Annabella was no stranger to working the Saturday lunch shift at Jim's. It was often seen as the coveted shift because it proved well with tips. Years ago, Annabelle had to earn her right to work the lunch shift before one day finally being given the chance to earn the extra hundreds she craved.
Now, six years later, Annabelle wanted nothing to do with the lunch shift. The kids were always moody and unruly due to the monsters eating at their tiny stomachs. The parents, though they tipped well, were often rude and impatient. She quickly realized that the coveted shift came with not only the price of a heavy pocket but also the price of swollen feet and black-rimmed eyes.
Now suddenly a married woman, she was questioning why she was even working the shift. She knew that Jim would excuse her if she asked to not work. He was her friend before he was her boss but, Annabelle didn't want to be that person who took advantage of a sweet man, yet the day proved hard for her to concentrate on. She couldn't seem to stop thinking about the recent change her life had taken. Only 24 hours ago she was a single, desperately broke woman. Now, as she counted the small change from her recent customer, she smiled knowing she'd finally see more soon.
"You can take your lunch break now if you'd like." Annabelle looked behind her to see Dina nudge her head towards the back room. Dina gave her a knowing look which usually meant only one thing- Jim wanted to see her. Annabelle sighed as she glanced down at her wristwatch. It was near three and she had a call to make. Hopefully Jim's talk with her would end quickly.
Annabelle left her tray in the corner and slipped quietly away to the back room of the diner. Jim's office was hidden at the end of the hallway, just after their kitchen. As she got closer, she noticed his office door was slightly ajar. She was suddenly nervous as she knocked.
"Come in." Jim's hoarse voice came through the door and Annabelle answered by entering. He looked up from his mounds of paperwork and smiled at Annabelle walking carefully into his office. His yellow stained teeth were illuminated by the haze of the office light that also seemed to age him by ten years. His widows' peak and furry goatee gave him a darker edge that she knew was just a cover for his caramel center. His face held small red blotches around it, common with a man of his late age and years filled with smoking and stress. His softer edges and paling skin warmed Annabelle because, when his arms wrapped around her like they were right then, she knew she was home.
"My dear Annabelle, when did you get in?" Jim released Annabelle after laying a gentle kiss on her head. She smiled up at him, glad to see that his happiness hadn't left him. Jim knew when she had arrived. He always knew when all his employees arrived, but Annabelle knew it was his way of starting their conversation so, she obliged him.
"I came in around eight thirty." He nodded and pointed for her to sit at the chair in front of his desk. Annabelle sat down, not pulling her eyes away from Jim. She was suddenly apprehensive. It wasn't uncommon for Jim to call her to his office during a shift but, Annabelle couldn't help but be wary.
"How have you been?" He asked her, sitting in his own seat. Though his eyes were still and his tone level, somehow his words struck her cold. She wondered if he knew.
She gulped. "I'm alright."
He nodded again and tapped on his worn table. "I'm curious about something and I was hoping you'd be able to help clear some things up for me."
"Su-re," she stuttered.
"I was wondering if you knew why my daughter would leave ten minutes before the end of her shift and without so much as a goodbye to her old man."
Annabelle could feel sweat layer the tip of her forehead. This was it. This was the moment Jim scolded her for the first time in her life. She hung her head as shame and worry filled her bloodstream. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He sighed, the action sounding more like a sign of exhaustion than frustration. "I'm just confused. You never leave a shift early; you usually wait until lock up with me. To make matters worse, I heard that you left with a customer. A male customer."
She nodded and fiddled with her fingers. "That's true."
"Who?" he asked. She was quiet, thinking. She wished her and Nick had discussed their story properly that morning. She needed something to tell Jim and the truth, as Nick had said, would not go down well. She'd have to stretch it as best she could.
"His name is Nick." Jim's expression didn't change. His silence though was an action of encouragement to continue, to relay more information. "He's someone I know," she paused and took a breath, "actually he's someone I'm dating." It sounded better to say than, 'I married him for money.' She thought for a moment to be truthful but, she knew Jim. Jim was a powerful man. He was protective and fierce and since that day 12 years ago, Jim had grown fiercely protective of her. He would never accept her marrying a stranger she'd just met in his diner- rich or not.
Jim's eyebrows lifted high and the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to multiply. "Since when?"
"A few months ago." The lies kept coming.
"Why did you leave with him? Why have I not known anything about this?" Hurt clouded his dark eyes, creating the image of a storm.
