Present Time…
June 14th; 1:44 a.m.
Purchase (a hamlet in Harrison, New York)
Amanda dropped her fork onto the plate. “I bought the ticket and went to the diner to wait for the bus to show up.” She held her hands wide. “You know the rest.”
Jacob and Amanda stared at each other.
Her eyes bloodshot and her lip quivering, she pushed her plate across the table and dropped her head onto crossed forearms. A second later, she was sobbing. “I just left her.” Her shoulders rocked up and down. “The only person in this city,” she sniffed and loose snot bubbled in her nose, “who gave a damn…about me. And I,” her head rolled back and forth over her arms, “just left her there to die.”
Jacob took a knee at the girl’s side and pulled her limp body to his own. “None of this is your fault, sweetheart.” One hand on the tiny thing’s head, he hugged her, while his free hand fished around inside his pants pocket.
Her face mashed into his chest, Amanda wept bitterly.
“There was nothing you could’ve done to change what happened. You would have only,” he snapped his wrist to undo a handkerchief, “gotten yourself killed too,” and placed the white fabric in her hand before wrapping both arms around her. “Trust me, Mandy. Everything’s going to be all right. I promise.”
Soaking his shirt, Amanda bawled for ten minutes. Rocking her back and forth, Jacob held her for ten minutes. The two were inseparable.
Blubbering became whimpering. Whimpering turned into intermittent sniffs, until the only sound in the kitchen was a low humming noise coming from the refrigerator.
Patting the teen’s back, Jacob kissed the top of her head. “Feeling any better?” He heard a sniff and felt her forehead rub up and down against his shirt. Cupping her shoulders, he eased her away from his body, put a forefinger under her chin and looked into glassy eyes. “You’re not to blame for Sue Ellen’s death. You’re safe with me. And you’re going to get through this. You hear me?”
Amanda’s eyes narrowed and her lower lip shook.
“No.” Jacob put a hand on either side of her neck, thumbs on cheeks. “No more tears. It’s time to start the healing process. It’s time to move on.” He put a hand on her chest. “You can remember your friend in here, but you need to live in the present and look to the future.”
Her lips drawn, she took a deep breath, sat erect and exhaled.
Smelling eggs and toast on her breath, he smiled. “That’s my girl. You’re tough. I know you are. Anyone who’s gone through what you have, and come out on the other side, is one tough young lady.”
She gave him a half smile and wiped her nose with the handkerchief before staring at the moist material for a second. “If we were in a movie…or a book,” she sniffed and wiped, “this would be the part where I’d give this back, and you’d wave a hand and say ‘keep it.’”
Jacob’s chuckle built into sustained laughter. Rising to his feet, he paused to kiss her on the head. “Yes,” he snickered, “please keep it.”
Jacob cleared the table of their plates and returned with two glasses of orange juice. He placed one in front of Amanda and sat. “You think you’re feeling up to talking more about what happened?”
She pivoted in her seat and took a drink before nodding. “Yes. I think so.”
He smiled. “Just let me know if you need to take a break, okay?”
She nodded.
“Do you have any idea why those men were chasing you?”
She looked away, her lips disappearing inside her mouth.
“Outside of what happened in the alley,” he continued, “have you ever seen them before? Did they ever come into the diner when you were working? Any contact with them whatsoever?”
She shook her head. “Never.”
“Okay, how about the man who ran into you…have you ever seen him before?”
“No.”
“Did he do anything or say anything to you before you ran away?”
Puckering her lips, Amanda looked at her juice, rotating the glass between her fingers. “He knocked me over. I kicked him. He grabbed me and my pack and said,” she squinted at the cupboard beyond Jacob’s shoulder, “take it…take this…or something like that. I don’t remember exactly what he said. All I remember is, once I got to my feet, I had to really yank on,” she pointed at the object in the corner, “my backpack. He had a good hold of it. I thought it was going to rip apart.”
Jacob’s eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to one side.
“Then I saw the man with the gold tooth, and I ran down the alley.”
“And you’re sure he saw you?”
“He looked right at me.”
Jacob stood and circled behind his chair, one hand in a pants pocket, the other rubbing and scratching his beard.
“I think that man may have stolen my wallet…or at least knocked it out of my pack. All I know is I had it when I left for work, and it was gone when I got to Sue—” her voice cracked, “Sue’s.” Amanda crossed her arms. Her chin sunk to her chest. “Can we stop now?”
Hearing her tone, Jacob whipped his head toward the girl and noted her posture. She’s slipping into a bad place. “Of course we can. In fact, how about you go upstairs and get some rest.”
She lifted her head. “Where are you going to be?”
He smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be down here, doing some thinking.”
Amanda turned her head and spied the sofa. “You mind if I stay down here…with you?” She tipped her head toward the living room. “I could lie on the couch in there. I promise I’ll be quiet.”
His smile broadened. D.D. was the same way. Whenever his daughter was scared—a bad dream, thunderstorm, whatever the reason—she wanted to be near him. “That’s perfectly fine with me. I saw a fully stocked afghan rack in there. Stretch out and get some sleep.”
Amanda slid out of her chair and headed for the living room. Stopping at the archway, she stood in place for a moment before whirling around and making a beeline for Jacob, colliding with his waist and squeezing him as tight as she could. “Thank you.”
He hugged her and patted her back. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” The girl peeled away from him and left. He watched her prep the sofa with pillows and blankets before disappearing under an afghan. Only the top of her blonde hair was visible. I know I shouldn’t be happy about how this came to be, but…God, I sure am grateful You brought us together.
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