A/N:
Lateness! Grr. But with real life always being first, this had to be delayed for a bit. But now I am back on track once more.
Chapter Nine
Heartbreak
Patricia was back at work, determined to take her mind off previous events so they could come back to her more easily. Away from Carol, Joy, and Eddie…it was more peaceful here than anywhere else she could think of. Plus, she needed the extra cash.
Later that night, near the end of her shift, she was cleaning the recently used table with professional strokes, hoping to make a good impression from customers for easy tips when she heard the door open. The bell's chime made a clear, gay sound. Though her shift would be complete in ten minutes, this person definitely wouldn't take long.
Patricia walked over to behind the counter and smiled at her co-worker, Joshua, as he finished making a coffee for another customer. She felt her day had been rather upbeat against the previous events, and she decided to put it behind her until it came to her. She held her head up toward the newest person and continued to smile…until she saw his face.
"Trish, we need to talk."
His appearance shocked her-though it shouldn't have. She saw Jon all the time, sometimes just to sneak out an extra kiss while she worked, not leaving her alone until she caved in. But when he hadn't even texted her back, she wasn't sure he even wanted to talk to her again. There was no doubt he knew about what happened-no matter how little he knew, he probably knew more than she did.
Something on his face, however, told her it wasn't anger that was overwhelming him…it was sadness.
"What, you couldn't text or call me?" she said. "Seriously, I know you're not a big fan of anything too 'techy,' as you say, but a phone call can't kill you." She sounded angrier than she honestly was, but was inside desperate for answers. His tone gave her the idea he some idea of it.
"That doesn't matter now. We're here now and we're talking. But I wanted to talk face to face with you anyway," he said, and seriousness sharpened his features with a new look-lack of naiveté, more maturity.
Patricia decided to play along, tapping the counter nervously. "What do we need to talk about?"
"I think you know," he said. "Joy told me what she saw. And I'm here to talk to you about what did happen."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint" –Not really—"¬but I don't remember anything from last night. It's all pretty much a blur, really. Drinking is a bitch." She tried to play it all off like a joke, hoping to get details from him if he knew anything.
Jon wasn't amused. "Really?" His solemnness faltered. "Umm, well, from what I heard, it wasn't too good, and now, I'm starting to get worried." He frowned.
"Worried? What for?" she asked with a hollow laugh, not meeting his dark eyes.
"You said you dated this guy. And you were really awkward around him-I'm not dumb, I saw your face, especially when he kissed her. You looked pretty damn sad about it for some reason. And now, Joy found you doing…God knows what at Eddie's house! It's like this guy comes back into your life and now I'm nothing or…something," he said. He rubbed his nose as he let out something between a grave laugh and a groan.
"Wha? Jon, you're being ridiculous. If there's one thing you're not, it's too dramatic. You know when to not to make a big deal of things, and this is one of them. You like to think these things through, not just get into the drama, because it's stupid, and you know it!" She tried to sneak the old Jon back, the one that would give her forgiveness. This time, she deserved it-she really did.
He made no reaction, no response. He remained concealed in his hands, but he wasn't crying or anything. Mainly thinking, and thinking deeply at that.
"I don't know how many times I need to remind everyone I was drinking. I already told Joy this and I don't want to get into another quarrel again," she said, impatience making her face scrunch.
"I got this call from Joy. Joy. I just met her and got her number because she was your friend. I was worried when you ran away but let Eddie go 'cause I had work early that morning. I didn't hear anythin' from you all night. You just left us there like you had gone mental! I didn't get anything until that text a while back. Heck, I would have been really worried if Eddie didn't call Joy while we were still at the diner." He made hand movements in his exasperation.
"Well, can't you just fuckin' tell me what Joy saw? It's definitely more than I know!" she said, slapping her hand against her palm. "What did she see?"
Jon blinked several times, sort of confused apparently. "Well, I can't really describe it...actually, she didn't tell me too much." He rubbed the back of his head. "Just that if she came five minutes later, it would have been way worse."
Patricia groaned, realizing this fight would get her nowhere-or if not that, somewhere she did not want to be at all! "Hey, we have people drinking here!" snarled Joshua, who albeit his distance from them, heard most of the conversation. Patricia reminded herself murder would not be possible in public…He glowered harshly at them before Ruth came in with a rather upbeat rhythm to her step. For an older woman, she had more energy than Trisha had at the moment.
