Two Heartbeats on One Page

Chapter 23

Darcey spent most of the weekend at Jordan's, asleep, sometimes on the couch and sometimes in the bed. It came and went quickly, and then, somehow, it was Monday. The day he was supposed to start work.

But when he woke up, he could barely get out of bed. Jordan had to drive him to the free clinic, where they had to wait for hours before he could see anyone. The closer it got to 4:00, when his shift was supposed to start, the more Darcey started to panic, but since there was nothing he could do to speed up the process, he was stuck in the waiting room, hoping. Uselessly, because even if they were out in time, he was so tired and weak and bleary there was no way he could work. Even if he could, no customer would ever want a server as sick as he was. Rightly so.

Finally, at 3:00, the nurse called him back, where he waited in another room for fifteen minutes. When the doctor arrived, she checked his vitals, his throat, his lymph nodes, his ears and eyes. She prodded around at him a bit and finally said, "I can do a test for you, but I don't think it's really necessary. I can tell you've caught it just by looking at you."

"Please do the test anyway?" Darcey asked. "I'm in food service and know I can't work like this. I want to have proof of why in case I need it."

"Not a problem."

It was nearly 4:00 when Darcey was finally done. Jordan hovered nearby as they walked back to the car. Darcey looked as if he would topple over at any moment.

"There's no way you can work like this," Jordan said. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I know," Darcey sighed. He plopped into the passenger's seat and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. Jordan sat down beside him and started the car. Darcey scrolled through his contacts for the restaurant's number. He paused. "They're going to fucking fire me," he sighed, and he hit send.

Jordan swallowed and looked down. Darcey had been looking for work for so long, and finally, not only had he found a job, but a job at a place like Yellowfin. It was almost exactly what he'd been hoping for.

He didn't say anything about his surgery fund. Darcey needed to take care of himself, first. Jordan would have to deal with everything else as it came.

"Hey," Darcey said. Jordan's eyes came back into focus. "Can I talk to Greg? He's the manager tonight, right?"

"Yeah, sure," the hostess said. "And this is?"

"Darcey. The new server."

"Sure, just a moment."

The line went silent. Darcey turned to Jordan with a weak smile.

"I –" he started, but then Greg came on the line.

"Darcey, right?"

"Yeah," Darcey said. "I..." he paused and sighed, then blurted out, "Look, I'm so sorry about this, but I just left the doctor's office. I'm really sick and it's really contagious and the doctor said I can't work until it's cleared up. Which might not be for a few weeks."

"What is it?" Greg asked. His voice was harsh with annoyance.

"Mono."

Greg sighed. "Well, your doctor's right. You can't work with something like that. I guess we won't see you tonight. Keep us updated."

He hung up.

The car was silent for a few moments, the only noise the idling engine.

"Well?" Jordan asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," Darcey said. "He didn't say I was fired. But he was really angry." He sighed. "Understandably."

"We'll just have to wait and see, then," Jordan murmured. He put the car in reverse and backed out of their parking space. As they left the parking lot, Darcey's phone rang.