Clover Village

Chapter 31 - Food Delivery Tourist

JESSE

Eric is pissed. He never gets pissed, or at least rarely. It is my fault, I can't deny it, but it was only an accident. He brushes past me as I bring the tools to the workshop and goes to the store. I'm a little afraid to go inside.

"Eric, Jesse didn't do it on purpose," I hear Ellen say.

"I'm glad that I use steel-toe boots, otherwise, the nail would have gone through it. One accident in my lifetime is more than enough. Look at the hole it left on the leather!" Eric says, showing her his boot.

Ellen laughs. I look at Eric and he is trying not to, but it's not working. I try to sneak upstairs, but a sneeze betrays me.

"Should I get extra insurance?" Ellen says to me between giggles.

"It was an accident. I sneezed and had my finger on the nail gun trigger."

"I almost lost a toe," Eric whines.

"But you didn't," I complain.

"I need a shower and forget about today. Ellen, do you want to go out for dinner?" My brother says.

"Sure, let me close the register and finish here," she says, giving him a kiss.

Eric heads upstairs and I'm left alone with Ellen.

"I swear it was an accident," I say to her and sneeze again.

"Jesse, it was. Eric is frustrated at the moment. He hates the brace on his leg, can't drive, and physical therapy is torture for him. He will be alright eventually, but right now everything bothers him."

"Have you heard from Sue? I haven't heard from her since yesterday morning," I say, looking at the sales log. My pottery did quite okay today.

"In fact, I did. Sue sent me a message to say that they are having a great time and will come back tomorrow."

"I'm happy for her, but mostly for Harry. He has been interested in her for a long time."

"I'm glad that they are taking time away from everything and everybody. Here is your sales report," Ellen says, handing me a paper. "I loved doing this. Sue can ask me to cover for her anytime."

"Really? And did you get questions from clients?"

"Yeah, but everything here is so simple. I had no problem answering the questions I got."

Ellen's words confirmed that I'm impaired when it comes to what Sue makes.

"Do you want to come with us for dinner?" She asks.

"My brother won't be amused. He is probably looking forward to being alone with you. I'm not feeling well so I will have a hot shower, order food and get in bed."

"Get well soon then," Ellen says, kissing my cheek.

Eric is getting dressed as I come upstairs. I head to the shower and shiver under the hot water. My brother has left already when I get out of the bathroom. I turn the TV on and place a call for some food. It is raining a lot. Now I understand why it was so damn hot today. I cuddle on the couch after taking some pills for the fever and close my eyes for a second...

I wake up startled when I hear the doorbell. I look at the clock and see that I have slept for half an hour. I get some money out of my wallet and head downstairs. When I open the door, my heart sinks to my feet. Sierra is standing on our porch and is holding my food bag.

A big knot forms in my throat. I hold Sierra in my arms, and we hug for a long time.

"You are here... You are back... Am I hallucinating?" I say.

Oh God, I hope that I'm not hugging the delivery guy.

"You do not imagine it, but your food will get cold if you don't let me in," she says with her sweet laughter.

"How come you have my food?" I say and sneeze again.

"Bless you. The delivery guy and I arrived at the same time," she says with a shrug.

We head upstairs, and I grab two plates to share my food. I don't mind the smaller portion. I've lost a bit of my appetite.

"I didn't hear from you in such a long time," she says, accepting the food.

"I called you, but your phone was disconnected," I say.

"My phone was stolen from my bag. I'm almost sure that it was at a restaurant by the seaside. I stopped there on my way home to have something to drink. When I looked for it in my purse, it was gone."

Karina... I'm sure that she has something to do with this.

"I'm glad that I had transferred the audio interviews and our photos to my laptop," she says. "Otherwise, those would have been lost as well. I emailed you to let you know that I have a new number, and the emails kept bouncing back."

"I got nothing indeed," I say and place my food back on the coffee table. I'm feeling very ill.

"This is the paper where you wrote the email address for me," she says, handing it to me. "Are you okay? Your lips are white."

"I think that I have a cold. Oh, I see the problem. What looks like a six should have been an eight. I didn't close it properly," I say, feeling embarrassed.

"I called Garnett House, but nobody answered the phone either."

"When was that?"

"About a week after I left."

"Oh, we spent a long weekend with our parents. We closed the shop during those days."

"I called Old Simon's restaurant, but the guy that answered knew nothing. He told me that somebody would call back, but they never did. I also called Cloverfield, but nobody answered. I didn't hear from you either. You have my email."

"I placed a glass of ice next to the paper. The condensation ruined the ink."

Sierra looks at me and starts laughing hard.

"That has Jesse Garnett written all over it."

I try to laugh but have no energy left.

"I missed you a lot," she says. "I wanted to come earlier, but my mom got sick, and I had to help my dad. She is well again, and that is why I'm here."

"I have been miserable without you," I say and cough.

Sierra places her food on the table and hugs me.

"Come. Let's get you to bed," she says, caressing my face.

"This is not how I imagined how things would be when we see each other again," I say as I stand up.

"Life is not perfect, Jesse. It is what makes it interesting," she says as I follow her to my room.