“Sure do! You want one?”
“I want two!” Jake declared. “We're celebrating.”
“Oh, yeah?” The server noted our orders on her pad and grinned. “What we celebrating?”
“His recovery,” I said. My throat closed up and my eyes watered as I added, “From cancer. We just got the news today that he's clear.”
“Oh, sweetie!” I thought she was speaking to Jake, but the server laid a hand on my shoulder. “You want a tissue?”
“Oh, God.” I swiped at my eyes. “Sorry.” I smiled at her. “No, I'm good. It just hit me that he's going to live.”
She looked from me to Jake. “Whoa. Must have been terrible.”
“I've been battling it for a year and a half, but these last few months, I've been hospitalized,” Jake said as he reached across the table and took my hand. “My girl stayed by my side the entire time. I was dying. It got real bad. And she still stayed. Then, suddenly, I recovered. It was a miracle. The doctors can't explain it.”
I sniffed and laugh-cried. “Damn it, Jake, you're gonna make me cry for real.”
“Oh, my goodness!” The server declared. “That's so romantic. And so moving.” She turned to address the whole restaurant. “Hey, everyone! We've got a cancer survivor here.Over a year of it, on the verge of dying, and he miraculously recovered! They just found out today.”
The diners cheered and applauded.
“And his lady stuck by him through it all!” the server added. “You hear that, men? That's a good woman, right there. That's what you want to be looking for.”
“You got a sister?” some guy shouted.
“Oh, pipe down, Jerry!” the server said and laughed. Then she noticed my red face. “Oh, sorry, sweetie. I shouldn't have made a spectacle of you. Desserts are on the house.”
“Oh, that's okay,” I said. “You don't have to do that.”
“Nonsense.” She patted my shoulder, then squeezed Jake's. “Congratulations to you both.” She leaned closer to Jake to say, “You'd better snatch this one up, honey.” Then she went off to get our food.
Jake grinned at me even as he half nodded at the people who were still calling over their congratulations. Friendly little town, wherever we were. Somewhere in Idaho. On the way to Montana. Oh, fuck me. I needed to focus, or I was going to wind up in fucking Montana. What the hell was in Montana? Mountains, going by the name. Cowboys, maybe? Did they have cowboys in Montana? Was it even safe for a black man to visit? As far as Washington went, the further inland you went, the more racist people got. I think the sea air helped to clear that shit out of a person.
Not that I had suffered any racial intolerance personally. I was as white as you could get. Hitler would have loved me. But I had experienced some racism when I was out withJake. I offended racists. To them, I was a traitor. Being blonde and pretty somehow made it worse. Like their poster girl had switched sides.
Ugh, they made me sick. But that had been a rare occurrence in Spokane. Really rare. And when it happened, people around us jumped to our defense. Would Montana be like that? Maybe. The world was improving on that count, but I wasn't naïve enough to believe it was happening everywhere. And I didn't want to find out if Montana was woke. I just wanted to go home. With Jake.
“Babe.” I squeezed his hand before he could draw it away. “I want to go home. Don't you want to see your family? They're going to be so excited.”
“They already know. Jackie brought Silas to me, remember? She's told them the good news.”
“Silas. Right. So, religion is more important than your grandma?”
Oh, that struck a nerve. Jake's expression rippled. For a moment, I was right back to wondering if Wes Craven was about to start directing my life. Jake didn't look like Jake.
“I'll call her,” Jake finally said, his expression settling into peace.
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat.
“Here you are!” the server declared as she set our treats down. “Enjoy, you two.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, sending her a quick grin. Then I looked back at Jake. “Come on, Jake. You know a phone call isn't enough. Your gran is gonna wanna see you. How canyou run off like this? At least spend a few days with your family before—”
“Indie, he saved my life,” Jake interrupted me. “He. Healed. Me.” His grip tightened. “Like Jesus. But he's not Jesus. He's God. Here, on Earth. I need to be around him. Please. Just for a little while. He's God, Indie.God. The guy who made the whole fucking world! I know you don't believe it, but you will.” He let go of me. “That being said, I understand if you want to go home. I won't stop you. You can take the car. I'll get a bus or something. I'll be fine.”
I gaped at him. “You want me to leave?”
“No! Of course not. I want you to come with me. But I'm not going home, sweetheart. I can't. I need to see him again. Wouldn't you want to? If you had been healed by God and you had the chance to be around him, to live with him, wouldn't you go?”
