Page 66 of The Facilitator: Part 2
Sandra and I walked ahead. She pointed out friends of theirs and I laughed at some of their anecdotes. She looked over hershoulder.
“Come on, old man,” she said, beforelaughing.
“You were his nurse, Mackenzie told me,” I said, curiosity getting the better ofme.
“The elephant in the room, huh?” she replied. Ifrowned.
She shoulder bumped me. I really wasn’t sure how to respond, and then shelaughed.
“Yes, I’m exactly thirty years younger than Mack. I was very young and only just licenced when I worked with him. That was a long time ago. I liked him, he made me laugh, I made him laugh, and we decided to make each other laugh from thenon.”
I guessed her to be about forty years old. I wasn’t sure if Mackenzie ever told me how old his father was, but he looked to be in his seventies. Still, if it made them happy, as Mackenzie said, who were we to comment? I could imagine, after losing his mother, having his father take up with someone the same age as his son would have caused Mackenzie a lot of pain. I thought, in that moment, his father a little selfish and I understood how Mackenziefelt.
“I was just curious about you being a nurse,” I lied. She was kind enough not to acknowledge thelie.
“Tell me about you, Lauren,” sheasked.
We chatted about my job; I altered how I’d initially met Mackenzie, hoping he’d do the same. Perhaps we should have concocted a story some timeago.
“How are you likingCharleston?”
“What I’ve seen so far, I love it. I can’t imagine how it must make Mackenzie feel every time he leaveshere.”
“Often, he can’t wait to leave. It brings back sad and bad memories for him, but this time, with you, who knows? Maybe Mack will get to see more ofhim.”
I didn’t want to answer that, nor did I want to get involved in why Mackenzie didn’t visit his father thatoften.
“Here we are,” she said. We paused to let the men catch up. “I’m sorry it's the diner, but it’s a thing those two have. Mack doesn’t like to be paid for, and he doesn’t like his son to pay for him evenmore.”
“The diner is fine with me,” Iresponded.
We walked in and were immediately greeted by Ed. A large man, with the longest beard I’d ever seen, walked over and gave Sandra a bear hug. In fact, Ed could have the same stature as a bear. After he’d hugged her, he was introduced to me. I held out my hand to have it waved away. I squealed as I was lifted from the ground in a hug. I could hear Mackenzie laughing behindme.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ed,” I said, when he finally set me down on thefloor.
He shook hands with Mack and patted Mackenzie on the back, as you would a child. We were shown to a booth near a window and I slid across the black leather, Sandra followed in besideme.
Mackenzie was encouraged to sit opposite me. “So he can’t rush to pay for the meal,” Sandra whispered. It all seemed a little unnatural andcalculated.
I scanned a menu I picked up from the Formica tabletop. I wanted to laugh at the menu. Every single nationality was catered for from traditional burgers for the locals to Thainoodles.
“What an eclectic menu,” I said, scanning with no idea what to choose. I placed it back on the table. “I think you can choose for me, Mack, since you eat hereoften.”
“Wise young lady you got there, Son,” he said, without looking up atMackenzie.
Food was ordered, a lucky dip by the sounds of it. A jug of water and four bottles of beer were placed on the table and we clinked glasses before sipping. The beer wasn’t cold or strong enough for me to enjoy it fully, but it made a nice change from fancy restaurants and posh wines. It took me back, pre-Mackenzie, when a cheap bottle of plonk from the supermarket got me through a lonelyevening.
I listened to Mack tell us what he’d been up to the past few months. How the seasons changing affected his breathing, and the minute Mackenzie showed any concern, it was waved off. I imagined Mack to be a frustrating man. He told Mackenzie of his ills yet then denied his concern. I decided it was time to change thesubject.
“Tell me about this town,Mack?”
He spent the next twenty minutes giving me the history of the place, a description of the significant buildings, instructions to Mackenzie to be sure he took me to see them forreal.
Dishes were placed on the table, and I waited until what I could only describe as a chilli was pushed towards me. I stared at it, not sure what to make of the pungent smell. It seemed to be a mix of lemon grass and garlic. I picked up a fork, and with everyone watching me, I spooned the smallest amount into my mouth. I chewed, my eyes watered, and I reached for my glass of water. I wanted to swallow, I tried so hard to but my body was on lockdown. No fucking way was that level of heat about to hit my stomach, and I was pleased. I was more so when Mackenzie handed me anapkin.
“Spit it out,” he said. I gladlydid.
“What on earth is that?” I said, and then felt terriblyrude.
