Chapter Four

Valerie walked into Bishop’s Diner with an air of caution, almost as if she were expecting to step on a landmine at any moment. She knew it was silly, and she hoped no one noticed there was anything different about her demeanor, though she imagined she probably looked pretty ridiculous to anyone who was really paying attention. Still, she couldn’t help but think some sort of Valentine’s surprise was about to jump out at her at any moment.

The beginning of her shift was perfectly normal. Though she secretly searched the area under counter and any other place she thought her Cupid might be able to drop off a gift, she didn’t see anything. Wanda seemed to notice and gave her a sympathetic smile, which made Valerie realize she was being ridiculous, so she brushed the thought from her mind and went on about her nightly routine. While she couldn’t help but wonder what it might mean if she didn’t get anything else from her Cupid, there had been hints that this would be an ongoing occurrence for the next few weeks.

Mr. Nelson came in at his usual time, and Valerie gave him a moment to get situated before she headed over to his table. Joe happened to be coming through the door at the same time she was passing by, and he made a big deal out of stopping short to let her through saying, “I don’t want to run into you twice in the same day,” with a loud chuckle, and Valerie giggled in response, though she didn’t really think his joke was that funny. Still, he was a patron now, so she may as well humor him. He took his seat at the counter, and Valerie went to see what Mr. Nelson would be having for dinner.

“Evening, hon,” she said with a broad smile. “How are you this evening?”

“Oh, I’m not bad,” Mr. Nelson replied, but the grin on his face seemed forced, and Valerie could tell he seemed upset even for him.

“You sure about that?” she asked. “Anything you wanna talk about?”

“Nope, nope. I’m fine,” he replied. “I think I’ll have the special.” The remark seemed dismissive, and considering Valerie hadn’t even told him what the special was, she wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. Rather than push him when was already struggling, she nodded and offered another genuine smile before she went back to the counter to get the kitchen his order and bring him some tea.

“How are you tonight, Val?” Joe called as she topped off the glass. “You still wearing your pin?”

“Yep, right here by my name tag,” she replied. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see that he already had a menu. “I’ll be right back to take your order, hon,” she called as she stepped around the counter.

“Take your time,” he replied. “I have no idea what I want.”

Valerie couldn’t help but giggle at that. He seldom knew what he wanted to order within the first fifteen minutes of being in the diner. She brought Mr. Nelson’s tea to him and carefully set it on top of the table, looking for any signs that he might want to talk now. However, his eyes were focused out the window, even though his book was open in front of him, and she decided to let him be for tonight. Maybe tomorrow she’d have a chance to talk to him again. It seemed ridiculous to ask for his help with the dance right now when he was clearly upset, even though her theory was that he was troubled because he was lonely, and he wouldn’t be so lonely if he’d only get to know a few people in town.

She turned on her heels and began to make her way back to the front when the bell over the door chimed, and a friend from high school, Macey, who owned the flower shop, stepped through with a single pink rose in her hand, wrapped in baby’s breath.

“Valerie!” she said, smiling. Macey was petite and full of energy. She’d done gymnastics in high school and was often absent because of practices and competitions, but her mom kept her caught up, and she’d managed to graduate on time with good grades. Valerie always thought the days were more fun when Macey was there.

“Hi, Macey!” Valerie exclaimed stopping short of her friend. “How are you?”

“Good,” the brunette replied. “Busy. It is that time of year for us.”

“I can imagine,” Valerie nodded. While she hadn’t completely dismissed her Valentine’s Day cynicism, she wasn’t quite as disgusted with the thought of her friend surrounded by thousands of bouquets of flowers as she would’ve been even the day before.

“This is for you,” she said, handing her the flower and a small white envelope. “I decided to drop it by myself on the way home instead of sending one of the delivery guys so I could say hello, but I can’t stay.”

