God In The Kitchen (15 page)

            “Chloe?” I spoke before I got too close so I wouldn’t startle her too much.

            Chloe jerked around, her long braid swinging over her shoulder as she did. “Jared!” she exclaimed, “You startled me!”

            The exact opposite of my intentions, but I had tried.

            “What are you doing here?” she asked, a flushed look of surprise on her face. She had probably expected another humdrum day at the diner and I was about to change all of that.

            “I wanted to talk to you for a minute, do you have time?” I asked, glancing at the sugar packages that had spilled out in the box by her knee.

            “I think these can wait a few seconds,” she said, smiling down at the sugar and standing to look at me. “What do you need?”

            “I don’t even know where to start,” I said out loud. “I have some big news, Chloe.” I reached out and took her hands in mine. They were a little dry and slightly wrinkly as if she had been washing dishes all morning. “I had this idea…about Ian.”

            Chloe blinked and knit her eyebrows together. I definitely had her attention.

            At that point, the entire story came spilling out of me. I started by explaining to her how our normal promo drives worked and then I told her what I had pitched to my boss. When I got to the part about the lemonade stand, a single tear trickled down her face and her hands tightened around my own.

            “Chloe?” I asked, not wanting to have upset her in any way. “Are you okay? Do you like the idea? Can we do it? Can we raise the money for Ian? Can he have the surgery?” The questions poured out of me so fast I could hardly stop them. I just wanted to know what she was thinking, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself long enough to let her answer.

            “You don’t have to worry about any of the costs, of course,” I continued as my ramblings picked up even more speed. “The promotions department will cover the lemonade and the set up. Of course, it would be nice if you and Ian could be there and we’ll need to do some interviews before hand to set up your story but…”

            I stopped in mid sentence but not because I was at a loss for words. More because Chloe had raised herself onto her tiptoes and planted her lips onto mine. The kiss was brief and unexpected, but feeling her soft lips against my own definitely shut me up and turned my mind onto a whole new subject.

            As she pulled away and lowered herself back onto her feet, I dropped her hands and placed them around her waist. She hadn’t moved back and I didn’t want the closeness between us to end.

            She gently wiped the tear away from her cheek and placed her hand on my chest. “A lemonade stand?” she asked, a smile in her voice. “It’s perfect. I love it.”

            I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I somehow knew that my decision about Abigail and Chloe had reversed. I had acted as any red-blooded male would have and I allowed her to kiss me. But now that she was done, I hadn’t pulled away. I was actually taking steps toward her now.

            “What about this?” I asked, pulling her slightly closer again. “Is this okay?”

            Chloe looked briefly uncomfortable and I wondered if she was feeling ashamed for having kissed me first. We didn’t really know each other very well, after all, and we were standing in her place of work, in the stock room, next to a box of sugar packets. It could have been a more romantic scenario.

            “This…” Chloe said and then paused. “This is complicated. But it’s okay. It’s more than okay,” she said as she wrapped her other arm around my back and laid her head on my chest.

            I understood what she meant. She was technically married. She had a very sick son. I had been acting like a knight in shining armor, riding in on my steed to save the day. It was only a matter of time before I fall from grace and did something stupid to cloud her vision of me. But if this was right…if I was really meant to be in her life, she would see past all of that.

            And in the meantime, I was going to get the chance I wanted more than anything…the chance to save Ian and give him back the life he so deserved to have.

            “I knew it!” we heard the booming voice state as we quickly pulled apart and Chloe threw her long braid back over her shoulder. “I just knew there was something fishy going on back here!”

            Cal had rounded the corner and sneaked up behind us without either of us noticing. He had interrupted a tender moment and there was no denying that fact.

            “No worries,” he said as he clapped his hand on my shoulder, “You have my complete blessing, son.”

            I smiled as I tried to decide how to explain the situation to Cal. He was acting like a father figure to Chloe and it was a humorous situation. But there was nothing funny about what had just happened between us and I was having trouble putting on a lightweight face.

            “No need to explain,” Cal said looking from Chloe to me and then back to Chloe. “Just make sure you save the funny business for the stock room and not out there in front of the customers,” he said with a teasing grin. “On that note, Chloe, we need you up front. Lunch rush is starting to pile in.”

            Chloe wiped her hands on the apron she wore and nodded. “Yes, of course, I’ll be right there.” She bent back over the sugar box and started gathering the packets Cal had requested she bring out in the first place.

            “I’ll call you,” I said over my shoulder as I began to follow Cal back to the front of the diner. I caught Chloe’s glance from the corner of my eye and though she was bent over, I felt as if she was suddenly able to stand taller than she had in a long time. Granted, that wasn’t just because of me. It was more because of the opportunity her son had to get the surgery that would save his life. But still, I had a little bit to do with it and that was plenty…for now.

            “When did this all start?” Cal asked as I rounded the counter and he began rolling silverware and placing them on a tray to distribute to the tables.

            “Start?” I asked, hoping I could make a quick exit without explanations. I did have to get back to work, after all.

