Chapter 6
Sail
I spent the morning on the bathroom floor dry heaving for hours before I felt well enough to make my way back to the bed, where I can’t even pull my shit together long enough to get up for a cup of coffee. Around five, I grab my phone and notice I have a message from Christine. I’m shocked when I listen to it. “Ben, it’s Christine. I thought over what you said yesterday and of course I have a position for you. You start Monday, nine a.m. sharp. See you then. Toodles.”
Fuck me—I didn’t give in and she’s still giving me a job. I instantly feel better. My life is turning around. I can feel it. I head down to Four & Twenty Blackbirds to grab a drink, a sandwich, and a slice of pie with a feeling of hopefulness I haven’t felt in a while. The chick who’s usually behind the counter isn’t there, but then again it’s later than I usually come in. She’s probably already off work. I order my stuff and sit at my regular booth near the window.
“You do that a lot,” a raspy voice says.
At the sound, I look up to see counter girl with her apron off but grasped tightly in her hands.
“What do I do a lot?” I ask her.
“Stare out the window and just look at the people walking by.” She takes a seat across from me.
“They’re interesting to watch.” I point out the window at an older man walking his dog. “See him?”
She nods.
“He’s trying to get his dog to listen to him. He thinks he’s training the dog, but really the dog is training him.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I can see that.” Then she points to a woman with a young boy. “What about her?”
I offer her a big grin. “Oh, that’s easy. Her son wants a toy and she has somewhere to be so she’s telling herself she’s compromising but really she’s bribing.”
She nods again. “Fascinating.”
We go through a couple more rounds and she gets the idea and begins trying it on her own.
That gives me a chance to take a good look at her. She’s cute with dark brown hair and freckles. I’d guess her age at no older than twenty-four. She has an innocence about her that reminds me of Dahl when she was younger.
“I’m Ben.” I reach my hand out.
“Ruby,” she smiles.
“Nice to meet you, Ruby.”
She blushes and I laugh. I haven’t met someone like her in a long time. We talk for about an hour before she looks at her watch. “It’s getting late. I should probably be going.”
I stand up and shove my hands in my pockets. I don’t try to dissuade her or ask her out. “Yeah, me too. I’ll see you around.” I extend my hand again.
Her grip is weak. She’s timid. And she’s blushing again. After spending the past sixty minutes talking to her, I realize she’s not as similar to Dahlia as I first thought. But that’s okay. She was refreshing to talk to. Even though she seems like a nice girl, any kind of romantic entanglement is the farthest thing from my mind right now. I’m not looking for a love interest—girlfriend or otherwise.
“Yeah, see you around.” She smiles.
I’m thinking about heading over to Beck’s as I leave the coffee shop but decide I’ve had enough to drink for a while, and need to be clear headed for my new job on Monday.
***
I could always schmooze a congressman’s wife, a publicist’s sister, even a former teacher’s husband, with a few carefully crafted words. Well-rehearsed flirtation is what Dahl used to call it when she heard me in action. When there was a story, I knew how to set about getting it. It was my calling. I can only hope it still is.
After a week of training for this fucktastic job, I’m finally on my own. Taking in a deep breath, I tell myself I can do this. I can get the story, regardless of what type of story it is. Today should be like going after any other piece—but I know it really won’t be.