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Chapter 13
"I didn't think you'd come in on a Sunday," I said to JD. I was pretending to be calm even though I was thoroughly shaken up.
"Yeah, I…" he hesitated and turned to face me more fully. "I needed to apologize to you, Jordan."
I could see that he was being sincere. I felt bad for being mad at him. "No, no, no, it's fine," I said. I went in a little closer to him. "I shouldn't have done that yesterday," I admitted. "And I'm sorry for saying you hurt my feelings and all that. I was just… I don't know… embarrassed. You were just trying to help me. I get it. It's all good." I patted him on the back. I knew my voice was a little shaky, and I was glad to have gotten through the interaction without it being too obviously nervous.
"I still didn't get my picture," he said.
My heart might as well have fallen out of my chest and onto the floor at the mention of the picture. I never expected him to say that.
"What picture?" I asked, smiling and trying to control my voice and keep it from shaking.
"You got two pictures, and you walked off with both of them."
I gave him a little smile. "You don't want that picture," I said.
I was unable to do this. I thought of the girl in the wall, and I could feel my eyes start to burn with tears. I blinked and began to move.
"I need to go check on my table." I turned, but JD touched my arm, so I stopped and looked at him.
"Can I please talk to you for more than two minutes? I can tell you're still upset."
"I’m not," I lied, trying to smile. "I-I just heard you liked somebody, so I think we should try to please forget that I ever did that last night."
"What?" he asked, looking annoyed.
"Nothing," I said, smiling and shaking my head. "I can see one of my tables looking for me. I'll come back in just a minute."
It took me ten minutes to get back over to JD, and by that time, he was halfway done with his sandwich. I made eye contact with him as I headed his way.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I had three tables finishing up at the same time."
"That's fine. I just… Jordan, you were not out of line."
"When?" I asked, not understanding what he was saying.
"Last night," he said.
"Oh, y-yes I was. I was way out of line. I shouldn't have… done that." I spoke quietly and he stared at me with a serious expression. He was so handsome that I could hardly look at him.
He touched my hand. "Jordan, I'm telling you, I did not mind what you did."
I was staring at his shirt when I leaned in closer and said, "I feel bad about it, though. I saw a girl walk into a hole in the wall this morning, and someone told me you like her."
"You saw Lila?"
My eyes snapped to his as soon as he said that name. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"No, she's not," he said, shaking his head a little. "She's just a friend. Who told you that?"
"One of the guys here," I said.
"Did he see her, too?"
"Yes. He's the one who told me about you—how you liked her. He said you were really protective of her. That's why you didn't want me around." I breathed a sigh, closing my eyes and knowing I should stop talking. I didn't stop. "I figured it has to do with that thing I was talking about when I first came here—that place in the wall where Micah stayed. I don't really care what it is anymore, but I'm sure, whatever it is, I'm probably not going to work here now that I know about it."
JD drew me in slowly to the place where our faces were only a foot apart. "It's one room, and the entrance you saw was the only way in or out. There's a dingy staircase that leads up to it. It used to be a storage room. Birdy, as a young woman, fled a relationship that almost killed her. She lived in central Washington and she escaped on a train to Seattle. She left the train station and made her way here, to this restaurant. Papa Jim's dad, the original Jimmy, was alive and running the restaurant at the time. He let Birdy stay in that room for two cents a month. They didn't own the building back then. The restaurant was barely making it. Birdy is to be credited for its success. She gave this place new light. She fell in love with the owner's son, and the rest is history. Anyway, she pays it forward by letting people stay in that room—people who need it—people who she takes a liking to and also have no other place to go. Micah was here for a while, and then no one's been in there until Lila got here. She wasn't just homeless. She was in really bad shape, like my grandma had been. We're all protective of her, not just me, but she's doing good now. She's got a job. She'll be moving out soon." He tilted his head at me. "So, that's the story about the room. It's small in there, but it's nice, and the rent is still the same as it was then. Two cents. Lila's supposed to watch out for people and not go in or out if anyone's around, but you're not going to get fired over it."
