Page 20 of His Best Friend's Wife
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Things were understandably awkwardwith Jamie after that fateful and dreadful night. Neither of us spoke of the incident, but it hung––silent and heavy––in the air between us making every interactionuncomfortable.
We both worked hard to keep things light and friendly, but the extra effort made our relationship feel strained and false. It was an about-face from the open and easy-going way things had felt before when we weretogether.
It felt like I had lost my best friend. Again. I was going through them as if they were easy tofind.
Realizing that I needed a project to take my mind off my own miserable love life, I decided to find a man worthy of Jamie's love. If I couldn't be the man for her, I would help her discover him. I'd never played matchmaker before, but how hard could itbe?
After spending the entire day quietly watching Jamie, I concluded that playing Cupid might be a little harder than I originally thought. The good news was that when I was focused on finding Jamie a suitable partner, I wasn't spending all of my energy missingCassie.
Jamie was natural and friendly with everyone. I was the glaring exception to her easygoing kindness, but that was my own fault. A few times, I thought I saw her flirting with a customer who might make a suitable partner for her, but each time I studied the potential love interest for her, I found aproblem.
The tall guy in the business suit was wearing a wedding ring. That was a definite no-go. The preppy guy who came in for coffee every morning winked at Josiah, the diner's busboy, so I scratched him off my mental list of potential suitors for Jamie. On my way to the restroom, I caught a whiff of the hipster in the grungy clothes and decided he was not anoption.
Even though men surrounded us, not one of them was available and worthy of a fantastic woman like Jamie. I had never looked for an eligible bachelor, but I was starting to see why women complained about a lack of options fordating.
Jamie's flirtatious and friendly manner served her well for earning tips, but it made it hard to discern who she might have a real love connection with. Manning my usual spot at the grill, I peered through the pass-through window, watching her for several days––only when she wasn't looking, of course. Sadly, I failed to come up with any viable suggestions for a potential love interest forher.
"Why are you watchin' her like a crazy stalker?" Manny's question pulled me out of myrevelry.
"I'm not a crazy stalker." I emphasized my words by giving the dishwasher's shoulder a friendlyshove.
"You better not be," he warned me, but the wide, toothy smile he gave me removed the harshness from his words. "She's too good of a woman for the likes of you." He snapped a dishtowel at my arm in response to the shove I had givenhim.
I turned to look at him then. He was gazing at Jamie like she was a hot fudge sundae with a cherry on top. "You like her?" I don't know why I hadn't seen itbefore.
"Of course." He said it like I was the densest person alive. "Jamie's the real deal,man."
"You should ask her out," Isuggested.
Manny moved back to the stainless steel industrial sink. "What would an amazing woman like her see in me? I'm just a dishwasher, man. She deserves better thanthat."
I pondered that for a moment, then said, "I think Jamie should get to decide about that." He raised his shoulders as if it was a forgone conclusion that she wouldn't be interested inhim.
"Besides, she likes you," Mannyadded.
"Nah." I sure as hell would not reveal the details of why she was no longer interested inme.
Manny went back to work spraying off dirty dishes, but I had a burr in my ass about it now. I had clear line of sight into how I could make both of their lives better. They were fantastic people, and I wanted to do whatever I could to guide them to each other. Besides, it would do me good to get outside my own head, which seemed unwilling to do anything but bask in sadness overCassie.
I had seen firsthand that Manny was a hard worker who was reliable and took his job seriously. I hadn't realized that he found his dishwashing position to be in any way inferior. I was a strong believer that everyone should take pride in a job well done, no matter what the skillset. Not wanting to insult the man or his profession, I chose my words carefully. "Have you ever thought about doing something else for aliving?"
"Of course," he answered briskly as he scrubbed and sprayed, not looking in mydirection.
The silence dragged on long enough that I realized he wasn't going to expand without prompting. "Like what?" I asked, flipping some burgers on thegrill.
"Well," Manny hesitated then shut the water off and turned to face me. "I was going to apply to be grill man until you showedup."
I suddenly felt guilty for not thinking about this before. I had been so selfishly consumed by my own situation that I hadn't thought about how my sudden appearance had affected the others who workedhere.
From Manny's perspective, I had swooped in and taken the job and woman he secretly desired. Somehow, he had managed to be nothing but kind to me. He was a true-blue, stand-up guy, and I planned to do everything in my power to make sure he got the life hewanted.
Jamie deserved to have someone who not only appreciated how wonderful she was, but also who gazed at her like Manny justhad.
Pleased at having found a selfless project to keep my mind occupied, I turned back to look at Manny. "Come take over on this spatula and show 'em what yougot."
My idea earned me one of Manny's signature beaming grins. "Thanks, Reed!" He patted my shoulder as he took over flipping the burgers and chicken breasts on thegriddle.