"Break's on, Trish. …Wait, what's going on?" she asked, leaning in to whisper in the redhead's ear. No one answered her; it was just an agonizing stare contest between Patricia and Jon. Finally, Ruth put it behind her. "I'll be in there when you're finished." She was about to head back but Trisha swore the woman stayed behind at the sight of Jon's conflicted stare at Patricia.
"Talk to me when you got all this figured out. I don't want to be a part of this when it's so confusing," Jon said with a down expression before turning on his heels and leaving the café. The bell's harmonic chime was such irony Patricia wish it would just shut the hell up.
"Jon, hold u-damn it!" she hissed, nearly smashing her head onto the counter. She ignored Joshua's stare and ran into the back room. She just about fell into the chair next to Ruth, who was sipping tea and reading some kind of romance novel.
"I'm guessing now," said Ruth unenthusiastically, barely bothering shifting her eyes away from her book. "Thank goodness Joshua is here."
"How long is boy trouble supposed to last?" Patricia asked in a sort of complaint. But she hoped Ruth would answer her; she was the only woman she could truly confide in that could make sense to her, and with Ruth's elderly age, surely she could give her some sort of assistance in all of this.
"In all cases, an eternity," said Ruth, snapping out humorous smile, but it died down when Patricia showed no laughter in her features. Ruth shrugged it off. "Sorry. For you, only God knows when. But if I can take a guess, you can just make this end quickly and put it behind you if you do something."
"I've been trying to do something since this morning," Patricia argued, putting her head against the wall too hard. She rubbed it and said, "But it's easier said than done. I barely have gotten anything done. I'm still as confused about what happened to cause all this crap."
"What happened, dearie? I won't get too worked up over up. That's why I'm glad I'm old," Ruth mused, taking out a cigarette, but searching around made her lower it slightly. "Damn, forgot the lighter." She pursed her lips and muttered something about going home soon, anyway.
"It's nothing I want to talk about…if I knew any of it. But whatever it is, it's really made me seem…" She struggled for the word, but soon enough, by the time Ruth put her cig back into its case, it slowly came to her, and it seemed appropriate. Though she said it with slight malice towards herself. "Crazy."
"Crazy, eh?" Ruth observed her carefully with a cocked brow.
"Heck, Jon is even thinking I've gone mad. Maybe I have."
"Have you considered murdering anybody or committing suicide?" asked the gray haired woman very casually.
"No." She gave Ruth a weird look. Though Ruth had her own sort of personality, that was not something that came out of just anyone's mouth.
"Then so far, I'm saying no. Just confused." She rolled her eyes when Patricia was unresponsive and put down her book. "Well, then, hurry back to work. I can see several people at once coming, and I don't think our newbie can handle it."
"Can't you handle it?" asked Patricia, who was more than ready to just pass out on the uncomfortable chair. Sure, she had put a smile across her face when she arrived, but that was because she wanted to remain oblivious from the world and its demons that seemed to taunt her. Of course it would not last long.
Ruth gave her a look under her glasses, and that was all her boss really needed to "say." As much as Patricia was dependent, she also needed to keep a job. Patricia moaned and left the break room. Three more people had arrived, and Joshua seemed like he was cornered…newbies always had that kind of fear, like they couldn't handle it.
"Glad you came back," Joshua said desperately as he handed change to a person in front of him. "Your boyfriend drama can wait, can't it, so you can help me?"
Patricia's eyes flashed ferocity at him. "Watch your tongue or else I'll cut it off, newbie. We have to work together a lot, so don't get on my bad side. What I have going on in my life is none of your damn business."
Joshua revealed no intimidation from her and glared back. "'lright, fine. Just get the next customer," he barked.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she said, but had to anyways, considering it was also her boss's order. She smiled as sweetly as she could, no matter how hard it hurt, to the customer in front of her.
"Welcome to Ruthie's Café, how are you doing tonight?" she asked.
"Not bad, how are you?" he asked with slight anxiety, probably because he saw what went on between her and Joshua.
My friend is pissed at me, my ex is who knows where, my boyfriend hates me, and I still have no idea what I did as to what made all this happen, so I'm absolutely fucking great, thanks for asking.
She nodded at him and said, "Fine, what would you like?"
