Ocean breeze, p.4
Ocean Breeze, page 4
“Oh my gosh, Harry Potter is my favorite too!” she exclaimed. “Have you read all seven of the books?”
“More than once.”
“What did you think of the symbolism in the last book when Harry left Privet Drive for the last time?”
They talked for the next hour until Jamie heard Jay’s voice begin to fade.
“I want you to try to get some sleep,” she said gently. “I’ll call you again in a little while.”
He agreed and their conversation ended.
Jamie called Jay two more times on Saturday and three on Sunday. She made sure he remembered to take his antibiotic and the Tylenol and Motrin. She asked him what he was eating and suggested some foods that wouldn’t irritate his throat too much. She told him not to worry about his schoolwork, promising to help him get caught up. They talked about other things too. Things that had nothing to do with school or his health, like what movies were on TV that night, their favorite pizza toppings and the clues J.K. Rowling gave her readers proving Severus Snape was friend, not foe. She spoke to him so much over the weekend it was almost as if she was there with him.
On Monday morning, Jamie arrived early to sociology. Jay was always there before her, but he hadn’t arrived yet. When she spoke to him on Sunday night he assured her he was feeling better and would be in class on Monday morning. Students started filing into class. They had ten minutes before the lecture began. Jaime got up and waited for him in the hallway outside the door, anxiously pacing back and forth, biting her thumb nail.
At last, a familiar voice from behind her said, “Are you looking for someone?” as an arm slipped around her waist.
“Jay!” she exclaimed. She whirled around, caught in his embrace.
He was smiling broadly at her. Color had returned to his face. His hazel eyes were once again bright and clear.
“You look so much better,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“I feel a lot better. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I overslept. I just got a call from Dr. Lynch’s office. The throat culture was positive. It was strep. ”
Just then they spotted Professor Seward walking up the hall. They hastily joined their classmates and found their seats.
Five
The Invitation
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A few days after Jay’s recovery, he and Jamie sat in the library working together and stealing bites of the blueberry muffins he had carefully concealed in his backpack. Ever since their breakfast in the campus cafeteria, Jay had taken to smuggling food into the library. He had a sneaking suspicion Jamie wasn’t eating three meals a day. He suspected there were some days she didn’t even eat two. He brought something different every morning: sometimes bagels, sometimes breakfast sandwiches, sometimes donuts, muffins, or fruit. He always included little individual containers of orange juice. He would have loved to bring coffee, but that was impossible to hide. If the librarians saw them with food, they would be thrown out immediately. Jamie ate whatever he brought, adding to his suspicion she wasn’t eating properly at home.
All of sudden, without any warning at all, Jay put his psychology book down and looked at Jamie across the table.
“I want to take you out to dinner,” he blurted. “How’s tomorrow night?”
Jamie swallowed the orange juice she had just sipped and stared back at him. “Where’s that coming from?” she asked in surprise, quickly stashing her container of orange juice back into the book pyramid he had constructed on their table.
“I don’t know. You’ve helped me so much. I just want to do something to show you how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me. So, how‘s tomorrow night sound?”
“Jay, I’d love to, but I can’t. I have to work.”
“That’s all right. Pick another night. How about Friday?”
“I’m working. I work every night.”
“You work seven nights a week?” he asked in surprise.
Jamie nodded.
“How long have you been doing that?”
“All semester.”
Jay stared at her in astonishment. “How are you possibly able to do that and keep up with all your schoolwork and help me with mine too?”
Jamie grinned. “I don’t sleep much. I do schoolwork every night after I get home from work. I usually don’t go to bed until around midnight.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you were so busy. I never should have let you help me so much with all of my work,” he said sheepishly.
“Jay, it’s fine. I volunteered to help you. I wouldn’t have done that if I couldn’t handle it.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you work so much?”
Jay watched Jamie carefully as she thought about her answer.
“Why does anyone work?” she chuckled after a moment. “I work to support myself.”
“Your parents don’t help you out at all?” he asked.
“No.”
“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business,” he apologized, seeing the sadness that was always a part of her come to the surface.
“It’s fine,” she grinned, shaking it off. “You don’t have to take me to dinner.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Although he was feeling much better, Jay still wasn’t back to normal, so he was careful to take it easy the next few days. Jamie did not think it was a good idea at all for him to surf in the cold waters of the Atlantic. He agreed and took the rest of the week off from work. He thought about Jamie a lot. He had been thinking about her ever since the day they first met. But now, ever since he had gotten sick, she was never far from his conscious mind. He looked forward to their time together each day. Sociology was easily his favorite class and it certainly wasn’t because he had a burning passion for the subject matter. He felt very comfortable around her. He didn’t know how she did it, but she had a knack for making him feel better about things.
He really wanted to take her out, but he didn’t know how he was going to do it. Their time together at school was limited and she worked every evening. Finally, an opportunity presented itself. He thought he’d give Jamie plenty of advance notice so she could try to get out of work early.
