Page 20

Danielle

A s I’m stacking plates from the empty tables at the end of my shift, I notice Jordan enter The Blue Crab with a woman who looks vaguely familiar. They take a step apart when they see me looking. Interesting. I don’t think I know her, but I swear with her dark blonde hair and crazy long legs she almost looks like Mike. Oh, that’s it. I think I recognize her from the pictures tacked up on his door.

“Danielle,” Jordan greets me. “This is Mike’s oldest sister, Michelle, but pretty much everyone calls her Shelley.”

"It’s a way to help keep all of the 'M’ names straight around my house,” Shelley says.

Then he tells her, “This is Danielle Daniels. If you need someone to teach you how to pick a crab, she has been known to provide her services.” He doesn’t offer another title for me because who knows what Mike and I are to each other right now. I suppose Jordan would have no reason to introduce me as his own friend either, although it stings a little to know he doesn’t think of me as one.

“Hi, Jordan. Nice to meet you, Shelley. Do you need a table?” I act professional and treat them like all of my other customers.

Shelley smiles warmly at me. “No, we’re actually here to pick up the takeout order my parents called in. I was told you serve an amazing seafood club sandwich.”

Mike’s parents are in town? Both of them? Is he speaking with his dad now? How much have I missed since we had our fight? I stumble through my thoughts before finally answering her.

“Um, yeah. We do. That’s my favorite thing on the menu, actually.”

“Oh, you don’t say.” She elbows Jordan softly in the ribcage before she excuses herself to go pick up their order. It’s waiting in foam boxes in front of the kitchen window. Jordan stays behind and rocks on his heels.

“Hey, look, whatever is going on between you and Miller is none of my business, but you should know one thing. I put the pills in his truck. He really didn’t know they were there.”

Looks like the time for small talk is over and we are doing this now. I sigh, balancing the tray of discarded dishes on my hip.

“That’s what he told me. Said he had no idea how eighteen pills were suddenly missing one day after the date on the bottle. I suppose you have an answer for that?” I don’t mean for the question to come out sharp and accusatory, but it does. This whole mess hurts, and I’m not good at hiding my feelings.

“I get that it looked bad, but I swear he didn’t know. We had just picked up my prescription at the pharmacy. When we stopped for dinner I took a pill, but I dropped the bottle and spilled about half of it in the parking lot. He was already inside and didn’t see it happen. I wasn’t thinking, and I shoved the rest of them in the glove box and went in to meet up with him. Then I forgot to bring the bottle inside when we got home. That’s on me. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

I search Jordan’s eyes for any signs that he might be making up a story to cover for Mike, but he seems sincere. I can tell by the way his face twists while he looks at the ground that he truly regrets leaving the pills in the truck. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would lie about something like this. We both know that not only did it cause Mike to have a fight with me, but it could have derailed his friend’s sobriety, which is so much worse. Then it hits me that I did the exact same thing. I also left the pills with Mike when I walked away.

Suddenly it’s harder to breathe. The weight of my own role in this situation hits me like a freight train. Mike was telling the truth the whole time. I didn’t even give him a chance before I threw a bunch of blame onto him that he didn’t deserve, and then I left. I was so worried that he wouldn’t stick around or that he couldn’t handle a relationship, but I ended up being the one to bail at the first sign of trouble. Not only did I leave, I left him alone with narcotics.

“Oh, shit.”

“That’s the same thing I said.”

Edna Plum walks by and takes the tray from me. “Better watch that mouth around the customers, Dee, or Honey might come by and wash your mouth out with my dish soap.” She smiles to let me know she is teasing. Our customers have heard her and Honey both say much worse. “Your shift is over, darlin’. Go ahead and get home.” She tilts her chin toward the door, encouraging me to hurry up.

“You’re off now? Perfect,” Shelley says, coming back with two plastic bags full of takeout in each hand. “Join us at the Marnock Hotel for dinner?”

“Oh. Um, thanks for the offer, but I can’t,” I lie. Actually, it’s only a half-lie. I do have the time to join them for dinner, but I’m too ashamed. I don’t know if I can face Mike yet, and I certainly don’t think I am ready to meet his entire family. Besides, I still have a lot of thinking to do.

Shelley nods and looks at Jordan.

“If you talk to Mike, don’t tell him about his family being in town yet, okay? We’re planning to surprise him and bring them all out for Family Night at the stadium tomorrow.”

“Sure. I hope it goes well. I know it will mean a lot to him. Oh, and Jordan? I have something for you.” I hold up a finger and motion for him to wait while I grab my purse. Unzipping the front pocket, I pull out the miniature Ninja Turtle figurine I picked up for him. “I saw this in Major Dollar the other day and thought it needed a good home. I’ve been carrying it around in case I ran into you.”

Jordan blinks a few times and swallows hard. “Thank you,” he whispers.

Shelley touches his elbow lightly and looks at him with understanding. Something passes between them silently, and I can tell this is an important moment, although I have no idea why. She turns to me and says, “Mike really likes you, Danielle. I hope you know that.” She waves as they walk away.

The truth bomb Jordan has dropped seems like it should fix everything, and yet it doesn’t. I still don’t know the first thing about dating an addict, and my overreaction to finding those pills just proves that. I’m still scared, but I know I need to reach out.

Me: I saw Jordan today. He told me everything. I believe you. I’m sorry. I still might need some time. This has all been a lot.

It isn’t long before the dots appear to let me know Mike saw my message and he is typing. They disappear and reappear several times. Finally, just two words come back in response : I understand.