The Year I Almost Drowned (27 page)

stop, Finn. I gave up on him months ago,” he said. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine, Jesse. Are you?” I asked, because I knew if I were him I wouldn’t

be.

“I’m good. I’ll see you later, Finn.” He gave me a faint smile, but his eyes said

something

else.

“Bye, Jesse.” I went to my car, opened the door and sat down. I turned all the air

conditioning vents on me even though cool air didn’t blow out. I blasted the radio

and sat there trying to calm down. I looked over to my left and Jesse was still

standing

in

the

parking

lot

waiting

for

me

to

leave.

***

I called Lou like Jesse had suggested. He said he’d be at the diner the next

morning. The diner would have to be closed for a day, but without a cook, there

was no way I could’ve opened it anyway. I still hadn’t solved the other problem I

had–not enough waitresses. I thought about placing an ad on Craigslist, but that

could take weeks to find someone. I decided to call the only person I knew who

could

help–Sidney.

Sidney’s poor study habits and habitual appetite for partying helped her grade

point average drop low enough to place her on academic probation. While

everyone else was off for the summer, she was stuck at Harrison attending

summer

school

for

a

month-long

“mini-mester.”

“What

are

you

doing?”

I

asked

her.

She sighed. “Studying, what else. This sucks! I swear no one fun is left on

campus.”

“How

would

you

like

to

come

back

to

Graceville?”

“My ass is glued here for another two days, Finn. I’m studying for this frickin’ final

right

now.

Ugh!”

“I know,” I said. “What I mean is, I’ve decided to run my grandfather’s diner for a

while, at least until my Nana finds a buyer. I don’t have enough waitresses and

really

need

some

help.”

“You’re

running

the

diner

all

by

yourself?

That’s

brave.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said. Really, I was scared out of my wits. I don’t think

that made me brave. It actually may have made me a little insane. “Would you be

interested?”

“Hmm,” she said. “The offer is tempting. Let’s see, work the rest of my summer

break with my friend or stay with ‘The Bickersons’, my emo sister, and crazy-ass

grandfather who walks around in his boxers and nothing else. Decisions,

decisions,”

she

said

sarcastically.

“So,

are

you

in?”

“Do you even need me to answer? The answer is yes, Finn! Of course I will help

you. I don’t know how great I’ll be at waitressing, though, you know what I mean?”

“You’ll be fine. If I can do it, I know you can. Thank you, Sidney,” I cooed. “I owe

you

big

time.”

“I’ll remember you said that.” She laughed. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Keep

on

studying,”

I

ordered.

“It’s

all

I

do.”

She

sighed.

“See

you

soon.”

“Bye,

Finn.”

***

Lou’s military background made him prompt. He arrived at the diner before I did.

Once I saw him, I remembered meeting him at the funeral and questioned how I

could ever forget him. He leaned against his blue El Camino, smoking a cigar. He

was a large man–not obese, but one of those big and tall guys that has to shop

at the specialty stores. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with Margaritaville written

on it, khaki shorts, and white tennis shoes without socks. A black eye patch

covered his left eye. I don’t know how he lost his eye, but I was sure there was a

story

there.

He

evoked

adventure.

“Hi, Lou,” I said as I got out of my car. The smell of cigar smoke lingered in the

air. He took one last puff and put it out and then placed it in his front pocket.

“Saving her for later,” he said, tapping his pocket. “Hey, Finn.” He shook my hand.

His grip was firm. “So, how about we go take a look at the kitchen?”

He followed me to the door and I unlocked it, turning on the lights as we stepped

inside.

“I haven’t been here in a while. Still looks the same,” he said, staring at everything.

He folded his arms against his chest and stood with his legs wide apart and said,

“Your grandfather and I used to cause some serious chaos.” My eyes widened in

surprise. “I’m surprised we didn’t get arrested with all our shenanigans,” he said

and smiled reflectively before quickly jumping back into the present. “Okay,

enough of this chit chat. Show me the kitchen.” I was curious about the hell he

and Grandpa used to cause, but knew that Lou definitely wasn’t one for small

talk.

He poked his head in the refrigerator, through the pantry, opened and closed the

oven, and then touched the grill and ran water from the sink. “It’s clean in here. I

like clean,” he said. “Good size, too. Layout’s decent.” He raised his upper lip to

his

nose.

Lou had a sea captain’s accent. I pictured him wearing a yellow rain jacket and

hat,

standing

on

a

wharf,

hollering

curse

words

at

fishermen.

“I can work with this.” He nodded his head once in a swift movement showing his

approval.

“Okay.

I’ll

do

it,”

he

said.

“Great!”

I

said

enthusiastically.

“I can start in a couple of days. I’ve got a quick trip planned already,” he said.

“Don’t get too excited, yet. We’ll have to see how it goes. After a day, you may

not want me around, or vice versa. But, if you’re anything like Charlie, we’ll get

along just fine.” He extended his hand and I shook it. Maybe Lou had interviewed

me more than I him, but I still had the feeling like I had just made my first big

decision regarding the diner, and I liked it. It gave me a boost of confidence.