Despite the promise inside of the card she’d received with the brooch, Valerie was still shocked. “For me?” she asked. “From who?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Macey replied, and her face told Valerie she was telling the truth. “The order came through online today, paid for with one of those Visa gift cards. The account name is, ‘Val’s Cupid,’ and you’ll see that the message is just as cryptic.”

Valerie turned the card over in her hands, but she didn’t open it yet. She had no idea what to think of that—she wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or scared. Whoever her secret Cupid was, he or she sure was going to great lengths to keep from being discovered.

“Well, thank you,” Valerie said as Macey took a step back toward the door.

“Sure. We should get together once Valentine’s Day is over,” Macey said. “For now, I need a nap!”

She couldn’t help but laugh at her friend, who never seemed to need a nap before in all the years she’d known her. “Have a good night, Macey,” Valerie called as she took her flower and went around behind the counter. Wanda followed her, excitement on her face, and it seemed like even the guys in the kitchen were leaning in to get a better view of what was happening.

Valerie glanced at Joe, whose menu was still up over most of his face, but she could see one brown eye peeking out at her as she pulled the card open. She read aloud:

On the second day of Valentine’s

Your Cupid gives to you

Something pink

So you won’t be blue.

“Well, isn’t that sweet,” Wanda said, taking a whiff of the flower. “You best get that pretty thing some water so it don’t wilt.”

Valerie was still staring at the card, even though she knew it was written in the handwriting of one of Macey’s employees and not her Cupid. Still, she flipped the envelope over and looked at the back again, struggling for any indication of who it might have come from. There was no way to tell.

She was partially relieved that there had been a second gift, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. Didn’t this just mean she was in for twelve more days of nervous anticipation until her Cupid revealed himself? Still, as she went into the back to put the card away, she couldn’t help but smile. Someone had taken the time and expense to send her two very thoughtful gifts, just to cheer her up, and so far it was working. Even if she had no idea who it was, she was grateful.

After she put the card into her purse, she came back into the kitchen to find Sam standing near the closet door with a jar of water in his hand. “I couldn’t find a vase,” he said quietly.

Her eyebrows raised, as she wasn’t expecting Sam to pay much attention to her at all, but she was smiled and took it from him. “Thank you, Sam,” she said as she put the flower in the water and the makeshift vase on the counter in a spot she thought would be out of the cooks’ way.

“You’re welcome, Valerie,” he said with a small grin. “It’s nice to see you so happy.”

Valerie felt a blush claim her cheeks. Had she been that transparent? “It’s nice to be so happy,” she replied with a shrug.

“That sure is sweet,” Frank called from his spot in front of the cooktop, “but some of us still have work to do around here.”

She couldn’t help but giggle. Even though Frank tried to sound tough, he was a big softy and everyone knew it. “I saw you smiling at me while I was reading the card. Don’t you pretend you don’t love every bit of this as much as I do.”

He tried to hide his smile behind his shoulder, but she saw him, and she thought she heard a chuckle, too, before he said, “All right, all right. Back to work.”

Valerie complied and went back out front where she found Wanda seating a family of five that would be hers to wait on. She noticed they needed another set of silverware, so she retrieved that and then went to take their order. Once she had everything written down, she came back to check on Joe.

“I think… I’ll have… the… chili.” The sentence came out almost like a question, and Valerie couldn’t help but smile at his indecisiveness.

“You sure about that?” she asked, her pencil poised to write it down on her notepad if he was certain.

“Yes,” Joe replied, laying the menu flat on the counter and pressing it down with his hands.

“The chili it is,” she said, making note. “And just so you know, it does not come with any antacids.”

“Well, now you tell me,” Joe joked as Valerie hung up his order and noticed that Mr. Nelson’s meal was coming to the window. She waited for Sam to slide the tray through, a shy smile on his face, before she grabbed it to take to her favorite, lonely customer.

“Hey, you’ve had the coney. You know how it goes,” she reminded Joe. It was odd to her how talking to him inside the diner was so much easier than outside. Could it be that he just made her nervous? Was there something there? Surely Joe wasn’t her Cupid. Although, she had seen him in the vicinity of the flower shop.

