Chapter 2 – Jesse
“Are you ready for today?”
I nodded my head that I was ready, but I didn’t feel like it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Melissa, I am. Are you ready? This is going to be your first day running that place.”
Melissa nodded that she was, though she looked about as sure as I was. “I don’t know about this, Jesse. I don’t know why things had to change. I’m going to miss coming over here ever morning and working together. Are you sure this is what you really want?”
I’d thought about it a lot, and although I still wasn’t sure, there were many factors pushing me to do it. The first location, where we were now, was overwhelmed every day, and the hope was that with a new location, some of the business at this one would slack off. I’d hired several more people to take care of everything, but I had to have Melissa onboard. She was the only one that I trusted to do it, so I had to make sure she was okay with it.
“This is what has to happen. You know how busy we are all of the time, and that’s not easy on either one of us. I know I’m going to miss you, but it’s not like we can’t hang out afterwards like we always did. I know it’s not going to be the same, but you’re going to do great. It’s time for a change, don’t you think?”
“I think enough has changed. I’m trying to keep a few things the same. It’s going to be hard to deal with everything without you. I just don’t know if I’m ready.”
I was sure that that was the part of it that held the most truth. It was hard to imagine doing things without her, but at the same time, I knew she was worried about failing. We all have those worries, of course; I’d had the same ones when my dad and I first started the business. But as time went on, I realized that I could do anything that I set my mind to. I was sure that Melissa was now going to get the very same important lesson that I’d learned so long ago.
Pulling her in for a hug, I told her that she could do it. “You know that you’re the only one I would trust to do this. I know that you can do this, Melissa, and you’re going to do great. We’ve already trained up the crew, so you’ll have nothing to worry about. Everything has been thought of.”
She wasn’t sure, but suddenly I was, and I was going to be sure enough for both of us. While she was always positive for everyone else, there were times that Melissa needed a dose of positivity herself. I knew that it was all going to be okay, and when she left the bistro to get to the other location I hoped the best for her. I wanted her to have a good first day. Looking around my own shop, I was trying not to feel so alone. An eerie feeling was going over me, but it wasn’t long before I heard Glenn fussing and I knew that I was never going to be alone again. Now I had Scott and Mom and little Glenn. I had more family now than I ever did before.
When I finally opened the doors to start the day, the place started to fill with people immediately and the moment of loneliness was gone. I didn’t have time to feel that way. I had a job to do.
***
“This is the third time that I’ve called you, Scott. Are you okay? Just call me when you get this. Melissa said that you weren’t at the other shop, so I just want to make sure that you’re okay. Please call me, baby, you have me worried.”
I hung up and stared at the phone. I was there alone after everyone had cleaned up and left for the day. I’d insisted they go, of course, but now I wished that I hadn’t. That solo feeling was upon me again, and although I knew that I was fine, I wasn’t feeling fine without Scott. He hadn’t called all day, and that wasn’t like him. Usually if he was away from me and Glenn, he would call several times a day to check in. It was strange to me that he hadn’t called, and I wasn’t sure why it could be.
Finally I’d had enough sitting around, and I called him again. Again there was no answer, and I got ready to leave. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I knew that I had to find Scott. It wasn’t dark or late, but it was so far out of character for him that I was sure that something was wrong. If it wasn’t, why didn’t he answer his phone? As much as I tried to think of a reason for that, I came up with nothing. There was nothing that would keep him from answering or calling me back, so it had to mean that something had happened to him. My mind went to the wreck again, and I hoped that I was wrong.
When a couple more hours had passed and I still hadn’t heard from Scott, I stopped calling. It was clear to me now that he was either in trouble or just not answering his phone. My mind played out all of the scenarios that I could think of, and none of them were any good. I so wanted to be wrong about everything, but in the end I didn’t know what to do, so I went to bed. Even though I was alone, the worry and taking care of Glenn had worn me out.
I fell asleep fast, and slept until a hungry Glenn woke me up for a feeding. The clock said it was three in the morning, and I didn’t have to look next to me to see that Scott still wasn’t home. I went to look on my phone, and I could see that he hadn’t called either. My worry skyrocketed, helped on by the crazy dreams that I’d been having.
Without anything else to do and with no one else to call, I started calling around to the hospitals. I wasn’t sure what I was going to find out, but after I called each one and there was no record of him being there, a small relief was outweighed by a bigger question. Where was my husband?
When the phone rang early the next morning, I jumped at it red-eyed. I didn’t know who it was, but I hoped more than anything that it was Scott. I’d played all the scenarios in my head, and I wanted to know which one was true. Had something happened? Had he decided to leave me because family life wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be? What?
“Hello?”
“Jesse.”
“Scott! Where the hell are you?”
“I’m in the hospital. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but something came up and I couldn’t get to a phone.”
There were phones everywhere, and I was going to call bull on that later, but for now I was just happy to hear his voice and know that he was safe. There would be time later to find out everything else. It didn’t matter what it was, because as long as I had Scott, I knew that I could get through anything.