Page 10 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

Ten

Clarissa

S hamelessly gawking, she watched in disbelief as Tom unpacked the massive bags of food that were delivered.

First there was the box of chocolate-covered fruits: strawberries, cherries, pineapple, and orange, all neatly arranged in a travel box. Three bottles of sparkling water. Then heaping containers of mashed potatoes, green beans, zucchini, tossed salad, and finally, were those lobster tails?

“Where did you get all of this?” she asked.

“I called in a favor,” he said simply. “A cousin is a chef at Maddison’s Garden Grill.”

She blanched. She’d heard of that restaurant but never went. It was the most expensive place in the neighboring four towns. “How many cousins do you have?” she asked, incensed.

“A lot.” He laughed.

“Let me go see if Rachel’s still asleep, she probably hasn’t eaten much today.”

Rachel had burrowed herself deeper into her blankets, snoring. Clarissa shut the door without trying to wake her. No doubt there would be plenty of food left over for her when she woke.

“Just us for dinner.” Back in the kitchen, Tom had found the plates, bowls, and cups, and set the table for them, the flowers he brought arranged neatly in a cup at the center. How had he done all of that so fast?

He held the chair out for her, she hesitated. “I should really help you, it’s my kitchen after all.”

“Sit down, Clarissa.” He stared at her until she wavered and sat. He pushed her chair in.

After pouring them each a glass of the sparkling water, he placed their plates on the table.

“Hope you don’t mind, I gave you a little bit of everything.” He sat across from her.

“It looks amazing, thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Smiling, he stared at her.

With an awkward start, she realized he was waiting for her to take the first bite. Forking the vegetables, her mouth exploded with glee at the first taste.

If the zucchini tasted this amazing, she couldn’t imagine what the rest of it was like. There were a few moments of silence as she shamelessly shoveled food into her mouth.

When she remembered she was on a date, she sat up straighter and took smaller bites. It was usually a good idea to at least pretend to behave like a lady, if only for the first date.

She glanced at Tom. He didn’t seem to have minded, or noticed, the impression of a Hungry Hungry Hippo she’d been doing. Taking a sip of water, she cleared her throat.

“Do all of your cousins live in town?” she asked.

“Not all, no. A few live in Lawrence, some are scattered across other towns in Kansas. But we all stay in close contact and see each other a few times a year. The ones in town I see on a regular basis. I live with a few of them, in my parents’ old house.”

“Oh, that must be nice. Or does it get annoying having no privacy?”

“We’re always coming and going, so we don’t step on each other’s toes too much,” he said.

“And your siblings? You have a brother and sister, right?”

He nodded, taking a sip of water. “Maria is four years younger than me, and James is seven. Maria and her husband, Sam, they live in town. They actually just moved out of our parents’ house when they found out she was pregnant. James lives in Kansas City, Missouri. We have a boardroom up there and he’s always preferred city life. He comes back when he can, if he wants, which is rarely.”

“Boardroom, that’s for your parents’ business?” she asked.

“Add a few ‘great grands’ to that, but yes. My parents were the last ones to run it before my brother and I.”

“And you do, lumber?”

“Among other things, yes,” he said.

“Do a lot of your cousins work in the family business?”

“No, it’s not a requirement to be in the family business, if that’s what you’re thinking. But, if anyone is ever down and out, we try to find something for them.”

“What about you, did you always want to work in lumber, among other things?”

He laughed at her quip. “No, for a long time I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

She stared at him until he continued.

“I find most of my fulfillment comes from things outside of work. So, when it came time for my father to retire, I offered to take over. For me, it was less about the job and more about taking care of the workers and my family.

“Some of the daily workers have been there for years, a few are generational. The least I could do is ensure they had job security and a decent boss. And like I said, a lot of my family works there too.”

“But what do you do for you? If you spend all your time taking care of your family, what makes you happy?” she asked, knowing full well the question was hypocritical of her. All she ever did was take care of her family. Was he the same way?

“I have plenty of hobbies that keep me busy, I like … running … camping.” He paused before each one, as if thinking of the correct word. “Besides, I’ve come to enjoy taking care of my family, or at least I try to, even if they are a pain most days.”