She took the tray to Mr. Nelson and carefully set down his taco salad. He looked at it, surprised, as if he hadn’t realized that is what he’d ordered, but he’d said the special without a second thought, and Valerie supposed he might not have realized what he was ordering. “Does it look okay, Mr. Nelson? If you’d rather have something else, I’m happy to bring it to you—free of charge.”

“No, that’ll be just fine, Valerie. Thank you, dear,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll bring you some more tea.” His glass was about half empty, but she thought he might need more before she could return if she got busy. Her family was still looking at their menus, but she stopped by to make sure they weren’t ready to order before she grabbed Mr. Nelson’s refill.

The older man had a fork full of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and hamburger meat poised in front of him, but he didn’t seem to be ready to put it in his mouth. “Mr. Nelson? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a sandwich? Or the roast beef? It’s really good today.” She had no idea if it was any better today than any other day, but if it made him choose something he was more interested in, then, she may as well try.

“You know, Valerie,” Mr. Nelson said without lowering his fork or even shifting his eyes to gaze at her, “the first time I tried Mexican food was on a date with my wife, Lilly. We had been going out a few months and decided to try something different. Back then, people didn’t really eat tacos and burritos and those sorts of things, not all the way up here in West Virginia, anyhow. We were out to see a movie in Winchester and saw a little place, thought we’d give it a try. It wasn’t bad. A little spicy, but pretty good.”

“That sounds like a wonderful memory, Mr. Nelson.”

“It was… until I realized I needed to stop by a pharmaceutical store on the way home or else Ms. Lilly might never go out with me again.”

It took Valerie a moment to realize what he was alluding too, but when she did, she couldn’t help but break into a belly-busting laugh. “Oh, no, Mr. Nelson. Now that doesn’t sound wonderful at all. Did you get some help in time?”

Finally, he turned his head and looked at her. “Well, she married me, didn’t she?”

Once again, Valerie found herself laughing hysterically. “That is a priceless story, Mr. Nelson,” she said, clapping him gently on the shoulder.

He was laughing, too, something Valerie didn’t think she’d ever heard, at least not since Lilly had passed. Mr. Nelson popped the forkful of taco salad into his mouth, a big grin still on his face. “My Lilly was something else.”

“She certainly was,” Valerie agreed. “I’m glad I got to meet her, although I wish I’d known her better. I would love to hear stories about her, though, whenever you want to talk, Mr. Nelson.”

“Thank you, Valerie,” Mr. Nelson said, his eyes showing his appreciation. “Having someone to share her with might make missing her just a tad easier.” He turned back toward his food, and Valerie assumed that meant the stories were over for now. She couldn’t help but smile, though, as she made her way back to her family of five. Mr. Nelson had actually laughed! Maybe this February was going to be better than she’d ever expected it to be.

Once she had the order in and had seated a group of teens who had just arrived, she went to fill their drink order and noticed Joe’s order was up. “Here you go, hon,” she said, sliding his bowl of chili over to him. Then she added, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he called after her as she rushed to get the drinks out to the loud teens who seemed to be starving from the remarks they were making. By the time she had their sodas on the table, they were ready to order, so she noted their requests and turned that into the cooks before taking a look around to see if everyone had everything they needed.

“Mr. Nelson seemed a little more talkative tonight,” Joe commented, setting his spoon aside for a moment to take a drink of his tea.

“Yeah, he was,” Valerie agreed. “He was talking about a date he and his wife went on. It was a funny story. Nice to hear him talk about her.”

“Funny date story?” Joe asked. “Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad one.”

“In this case, everything turned out all right,” Valerie reminded him. She plucked his glass off of the counter and poured some more tea into it as the door chimed and another family came in.

“You know, Valerie, I was going to ask you…” she vaguely heard Joe begin as she turned to go around the end of the counter to seat the family. She’d already been moving before he started talking, and though she felt bad for walking away in the middle of a question, the diner was starting to get busy. She sat them, got their drink order, and checked on a few other customers before she finally returned to the counter to grab Mr. Nelson’s check.