On Friday, when they walked to the library together, he broached the subject.
“Hey, my friend, Mike, is having a party next Friday night. It’s a guaranteed great time. Why don’t you come?” he asked hopefully.
Jamie smiled at him. “I’m sorry, Jay. I have to work.”
“That’s okay. You can come after you get off work. Mike’s parties last well into the next morning,” he chuckled. “I’ll pick you up at work and we can go together.”
“I don’t think so. I work late on Friday nights and I’ll be too tired afterward,” she said sadly.
“Well think about it,” he said, refusing to let her turn him down this time. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
He asked Jamie about the party every day for the next week, and every day she told him she had to work late that night. On Friday morning, Jay waited until he walked with her to the Kinder College to mention Mike’s party.
“So, what time can I pick you up at work tonight?” he asked hopefully.
Jamie stopped and turned to look at him. “I’m sorry. I can’t go to the party with you.”
“Look, I know you have to work late and you’ll be tired, but maybe we can just go for a couple of hours. I won’t keep you out too late. I promise,” he coaxed.
“I can’t,” she answered softly.
“Why not?” he asked disappointedly.
She mumbled, “I’m sorry,” and hurried toward the Kinder College, leaving him behind.
“Wait. Jamie!” he called and hurried to catch up. He grabbed her wrist to make her stop. When she did she whirled around to face him. To his horror, her beautiful ocean blue eyes were swimming in tears.
“I know it’s not exactly fun studying with me in the library every day. I get it. You’re pretty well caught up in all your classes now so if you don’t want to spend your breaks in the library that’s fine. You don’t owe me anything, Jay. I don’t want to hold you back,” she said defensively, wiping a tear from her cheek in frustration. “Go to the party without me and have a good time.” She turned and continued toward the Kinder College.
This was not going the way he had planned at all. Her reaction took him completely by surprise. What the hell was even happening here?
“Jamie, no,” was all he could muster.
She was almost at the Kinder College.
“Can you just stop for a minute?” he called after her, jogging to catch up. “Please?”
Jamie stopped walking and he quickly caught up with her once again.
“First of all, I look forward to our time in the library together. And second, I’m sorry I pushed so hard. I shouldn’t have done that,” he blurted quickly before she had a chance to walk away from him again. “You’re not holding me back. You are the reason I’ve gotten this far. Why would you say that?”
Jamie swiped at her eyes. “I can’t go to the party. I know it means a lot to you,” she mumbled. “I’m not like most people our age.”
“Neither am I,” he confessed, taking a step closer.
Jamie looked as though she could really use a hug. He hesitated. They had hugged before when he aced his economics exam and when he returned to campus after being sick, but this was different. He figured he couldn’t mess this up much more than he already had so he threw caution to the wind and hugged her. To his surprise, not only did Jamie allow him to do so, she hugged him back.
“There’ll be other parties,” he promised.
“Really?” she asked hopefully.
“Really.”
They walked the rest of the way to the Kinder College together and wished each other a good weekend. He made a point of saying, “See you on Monday,” before they went their separate ways.
Jay was really bothered by Jamie’s reaction. He was pretty sure she wanted to go to the party with him. He just didn’t understand why she wouldn’t. She was so upset. It was as if she thought she’d lose his friendship by saying no to his invitation. Had that happened to her before? he wondered.
He really wanted to spend some time with her outside of school. He had a strong feeling she felt the same way, but something, and he didn’t know what, was holding her back. He couldn’t take her to dinner, because she was always working. She wouldn’t go to Mike’s party with him. There had to be another option. An idea slowly began to form in his mind. That might just work, he thought conspiratorially. He’d have to be sneaky about it though, so she couldn’t say no this time.
SIX
The Surprise
b
“Excuse me, miss? Could we have some more bread, please?”
“Certainly,” Jamie replied politely, stopping to scoop up the empty bread basket from the family’s table. “Can I get you a refill on your iced tea?” she asked, noticing the patron’s glass was half full.
“That’d be great. Thank you.”
Jamie turned toward the kitchen to grab a basket of bread and a fresh iced tea. The Catch of the Day, better known as Catches to the locals, was a large family restaurant located on the banks of the Banana River. Established in 1973, it was owned and operated by Tina and Jonathan Founder. The outside boasted beautiful views of the river. The inside was decorated with a nautical theme, complete with fishermen’s nets draped across the ceiling. The walls were tastefully decorated with ship’s anchors, swordfish, life preservers and anything else one could think of relating to deep sea fishing. A large bar filled one section of the restaurant and was separated from the rest of the dining area by a half wall. Susan, the bartender, was the youngest of Tina and Jonathan’s five children and the only one who worked in the family business.
Catches was a very popular restaurant, and tonight was no exception. The far corner of the dining area was reserved for local bands to play on the weekends. This particular Friday night, a local band named Work in Progress had drawn a very large crowd. The band was fairly well-known in the area and had quite a following. They played a nice mix of country and rock songs. At the moment, they were playing “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys and many of the patrons were singing along.
