she impaled me with could have cut glass. She finally finished her work and threw her apron dramatically on the hook. “I’m out of this hell hole for the day.” In case we hadn’t realized that she was mad, she made a point of smacking the door open as she left.

My shoulders relaxed. I couldn’t have been happier to see the backside of her.

“She’s not going far,” Charlie commented as she finished sweeping.

“What do you mean? Does she live nearby?” That thought bugged me.

“No, she lives across town, but when she gets a good tip, she goes next door to the bar and hangs out with some of the creeps over there. Sometimes the construction workers head over there after work to play pool and have beers . . . including you-know-who.” Charlie went to the door and peeked out. “But I don’t see his motorcycle out there, so he must have skipped it today.”

It was stupid for me to even think about it or care about it, but I wondered if Jude had been playing pool, possibly even with my new nemesis Megan, the night of the disastrous cookie party.

I helped Rick finish the pots and pans, and Charlie took off to go visit her mother. The quiet in the shop once everyone had gone was comforting but lonely. I went upstairs to shower and halfway through the torturously slow trickle of water, I decided I needed to hear my mom’s voice.

I towel-dried my hair, combed it back, and stuck some coins into the pocket of my jeans. Work had slowed across the street, and I didn’t see any sign of Jude. I locked the diner behind me and then headed to the phone booth.

I’d barely reached the first corner of the bar when Megan stepped out onto the sidewalk with two guys sporting greasy hair and an array of tattoos. She’d changed into a very small tank top and shorts. Her long nails were gripped around one of the guy’s arms.

“Ooh, look what the diner coughed up,” Megan sneered.

I ignored her and focused on my phone booth destination. She muttered something to the guys, and they all had a good round of laughter over her clever comments, whatever they were. I tucked myself into the booth and took a surreptitious glance toward the bar. Thankfully, they’d gone back inside.

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