It had been several minutes, and she wasn’t sure if Joe still wanted to ask her something or not, but since she’d left in the middle of his question, she didn’t think it would be very polite to bring it up now. Instead, she decided to pretend that she hadn’t heard him at all and went about straightening the counter.

Joe set his spoon down, and it clattered loudly on the bowl. He wiped his mouth on a napkin and then rubbed his stomach. “I will likely regret that later, but it sure was good.”

Valerie couldn’t help but laugh as she took his dirty dishes and slid them through the window. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked, turning back to face him.

“No, just the check,” he replied, stretching. He reached into his back pocket and brought out his wallet as Valerie rang him up.

“That’ll be $6.75,” she told him. Joe passed his credit card across the counter to her and then stood and took the two steps over to the cash register. Once it was done running his card, Valerie handed him the receipt and a pen. “I just need your autograph, please,” she said, smiling.

Joe took the pen and wrote his name at the bottom of the slip. “You know, Valerie,” he said quietly, as he handed both items back to her, “I was just wondering, do you have any time off this weekend?”

Valerie’s eyebrows shot up. She felt her heart start to race. Though it had been a few months since anyone had asked her out at all, and longer than that since she’d actually said yes and gone on a date, she was pretty sure she remembered what those sorts of inquiries sounded like. “I have tomorrow evening off this week,” she replied, not knowing whether or not going out with Joe was a good idea. They really did seem to get along well when he came into the diner, but their discussion earlier that day had been awkward. Maybe he had just been nervous, anticipating asking her out. But would going out with him be odd if they didn’t have a good time? How would it be when he came back into the diner after that—or would he?

“Well, I was thinking, maybe we could go catch a movie—if you want. I’ll even let you pick.”

At first, she wasn’t sure what to say, but then she thought about her secret Cupid. What if it was Joe, and he was planning to use their movie date as an opportunity to confess? He had been here when the package was dropped off yesterday, and he was near the flower shop today, though if what Macey said was true, that could’ve been anyone. After a moment’s hesitation, Valerie decided she may as well give it a try. If they didn’t have a romantic connection, they could still go out as friends. “Sure, that sounds fun.”

“Great,” Joe said, flashing her a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He didn’t wait to talk to her about what time to pick her up or anything. Instead, he turned and exited the diner as quickly as he could. Valerie couldn’t help but chuckle. She figured he’d come by tomorrow during her lunch shift to work out the details. For now, he looked about as nervous as a teenager asking a girl out for the first time. While that was surprising to Valerie considering how good looking Joe was, she couldn’t help but be a little flattered as well. She didn’t think she’d ever made a guy nervous before.

“What was that all about?” Wanda asked, coming up behind her.

“Oh, nothing,” Valerie replied. “We’re going to go watch a movie tomorrow, that’s all.”

“You and Joe?” Wanda’s eyes were wide.

“Yeah. Why not?”

The older waitress shrugged. “I don’t know, Val. I guess I didn’t think he was your type.” She turned to the soda machine and started filling glasses.

Valerie glanced down at Mr. Nelson and saw that he was staring out the window again, a sign he was likely ready for his check. “I’m not sure I have a type,” she replied to Wanda. “Single and finds me slightly attractive and doesn’t mind my odd sense of humor, I guess.”

“Valerie!” Wanda scolded as Val made her way down the aisle. “Don’t you sell yourself short!”

Valerie kept walking, but a smile lightened her face. Wanda was always warning her that she was too critical of herself, and maybe she was. With the arrival of the gifts, however, she was starting to see herself differently. Maybe there really was more to value than she’d given herself credit for.

