Page 6 of Somewhere in Seattle

"Jordan is either a boy or a girl name," Isaac said.

"But Matthew's not."

"Matthews is her last name," Isaac said. "And it doesn't matter. Lots of people have whatever names they want to have nowadays."

"Well, I have a cousin named Jordan Washington who's a boy, and I know Jordan Lewis, who is also a boy. So is Michael Jordan, and Matthew Abbott," Cal said. "Every Matthew and every Jordan I know."

"He doesn't mean anything by it," Isaac said, looking at me apologetically.

"I don't mind," I said in a quiet tone, shaking my head.

"We'll see you in a little while for your burger," Cindy said to Cal.

"Okay, tell Jim I'll be here." He looked at Isaac. "Tell Jim I'll be back, and tell Misty she can take my order."

"Misty's in Portland," Isaac called.

"Misty's in Portland," he said, remembering. "Will she be back by twelve-thirty?"

"No, Becca's going to take your order, or I will," Isaac said.

Isaac turned to me with a kind smile as Cal walked away. "He comes most days at twelve-thirty," he said. "When his parents are next door. They live outside of Seattle, and Cal lives with them. They come in to run the store on most weekdays. Mister Washington still works in there, repairing and refurbishing old appliances."

"Oh, that’s cool. I saw that place, Washington's Appliances. I like Cal. He's a cool guy," I continued, smiling and thinking about his raw honesty and his expressive features. I did like Cal, but I braced myself after I said it, thinking the guy on the end might tell me Cal was none of my business. Maybe he would be right to say that. Cal was a likable person, though, and I found myself smiling after the interaction in spite of the fact that he had basically offended me.

I slowly finished the last couple of bites of my sandwich as I listened and watched other people at the restaurant. It was a busy place with a lot going on. A few people came in as Cal was leaving, and they filled the stools between myself and the irritable customer on the end, so he wasn't really an issue by the time I got ready to leave.

I was thankful for that because I was intensely intrigued by Rita's story. She was the owner of this successful restaurant, a place that was really soulful and interesting. She was surrounded by some really cool family and friends. I liked her and I didn't even know her yet.

"Don't forget to give my number to your grandma, if you don't mind," was the last thing I said to my waiter.

"I won't forget," he promised. "It was nice meeting you, Jordan."

"You too," I said.

I went onto the sidewalk. I had only walked a little way from the door when someone caught me up by the arm. I turned to look over my shoulder and I found the guy from the end of the bar. I would have pulled my arm away from him, but he had already dropped it by the time I realized who he was.

"Just forget about your little paper," he said.

"My little paper?" I said, making a face at him.

"Yeah, whatever you were talking about. I heard you say something about a water tower and then trying to write about Rita."

"My little paper? What if I write for the New York Times?"

"Do you?" he asked, dryly.

"No."

He scowled. "Has it ever occurred to you that you shouldn't go snooping around in other people's lives?"

"You seem to be in these people's lives way more than I am," I said, feeling defensive and having nothing else.

"Look, I don’t want to be rude, but just find something else to do with your day," he said. He smiled at me and raised his eyebrows before turning to walk off in the opposite direction. He had me so flustered that I didn't even have a comeback. I wanted to yell at his back, but just stood there, overwhelmed, watching him walk away. He was movie star handsome, which made it even more awkward. I felt like I had just been chewed out by someone really important. I wondered if he was famous. So many men in Seattle were chiseled and good-looking. No offense to Oklahoma men, but there were no men like this back home. Maybe it was just because I saw the exact same guys over and over. Even in Amarillo, I hadn't noticed any amazing-looking men.

This one was mean, and he was distractingly good-looking, and I hated him even more for it.Who did he think he was going around trying to kill people's dreams?I watched him walk away, having random thoughts and feeling stupefied by how rude he was to me for no reason at all.

And then the chain of events got weirder.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com