Amish Jedi: In a City Far, Far Away

Episode 12.2 ~ John

Jason and I tackle the two-hour-long lunch rush. The front door remains open the entire time. Lots of college students. Teddy and one of the aides join Jason upfront and create an assembly line with me at the end ringing up the orders. As I key in items, I notice Jason has branched out. He's serving more than just plain cream cheese. An idea strikes me: He should order from Zooks. Daed makes strawberry, blueberry, apple spice, and all the others I see. And Daed's is better than anyone else's.

I chew on this until the clock strikes two and the flood gates close leaving the shop looking like an abandoned town in the wild wild west. A few tumbleweeds blowing through, some past signs of inhabitance, but no people.

The aid, a girl with black hair, grabs a broom and goes after the debris. Teddy heads back into the kitchen with the empty trays to shake out the crumbs, leaving Jason and myself to wipe down the counter and sandwich board alone.

"So... you're serving flavored cream cheese now?" I force the last syllable into a question as I spray the glass shield that blocks customer's spittle from the ingredients.

Jason nods. "Teddy convinced me."

Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off. "Have you ever thought of giving Zook's a try? Daed does a really good job."

Jason concentrates on scrapping the board. "I have a supplier I'm partial to."

"Oh." I can't think of anything else to say so we both clean in silence. I wonder why he didn't go to Zook's in the first place. But I remember that he and I weren't on great terms then. Besides, he probably already had a supplier for his plain cream cheese. If he's ordering from them, at least he's being loyal.

"Jasey!" I whip around as Sarah struts through the door. Her large red leather handbag hooked at the crook of her elbow. She's wearing heeled red boots that and black leather pants that make her look like a runway model.

I force myself to smile at her.

She saunters around me to Jason and thrusts herself into his arms, planting a crimson-painted kiss on his lips. When she surfaces, he appears stunned and a little goofy with red smeared over his mouth.

Did she just mark her territory?

"Hey, Zia." She turns to me, her arm still wrapped around Jason's waist. "Where's John?"

"Upstairs."

Sarah glares quizzically at me.

"He's helping Zia with something, so she filled in for him here," Jason says, snapping out of his momentary daze.

I make a project of glancing at my watch. "I should..." I point at the ceiling.

"Sure, sure," Jason says, relieving me of the glass cleaner and paper towels. "Thank you for your help."

Hmpf. "You're welcome," I say to go along with the charade that I'm not sure why we're performing now that he claims to have put his foot down with Sarah.

"Oh, Zia," Sarah says when I'm halfway through the door. "My parents are out of town, and I wanted to host a dinner. A double-date if you and John are interested."

Automatically, my eyes flicker to Jason.

He gives me a slight nod.

"Sure."

"Good," Sarah says but it comes out more like Aro saying "good" to Bella — like she wants to serve me for dinner. "We'll see you promptly at seven tonight."

"Awesome." There's no exclamation in my voice.

Sarah turns back to Jason. "Guess what I got myself for Christmas."