***

Sophie was usually in bed by the time Valerie came home from work when she was helping close the diner, but tonight was different. She had gone out with some girls from her women’s group at church to a praise concert in a nearby town and hadn’t made it back yet. Valerie was tempted to send her a text to make sure she was all right, but seeing as though Sophie was a grown woman, she decided she didn’t need that kind of mothering. She hung up her purse and keys and set the flower, still in its jar, on the sink in the kitchen before making her way back into the living room and collapsing onto the sofa.

Her shoes were comfortable, but taking them off was even better, so she slid them off without even untying them and slunk back into the cushions of the old couch she’d picked up at a yard sale several years ago when she and Sophie had first decided to move in together. While Sophie had quite a bit of stuff from living on her own at college, Valerie had almost started from scratch, so she was very lucky to have found a piece of gently-used furniture that held up so well.

It was past midnight, and she had to be at the diner by 10:00 in the morning, but she knew going to bed would be futile at this point. Her head was swimming with ideas about who her Cupid could be and the excitement of going out with Joe the next evening.

As she sat there pondering the possibilities, a jingle at the back door got her attention and a few seconds later Sophie’s footsteps on the kitchen linoleum followed. “Oh, good. You’re up,” she said as she walked into the living room and dropped into the recliner. “I was afraid I might wake you.”

“I’m up,” Valerie confirmed. “How was the concert?”

“So good,” Sophie replied. She was dressed in her best dark blue jeans with a flared jacket in rich burgundy over her off-white top, and the colors really made her eyes bright. “I’m so tired now, though.”

“Good thing you have tomorrow off,” Valerie reminded her. While the dentist’s office was open once a month on Saturdays for loyal customers who worked during the week and needed to come in on the weekend, tomorrow morning was not one of those days.

“You do, though,” Sophie recalled. “Why are you still up?”

Valerie shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a lot on my mind.”

“I saw the rose on the counter. Is that from your secret Cupid?”

“Yes,” Valerie nodded. “How did you know about that?”

Sophie shrugged. “Small town. Any clue who it might be?”

It didn’t surprise Valerie to hear that Sophie was aware of what was going on at the diner. Word traveled fast in Charles Town. With a sigh, she said, “No, not really. Macey said she had no idea who had placed the order, and I believe her.”

“Hmmm,” Sophie said, lightly tapping her chin with her pointer finger. “Placed online?”

“Yes. With a Visa gift card.”

“Well, that’s no fair.”

“I know.” But then, would it be any fun if I knew who it was on day two of fourteen?

“It’ll be interesting to see if anything arrives on Sunday when you aren’t at work.”

“I was just thinking about that,” Valerie agreed—one of the many things she’d been mulling over in her endless sea of thoughts.

“Whoever it is seems to be pretty creative. I’m sure he—or she—will come up with something.”

“Do you really think it could be a woman?” Valerie asked. “That would be disappointing—if it’s just a friend trying to make me feel better.”

“I don’t know,” Sophie admitted. “I don’t think it is—but then I don’t know a lot of guys who are romantic enough to dream up something like this. I mean, really, do you have any suspects?”

Valerie hesitated. Of course, there were a few people she thought it might be, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to admit any of it to Sophie or anyone else. “I’m not sure,” she finally said, shrugging again.

“Are there any guys who come in the diner and flirt with you?”

“Sure,” Valerie said, “but most of them are in their sixties or seventies.”

That got a giggle out of Sophie. “It could be one of them.”

“You think?”

“Why not? Guys our age are a lot less likely to go through with something like this.”

“You might be right.” The idea of some older gentleman sending her gifts was a bit unsettling to Valerie, especially if his intentions were anything other than lifting the spirits of a friend.

“I would think someone our age would just ask you out.” Sophie’s comment made Valerie’s stomach tighten, and she was pretty sure she physically flinched. “What?” Sophie asked, and Valerie knew she’d done something to let Sophie know there was more to the story that she wasn’t telling her. “What is it, Val?”

“Well,” Valerie began, not sure how to tell Sophie about Joe. “Someone did ask me out on a date today.”