            “You and Chloe,” he said. “You known each other long?”

            I shook my head. “Just a few weeks, really.”

            “Does this mean…” Cal trailed off and I wondered how much he knew about Chloe’s situation. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and give away too much information about her, but at the same time, I was pretty sure Cal knew some of her dire straits or he wouldn’t have hired her in the first place.

            “I’m not going to hurt her,” I said, playing off the fact that he was acting like a father figure as much as I was acting like a knight in shining armor.

            “Of course not,” Cal said, “just don’t let her hurt you.”

            I frowned and was about to ask Cal what he meant when he spied a regular customer over my shoulder and started shouting out greetings. His work was taking him away from our conversation so I used the opportunity to duck out of the diner and slink back to my car.

            Just because I was out of the diner did not mean I had forgotten one single second of what had occurred. Not Chloe’s obvious joy at my idea. Not her kiss. And not Cal’s comment. I would have plenty of time to mull that over in the next few weeks, but I had a more immediate problem that I needed to deal with. What was I going to tell Abigail? I was all set to explain myself to her based on what she had seen at the concert and now, here I was, doing an about face, falling for the very woman I told her she did not have to worry about.

            I needed Evan’s advice now more than ever, but I wasn’t in my kitchen and I had no fruits and vegetables nearby. I was on my own.

By the time the end of the workday rolled around, I was fully entrenched in my mission…to make this lemonade stand the most successful promo drive the station had ever done. I already had a few corporate sponsors lined up so that we would not have to worry about the costs of supplies and I was working on a press release for the national media. I decided I would knock off for the day when my eyes were too bleary to allow me to think straight.

            It was at that point that I got the first email from Abigail. When her name popped up in my inbox just as I was about to shut my computer down, my heart skipped a beat. I had been so busy with my work for Chloe and Ian that I had forgotten to email her about our upcoming date. All we had decided when we spoke on the phone the other day was that we would talk further about our meeting between then and the actual date. I had also told her I was going to explain the situation she had witnessed at the concert and that she really had nothing to worry about. How much had changed in just a few days.

            I could still explain the situation to her, but the fact of the matter was, she now did have something to worry about. I could not lead her on knowing that Chloe was relying on me. Chloe may not have been my initial first choice, but she had somehow worked her way into the lead. It wasn’t fair to Abigail to let it go any farther, but I also didn’t want to tell her all of that in an email.

            I shot an email back to her suggesting a restaurant near the station that had a family dining atmosphere. Nothing too romantic or suggestive so with any luck, she wouldn’t have too much hope for the evening. I owed her enough to at least buy her a decent meal and tell her my side of the story. I could only hope that she would understand.

            Her response came quickly and I wondered if she was waiting for my answer or just happened to still be online. She okayed my restaurant idea and named the time. She was my kind of girl. She suggested 5 p.m. to meet and eat. She knew I worked early and it was going to be a Tuesday night. She either liked to eat early herself or she figured out how hungry I got by that time of day after my strange schedule messed with my stomach once again.

            I replied back with a simple, “See you then,” and shut down my computer for the day. I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 hours to figure out what I was going to say and how I was going to say it. I hoped I was as eloquent with Abigail as I could be on the air in the right situations.

            In the meantime, I was dying to see Chloe again and talk further about this lemonade stand idea. Since she had been working when I stopped by the diner earlier in the day, I hoped she was at home by then. As I drove to the Summerfield Apartments for the second time that day, I also hoped that I would get a chance to see Ian. After working on the event for a good chunk of the day, I felt I had earned a spot in his life as a guardian angel, of sorts. A lot of things were going to have to come together in order for it to work and a lot of people were going to have to be involved. But it had not been for my initial idea or the work I had done on the project, it would not be happening at all.

            I didn’t want to get an ego about the whole thing, but at the same time, I definitely had pride in what I was doing. I had never felt so right about something in my life. And the possibilities that lied in wait with Chloe were exciting to me as well.

            Chloe wasn’t the type of girl that a guy like me would meet in the movies and fall for. She was more the good friend in the movie who would encourage the couple to get together. She was the single mom with the hard life who sat on the sidelines, never complaining about her own love life. And yet she was the one who deserved to be happy more than anyone else. And perhaps I was the guy to make all that happen for her. First, I would fix her son. Then, I would do what I could to make both of them happy. After all, it was Ian that drew me into their little family more than anyone.

            As I parked in the small lot behind Chloe’s apartment, I suddenly couldn’t wait to see her. I wondered if she would tell Ian about the event this early or wait until things came together more. She might have ideas of her own of things I could incorporate to make the lemonade stand an even bigger hit.

            I wiped the tiredness from my eyes and began slowly walking to her apartment, giving myself time to wake up after the short, warm drive. When I arrived in the hallway that led to her front door, I paused. I could see the 3G apartment from where I stood and the door was slightly open. There was a man standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame as if he owned the place. I couldn’t see his face but his blonde hair was pulled back into a scrawny ponytail at his neck and his flannel shirt looked tattered and much too warm for the temperature outside.