Page 58 of One Reason to Stay


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The Bistro was packed. Dorothy pointed to the last table. “Help yourselves. I’ll be around in a few to grab your order.”

“It’s the toast,” she said. “There are drugs in thoseavocados.”

As we took our seats, I glanced at the back as the door opened. Try as I might, I couldn’t see Simon. I could have spent the afternoon lusting after him while he cooked. If I closed my hands, I’d be able to imagine his hands on my hips as we swayed to music only he could hear.

“Seriously…” Amanda reached across the table, putting a hand on my wrist. “Are you going to be okay?”

I nodded. “You know that stage where it’s all possibilities? You’re still excited about what might be coming.”

“Then they shoo you out the window before their girlfriend shows up.”

Amanda had several stories that ended like that. I marveled at her ability to treat each situation as what it is and not what it could be. She never lost her optimistic attitude, no matter how crazy the story. I wish I could be that person. I chalked it up to the rarity of dates in Firefly and my inexperience with relationships. It served as a good argument to pick up my bags and move to the city. At least there, I’d have options.

Dorothy reappeared carrying plates. For the two years, Rise and Shine occupied the space, I don’t think I ever saw them this busy. It could be the newness, but after tasting Simon’s food, I knew the reason. He brought fine dining to our little corner of the world.

“What can I get for you?” Dorothy had ditched the pad of paper. She balanced a handful of empty plates with more grace than I’d ever possess. “She’s getting the toast, as always. How about you, Jason?”

“Damn straight, I am.”

“The breakfast sandwich and some orange juice?”

“Sounds good.” When she darted into the back, I watched the swinging door. For a second, I spotted Simon looking at tickets. My stomach did somersaults. If I were a braver man, I’d have gotten up and charged into the kitchen. I’d pin him to the wall and push all my emotions into a kiss that laid everything on the table.

“Why don’t you talk to him?”

In my imagination, I’d walk out of the kitchen, and Amanda would cheer for me as I left. With fists on my hips, I’d strike a pose and then fly off and stop crime. As the door stopped swinging, I turned back to the table to see Amanda giving me that concerned face.

“I don’t know what I’d say.” I wasn’t the brave man I imagined. Instead, I’d keep to myself and continue drowning in self-pity. The rejection hung in the air. I didn’t need it confirmed.

“You can’t sit in purgatory forever.”

I could.

The door swung open, and Lucy dashed out, holding plates. Well, I hadn’t expected this. She didn’t have Dorothy’s experience. With only a plate in each hand, she’d have to learn to balance at least three more to be on par. I wanted her to trip. I didn’t wish her harm, but I needed a small imperfection to appear in an otherwise perfect woman. When the plates touched down on the table, I realized jealousy had turned me mean.

Oh. No. No. No. Lucy locked eyes with me. She had aninnocent smile I swore hid some devious thought. Holding a couple of empty plates, she stopped by the table. My eyes went wide as I looked at Amanda for help. My sidekick was too busy undressing Lucy with her eyes. She’d be of no help.

“Fancy seeing you here,” I said. “How goes the new stack of comics?” If I could keep the conversation on Lucas, I might navigate the uncomfortable feeling in my bones.

“You’re a lifesaver. I still can’t figure out what a StarPony is, but Lucas is loving them.”

“They’re magical creatures from another world…”

Amanda wasn’t talking about winged horses. Under Lucy’s gaze, I expected her to turn to stone. Maybe if I unleashed Amanda, she’d make a convert of Lucy? Then we could go on the most convoluted double date of the century?

“They have some magical power. Everybody loves them.” I didn’t want to admit to this would-be model that I had a stack of StarPony comics sitting on my nightstand.

She leaned close enough that I inhaled her perfume. Even Lucy’s smell had an intoxicating quality. “I caught Lucas reading one this morning.”

“Really?” For anybody else, that might not be a celebratory statement. Simon’s biggest fear, the guilt he burdened, came from being absent from Lucas’s life. He feared his busy schedule had hurt Lucas, and the damage had been done. Something about the image of him flipping through the pages warmed my heart.

“Simon told me about the first time he went into the shop.” I ran my hands through my beard to hide the blush.

“If he ever wants to see how they’re made—” Amanda to the rescue. “—He can come hang out at my studio.”

Lucy gave me a slight bump with her hip. Apparently, we had moved from strangers to besties. “Everybody here is so nice. Thank you. We’ll take you up on that.”

“Order up.” Simon’s voice resonated through the Bistro. Both Lucy and Dorothy darted into the back.