She couldn't look at him anymore. She stared down at her hands that rest on her lap. For a moment, her eyes wandered to her left hand as she tried to imagine what the piece of flesh would look like with an added accessory. She wondered if Nick thought about rings to add to the legitimacy of their arrangement.
Jim's throat cleared and Annabelle looked back up at him. He waited, expectantly for her to explain her lies. Annabelle wasn't sure how to spin it realistically. She'd never dated; Jim knew that. "He came by to talk to me." She told him. He waited for more. Annabelle thought about Nick and the phone call he probably waited for. He wanted the arrangement to look real for his family and the press. It terrified her but, perhaps it would help her lie to Jim too. "He asked me to move in with him."
His reaction was instantaneous. His hands clenched on the table where they rest, along with his jaw. His eyes followed last, falling into the tiniest of slits. "He did what?" He seethed, the words barely pushing past his tight lip.
Annabelle trembled in her seat. The last thing she ever wanted to do was disappoint or anger Jim. He had given her more than she could ever ask for in life and she hated the thought of returning his gratitude with nonchalance towards his feelings. She knew that when the time came, it wouldn't be easy. She just had to try and get him to understand and accept the change - her version of it at least. "He's a respectable man, and he has a good job. I know you'll get along great with him. It's the logical next step to take."
"No daughter of mine is shacking up with some boy I've never met!" Jim slammed his fists down on his desk and Annabelle jumped. He pushed his chair back and immediately started pacing furious circles around his office.
She let him have his moment of angry mumbles as she waited for him to calm down. She knew the news would be hard for him to take. He was unmarried and had never had children of his own. As much as Annabelle had found a family with the old man, so had he with her. She was all he had as much as he was all she had. She and Mikayla were the daughters Jim had always wanted and even though blood had never joined them; his heart had long since joined with theirs.
For all the ways it mattered, they were his daughters, and he would always protect them.
"I do not approve Annabelle." He said firmly.
She hung her head with a sigh. "I know Jim but, I want this, and you can't change my mind." For the first time since entering the office, Annabelle spoke truth towards the man she regarded as a father.
Jim sighed and ran his hands through the little hairs he had left on his head. Finding his seat again, he looked towards Annabelle. She could see the panic and concern pulling at his face and it broke her heart to see the stress her news caused him. "Explain this to me Annabelle. Explain to me how suddenly you're moving out of your apartment to live with a man I have never heard about."
She could tell him the truth; she could tell him that she had met him the day before in his diner and had married him an hour later. But, looking up into his sunken worried eyes, she didn't have the heart to hurt him more. He only ever wanted the best for her, and she believed that Nick could be it, at least for the time being. Jim didn't need to know how unorthodox their relationship was.
"Nick and I have been dating for a while. I met him in the diner, and we hit it off. The relationship is going somewhere, I know it. He asked me last night to move in with him. He lives in a fancy apartment, bigger than mine. He looks after me Jim."
Jim hung his head and let out a long breath. "Are you certain about this?" His voice was quiet, dejected somehow and Annabelle's heart clinched knowing that she was the cause of his concern. It hurt more knowing that Jim had every logical reason to be worried. She was worried too but, she had to be positive. The money was too good to pass up.
"Yes," she answered immediately.
"Well since you are an adult, I can't exactly force you to change your mind." She smiled. She hadn't expected defeat so quickly. "But," he quickly added, "I need to meet him. Here tonight. If I don't approve, then you don't go anywhere. Do we understand each other?"
She reluctantly nodded and answered. It was a fair price to pay, one she hoped Nick would be up to paying. "He's coming to fetch me at eleven. You can meet him then."
"Good, now get back to work."
She smiled and rushed behind the desk to where Jim sat. She quickly threw her arms around his neck and inhaled the stuffy smoke smell that was so common with him. "Thank you so much dad," she whispered into his ear before placing a quick peck on his head. He rubbed her arms and then let her leave his office.
She rushed out of the office and quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Nick's number. He answered after the third ring. "Hello, Nick Brady speaking."
Hearing his voice, she paused. She'd been so sure about speaking to him but, hearing his voice she suddenly couldn't think. His voice sounded different on the phone; deeper. It made her blush, and she hated the affect it had on her. She couldn't be affected by him. Their arrangement wasn't about feelings. She didn't do feelings and relationships. She had to remember that.
Clearing her throat, she said quietly, "Hi Nick, its Annabelle. I was just calling to see if you still wanted me to move in with you?"