He smiled at her and she took another bite, thinking while she chewed.

It seemed like he wasn’t a caretaker for a single sick relative as she was, and a small part of her was disappointed by that. She’d been hopeful she’d have someone to commiserate with. However, it sounded as if he was in charge of his entire extended relations. Somehow that sounded far worse. Less isolating perhaps, but infinitely more stressful and demanding, being pulled in a million different directions.

“You know,” she said, swallowing a mouth of lobster with lemon. “This is my first time having lobster. I think I understand now what all the fuss is about.”

Taking her by surprise, he threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll make a mental note of that.”

“I am curious though,” she said, “what would you have done if I didn’t eat meat?”

“I saw you have hot dogs in the freezer,” he said.

“What if I had an allergy to shellfish?”

“Shellfish allergies are very serious. Anyone who has one and works in food service would wear a medical ID bracelet. You have no such bracelet. And I didn’t see an EpiPen in your purse.”

“You went through my purse?” she asked, incensed.

“No. I saw into it that night in the parking lot.”

“It was pitch dark.” She frowned.

“I have good eyesight.”

“So, you used your master skills at deduction to know I would be able to eat all of this.”

“More or less.” He smirked.

“I can’t tell if I’m impressed or offended.”

“Let me know when you decide, and I’ll be sure to act accordingly,” he said.

“Oh, you’re a funny man.”

“Only occasionally.”

Laughing with him, she was unable to recall a time when she felt this relaxed. Having him over, seeing him sitting across the table from her, it felt as if they’d done this every day for years.

“Claire?” Rachel came out of her room. Her hair was brushed and she’d changed clothes. “I must have dozed off. When did you get home from school?”

“Just now,” she said.

“And you brought a friend home, is this the boy who’s taking you to the prom?” she whispered loudly to Clarissa.

“Sure am.” Tom smiled. “That is, if she’ll let me.”

Clarissa rolled her eyes at him, unable to help the grin spreading across her face.

“Are you hungry, aunty?” Clarissa asked. “Tom was kind enough to bring us dinner.”

“Well, in that case, he’s got my vote for prom date,” Rachel said.

Tom smirked at her, then got up to make a plate for Rachel. Clarissa grabbed the extra chair, setting it up for her.

“What classes are you taking, Tom?” Rachel asked. “Do you two have any together?”

“Sadly no, but we sit together at lunch.” Tom winked at her. The effect it had on the warmth in her pelvis was unexpected. “This semester I’m taking calculus, English literature, and advanced history, to name a few.”

“I always adored my literature classes. Who doesn’t love an excuse to read a good book?” Rachel commented.

“That’s only if the teacher assigns a good book,” he said, making Rachel laugh.

Settling into her chair, Clarissa listened to them talk. She had a feeling he was sharing real stories from his time in school, telling them as if it were present to help soothe Rachel’s confusion.

It was wonderful to see how at ease he was with Rachel, and how willing he was to placate her. The three of them talked over the tray of chocolate-covered fruit, she felt a sense of comfort and familiarity grow in her chest as the night wore on.

* * *

Wrapping her hoodie tighter over herself. The cool spring night nipped at Clarissa’s face, she ignored it. Standing on the front steps, she looked up at Thomas. He was breathtaking with his handsome features outlined by the hazy moonlight, his red hair a deep auburn in the night.

“Thank you.” She wasn’t sure how to say what was on her mind. “I’m happy you decided not to reschedule. I had a good time tonight.”

“Does this mean I’ve fully graduated from ‘stranger’ status?”

“I think you earned it,” she said.

“I’m glad,” he said, all hints of a joke gone. “I wanted to let you know I don’t think I’ll be able to come to the diner tomorrow, but I’d like to see you again. What days do you have off work?”

“I work every day. Tuesdays are usually the longest, other days can be if I pick up an extra shift.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Don’t pick up an extra shift on Friday.”

“Is that a request, or a demand?” She laughed.