Jamie emerged from the kitchen with the basket of bread and iced tea, placed them on her patron’s table, asked if they were enjoying their meal and quickly cleared away their empty appetizer and salad plates. As she was heading back toward the kitchen with the dirty dishes, Tina, who was working as the hostess tonight, informed her she had just seated another guest in her section.
“Table fifteen,” Tina called quickly as she passed, scrambling to gather menus and silverware for the large crowd of patrons still waiting to be seated.
The restaurant was crowded and noisy. It was an exciting place to work, especially on the weekends when the local bands played. Jamie was seven hours into her shift with one more hour to go. She had been there since four and her feet were sore. Her ears were pounding with all the noise and her stomach growled uncomfortably. The tips were great on the weekends though and that was a huge motivator for her.
She dumped the dirty dishes in the kitchen and headed for table fifteen. It was a small table for two. As she approached, she could see that only one of the chairs was occupied. Jamie couldn’t quite see the one patron who was at the table, as his head was buried in the menu.
“Hi, I’m Jamie. I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?” she asked.
The patron lowered his menu at the same time Jamie looked up from her order pad.
“Jay!” she exclaimed in surprise. “Uh, hi,” she faltered, trying to regain her composure.
"
Jay smiled broadly at her, enjoying her surprise. She looked great. Her beautiful blond hair was loosely swept up in a clip, with a few stray strands cascading around her face. Her server’s uniform consisted of black, form fitting pants, a short-sleeved, white button-down blouse and a burgundy colored apron. Her pale skin looked somewhat whiter against the dark colors of her uniform and in the dim light of the restaurant. She wore very little make-up; just a little eyeliner to accentuate her gorgeous eyes and maybe a little blush.
She looked tired. Her eyes weren’t as clear as they sometimes were. He had been watching her since he stepped into the restaurant and it was immediately obvious to him she was very good at her job. Despite the noise and apparent chaos in the restaurant tonight, she deftly serviced the tables in her section with incredible efficiency and amazing attention to detail.
He noticed the way her eyes sparkled for one brief moment when she realized it was him sitting at her table. He was also very aware of the quick glance she gave the empty chair at the table and waited for her to speak again. This was all part of his plan.
“Can I take your drink order now, or do you want to wait for the rest of your party to join you?” Jamie fished.
Just as he had hoped, Jay thought happily.
“Actually, I was hoping you would join me,” he replied with a sly grin.
Jay was completely enjoying himself. He sat back and watched a myriad of expressions play across Jamie’s face: surprise, confusion, and was that relief? Had she been wondering if he was there with a girl? Perfect.
“You want me to join you?” she asked in confusion. “I’m - I’m working,” she stammered.
He had taken her completely off guard. That’s exactly what he wanted. She was always so careful, so reserved.
“What time do you get off?”
“Midnight.”
“I’ll wait.”
“Jay, that‘s an hour from now!” she responded incredulously, but grinned nonetheless.
“I don’t mind. You’re worth it,” he flirted.
Jamie’s cheeks turned pink. “I thought you were going to your friend’s party tonight,” she responded, quickly recovering.
“I decided it wouldn’t be much fun without you there, so I came here instead,” he answered, looking directly into her eyes.
Jamie’s cheeks turned crimson. She paused.
“Can I get you something to drink while you wait?” she asked, flashing him the most amazing smile he had ever seen.
Now it was Jay’s turn to be taken off guard. Her smile lit up her entire face, magnifying her beauty, a feat he wouldn’t have thought possible.
“Iced tea or soda maybe?” she prodded.
“Uh, yeah. Soda. Coke would be fine,” he stammered.
b
Jamie walked to the bar and waited for Jay’s order to be filled, her back to the dining room. While she waited, Karen, one of her fellow servers, came by and leaned over the bar next to her. Karen was an attractive, middle-aged woman who was happily married with two children. She was friendly with Jamie and made it her mission in life to encourage Jamie to enjoy herself more. She was always harping on her about her working too much. Her favorite saying was, “All work and no play make Jamie a dull girl.”
Karen put her head very close to Jamie’s and whispered, “Jamie, did I just hear that cute guy over there ask you to join him?”
“That’s what you heard,” Jamie replied, still in awe of what had just transpired between her and Jay.
“Do you know him?”
“He’s a friend of mine.”
“Honey, I think he wants to be more than your friend! Are you going to take him up on his offer?” Karen asked excitedly.
“When my shift is over,” Jamie replied, smiling to herself.
“You’re going to make him wait?” Karen asked in surprise.
“What else am I supposed to do? I can’t just take off before my shift ends! We’re super busy tonight!”
“I’ll take care of this,” Karen promised and she took off before Jamie could stop her.
Just then, Susan handed Jamie Jay’s Coke. Susan was a little rough around the edges with short red spiked hair, multiple piercings and tattoos, and jewelry fashioned from dog collars – the exact opposite of Karen.