“What?” Sophie practically screamed, bolting upright to the edge of her chair. “Someone asked you out, and you didn’t tell me?”

“I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I think he just asked me out as a friend.” Valerie knew that wasn’t completely true. People who asked friends out didn’t sprint for the door as quickly as Joe had.

“Who was it?” Sophie asked, still on the edge of her seat.

“Oh, just a guy who comes in pretty often. We’ve been chatting for a while now. I really don’t think it’s a big deal.” Valerie was trying to play it nonchalant not only for Sophie’s sake but for her own. There was no reason to get so excited about her date with Joe. Not yet anyway.

“Who was it?” Sophie repeated, clearly not too keen on Valerie’s stall tactics.

“I’m not sure you know him.”

“This is Charles Town. I know everyone.”

She had a point, although it did seem like more new people were moving to town all the time. “His name is Joe and he works at the vet clinic.” She had spat it out before she could hesitate too long. Otherwise, she might not have gotten it out at all.

“Joe?” Sophie repeated, her face crinkling. “Joe Brighton?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Joe? The guy with the brown hair that’s always in his face?”

Valerie made some sort of a strange noise—something between a laugh and a hiccup. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Valerie,” Sophie said, slowly shaking her head. “I don’t think he’s the kind of guy you wanna go out with.”

Surprised to hear that, Valerie tilted her head, bracing herself for Sophie’s potential explanations. “What do you mean?” she asked. “He’s always really nice when he’s in the diner.”

“I’m sure he is,” Sophie admitted. “But I know some girls who know his ex-wife, and they say it was really ugly when they broke up. He did some things that were not nice at all.”

While Valerie was finding that hard to believe, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed to hear that. Still, this wasn’t first hand knowledge, and it could be his ex was just out to ruin his name. “What sorts of things?” she asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“I’m honestly not sure,” Sophie admitted. “But they said the reason he moved here is because he couldn’t really stay in Harpers Ferry after all of that.”

Harpers Ferry wasn’t quite as small as Charles Town, but Valerie knew what she was saying. Everyone there was always in everyone else’s business. “How do you know these girls?”

“Anissa from my life group and her cousin Rhonda know him. Rhonda grew up in Harpers Ferry, and Anissa visited during the summer.”

“Oh.” It seemed like a stretch. Her roommate’s friend’s cousin knew his ex. Still, Valerie remembered feeling uneasy earlier that day when she’d run into Joe on the street. Maybe that was her internal warning system. Or maybe she was just nervous because he seemed to be anxious. “Well, I’m not even sure it’s a date-date,” she justified. “I think we are just going to catch a show. As friends.”

“Okay,” Sophie said, her head cocked to the side. “But be careful, Val. I can call Anissa and see if she knows any more about what it is he did to his ex.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Valerie replied. She wasn’t one for gossip, even though it was often hard to avoid in her line of work. “I’d just as soon make up my own mind about Joe.”

“So long as you’re safe.”

“I have pepper spray on my keychain,” Valerie reminded her roommate, which made her laugh. The idea that Joe would do something mean or ugly seemed farfetched to Valerie, particularly under the circumstances. Was he going to find another place to eat every night if things went bad? Even if he didn’t do anything rude, what would happen if the date didn’t go well? It could make their arrangement at the diner uneasy.

“Well, I think I’m going to go take a shower and go to bed,” Sophie said, clapping her hands against her knees.

“Okay,” Valerie muttered, but she was lost in her thoughts. Maybe she’d be better off not going out with Joe at all. But then, if he was her secret Cupid, that would be extremely rude considering all he’d done for her.

She spent the next half hour or so on the couch just as confused and bewildered as she’d been when Sophie first came in, if not more so. Eventually, she let out a sigh and pulled herself up off the sofa, deciding a warm shower and a good night’s sleep would make it better. That night, she’d be sure to pray for guidance and safety. She’d also pray that, if what Sophie’s friends were saying about Joe was true, that he’d found a way to change his heart.