“How about this, I’m going to make plans for Friday, and I’m going to be here whether you’re ready or not,” Thomas said.

“You going to take Rachel out if I’m at work?”

“Oh certainly, she clearly thinks I’m charming.”

“Who said I didn’t?” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she’d said.

“You do?” He smiled. She couldn’t tell if it was endearing or infuriating.

“Well, I guess it would depend on what you were doing. You definitely have your moments, and other times, you get that smug look on your face like you just ate a canary. It kind of ruins the illusion.”

“I’ll work on that.”

It was only then that she realized they’d been inching closer while they were talking. He was now thoroughly in her space, and she was not-so-subtly leaning into him, her head craning up.

“So, what are you planning for Friday?” she blurted, to keep herself from attacking his lips. They were pink and flushed against his fair skin.

“I didn’t realize you’d decided to show up.”

“I’m still mulling it over.”

He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “If you decide to join me on Friday, then you’ll get to know what the plans are.”

Breath hitching, her face was no more than a breath away from the bare skin of his neck. Her lips parted. The smallest of movements and they would brush his neck. Trail up it to the sensitive part behind his ear, nibble on his earlobe. She wondered if he would moan. His voice was usually low and rough. What would his moans sound like? It would be so easy to find out …

Jerking back, she scampered up the steps to the door. “Thank you again. Have a good evening, Thomas.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, catching a glimpse of his shocked face as she shut the door.

Placing a hand to her chest, she fell against the door, panting. What was wrong with her?

Dinner had been put in the fridge; Tom refused to take any of the leftovers home. The dishes sat on a towel, drying. He’d rinsed while she washed. She’d reveled in the comfort this simple domestic task had brought her. Even when Rachel wasn’t having a meltdown, it was hard not to constantly feel alone. Tom spending the evening with them made her realize just how isolated she’d become.

His smile, attentiveness, kindness, his very presence, had obliterated her illusion. Not only did she crave interaction, she ached for it. For someone she could truly be herself around, someone to share the ups and downs with. And heaven help her, someone to share intimacy with.

How long had it been since she’d held someone’s hand other than Rachel’s? The simple act of him brushing a lock of stray hair from her face was enough to send her overboard. She’d have to be careful.

After locking the door, she checked the windows. His car was gone. In the kitchen, she filled a glass with tap water and started chugging. A hot flush had worked its way over her skin.

“Your friend seems lovely.” Rachel sat at the kitchen table.

“Yeah, he is, isn’t he?” She refilled her glass.

“Well, I’m going to take a book and go lay in bed.” Rachel took a book off the shelf at random, then shuffled off to her room. “Have a good night, Claire, don’t stay up too late, you’ve got school in the morning.”

“Good night, aunty.” Standing in the kitchen, she drummed her fingers on the counter. At this rate, she wasn’t going to get any sleep.

After brushing her teeth, she went into her room, locked the door, and stripped. Keyed up and restless, she yanked back the purple floral covers and lay naked and uncovered atop her bed.

The chill of the room caught up to her, goose bumps crept over her flesh. It felt good. A welcome contrast to the heat she felt boiling up in her.

Her already erect nipples turned hard in the chill. She wondered what Tom’s mouth would feel like on them, warm and wet, eagerly suckling.

Groaning, she curled her fingers into the sheet beneath her. She wondered what else he would do. Getting more flustered by the second, she realized this was entirely the wrong path to let her mind take.

Well, just because he wasn’t there, didn’t mean she couldn’t do it her damn self. Though, if she was being honest, she was sick and tired of having to do it herself. But this was an emergency; Clarissa thought she was about to explode.

Licking her first two fingers, she warmed them up and coated them in her saliva. She relaxed her legs and moved her hand down. Spreading her labia open, she pressed against herself.

Letting out a sigh, she found the spot. The wonderful location where her nerves clustered and sent thrills through her like waves of charged pleasure. Moving her fingers back and forth, she leaned her head back into her pillow. Squeezing her eyes shut, she bit her lip and moved her fingers faster.

