Jim, on the other hand, just informed listeners that I was all talk and no work as often as he could. I tried to lay it on thick and get him back on my good side. “This is the man behind the scenes who always makes me sound good,” I would say. Most people never even glanced in his direction, but one older lady seemed to only have eyes for him.
Thankfully, Jim was married or I might have been able to add matchmaker to my resume.
By the time the broadcast was over, I started to feel the hard work sinking into my bones. Being out in the public was fun, but it was tiring too. I shook hands with dozens of people and plastered a smile on my face for hours on end. I stood by the table and talked on the air as people watched me. It was not something I was sure I would ever get used to doing. I enjoyed it, sure, but I was used to talking in a room by myself with no visible audience.
I felt Jim stir beside me and grunt as he looked at his watch for the third time in 10 minutes. The broadcast had been over for five minutes and he was itching to pack up and hit the road.
I was trying to talk a group of listeners into buying concert tickets at the door for that night’s event, which surprisingly was not quite sold out yet, when Jim started to pull wires from the board and pack up.
Once I was done schmoozing, as Jim sometimes called it, I went over to the counter and asked for Cal.
“Wow, Jared,” he said as he leaned on the side towards the kitchen with his big elbows. “This was more than I ever expected.”
“It was fun,” I said, glancing around the diner and taking in the excitement that still permeated the restaurant.
“Will you come to the new place? For the grand opening?”
“You name the time and date and I’m there,” I said.
Cal nodded. “Good, I’ll contact Marjorie.”
Marjorie was the sales person in charge of Cal’s account. She was also in charge of collecting the fees from Cal so she could pay me for the extra time I had put in.
Cal took one more look around the room and then pulled a check out of his front pocket. “Here,” he said. “I know I’m supposed to mail it to Marjorie, but if you could just save me the trouble.”
“Of course,” I said, taking the folded check and slipping it into my front pants pocket. “Not a problem.” I didn’t look to see how much the check was for because I didn’t even know what he owed.
By the time I got back to the table, Jim had cleaned up all of the equipment and stacked the boxes neatly off to the side.
“I’m not doing yours,” he said, tilting his head to my table of window stickers.
“I would never even ask,” I said, giving him a cheesy grin.
“Humph,” he said, waving his hand in my direction as if to brush me off.
Once all of the items were off the table, I bent to pick up the box and carry it out to the ambulance.
“I can take a short break now,” Chloe said behind me. “Cal said it would be okay since the afternoon shift came in early to help with the crowd.”
Chloe. In all of the excitement I had completely forgotten that she and I were going to talk.
“Great,” I said, trying to hide my error and pretend as if I had been looking forward to it all morning. “Let me just get rid of this,” I hoisted the box up a little higher and headed out to the ambulance.
“That everything?” Jim grumbled as I carried my one box to the vehicle.
“I think so,” I said as I surveyed the rest of the boxes in the opened back of the ambulance.
“Let’s go, then. I get paid by the hour for these things.”
I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for what was to come. “Actually,” I said as Jim crossed his arms. “I’m going to need to stay.”
“What do you mean you need to stay? They paying you extra for something I don’t know about?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I’d never cut you out, Jim.”
“You better believe it,” he muttered.
“I just ran into a…a friend and we’re going to catch up for a few minutes.”
“This friend,” Jim began, moving one hand up to his chin, “it’s a girl, right?”
I put my hands in my pocket and shuffled my feet. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”
“You guess so?” Jim grimaced. “Either she is or she isn’t. What’ll it be?”
“She is,” I said. “Of course. She is.”
“It’s settled then,” he said. “Hand over the keys to this blasted contraption. I’m leaving.”
“You’re going to drive the ambulance?”
“What choice have you left me? I’m certainly not going to stick around and watch you flirt.”
“I’m not flirting…”
“I don’t care what you’re doing, just give me the keys.”
I dug the keys out of my pocket and handed them over. I watched as Jim hoisted himself into the driver’s side, cranked the battery like a pro, and backed out of the prime spot we had chosen when we first arrived that morning.
I no longer had a ride back to my car, but at least Jim hadn’t gone off on a tirade.
I chuckled as I turned back to the diner. Jim was quite a character. He had a gruff exterior and a grumpy attitude, but inside, he was just an old softie.
As I made my way back through the front door, I hoped that Chloe and I would have a chance to chat for a few minutes without interruption.
I surveyed the restaurant and saw Chloe behind the counter, filling another order. I approached the counter slowly, not wanting to get in the way. When she saw me making my way through the diner, she gestured me around the counter.
“This way,” she said, heading back towards the kitchen. “Cal said we could relax in the break room for a few minutes.”
Perfect. We could get out of the way and have some privacy. I would figure out how I was going to get back to my car later.
The break room was small and the floor felt sticky, but it was quiet. Chloe pulled out one of the red, plastic chairs and collapsed off her feet.
