He gestures for me to sit on the corner stool and then takes the seat right next to it. An older woman with curly red hair and bright pink lipstick on both her mouth and her cheeks comes over to us smiling cheerfully.
“Jamison Errington,” she says, placing her hands on top of Jay’s that he has resting on the counter. “It’s been a long time.”
“Too long,” Jay says. “Paula, this is Claire. Claire, this is Paula. She makes the best monkey bread pancakes I’ve ever had.”
My mouth starts to water just thinking about whatever monkey bread pancakes are when Paula corrects him. “They are theonlyones you’ve had, and I don’t make them, my husband does.”
“Well it’s your recipe,” Jay says and Paula winks in my direction.
“So, what are you doing here without Mel?” Paula questions as she wipes up the space in front of us. Immediately my heart drops into my stomach. Is Mel an ex? Did he bring me somewhere he’s brought all of his other girls?
“I just thought I’d bring Claire this time.” Paula smiles, but all I can think is,will someone please tell me who Mel is?
“Two regulars then?” Paula asks looking only at Jay.
“Please,” Jay says. Then to me, he adds, “What do you want to drink?”
I stutter, still thrown off by the Mel comment. “Just a coffee,” I answer. And because my mouth is suddenly the Sahara, I add, “And a water, please.”
Paula nods sweetly. “You got it.” She turns to the beverage station and grabs two plastic cups and a coffee mug. When she returns, she puts a mug of black coffee and a cup of water in front of me and a fizzy soda in front of Jay — root beer.
Jay opens one straw wrapper and sticks it in my water, then another for his soda.
“So, are you a regular everywhere you eat or just the places you take me?” I joke.
He chuckles as he takes a long sip of his drink.
“If you haven’t noticed, I don’t love being social. So, I go places where the people know me and act accordingly. No one here or at Enzo’s is going to try to small-talk me to death while I eat my meal. Plus, I know the routine — the menu, the parking situation…” He looks at me sideways, smirking around his straw. “You know, no surprises.”
I reach for cream and sugar for my coffee as I try to sound nonchalant.
“So was Mel part of your diner routine?” I avoid looking at him because I know how it sounds. He spins his stool so his feet rest on the bottom of mine.
“Mel was a part of myliferoutine. She was my case manager while I was in foster care.” I look up and see he’s biting at his bottom lip. “Every time I moved houses, she would bring me here first. Her way of softening the blow I guess. It became our…twisted tradition you could say.”
“Oh, Jay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine, Claire.” He puts his hand on my knee. “I like that you ask questions. That you care.” He brushes his thumb back and forth and goosebumps shoot up my leg.
“I do,” I say almost too quickly. “Care.” My eyes shift from him to the counter. “Just so you know.” He inhales deeply, staring off to the side.
After a few seconds that feel like hours, he finally looks back at me. My eyes meet his and it’s like he’s piercing into my soul like he has so many times before.
“Me too, Claire.” He holds my gaze, only breaking it when Paula returns holding two large plates.
“Jack says you better not leave without stopping back to see him first.”
She puts one plate in front of each of us with three fluffy pancakes covered in ooey-gooey cinnamon goodness, powdered sugar, and banana slices. Next to the pancakes is a cup of syrup, a pad of butter, and a pile of…french fries?
I look at Jay who is already cutting into the pancakes.
“Just trust me,” he says.
And I do.
A terrifying amount I do.
37