***

A day later, Sidney arrived at my grandparents’ house driving up in her black

BMW. I ran out to greet her and hugged her as soon as she got out of her car.

“Geez, Finn, you’d think we hadn’t seen each other in years,” she joked and

pulled me closer to her and then let me go. “You’d think that a drive from Georgia

would be quick. These mountain roads take forever, you know what I mean?”

She clicked a button and her trunk opened. Two large suitcases rested side-by-

side, taking up all the room in the small, confined space. I grabbed a hold of one

to

take

it

out

and

immediately

dropped

it

on

the

ground.

“What did you pack in here?” I groaned. I moved my wrist in circular motion,

touching

it

with

my

other

hand.

“Everything I had in our dorm room, Finn. I couldn’t leave it there,” she said.

“There’s

more

in

the

backseat.”

I moved away from the trunk and looked in her backseat window. Two small

suitcases and a cosmetic bag laid across the entire backseat. “You know we’re

working

most

days

in

a

uniform,

right?”

“Finn, unlike you, I actually have a wardrobe and don’t like wearing t-shirts and

jeans everyday,” she teased. “Besides, if the boys look anything like that Jesse

of

yours,

then

I

have

to

make

sure

I

look

good.”

I

glowered

at

her.

“He’s

not

my

Jesse.”

“Still in the river of de-Nile are you?” She sighed. “Whatevs.”

“There’s

nothing

to

deny.

We

broke

up,”

I

stated.

“I’m not going to stand out here and argue about this. Let’s get my stuff and go

inside,”

she

said.

We unpacked her things in the guest room and then put on our pj’s and headed

to the kitchen. We had some catching up to do and planned to stay up late and

talk

for

a

while.

Sidney opened the refrigerator door. “No pineapple casserole?” she said with

disappointment.

“We stopped getting casseroles a while ago,” I said. “After a while, people forget

and

move

on

with

their

lives.”

“None of those pies you’ve been raving about?” she said, still scanning the

contents

in

the

refrigerator.

“No, Nana hasn’t made any since my grandfather died. I’m hoping she’ll make

some

for

the

movie

night

next

weekend.”

“Doesn’t this just suck. That pineapple casserole thing and those pies you keep

raving about are all I thought about on the drive here.” She shut the refrigerator

door and sat down across from me with a disappointed expression.

“I

can

make

a

PB

and

J,”

I

offered.

“That’ll have to do,” she said. “For now anyways,” she added with a smile.

I slathered peanut butter and grape jelly onto two slices of bread and brought

them

over

to

her.

She

took

a

bite

and

chewed.

Nana came into the kitchen. “I’m going to bed girls,” she said to us.

“Night,”

I

said

to

her.

Sidney quickly swallowed. “Goodnight Lilly. Are you making any pies soon?” she

asked. I kicked her under the table. “What?” she mouthed to me.

Nana

laughed.

“Maybe,”

she

said.

“That’d be great because that’s all Finn talked about at school,” she said to her.

“And

I’ve

been

wanting

to

try

one

ever

since.”

“Goodnight you two,” Nana said, ignoring her, and left us alone.

“What’d you kick me for?” She grimaced, holding onto her leg.

“She has to start baking pies on her own terms. Don’t rush her,” I said.

“Sometimes people need a little encouragement,” Sidney said and bit into her

sandwich again.

For the first time in my life, people looked to me as a leader, as someone to guide

the rest, and even though I had no idea what to do, they were still looking to me

to lead the way. Lou, Hannah, Sidney and I stood in the middle of the diner. Their

eyes were all on mine. I felt pressured to say something inspiring or uplifting, like

in the movies when the General is trying to encourage his soldiers before the big

battle. How could I inspire them when I was going into this blind?

“We’re going to have a great day today,” I said without much fanfare. It sounded

so lame. The three of them looked at me peculiarly, probably because it did sound

so inauthentic. “Thanks for being here, for giving this a shot,” I added.

“We want this to work as much as you do, Finn,” Hannah said. It was the first time

she had really spoken to me in days, and it gave me hope that she wasn’t mad

at me. I wanted things to be good between us, and I hadn’t had the time to talk to

her.

Really,

I

was

avoiding

it.

I

hated

confrontation.

“It’ll

be

fun!”

Sidney

chimed

in.

“Thank

you,”

I

said

to

them

both.

“Enough of this Kumbaya crap, let’s get this place open,” Lou said and headed

toward

the

kitchen.

“Guess I can go unlock the door now,” I said. “Sidney, you stick to Hannah and

me today.” I unlocked the door and turned the sign around so “OPEN” was seen

on the front. And like that, we were open for another day under my direction, only

I had no idea where we were going or how we were going to get there. I just knew

what I wanted and that was for the diner to stay afloat until it was sold.

I

pulled

on

Hannah’s

arm.

“Hannah,”

I

said.

She

blinked.

“Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it. I know you’re mad at me. I don’t

know why, but I’m glad you’re here.” I waited for her to respond.

“We’re friends, Finn,” she said and I felt reassured. “I’m not mad at you. I just