“Tired?” I said, knowing what the answer would be as I pulled the other chair out from under the small circular table.
“Exhausted,” she said. “I haven’t seen a rush like that since I’ve been here.
“And how long has that been?” I asked.
“Only about a month.”
“Cal speaks highly of you. He says you’re the best.”
Chloe smiled. “Cal is such a sweet man. He’s really come through for us.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, leaning forward in the chair.
Chloe glanced at me and then down at her hands, which she had piled in her lap. “When I needed a job, he gave me one, that’s all.”
“I see,” I said, not wanting to push the subject too much. “How do you think the birthday party’s going?” I asked, trying to bring the subject back around to Ian.
“It hasn’t started yet,” she said glancing at the wall.
Of course, it was only 10 o’clock.
“But I bet he’ll have a great time.”
“Who wouldn’t,” I said, easing myself back in the chair and making another noise. “I wish I got invited to parties like that.”
“You don’t?” Chloe asked, a look of mock surprise on her face. “What about all those concerts you attend?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Yeah, those are fun, but that’s different.”
“How?”
“When I was young, life was simple. All it took to entertain me was a small party favor bag and a couple of balloons, you know?”
Chloe nodded, her eyes clouding over a bit. “I know all too well.”
I hadn’t meant to make her sad. I was trying to distract her from her worries, not bring them up again. I needed to act fast.
“Hey, you wouldn’t want to take Ian…to the concert tonight…would you?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, removing one of her shoes and rubbing her foot with her thumb.
“I mean they always give me fo
ur tickets but I only need one.” I didn’t want to admit that I never used any of the others unless my parents happened to come into town. And now, with my father gone, it was unlikely my mother would come for a rock concert any time soon.
“I don’t know…” Chloe said, a worried expression on her face.
“I have three tickets,” I tested. “You can bring someone else. Your husband…a boyfriend.”
Chloe looked at me with a shocked expression and stopped rubbing her foot. “No,” she said a little too quickly. “That’s not possible.”
I shrugged. She hadn’t exactly said there wasn’t anyone, but she had certainly made it clear that she didn’t want to invite him. If there was a “him.”
“It’s really nice of your to offer,” she said and I steeled myself to be turned down. “You’ve done so much for us already.”
“What the car?” I said. “That was nothing. You don’t even use it anyways.”
Chloe chuckled and I knew we were back on track. “If you only knew how much we really did use that thing.”
“I think I can tell,” I said, remembering that the old beater had hundreds of thousands of miles on it.
Chloe smiled. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I asked.
“Okay, we’ll come. We might not be able to stay the whole time. Ian is probably going to be pretty tired. But I can’t pass this opportunity up for him. He’s never been to a concert.”
“Never?” I asked incredulous. It seemed preposterous to me since I attended them on a regular basis. “He hasn’t lived until he’s been to a concert!”
The sad look returned to Chloe’s face as I realized what I had said. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Chloe must have known what I was about to say. She held up her hand to stop me. “No,” she said in a quiet voice. “You’re right. He really has barely lived at all.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I left the diner that afternoon soaring and sad at the same time. I was ecstatic that I was going to see Chloe again. Not because I was interested in her, but because she really deserved a break from her everyday life. And I was excited that she was bringing Ian to the concert. I would get to see the little guy experience the bright lights and loud noises for the very first time.
As I sat in the back of the cab I had called to pick me up and take me back to the station, I thought about the arrangements I had made with Chloe. I would drop her tickets off at the will call window since I had to be inside to set up and we would meet in row 2 after I introduced the group on the stage.
It wasn’t an intimate setting. It wasn’t even a date. It was just me doing another favor for this mom, who I barely knew.
The cab driver turned on his left signal, which clacked noisily as if it needed its own muffler. I wondered why I wanted to do things for Chloe. What was it about her that brought out this side of me?
Apparently, I didn’t think it was enough to fix everything that was wrong on her car without her even asking. I had to invite her and her son to a concert as well and see if I could meddle any further.
I could still picture Ian’s wispy blonde hair and freckled face. His mother said he wasn’t going to have the second surgery he needed and for whatever reason, I needed to know why. I wanted to fix things for him. It wasn’t fair that I had gotten so many years on the planet and he had been allowed so few.
I smiled as I thought of Chloe’s excitement when I waved goodbye. She had been to a concert before, but not very many. I knew she was more excited for her son than for herself.
The cab lurched to a stop as I planned out the rest of my day. By the time I got back to my car, tended to a few things in the office, and made it home, I wouldn’t really have much time. After a long morning in the diner, I felt like I needed a warm shower. I smelled like bacon and eggs and that didn’t go over well at rock concerts.
Once I got home, I would climb into the shower, and then go directly from there to the couch. I wanted to be fresh for the evening’s events, for both the listeners and Chloe and her son.
