Forget Me (Hampton Harbor) (3 page)

"The Grace Cafe," Charles says. He climbs out of the car
and I follow.

I can hear seagulls over the bay, and the water lapping against
the dock. Charles walks me to the front of the building, and I see that the Grace
Cafe practically sits
in
 the
bay, with only a small boardwalk separating its lawn from the water. There is a
small wooden dock that juts out twenty yards into the water. A small white boat
is parked beside it with Grace Café written on the side in large block letters.

"A bit of advertisement when we take a ride around the
bay," Charles says with a wink. "Follow me this way."

I look up at the cafe as we step in front of it. It is a white one-story
building, with yellow shutters and a cobble stone path that leads patrons to
the main entrance. To the left of the building is a small outdoor eating area, with
only a few small tables.

Charles leads me into the cafe, and I find the inside to be in a
similar theme as the outside, white and yellow. The tables are arranged in a
neat pattern, and there are swinging doors in the back that most likely lead to
and from the kitchen. A counter lines the back wall and two waitresses work
quickly behind it, grabbing orders from a small window on the back wall and
filling plastic glasses with water. 

Breakfast at the cafe starts at six, but Marie said I should
arrive at seven, when the real crowd comes. Charles introduces me to a tall redhead
named Amy. She'll be training me for my first day, and my first double-shift.

"Way to jump right in," Amy says. "We aren't too
busy just yet, so it will be a good week to train. The real crowds start to
pour in closer to July."

Another waitress covers Amy’s tables for a moment while she walks
me around the cafe. She shows me where the glasses are behind the counter, and
the fountain machine in the corner. She shows me where the clean saucers, cups,
and silverware are kept. There are salad dishes and soup bowls for lunch and
dinner, and we're expected to dish those food items out on our own. Amy shows
me where to place my orders and introduces me to the cooks in the back. The
staff seems friendly enough. 

Last, Amy introduces me to an old lady with black hair pulled up in
a tight bun.

"This is our manager, Shelley. She runs the cafe for Charles
and Marie."

Shelley shakes my hand and grunts a hello before pushing past me
and into the back office.

Well, almost the entire staff seems friendly.

"Have you waited tables before?" Amy asks me.

I don't know.

"No," I respond, looking at the floor.

"No problem," Amy says cheerily. "You'll get it in
no time. You may want to take a menu home tonight so you can memorize the
breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. You'll also need to know the daily specials."

My mind suddenly feels overwhelmed, but I barely have time to
register that thought because Amy is moving and I am following. The morning
flies by with plates of eggs, bacon, toast, and refills of coffee. By lunch my
feet are throbbing but we keep moving, stopping mid-afternoon for a break. Marie
pops by the cafe to check in on me, and is then gone before the dinner rush.
The afternoon melds into the evening and it is almost ten o'clock by the time
Shelley locks the door and flips off the OPEN sign.

I collapse into a nearby booth and rest my chin on my hands.
"I could sleep for days. And I'm pretty sure I smell like the lobster
special."

Amy slides into the seat across from me. She laughs. "Get
used to smelling like the daily specials. Marie won't have you working doubles
for a few weeks, unless you pick one up on your own, so don't worry too much."

"I feel like I've run a marathon," I say.
 
Maybe
I have at some point
.

"Marie asked me to give you a ride home tonight. Let’s clean
up and get out of here."

Amy knows how to get to Charles and Marie's house, and drops me
off soon after we finish cleaning up her section. I drag myself into the house
and notice that Charles and Marie are still awake. I find them reading in the
den and I check the clock on the wall.

Eleven o'clock.

"Still up?" I ask, poking my head into the room.

Marie looks up from her book. "We just wanted to make sure your
day went okay. Normally we’re in bed by nine. Us old folk like to turn in
early, and rise with the sun."

I grin. "Everything went fine. Amy is really nice, and
she taught me a lot. I didn’t think I’d be this tired."

Marie laughs. “I waited tables when we first opened the cafe. I do
not miss having sore feet each night.”

I feel bad that they waited up for me. It feels too personal, this
relationship I'm starting to form with them. 

"Thanks. For the job..." I add, knowing that I owe them
everything right now.

Charles smiles over his book. "You're welcome."

I hurry up the stairs, anxious to change out of my clothes and
take a hot shower. My training starts at eleven tomorrow, and I'll be glad to
have some time to sleep in. I grab pajamas and head to the bathroom, turning on
the faucet. I let the warm water wash over me, hoping the strawberry shampoo in
the shower can wash away the smell of lobster, and maybe help open my mind.
Unfortunately, I remember nothing new, other than just how much I enjoy hot
showers.

"The man in Heather’s section keeps staring at me," I
whisper to Amy as I help her gather drinks for our table of eight. "Table
three, I think."

Amy finishes filling a glass with water and casually turns around,
grabbing straws from under the counter. When she turns back she has a big grin
on her face. "That's Will." Her voice sings a song when she says his
name.

"Should that mean something to me?" I ask.

"No, I guess not." She smirks at me. "He comes in
almost every day for either breakfast or lunch. His parents own Davey &
Sons Boating Company, and half of the boardwalk real estate space in the
harbor. When he isn't doing business, he is out there with his shirt off,
waxing the boats or cleaning the docks..."

