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“Room? Where are you staying?”
“Motel. They’ve got a weekly deal I can live by ‘til I find me an apartment.”
“Bullshit. I’ll come get you, and you can stay here ‘til you find something. I’m in this big house by myself. We can work out the details later.”
“You sure? I don’t want to eat you out of house and home,” he jokes.
“Naw, I remember how much you eat. Use that motel money to put some food in my refrigerator.”
“Deal. I’ll go next door and get some food then. I’ll text you my location and see you soon.”
“Bye.”
I shower and put on clothes, getting out of the house and on the road in less than ten minutes. When I get to the diner he is at, instead of waiting for him to come out, I go in. I am hungry, and since I don’t want to cook, this will do.
A stack of waffles, two orders of bacon, ham, and coffee later, I am stuffed and ready for a good nap. I’d tell William about Gina, and suggest I do things on my own terms without the past playing a part if I want to try for a future. I don’t know if I want that either.
“Jamie?”
Looking up to see the source of my conversation, I am more than a little surprised to see Gina here. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I was craving a chocolate chip and peanut butter waffle. And since Lucas loves their waffle sandwich, I thought it was a win. How’d you sleep?”
“Horrible. I should have gotten up to get into my bed.”
“Were you guys ready for the check?” the server asks.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just wanted to say hi.” Gina backed away.
“Are those real dog tags?” Lucas shouts at Andre.
“They are.” He leans over so that Lucas can examine them.
“Mom! They’re real! Can I wear them?”
“No, sweetheart. We’re going to let them go finish their day.”
“Sure he can.” Andre takes off his tags and puts them around Lucas’s neck. “Don’t lose them. I need those back.”
Lucas sits beside him in the seat, admiring and tracing the imprinted identifiers on the tags.
The server is too busy smiling at Lucas that she’d forgotten her purpose for being at our table.
“I believe this little guy wants a waffle sandwich,” I order. “I’ll have another cup of coffee, and she wants chocolate chips and peanut butter on her waffle.”
“Scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon, too,” Gina adds before sitting next to me.
Mango.
“I’ll take some more of those grits, add some cheese and bacon in there for me,” Andre adds.
“Everybody wants bacon,” the waitress says while writing on her pad.
“Not me. I want sausage on my waffles,” Lucas corrects.
“Say please,” Gina insists, leaning forward. She means mommy business with that serious face of hers.
“Pleeeease!”