I heard the turn signal blare again as the cab pulled into the station parking lot. The ambulance was parked haphazardly in its normal spot. I could tell Jim had left it in a hurry, though I was sure he had already unloaded the equipment from the back.
I paid the driver, stepped out of the cab, and strolled across the parking lot to peek inside the vehicle. It was sunny and the blacktop was hot. I couldn’t quite feel the steam of its heat on the soles of my feet, but I knew it was close.
Once inside, I answered a few emails. Then, I opened my desk drawer to grab a pen and found Abigail’s book staring at me.
So I hadn’t gotten a chance to read it yet. That didn’t make what I had felt for her any less real.
I then let Abigail’s face envelop my thoughts. The way her hand felt in mine…the way her teeth permeated her smile…the way her curls bounced over her shoulders. I was falling fast.
I thought about calling her, but then I remembered I had told her I would call Sunday and I didn’t want to seem too anxious. I wanted to do what I promised.
I closed the drawer guiltily, knowing that I was not going to read the book that afternoon.
I swiveled around in my chair and stood to leave in one fluid motion. I was looking forward to my afternoon of solitude, though the hours were dwindling and I wouldn’t have all that much time left to shower and lounge.
More than that, though, I was looking forward to the concert. I couldn’t wait to see Chloe’s reaction and I dreamed that her son’s eyes would light up as the sounds met his ears. There might not be much I could do to change Chloe’s situation, whatever it was, but at least I could give her tonight.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I showered and I lounged, as planned, though I had to shorten my lounging time in order to make it to the concert venue an hour before the doors opened. The afternoon guy was driving the ambulance over to the stadium with all of the promotional items we needed. I just needed to be on hand to help unload and set up.
I managed to get to the stadium a few minutes early so I sat in my car and thought about how things might go that evening. I hoped that I would have the energy I needed to schmooze with the listeners. I really wanted to save the best of myself for Chloe and Ian. It was going to be a different kind of experience attending a concert with a little family.
I saw the ambulance arrive, though I heard it chugging through the parking lot first. I waited for Ricky, the afternoon guy to pull up right in front of the stadium and park in a slanted, well visible location.
I jogged over to the ambulance and waited as Ricky got out and came around to unlock the back doors.
“Hey man,” Ricky said. “Ready for tonight?”
It didn’t matter what Ricky said, he couldn’t turn his radio voice off. Some people sounded different on the radio than they did off. Ricky always sounded the same. When he talked about his weekend or a movie he had just watched, all you had to do was close your eyes and it was like you were listening to him on the radio.
It was sort of a strange phenomenon and he was often the butt of friendly jokes because of it. “Ricky Radio,” we would call him.
“Sure thing,” I said.
We began carting things into the stadium. We didn’t need all that much. Just the promotions box and a few banners, but it still took us each two trips.
Once we had everything inside, we were led to a long table near the entrance. We would set all of our things up there and hang out with listeners as they came in for the concert.
The concert was going to be a first for me in a number of ways. Not only was I going to have guests other than my parents, but I was going to be enjoying the music of this particular band myself in person for the first time.
The band was called simply “This” and I often wondered how they had chosen such an obscure name. I hoped I would get to ask them backstage before I introduced them to the crowd.
“This” had a reputation for crossing many different musical
lines. They were a rock group, first and foremost, but they were also becoming very mainstream. They were even inspirational and some of their songs had been picked up by Christian radio stations.
I was excited about hearing them live because “This” had touched my own life. Their latest song, “Home to You” was more of a ballad and it was something I couldn’t seem to stop hearing when I was home tending to my father’s funeral details.
It was a tough song to hear because it brought up a lot of emotions, but at the same time, it was so hauntingly beautiful.
Ricky and I set up in record time and he managed to wrangle a chair from another table so he assumed his favorite position-leaned back, feet on the table, hands behind his head.
“What’s new man?” he asked. It was another one of his habits. Everyone was “man,” even women.
“Not much,” I shrugged. Not wanting to get into details about Abigail, Chloe, or anything else I had going on in my personal life. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem. Ricky was also the type of guy that could talk about nothing for hours on end without noticing that no one was listening.
When Ricky began to wonder out loud why the leaves on trees were only certain colors instead of involving all of the colors of the rainbow, I began to hope it was about time for the doors to open.
I got my wish and shortly after Ricky decided fall would be even better if there were purple and blue leaves on trees, the stadium security began unlocking all of the doors to let the crowds into the venue.
The seating was all assigned, but people were too excited about this concert to wait until the last minute. Plus, many of them would want to buy merchandise and browse some of the promotional tables that were set up.
The flow of listeners steadily streamed past as Ricky’s laugh rang through the hallway and I shook too many hands to count.
God In The Kitchen Page 5