Temperature rising, a light sheen of sweat built over her as she changed the pattern of her movements. Firm and circular. She moaned, the anticipation growing in her pelvis. She wondered what Tom’s mouth would feel like pressing into her lips, trailing kisses over her skin, down to her legs, his mouth settling in between her thighs, tongue exploring her.

Panting, she teased her nipples. They were sensitive from something other than the cold. She pressed against herself until her legs twitched and a strangled gasp caught in her throat. But it wasn’t enough.

Reaching further down, she twisted her wrist and pushed her fingers inside. She altered the angle, moving until her thumb pressed against her outside just right.

Breath coming fast, she held her thumb against her clitoris while pushing her fingers in and out. With a muffled cry, she slid a third finger inside.

Keeping her thumb steady, she moved her fingers faster and faster until her back arched off the mattress, her toes curled, finding her release again and again.

After using the hand sanitizer on her bedside table, she lay back down and pulled the covers over her. Turning to her side, she burrowed into her blankets. As she fell asleep, she wondered what would happen on Friday.

* * *

Thursday at the diner passed slower than usual. Despite knowing Tom wasn’t able to make an appearance, Clarissa couldn’t help watching the door.

Around five in the afternoon, a few early suppers trickled in, and she finally stopped looking up every time the door opened.

“Hi, Clarissa.” Jordan came in from the back, tying his apron on. His uniform looked like the top half of a waitress’s dress had been cut off and paired with black slacks. She couldn’t tell if the end result was classic or funny looking.

“Afternoon, Jordan,” she greeted him, filling the coffee maker and giving it a whack.

“How late you working today?”

“Just another hour.”

“Alright cool, any update on the current tables?”

“Three of them already ordered, four others just sat down.” She gave him a rundown of each table and their orders.

“What about the corner booth?” he asked.

She glowered at the occupants in Tom’s usual spot. “They have been here all day. Every few hours, another one shows up and one leaves. It’s bizarre, but they’ve been paying and ordering, so I haven’t pressed the issue.”

“Huh, guess they just really like greasy diner food. Well, I’ll take this half and start seeing who’s ready to place orders.”

“Thanks, Jordan, I’ll be right there.” She hit the coffee maker another two times before it gurgled to life.

The next hour saw an uptick in customers, for which Clarissa was grateful. It helped the time pass faster. The downside was, when she finally clocked out, she was worn and sore.

Driving down to Andy’s Garage, she stopped at the gas station on her way. She’d run to the bank on her break to deposit her paycheck and was relieved to have a full tank and was now determined to get Andy’s off her back.

In the shop, she was greeted by one of the mechanics she didn’t know.

“Hello,” she said, “I have an outstanding balance to pay off, the name is Clarissa Roberts.”

He typed in the system and furrowed his brow. “White Ford Taurus, twenty-o-nine?”

“Yes, that’s it.” She dug into her bag for her wallet.

“Been paid for.”

“What? I still have over four hundred dollars left.”

“Anonymous payment came in this morning. It happens sometimes, people want to pay it forward.”

“Well, that was … very generous of them.” She stood there, dumbfounded. “So, I really don’t owe you anything?”

“Nope.” He smiled. “Sorry you had to drive all the way out here.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m just surprised is all.”

After saying thank you again, she left the shop, went to her car, and paused to think. Who the heck paid off her car for her? If it was a ‘pay it forward’ perhaps it was a random account, asking for whoever had the longest outstanding bill.

Smiling to herself, she started the car and headed home. Maybe there were still good people out there willing to help strangers in need. She made a mental note to do the same if she were ever in the position to do so.

As she pulled into the driveway, her stomach lurched and her heart hammered. Parking crookedly, she ran from the car and burst into the double-wide.

“What happened?” she demanded.

Rachel looked up, confused, and a young woman sitting next to her looked frightened before twisting her face into a professional mask. She wore scrubs and had a clipboard on her lap.

“Claire,” Rachel greeted her. “You’re home late from school, did your study session run over?”

“What?” She gaffed for half a second. “Yes, but it’s fine. What’s going on here? Is everything alright?” She stared at the woman next to Rachel.

