All the Feels

Catch of the Day-1

Catch of the Day

I tug at the cuffs of my long-sleeved shirt, to pull them past my wrists, hiding the ugly marks on my arms . Normally, I’m not very self-conscious about my scars anymore—it’s been almost ten years since I put them there —but normally, I’m not quite so invested in a customer’s opinion of me.

“Hi.” I shoot her a quick glance, and settle my eyes back on the counter top, picking up a cloth to wipe away some unseen smudge.

“Hey,” she says, smiling in her easy manner.

“The special again ?” I ask, “Or would you like to look at the lunch menu?”

“The special ,” she replies, taking a seat at the counter and pulling out her phone to entertain herself, while I hand her order off to the kitchen .

I take th is brief opportunity to study her again. It’s one of my guilty pleasures, tracing out the line of her strong jaw, her tanned face and honey lips and those cute little freckles sprinkled on her nose. She doesn’t even know, she’s so engrossed, grinning at some random social media post.

I haven’t gotten up the nerve to ask her what kind of work she does, but I assume it’s in the tourist trade just like me. I’ve never seen her here outside of the summer months, and she always comes in wearing a uniform of navy blue slacks, and a crisp white button-down shirt, with a cap tucked under her arm. My guess is some kind of tour guide.

I fill a glass with ice water and slide it over to her. She flashes me a smile and goes back to her phone. I go back to tidying up the counter , trying to limit my staring to the occasional glance from the corner of my eye.

“Order up,” I hear, and turn to the window that separates me from the kitchen. I tug at my sleeves again, hiding as much skin as I can before delivering the order.

“One seafood chowder,” I say, pronouncing it chow-dah , just like a local should. “And one side salad.”

The salad’s not really part of the special, but I’ve been slipp ing it in for every one of her orders at no charge . I justify it because she’s a regular, but if I’m being honest, it’s really because it keeps her in here, sitting at my lunch counter , just a little bit longer.

“Thanks,” she says, slipping her phone back in to her pocket. “ Wanna take me for ice cream when you’re done here? I’m off at five.”

I stare at her for a second, frozen in my tracks. No way did she say what I th ink she did. Me. Her. Ice cream.

“Sorry?” I say.

“Mm,” she says, holding up her finger while she finishes chewing a slice of green pepper . “I thought maybe you’d want to take me for an ice cream after you get off work.”

I stare like an i***t.

“Look,” she says, “I’ve been eating here long enough to know that the special doesn’t include a side salad, but somehow, whenever you’re working, it always appears. And I never get charged for it. ”

She levels her gaze directly at me.

“So, I figure either your Aunt May hasn’t trained you very well for your current position in her diner , or you’re giving me free salads on purpose.”

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, and don’t even need a mirror to know that I must be three shades of pink right now.

“Hey, it’s cool,” she says, smiling , “we’re both young and attractive. Why not?”

“Um.” God I love that smile.

“What time are you done? Eight o’clock?”

“ Seven-thirty. And i t’s Aunt Sarah,” I say, “Aunt May is a character from Spiderman. My aunt’s name is Sarah. ”

“Ooh, a comic book nerd, too. Serendipity. ” She lays a ten on the bar, enough to cover the meal and leave a decent tip. “Be back at seven-thirty to pick you up. I’m Kaitlin, by the way. ”

“ Jackie.”

I stand, slack-jawed as she turns to leave. What just happened here?

* * *

“ You want me to wait up for you?” Aunt Sarah smiles, as I hang up my apron, “Or should I just leave the porch light on?”

“What?” I shrug. “It’s just ice cream.” I’ m try to play coy, but after five summers of working here, Aunt Sarah knows me pretty well .

“Mm-hmm. I’ll leave the light on.”

* * *

Right on time, Kaitlin pulls up in an old red Subaru that looks and sounds like it’s seen better days. I tug at my sleeves one more time, as she jumps out to open the door for me.

“ Your carriage awaits, my lady.” Kaitlin says with a flourish and a deep bow in my direction.

I can’t help but grin a little at her antics, but the gesture is touching. “Thank you.”

“I promise I’ll still take you for ice cream, but I’d really like to head up the mountain to watch the sunset, if you’re okay with that .”

“ Um...”

“ Great.” She smiles. “Hop in. We gotta hurry or we’ll miss it.”

I do as she asks, a nd she runs around to the other side of the car. B efore I even get buckled in, we’re heading north on Highway One .

“This is great,” she says. “I’ve been working here for two summers now and I’ve never had a n urge to do any of the touristy stuff.”

“What exactly do you do?” I say. “You’re always dressed so nice when you come in.”

“ I’m a whale watching guide,” she says. “Cap’n Dave’s Whale Watching Tours. You heard of it?”

I nod.

“This is Cap’n Dave’s car by the way. If it were mine , we’d totally be eating ice cream right now as we speak . But, alas, Cap’n Dave prefers his upholstery to be ship shape and food free. He also doesn’t know I have his car.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You stole your boss’s car? To take me up the mountain. To watch the sunset.”

“Yep. Pretty much.” She stops at a T-intersection and looks both ways before turning right to head over the bridge. “Cap’n Dave’s also like my twenty-seventh cousin, once removed, or something. So it’s cool. We’re family.”

I let out a little snort of a laugh, and then lean back, cradled by the headrest, to enjoy the cool evening air on my face. Even over the car’s noisy exhaust system, it’s peaceful.

