"You're insane." I laughed, stepping forward to run my hands up August's neck.
"Maybe a little," he said with a wink. "Tell the man what you want!"
"Okay, okay!" I answered with sheer excitement, listing everything I wanted on my epic birthday burger. Joey just nodded and smiled, not bothering to write anything down as he took the order. He never had. None of the waitresses in his restaurant had ever sent back handwritten orders when I'd visited. Everything had been called out and yelled back for accuracy.
"Hey Joey-why did you close he restaurant?" I asked.
He stared down at the burgers, silently flipping them as I watched the years seem to pass by his tired eyes. "I didn't choose to shut it down. It just happened-like so many things in life. Big chain came in down the street, customer loyalty dropped and before long I was behind on rent. The restaurant business ain't easy. There's always something out there bigger and shinier, ready to take away your livelihood. That place was my heart and soul. I haven't been able to get back on my feet ever since." He took a deep breath, looking up as his tired eyes blinked several times.
"But it's good to know I'm missed. At least by a few."
"You are," I replied. "There was no place quite like yours."
"It was a good little spot," he agreed. "I drive past it every once in a while-there's a damn frozen yogurt place there now. Looks like someone vomited the rainbow all over it."
I couldn't help the snort that escaped my throat. I heard August chuckle next to me as we watched Joey finish wrapping up our burgers and fries. August and I thanked him for the meal, and I as we left August handed him a fistful of cash. Joey didn't bother counting it, which meant he either trusted us or didn't care. I knew it was the former. Somehow the old man who lived in the apartment that felt more like a prison than a home had come to trust us in the few minutes we'd grown to know each other.
"Joey, I want you to have this," I said, reaching for the watch that adorned my wrist. He looked down as I unclasped it and slid it over my petite hand.
"Kind of big on you, isn't it?" he asked, looking at the large silver watch.
"Yes, it was given to me, and I just don't think it's a good look. I thought you might like it and if not, maybe you could use it toward your burger joint fund."
"Burger joint? How do you know I even want to go back in business?" he asked, looking down at me as his fingers ran over the shiny metal of the Rolex watch.
"Because you wouldn't look so damn happy when you cooked them if it wasn't still your passion," I answered.
He swallowed deeply, as if he were holding back some deep emotion.
"Thank you, Everly … August. Thank you very much."
"Good luck, Joey," August replied.
I waved good-bye and we stepped out the door, burgers and fries in hand, and as I looked around, the tattered floors and dingy walls didn't look nearly as scary anymore.
If Joey and I could survive this life, there was hope for the rest of them.
As long as we didn't forget.
"Do you have a place in mind to eat these?" I asked, peeking into the bag as the aroma began to fill the car. My mouth was already watering and I was nearly shaking with hunger as I tried to discipline myself from snagging several of the fries and shoving them into my mouth all at once.
I couldn't believe he'd found Joey and had him make me a burger and fries.
In his house.
On an electric griddle and a tiny deep fat fryer that anyone could pick up from Walmart. It made me wonder why his burgers were amazing and mine were just all right when I had all of the same equipment in my own kitchen.
"Not really-I thought of a few scenic locations along the water, but if you have something better in mind, let me know."
"Turn here," I instructed, and he took a sharp curve off the freeway.
A couple of interchanges later, we were pulling up to my spot-the secret spot I went to when I wanted to be alone. Alone from everything and nothing at all. It's where I went when Ryan became overwhelming with talk of school and careers … when Sarah and I bickered and even when work became too stressful.
Even a barista can feel overworked from time to time.
It had always been my place-until August. He had been the only other person I'd invited here. And now I wanted to do so again.
As he shut the engine off, he looked up at the massive bridge in the background. "I have a picture of the two of us here," he said, lifting his wallet from his back pocket. He pulled out a tattered old photo, obviously worn from being shoved in his wallet, but it was one I recognized immediately.
"That's an old one," I said, smiling, as my hair dipped down in front of me. I leaned in closer to get a better look, flipping over the photo to see the words I'd written so long ago. "We were babies," I laughed, looking at the date.
"Will you tell me about this day?" he asked as we dug into the food, not willing to risk the possibility of it getting any colder.
"I think we'd been dating for a few months-maybe longer. We were already head over heels in love. I swear it was that way from the minute I saw you," I explained candidly, a tiny moan escaping my mouth as I bit into the burger for the first time.
He chuckled, watching with amusement as I ate the glorious food with enthusiasm.
"I've been coming here since I was a child. Before I was old enough to be traveling alone, I was riding buses and taking BART to get over to this very spot."
"Why here?"
"I don't know. I was in the car one day with my random foster parent of the moment, and I remember we drove past here. I'd of course seen the Golden Gate Bridge a hundred times before then, having grown up in the city, but from this angle, it looked immense-colossal, like it could engulf the entire ocean. It seemed otherworldly, and at that time in my life, I needed something kind of magical and beyond the realm of what was considered normal."
"So that was here," he asked.
"For my eight-year-old mind, yeah. It was."
He looked up at it, the shiny red cables stretching from one end of the bay to another. "I can see it."
I hid my embarrassed smile and continued. "So, after we'd been dating a while, I decided you were cool enough to bring to my magical spot."
"And now I guess I'm cool enough again?" he asked softly, his eyes meeting mine.
"Very," I answered, food forgotten.
"And what do cool people do in a place like this?" he asked.
My fingers slowly went down his chiseled chest and I bit my bottom lip.
"Very magical things," I answered, pushing him back and showing him just how enchanted a bridge could be.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
August
I no longer missed the memories.
Life with Everly had completed me.
Completed my existence.
For the first time since I'd awakened in that lonely hospital bed, I wasn't searching for something that was lost to me.
With her, I had found it all.
Everything was falling into place. I could see our future, feel it … grasp it with my fingertips. Life was moving forward and I finally had everything I'd been searching for.
Until it all slipped away, so fast I could do nothing but watch it all crumble around me like sand.
Looking over the giant case of desserts at the local bakery, I tried to make a snap decision and failed.
After weeks of sheer bliss with Everly, I still had no idea what her favorite dessert was.
I guess I could add that to the pile of things left to discover. It had suddenly become my favorite pastime.
"Can I help you?" the old man behind the counter asked. He had kind eyes and bits of flour streaked across his weathered face. Based on the lack of employees and size of the place, I was guessing he was the owner and wore just about every hat under the roof.
As he arched back, stretching his tired old body, I looked over the large case of desserts again, wondering how much time it took him to make each and every one of them by hand. Every single day.
"What would you recommend for a coffee lover?" I asked, with a solid grin as I surveyed his life's work. Each dessert was like a piece of art, and I could see the proud gleam in his eyes as he spoke.
"Oh, well-you can't go wrong with chocolate," he responded, pointing to several different cakes, cookies, and brownies that would go especially well.
"I'll take them all," I said. His eyes lit up in delight.
"Yes, sir!" he answered eagerly, and got to work on boxing up half the store-because that's just about what I'd ordered.
But I didn't care, because tonight Everly and I were celebrating. After submitting my work to several galleries around the city and hearing nothing for weeks, I'd given up hope. I was a new talent-never heard of and really, why would anyone want to take me on? It had been a risky long shot, but after sitting at home for months on end without any other employable skills, it was one I'd needed to take.