Page 71 of Caught A Vibe

I have to be honest with myself. I shake my head no.

“Exactly. So say you keep this job for a while, enjoy the stability if that’s what you’re craving. You can always keep your eyes and ears open for the next opportunity. Be ready to ride the next wave when it comes, because it will come if you keep paddling your board out.”

“I thought I was the writer. Look at you, Ms. Metaphor.” I tease to break the moment, overwhelmed by her confidence in me. She floors me with her generosity and faith. I climb out of the car and don my mask, eager to leave conversation in the car. “So, where are you taking me for our date?”

“Well, restaurants just reopened, and you once told me that your favorite restaurant in LA is…”

“Shake Shack?” I blurt out, bouncing on my toes. Penny laughs at my enthusiasm.

“Yes, Shake Shack. It’s right across the street.”

“What are we waiting for?” I take her hand in mine and squeeze it before tucking it back into the crook of my elbow where it belongs, and we hustle across the street to join the line that stretches down the block, everyone spaced six feet apart.

Chapter20

Penny

My phone keeps vibrating in my purse as I shift from side to side trying to ease the aching in my arches.

“Go ahead and check it.” Dash gestures toward my bag.

“I don’t want to.” That is a lie. My fingers are itching to dog through my purse and see what the notifications are about.

“You’ll feel better once you check.”

I sigh, knowing he’s right, and give in to temptation. Email updates from the team needing clarification or decisions made on every single item I gave them before we left. I’m so tired of this back-and-forth on everything. I switch my phone to silent and tuck it in my purse. There is nothing I can’t deal with after we’ve eaten. In fact, I’ll just handle things directly in the morning. I don’t have the patience left tonight to be polite.

“Everything okay?” Dash asks.

“It’s fine. It can wait until morning. What can’t wait is my stomach! I’m starving. Why is this line so long?” I shift feet again, trying to see and give my toes a break at the same time.

Dash rises to his toes and looks over the heads in front of us. “Someone from the restaurant is walking up the line. Maybe they are taking orders?”

I cross my fingers. I need to eat or my hanger is going to ruin the evening.

When the employee gets close, the expression on his face fills my empty stomach with dread. His words confirm the worst.

“There is no food left. Thank you for coming. There is no food left.”

He comes even with us as he’s repeating his message and I step in his path. I need answers. “What do you mean there’s no food left?”

Waiting in line for forty-five minutes just to be told to go home empty-handed pushes me past my breaking point.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’ve been keeping stock low because no one has been coming in. We weren’t prepared for the reopening because the governor didn’t give us any warning. We’ve got a delivery coming in Thursday. You can try back then.” The beleaguered employee continues shouting down the line, explaining that the Shake Shack is indeed out of shakes, and burgers, and fries.

Dash runs his hand down my arm and I jerk away, beyond pissed and not wanting to be placated. All the frustration I’ve been tamping down for weeks explodes. All I wanted to do was treat him to his favorite meal. All I needed was one night of normal. One night for things to go right.

But of course that’s too much to ask for.

The noise I make frightens the dog in line behind us into hiding behind his person.Great, now I’m scaring small animals.I cover my face with my hands as if I can hold back the sweep of emotions rioting through me. The heels of my palms pressed against my eyelids fail utterly to stop the ridiculous tears forming.

“Babe, come on. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay! None of this is okay! I’m tired of being held hostage by this virus. I’m tired of my plans being caught in the crossfire. I cannot keep pivoting and rebounding every time some new complication pops up. I needed a win here.” My voice rises in speed and pitch as I rant, letting my accumulated frustrations fly.

I totally understand all of the safety measures in place, and of course I don’t want people to get sick. But operating in a constant state of flux is exhausting, and I simply don’t have the energy left to pretend everything is fine while the world around me burns. I’m not against change as a concept. Hell, I’m CEO of a startup. I thrive in chaos. But regular chaos ebbs and flows. This is too much, too constant. And suddenly I’ve hit my limit. I drop my hands, and a few tears escape into the seam of my mask.

Dash is right there to take my hands in his.

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