Page 33 of Trust and Obey

I headed directly to my room in staff lodging, wringing my hands.

Oh my God. What was I going to do now?

12

DEACON

I napped through the afternoon and woke up alone for the second time that day. Kendall hadn’t made it back yet, and by the slightly rumpled state of the room, and the towels lying around, he hadn’t returned to clean either.

Well, I wasn’t above cleaning up after myself. The chore only took a few minutes, and afterward, I took out my laptop to use the next few quiet hours to catch up on some business.

By evening, Kendall was still nowhere to be found and I was getting hungry again. I ordered for the both of us once again—the taco platter because I was in the mood for tacos, and I wanted to tease him a little. If it turned out he really, really hated tacos then I’d be willing to go to the buffet on his behalf.

Finally, the knock I had been waiting for came at the door.

Closing my laptop, I practically sprung out of my chair. My smile died as I opened the door.

An unfamiliar woman looked up at me, standing beside the usual food cart. She looked down at her piece of paper and said, “Deacon Helman? I have your dinner. Um, you did place an order, right?”

I could see why she was confused. I must have been gaping like a fish.

“Yes, of course. Come in.” I stepped aside and she wheeled in the cart, clearing away the remains of my last meal from where I had put it on the kitchen counter. The sheer amount of food looked super awkward for one person, but she made no comment.

“Uh, I was hoping to—” I stopped myself before I could ask directly where Kendall was. I tried the roundabout way. “I was hoping for a massage this evening. How would I get in touch with my normal relaxation consultant, Kendall?”

“Kendall isn’t feeling well today,” she said. “But we do offer massages down at the beach until six in the evening. If you require something later, call the front desk and we can see what can be arranged.”

Not feeling well? But he seemed fine a few hours ago.

“Excellent,” I said. “I’ll do that. Thanks.”

She lifted the top for the last tray and set it back in the cart. “If you like, I can put a request for you on my way back, or—”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’d like to go for a run out on the beach first. So, my timing might be a little unpredictable.”

It was a lame excuse, but she accepted it with barely a nod. She and the food cart trundled out the front door.

I looked at the dinner for two, worried.

Kendall had seemed fine this morning, and he had certainly been energetic the previous evening. What could have happened?

The concern that he had been fired floated in and out of my mind, but I brushed it away. No, if the manager was concerned, he would have come to see me first if only to smooth over any perceived ruffled feathers.

Chances really were that Kendall was sick. I hoped he was okay.

I sat down and picked at my food, trying to come up with some excuse to justify my going into the employee lodging to look for him. Nothing came to mind.

The clock in the living room caught my eye. It was coming onto six already. I realized with another unpleasant shock that I only had a few more days left on my official reservation. The last few days with Kendall had felt like a timeless dream. Each moment frozen in time, and yet zipping by unnaturally fast.

I wasn’t ready for it to end.

As if on cue, my phone rang.

I glanced at it and saw an unfamiliar number, not in my contact list. That was interesting.

I swiped to answer. “Deacon, here.”

“Tell me, Deacon. How do you sleep at night?” came a familiar snide voice on the other side of the line.

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