“Sure thing, hon.” Edna pivoted and moved away quickly. She filled up the two cups then frowned. “I just remembered I have to check on a delivery in the back.” She looked at Ed. “Would you be a dear?”
He glared at her, then looked at Madeline over his shoulder. “I’m a customer, you know.”
“Oh, Ed,” she said, waving at him dismissively, then disappeared through the swinging kitchen doors. Slowly, Ed got up from his stool, picking up the tray with the coffee and dish of creamer. He meandered over to her table and held the tray down, but stopped short of placing the cups on the table. Finally, Madeline reached up and took the cups and dish of creamers. Ed was so busy looking away from her that the tray started to tip. As the dish of creamers slid toward the floor, both he and Madeline instinctively tried to grab it. She got there first, and Ed’s hand landed right on top of hers. He yanked it away, eyes wide, and backed up into the occupied table behind him.
“Goddammnit, Ed!” a woman snarled at him. “You’ve gone and made me spill my coffee!”
“S-sorry,” he slurred, backing around the table without breaking his gaze on Madeline.
The bell over the door rang, and a gush of fresh air spiraled into the hot diner. Madeline turned in the booth, relieved to see George. His long, dark coat caught in the wind as he pushed the door shut behind him. He turned then, scanning the diner, his long, black hair hanging freely about his shoulders.
Madeline’s breath caught in her chest. He looked different. More… vibrant. A spark that hadn’t been there before ignited in her belly. His dark brown eyes positively glittered as they surveyed the diner and then fell on her. She gave a small wave, and he navigated his way through the tables to where she sat.
“Hello, Madeline,” he said, grinning, his teeth brilliant white against the tanned glow of his skin. Something was undeniably different about him, but Madeline couldn’t quite place it.
“Hi, George,” she said after a moment. “Have a seat.”
He slid into the booth opposite her. “You look good tonight. Are you still doing okay… you know… after?”
She nodded, though inside the events at the dam had left her shaken. Her hand felt for her bracelet.
“You’re playing nervously with your bracelet again,” George told her.
“Oh, sorry. It’s a habit.”
“I’ve noticed. What’s in the little box, anyway?”
“A treasure,” Madeline said and didn’t expand.
He glanced around for the waitress then, and Edna didn’t disguise her horror at having to return to the table so soon. She started over empty-handed, and to save her the trip, George called, “Menus?”
Edna froze as if he’d just pulled a gun on her. “Menus?” she said weakly.
“Yeah,” George said, his brow furrowing.
“I can tell you our specials,” she offered after a pause.
“That’s okay,” George said back over the din of the other diners. “I want to peruse it.”
“Um…” Edna glanced over at the menu box next to the counter, which was full to the top. “You can come up and pick one out…”
George wrinkled his forehead, obviously confused. “What?”
Madeline knew all too well what was going on. She nudged George’s foot under the table. He turned to her, confused. “She doesn’t want to bring the menus, George. She’d have to touch them, see, then hand them to us.”
His mouth came open. “You’re kidding me.”
She averted her eyes. “Unfortunately, I’m not.”
He’d seen this stuff before with her. But now his eyes flared, and he turned to Edna. “Bring us the menus now!” he said angrily.
Madeline’s face flushed. No one had stood up for her since Ellie all those years ago.
Flustered, Edna looked down and twisted her hands, then hurried over to the menus. Wrapping her hand in her apron, she grabbed two menus and carried them over, dropping one on the table and the other clumsily on the floor.
“And how are you going to deliver the food?” George demanded.
Madeline nudged his foot again under the table, her face hot. Others turned in their chairs and booths to stare. “Thanks,” she said to Edna, who was already halfway back to the counter.
George picked up the one from the floor and gave Madeline the clean one.
Then, shaking his head in disbelief, he shrugged out of his coat. Beneath it he wore a dark purple shirt and black pants. The shirt sported a Nehru collar, which wasn’t buttoned, and as he leaned over to place the coat on the far side of the booth, Madeline caught a glimpse of a shapely collarbone.
Instantly she averted her eyes to her coffee cup. What was she doing? He’d never been attractive to her before. He’d always been somewhat, well… stiff. Good company, but not deep company. Nice eyes but not alluring eyes. But somehow, things were different tonight. Had been from the moment he walked in the door.
She wondered if the recent serious event had awakened something within her, some desire to experience things on a deeper level.
His lips were full and inviting. Surely they hadn’t been the last time she’d seen him. She remembered him having a gray, pursed, slash of a mouth. His hair cascaded over his shoulders seductively, strands curling before his face. Every other time she’d seen him, he had his hair pulled back in a ponytail. The effect of seeing it down was dramatic. She even noticed how shapely his body was: lithe, athletic. She tried to look away but couldn’t. She was mesmerized, fascinated at how different he looked.
And it wasn’t just that he looked different. He felt different. A wave of something utterly alluring wafted off him. Other people noticed it, too. The woman in the booth behind them half turned to look around the room and ended up doing a full double take when she saw him behind her.
Madeline had been rebuffing his advances for months, and to show interest now would be too weird. They were friends. And friends were much harder to come by than dates. There was nothing powerful or magical in a date. But a friend? That was a miracle. And currently, being the “Weird Girl,” she didn’t have an overwhelming amount of friends.
“What deep thoughts are burning in that head of yours?” George asked suddenly, startling her. He took a sip of his coffee. “Oooh… ouch. Too hot.” He brought a hand up to his lips and touched them gently. Madeline found herself staring. Again.
“Okay?” she asked, averting her eyes.
“Yeah. Just hotter than I expected.”
Tell me about it, she thought and then smiled in spite of herself.
He leaned across the table, nearer to her. “What’s this big news you wanted to tell me?”
Taking a deep breath, she twisted the amethyst ring she wore on her index finger. It had belonged to her beloved grandmother, Grace. She glanced around, feeling the sheer weight of being unwelcome crushing her chest. “I’m going on a backcountry trek to Glacier National Park,” she told him. “Alone. To clear my head, get away from people, from my visions, my ‘gift.’ ” She sneered on the last word.
“Alone? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Crossing the street is dangerous. There’s more chance I’ll get hit by a car than get eaten by a bear or fall to my death.”
“What about just plain getting lost?” he asked. “I read a story about a couple who were hopelessly lost in Glacier National Park. They got separated from the trail and couldn’t find it again. Helicopters searched for them. When the rescue team finally found them, the couple was nearly dead and only fifty yards away from the trail they’d been trying to find.”
She smiled ruefully. That story was in a book she’d lent him herself. “I’m leaving my itinerary with you, so that if I’m not back on the right date, you can come look for me.” She gave him a warm smile. “I’m also slipping a route into my dad’s mailbox.”