"Amy." I snap my fingers. "Stop before you drool in
someone's water."

She laughs and picks up the tray. "Besides, he is probably
just staring because you are new. The only new people we get in Hampton Harbor are
tourists. Not many people stay."

I don't tell her that I may not be staying. Someday I’ll remember
who I am, and I may realize that I have a life I need to return to. I feel no
urge to discover either of those things, so for now I’ll attempt to fit in like
a local.

We take the drinks to one of our tables, and Amy has me take their
orders. I do as she taught me, writing down details until I can remember the
seat numbers. For instance, the man on the end is wearing a red shirt, the girl
next to him has a yellow hat, and the girl next to her has on a pink Nike
shirt. I turn in the orders to Eddie, our main cook for today, and lean against
the counter.

"Will is looking at you again," Amy says. "Maybe
you should go introduce yourself."

"And say what?" I take a sip of my water and place it
back under the counter. "I noticed you were staring at me and thought I
would introduce myself."

Amy shrugs. "It's a start."

I shake my head and grab my order pad. A new table is seated in
our section and it’s time to get back to work. 

Will leaves shortly after my conversation with Amy, and I allow
myself to get caught up in the rest of my shift. On Tuesdays, at least until
July, the cafe closes at nine so we are finished a bit earlier tonight. After
our section is cleaned up, Amy plops down in a booth with one of the bussers
and starts a lengthy conversation about a new movie in theaters. I let myself
out through the back door and head around to the bay side of the cafe. I walk out
onto the dock, careful to look for loose rope. Charles and Marie have hung
solar lanterns every few feet, and the effect creates a well-lit path that
disappears straight into the bay. Sitting down at the end of the dock, I cross my
legs under me and look out over the water, which is a deep bluish gray in the twilight.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

The voice is so close that I startle, and if I wasn’t sitting
down, I may have jumped straight into the bay. I stand quickly and turn around.

Will.

For a moment his words plant fear in me. It roots in my stomach
and buds up into my heart, causing the blood to pound in my ears. Then I
remember that Amy knows Will too, and he isn't someone from the past. As much
as I want my memories back, I find that I fear them.

"Should I?" I ask.

Will cocks his head. "I was there the night you fell."

My mouth hangs ajar but I shut it again before speaking. "Oh?"

Will crosses his arms, an amused expression on his face. "I
carried you from this dock, almost that exact spot actually, and to Charles’
car."

I look him over. "You carried me?"

He throws back his head and laughs. "Should I feel insulted?
You aren't exactly heavy."

I look down at my own body, as though I've never seen it before.
He's right. I'm thin, too thin, as Marie would say. She has been trying to
'fatten me up' and I've had no qualms about eating the food she puts in front
of me.

"Well, thanks," I say awkwardly. 

I'm not sure what else he might be expecting from me.

"So you really don't remember?" he asks.

"Nothing," I say truthfully, but of course the word
carries double meaning. It feels good to get it out, to answer that question
honestly. I know that he is asking about the night of my fall, and therefore I
am deceiving him slightly, but I need this more than he knows.

He steps forward and extends his hand to me. "Will."

"I know," I say too quickly. His eyes widen and he
smiles. I grasp how my words sound and hurry to recover. "Amy was telling
me about a few of the regulars that come into the cafe every week. She said it
would be a good idea to know names if I'm going to be working here for awhile."

"So you are sticking around?" His question is sincere.

I just nod. His eyes flick down to my nametag and then back up to
my face.

"Jane," he says. My fake name.

I can’t think of how to respond so I do something dim-witted and
blurt out the first words that come to mind.

"If you stop in tomorrow, you should sit in our
section," I say. "Amy plans to give me complete control of the order
pad."

"I don't know, I've been eating at the Grace Cafe for twenty-five
years and I don't think I've ever changed my routine. I sit in the same booth
and order the same meal each time. It might be hard to break habit.”

"Way to put on the pressure," I say with a laugh.
"I understand your hesitancy... if you want to be boring."

I say the last part under my breath and step around him, knowing I
have a huge grin on my face. It feels normal to joke around with him. With
anyone.

"Did you just call me boring?" Will catches up with me.

"Just making an observation," I say.

Will stops and I do the same, turning to face
him.
He has his hands shoved into the pocket of his jeans, and his eyes are narrowed
in concentration. The cafe lights are still on, casting a yellow glow over his
face. I can see why Amy got a dreamy look in her eyes when she spoke of him.
Will is gorgeous. He has a square jaw, chiseled cheeks, and lines of muscles
pushing through the sleeves of his shirt. His lower half is lean, and I know
that his upper body must get a good work out on the docks. His dark hair is
long, touching the tops of his ears, and it threatens to fall into his eyes. Eyes
that are a dark blue, just like mine.

I've gone from returning his glare to gawking, and Will knows it.
The corner of his mouth pulls up into a smile.

"See you tomorrow, Jane." He turns and falls in stride
with the small crowd of people walking the boardwalk at this time of night.

I shiver. Suddenly my t-shirt and shorts aren't enough. I hurry
around the building and back inside, hoping that Amy is done with her flirting
so that I can catch a ride home.