I glace over at Kaitlin on my left as I wonder which deity I have to thank for this spontaneous outing we’re undertaking. Not only is she cute, but I’m beginning to think that underneath her normal buttoned up facade, she’s maybe a slightly unhinged. But, in a good way.

“ How did you get to be a whale watching tour guide?”

“ I’m majoring in marine biology at the university down in Portland. I spend my summers here,” she says. “That, and I don’t get seasick very easily. That’s a plus.”

“ I suppose it helps.”

“ Mm-hmm. So what’s the story with you and Aunt Bee?” she asks.

“Aunt Sarah.”

“Sure, whatever.”

“ Just kind of hanging out. Until I figure out what I’m doing with my life.”

Kaitlin swings the car into the parking lot just as the bottom of the sun touches the horizon. “Just made it,” she says, and we pile out.

There is a small crowd already here, probably all tourists by the looks of the rental cars and out of state plates. Kaitlin takes me by the hand and pulls me toward the walking path. I shiver just a little at her bold touch , but she doesn’t seem to notice.

The sunset is beautiful. I suppose it’s probably beautiful every night, but I’ve never taken the time to notice it before. Kaitlin is still holding my hand, even though we’ve gone as far as we can on the short walking trail.

“Nice,” is all she says. And for a while we both just stare out into the rich pinks and oranges, then finally the deep blues, that color the evening sky and its wispy clouds.

“ I’m trying to be more spontaneous,” Kaitlin says, completely unprompted. “Get out and have fun. Do things I wouldn’t normally do.”

“ Like asking a girl to have ice cream and then dragging her off to watch a sunset instead?” I’m grinning and tugging at her fingers as I turn to face her.

“ Yeah, kinda like that.” Kaitlin tugs back, pulling me closer. She gives me a little peck on the cheek. “I’ll still buy you ice cream though.”

I stand, in stunned silence , thinking about how many times this moment has played out in my mind, as I watched Kaitlin—a woman whose name I didn’t even know until to day —from the other side of the counter in my aunt’s diner .

I screw up all the courage I can muster, and kiss her back, right on those honey lips this time.

“This is nice,” I say, kicking a toe at the gravel path under my feet, to shy to look at her face, my sudden burst of courage exhausted .

Kaitlin tugs at my hand again. “ Wanna make out in the car?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Just don’t drool on the upholstery. Cap’n Dave will have a fit.”

I smile and traipse along beside her as we head down the path.

“I feel like such a teenager,” she says.

I eagerly nod my agreement.

* * *

The windows have been completely fogged over for the last thirty minutes or so , and I can’t really see if there are any cars left in the parking area or not. I don’t really care, either . Just a bunch of tourists I ’ll never see again, I t ell myself. And I’m making out with my dream girl.

Kaitlin’s got one hand still wrapped in my hair, and the other wandering over my thigh, edging higher, but still keeping a respectful distance . I find myself wishing, just a little, that she weren’t so respectful. And also that we were in the back seat, so that I wouldn’t have the center console poking at my ribs every time I lean in for another smooch.

“ You take a lot of girls up here?” I tease, and tug at her lower lip with my teeth.

“ Nope, just you.”

“ Really?”

“ Yeah, really. I told you, I’m trying to be more spontaneous.” She kisses me again.

“ So you just picked some random girl—”

Kaitlin laughs. “Random girl, I like that.”

“What?”

“You really think your Aunt Esther ’s seafood chowder is what keeps me coming back to the diner everyday?”

“Aunt Sarah,” I manage to say, but my heart is racing, and not just from the kissing. She’s been coming in to see me?

“But you always have your nose buried in your phone.”

Kaitlin leans in to give me a peck on the cheek. Another follows, closer to my ear this time. By the time she nips my earlobe, and I feel her hot breath on my neck, I’ve forgiven any of her previous social faux pas in the diner . I shudder just a little.

“I couldn’t just stare,” she whispers, “you’d think I was a perv. Besides, I enjoy watching you sneak peeks at me when you think I’m not looking. ”

“ You saw that?” I slap her lightly on shoulder. “And you never said anything?”

Kaitlin’s pull s away, but she’s grinning like a fool, and her hand is still warm on my thigh. “I had to see how you interacted with the boys before I was sure.”

“Oh,” I say, before leaning in to that rib-smashing center console again to take Kaitlin’s face in my hands. “Is that all?”

I attack her mouth with gusto, and I feel her hand inching ever higher, toward my waistband . I’m nervous about what she’ll think if she tries to slip her hand under my shirt, so I push her gently away. I’m not ready to explain my aversion to being shirtless quite yet. Though the hand on my thigh… that could go on all night as far as I’m concerned .

But there’s a glare of a flashlight and a tap on the side window glass, and Kaitlin and I sit upright with a start.

“Park’s closed, kid s. Time to go home.” It’s a man’s voice, who I can only assume is the park ranger, thinking he’s interrupted some horny teenagers .

I giggle. “Busted,” I say.

Kaitlin’s grin stretches a mile wide as she turns the key to fire up the noisy engine.

“ Ice cream?” she says.

I nod. “ If they’re still open.”

* * *

We sit at one of the little sidewalk tables for two, under a string of bare bulb patio lights, staring at each other over little dishes of rapidly melting ice cream. I’ve got chocolate, and she’s dragging her spoon through some strange creation called lobster tracks. I still can’t believe that this girl I’ve been fawning over for weeks is sitting here with me, and that we just made out in her car after watching the sunset. Well, technically Cap’n Dave’s car, but still.