Nick answered quietly. "That depends, do you want to live with me?"
"Well, I've given it a lot of thought."
"What have you decided?" He sounded hopeful, and she smiled.
"I'll move in."
"Good," he answered. "I'll fetch you at eleven and we can stop at your place on the way to mine. You can bring along the essentials for now and we can always go another day for more."
"You don't have to. I'll call a friend to help me get what I need, that way you and I can go straight to your place after work."
"Are you sure?" He asked. She was sure she never wanted a man like Nick to know where she lived. She didn't want to taint his image of her with the truth of her tortured past and bleak present.
"I'm sure. Jim won't mind giving me time off and I haven't seen my friend in a while."
"Alright then," he answered. "I'll see you later."
"See you later," she answered quietly. She was disappointed in the very clinical progression of their conversation. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was simply the nature of their relationship- simple, unattached, unemotional and clinical. Still, it bothered her.
"Oh, and Annabelle," Nick called just before she put the phone down. "You've made me a happy man with your decision."
She hummed in acknowledgment and whispered, "Just don't make me regret it." Without waiting for an answer, Annabelle ended the call, afraid to know how Nick would respond to her comment. With her decision made to commit to her marriage as best she could, Annabelle looked at her phone one last time before calling her best friend.
The phone rang for a while before a squeal rang in her ears. "Hey, Annie B, how are you?" Annabelle laughed at the excitement in her best friends' voice.
"Hey Mikayla, I'm doing great. How has your day been?"
Mikayla's light giggle sounded through the speaker of her phone and Annabelle smiled widely. "My day has been freaking boring right until I heard your ring tone disturbing my silence."
Annabelle grinned. "You're not a fan of silence so I'm just going to assume that you're relieved I called?"
"Damn straight I am. I was seconds away from calling old Jim and begging him to let you off early. I need some excitement in my life." Funny, Annabelle was hoping for no more excitement.
She sat down on a bench against the wall and let her tired legs go numb with relaxation. "Speaking of old Jim," Annabelle began. "I actually wanted to ask him if I could leave early but I needed you to agree first."
"Agree to what?" asked Mikayla.
"I need a lift to my apartment; can you help?"
"You don't even have to ask twice. I'll be there in fifteen." Annabelle could hear shuffling and then the distant sound of a dog barking. "Come Nelly, we're going to see Aunty B."
"Wait Mickey," Annabelle called quickly into the phone. "We don't even know if Jim will let me leave."
Mikayla snorted and answered confidently, "As if that man can say no to you."
She was right. "You have a point. I'll see you in fifteen then. Thanks again Mickey!"
"Anytime Annie B." Mikayla ended the call and it left Annabelle smiling. At least her friend had come through for her. Annabelle walked slowly back towards Jim's office, still nervous to be around him considering the bombshell she'd dropped earlier. Jim still sat at his desk, his head laying in his hands. "Dad, can we talk?" She called out hesitantly.
He looked up and smiled at her. "Of course, what's wrong?"
"Mikayla is on her way to help me collect a few things from my apartment to take back to Nick's tonight. I was wondering if it would be okay to take the rest of the afternoon off. It isn't too busy out there today."
He was quiet for a while as he contemplated her words. "I wanted to meet him first Annabelle."
She nodded. "I know. I'm not moving today but, I need some clothes and such for tonight since I'm going home with him later." The man looked none too pleased with her comment, but he refused to acknowledge it. He simply agreed and let her leave.
She left Jim's office in a hurry and quickly rushed towards where she had left her bag. A few minutes later, she heard loud barking followed by Mikayla's unmistakable voice. "Where's my Annie B at?" Annabelle laughed and waited for Mikayla to find her at the back of the diner where she stood waiting. Moments later, Annabelle could see golden hairs break through the doorway and then; in an instant, she felt a body thrown against hers.
Annabelle laughed. "Hello to you too, Nelly. I missed you too girl, now get down." Annabelle pushed the large Golden Retriever off and quickly patted the dogs' head as a hello. Nelly behaved and sat quietly on the floor as she watched her owner search for Annabelle. Annabelle quickly reached for her friend and pulled Mikayla tight against her.
"I missed you, Mickey!" She hugged her best friend tight; enjoying the warmth that always spread through when Mikayla hugged her.
"I missed you too, Annie B. You smell good." Mikayla commented, pulling away from the hug, albeit reluctantly.