“Oh, everything is fine,” Rachel said. “This is Elizabeth. She works at the hospital doing home calls. She’s checking up on all the old patients, something to do with record updates.”

Clarissa saw Elizabeth purse her lips and jot something down on her clipboard.

Her muscles unwound. “Oh, I see. I’m sorry for yelling, I was just concerned.”

“That’s perfectly normal,” Elizabeth soothed. “The two of you live here together, no one else?”

“Yes,” Clarissa said. “It’s been just us for twenty-seven years.”

“That’s not quite right,” Rachel corrected. “You’re only sixteen, silly, it’s been twelve years.”

“Okay. Thank you, Rachel.” Elizabeth stood up. “Clarissa, do you mind if the two of us speak in private?”

“Please.” Clarissa gestured to the front door and paused for Elizabeth to put her coat on.

“Sorry for taking you by surprise,” Elizabeth said as soon as the door was closed. “I’m co-owner of Home Care, Home Love. I’ve been assigned to your aunt’s case.”

“Oh!” Clarissa recognized the name of Eugene’s niece. “I have the business card, but I didn’t call to set up care.”

“No, someone else called. They paid for a full year upfront.”

“Who?”

“I can’t say, they asked to remain anonymous.” Elizabeth went through her clipboard.

It must have been Greg. He’d seen how bad Rachel was when he was here. He probably knew Clarissa wasn’t going to ask him for help, so he took it upon himself. She felt guilty he’d had to stoop to such levels due to her stubbornness.

“I have a few things I need to check with you,” Elizabeth said. “She is your father’s elder sister. Your last name is Roberts, but your aunt’s is Jhonson?”

“Yes, my father took my mother’s last name when they got married.”

“And you moved in with her at the age of four?”

“Yes, she adopted me after my parents died in a house fire.”

Elizabeth nodded, her face expressionless. “When did she start exhibiting signs of the dementia?”

She ran a hand over her face. “It started slow, probably years before we even realized what it was. She was always forgetful, especially about dates and what year of school I was in. Looking back the signs were there long before the diagnosis, I was just too young to notice. Her memory kept getting worse every year so I took her to the doctor for it, this was after I graduated high school. She was diagnosed about ten years ago; but like I said, I think it started well before then.”

“When you talk to her, does she typically think you’re in high school still? Or does the timeline jump?”

“No, she pretty much always thinks I’m in high school, junior year. She’s fixated on junior year of high school, mine or hers.”

Elizabeth looked like this confirmed something for her. Clarissa was just happy someone was finally listening to her.

“What is it?” Clarissa asked.

“It’s rare, but there are some cases where the patient loses the ability to create new memories. In essence, their mind becomes frozen at the time their illness started. However, that’s more common in brain injury patients. Her doctor is Dr. Brady, correct?”

“Yes,” Clarissa confirmed.

“Part of my job here is not only to take care of Rachel day to day, but to report back to her medical care team. I’ll be sure to include this in my preliminary report. Now, is there anything you can think of that I may need to know about your aunt to help care for her?”

“She’s typically agreeable, just confused on what year it is. On occasion, she does become agitated. When that happens, she usually panics and says bears are coming for her. I have no idea why. As far as I know, she’s never come across a bear before.”

“How do you calm her when this happens?”

“I assure her I’m not a bear. I tell her if I was a bear then I wouldn’t be trying to convince her I’m not. When it gets really bad, I call Sheriff Greg. He’s an old boyfriend of hers. She trusts him and what he says when she can’t remember me.”

“Has she ever gotten violent?”

“Only once.”

“Okay, I think that’s all I need for now.” Elizabeth finished her notes. “I almost forgot, I have your place of work listed as Donna’s Diner?”

“That’s correct, you can always reach me on their phone if you need anything.”

Elizabeth jotted the phone number of the diner down along with Clarissa’s work schedule. Someone else would be there on Saturday and Sunday since Clarissa worked every day of the week. Elizabeth reassured her all bills were covered and they had a card on file for any extra expenses.

The guilt rose in Clarissa’s chest. She made a mental note to reach out to Greg and thank him for his generosity.