Annabelle laughed and pulled Mikayla's arm, so it hung over her own. "Thank you. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes. The car is outside waiting." She turned her head towards the floor and said, "Come." Nelly trotted quietly behind them as Annabelle directed them all towards the car. When they reached the waiting car, Annabelle let Nelly and Mikayla fall into the vehicle first before she joined them in the back seat. Mikayla sat comfortably in her seat, her one hand on Nelly's head and the other clutching her stick.
Mikayla's sunflower hair was braided to the side, and it seemed to only make her look more approachable and carefree. Looking towards the front of the car, Annabelle smiled at Neil, the driver Mikayla's parents had so graciously provided to her. Mikayla was smart and a good teacher at the local school for disabled children. Unfortunately, it didn't pay too much and so her parents had to cover a lot of costs. Annabelle couldn't be prouder of the success Mikayla had reached, considering the childhood they both had.
"So," said Mikayla once the car started moving. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing today?"
Annabelle was glad Mikayla couldn't see her guilty expression. "I need to fetch some things from my apartment."
"Yes, but why?"
"I'm moving."
Annabelle shouldn't have been surprised by the gasp Mikayla released. Without knowing the truth, her moving out would seem too bizarre. She didn't have money for a better place, and she never dated. It was no wonder Jim had reacted badly. "What? Why?"
"It's a long story Mickey."
"Are you in trouble, Annie B?" She asked quietly.
Annabelle huffed. "Why do you assume I'm in some type of danger just because I'm moving apartments?"
"It's not like you. You're not compulsive, you've never been."
"With good reason," she muttered.
"Yes," agreed Mikayla. "You consider everything you do, long before you do it."
"Who says I haven't now?"
Mikayla sighed and rubbed her head. "Well, if you did then, how come I don't know about it?" Mikayla's bottom lip pushed out and Annabelle's resolve disappeared. She never could keep things from Mikayla.
"You deserve the truth, Mickey." Mikayla nodded and shuffled in her seat until she was facing Annabelle and waited patiently for her to tell the story. And that she did. On the way to her apartment, she explained how she had waited on Nick the day before and how she had curiously watched as he proposed to woman after woman hoping one would agree. She explained Nick's theory on how he needed someone to help him prove it. She cautiously explained how Nick had proposed to her that same day and how she had suddenly agreed. The hardest part of the story to explain was how she was suddenly legally married to Nick and how she'd agreed only because he'd pay her a lot of money.
Throughout the entire relaying of the story, Mikayla had been silent and unmoving. It frightened and worried Annabelle. She needed Mikayla to be okay with everything. She knew that if Mikayla told her to leave Nick, then she would. She valued Mikayla's opinion and her friendship above everything else. Annabelle would never jeopardize it.
"You're married," said Mikayla, eventually.
"Yes." answered Annabelle.
"To a man you just met?"
"Yes."
"And you're moving in with him?"
Annabelle sighed. "Yes."
"You're doing it for money?"
"Yes."
"You could have-"
"I know," she interrupted Mikayla. "But it isn't fair to you or Jim. With the amount of money Nick is giving me, I could afford to help you guys."
Mikayla bit her lip and turned silent again. Annabelle waited, ready for anything. She was ready for yelling and swearing. She was prepared to hear Mikayla tell her how reckless and stupid she was. But, to her complete shock, Mikayla did none of that. Instead, she laughed.
"It's about time you did something exciting. I was worried you were going to die alone and now you're the first one married between us. I'm so happy for you, you needed to loosen up. I wouldn't have suggested marrying a stranger for that to happen but, who cares? You finally did something spontaneous and I'm proud."
"So, you're not angry? You don't think I'm making a mistake?" asked Annabelle carefully.
Mikayla clumsily searched for Annabelle's hand until she found it. "I'm not angry but I'm also not completely okay with this either. I still want to meet him. He needs to get the Mickey approval before you move in with him, deal?"
Annabelle laughed and pulled her best friend into a tight hug. "Deal" she whispered. She pulled away and stared at her friend in wonder. "You're an amazing friend, you know that?"
Mikayla grinned. "I know. I'll always have your back Annabelle. You've had a hard life; worse than mine and I'm blind. I just want you to have some fun for once in your life; to live a little."
Annabelle nodded and wiped away a small tear that had ventured away from the others. "Thank you, Mikayla. I really want this to work. I know we didn't meet the traditional way, but Nick doesn't seem too bad. I think if we tried hard enough, we could make this work out well and make the most out of our arrangement."
"I hope that's true. I hope you don't come to regret this later."
"I hope so too."