Thanks so much for all of the reviews: Aurora1020, Marla's Lost, memingi, Korydwen, kab16, and se34201! This chapter is mostly in Sawyer's point of view but the ending is in Juliet's. Enjoy... :)
"I met a gal last night." Charlie started as we sat on the couch together, watching a game of football. He began chatting about the woman for a while and the little love story was captivating at first, but after a good ten minutes of it, I had lost interest.
"Then the girl--Claire's her name--she tells me she's a fan of the Kinks, so I start to sing one of the songs and before you know it, we're kissing. Needless to say, it was a bloody good time." He droned on as I made my way over to the fridge to get a beer. When I grabbed one off the shelf, I let my eyes wander to the juice boxes next to it. They looked so foreign inside my home--Clementine had never even set foot in my house before, every time I'd see her it was always at her mothers house--always at Cassidy's.
"Someone giving you a ring, mate?" I heard Charlie's voice ask suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie, and soon realizing he was right, I made my way towards the phone.
"Now who the hell could that be?" I asked gruffly, talking mostly to myself, "It's damn near midnight."
"Hello. James?" A familair voice asked through the reciever, "It's Rachel. Julian's mom."
"Oh, how are ya?" I asked carefully, unaware of why she was calling. I had only spoken to her a handful of times and we were far from being close friends.
"Remember my sister I was telling you about?" She asked, ignoring my previous question, "Well how about you two go on a blind date. Say...tomorrow night?"
"Now I'm not too sure 'bout that, sunshine." I answered slowly but upon her consisting insistence, I finally agreed.
"What was all that about?" Charlie asked once I hung up the phone, "Did I hear something about a date?"
"You heard right, Chuckie." I replied and just as he was about to retort, the cry of my little girl rang out through the house.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I asked as softly as I could once I reached Clementine's bedside. She was sitting upright in her bed and had a look of fear plastered on her face as she latched onto my shirt and whimpered, "I had a bad dweam."
"Well chin up, darlin', it ain't real. Everythin's okay, your pop's here." I assured her and when she pulled away slightly, she whispered, "But I want mama."
I froze after hearing her small voice ask for something she could never have again and, not knowing what to say, I simply wrapped my arms around her.
"I know ya do." I finally replied, breathing out heavily, "But right now, you're gonna have to settle for me."
"But where is she?" was my daughter's next question and I sighed into her hair as I held her against my chest.
"Sweetheart, why don't ya just try to get back to sleep." I whispered, purposely avoiding her question and soon enough, sleep overcame her.
The next day, after a long night of consoling my daughter, Kate stood in front of me with a cup of coffee in her hands.
"Thanks again for agreein' to babysit, freckles." I stated as I picked up my jacket and pulled it on, "It's hard to find someone on such short notice."
"It's no problem, Sawyer, really. I enjoy spending time with Clementine, it's just...don't you think you should be spending your time preparing for a funeral, not going out on dates with strangers?"
"I've been doin' that all damn week. I think it's time I got a break from it all." I answered sternly, before turning towards my daughter and kneeling down to her level.
"Pop's gonna be out for a while, darlin'. So be good for auntie Kate, got it?" I asked and when she nodded her head quietly, I gave her a kiss on the forehead and ruffled her hair, "Bye kid."
"Bye daddy." Her small voice answered as I strode out the door. I then grabbed the keys to my motorcycle out of my pants pocket and hopped on to make my way to Maggie's Diner.
It took only a few short minutes to arrive and when I did, I noticed another person walking towards the restaurants doors the exact same time as I did. Upon closer look, I realized it was the blonde from the hospital--Juliet was her name?
"Sawyer." She breathed out surprised, once she caught a glimpse of my face, "Fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah, it's a small world, ain't it?" I retorted, scanning her up and down. She looked pretty damn good, wearing a casual light blue shirt with jeans that fit her in all the right places.
"So what brings ya here?" I asked after a moments silence and she rolled her eyes and stated, "A date. I've been dreading it all day, I really just want to get it over with."
"The guy's that bad, huh?" I asked, not quite understanding why she had even showed up if she felt that way.
"Wouldn't know. Haven't met him yet." She said plainly, with a shrug of the shoulders, "It's a blind date."
"Whaddya know, I'm on one a' those too." I drawled out, "Don't even know the gal's name. All I know is she's got a sister named Rachel."
"Well my sister is named Rachel so I guess that makes me your date. Unless, of course, this all just a huge coincidence." She paused then asked, "So is your name James or Sawyer?"
"James is the real name, Sawyer's just a nickname." I explained quickly, not wanting to say more on the issue. Thankfully, she didn't press the subject any further and instead suggested, "Why don't we go inside. I'm starving."
I unhesitatingly agreed and we both made our way inside and to the nearest table. When we were eventually seated, I decided to ask, "So whats a pretty gal like you do for fun?"
"Skydiving, bungee jumping, you know, the usual." She retorted with a smirk. I smiled and let out a laugh before she questioned, "What about you?"
"Well I'm a complex guy, sweetheart. Most of the time I--" I started but was interupted by a man's voice saying, "Juliet. What are you doing here?"
"Jack." She answered in awe, "What are you doing here?"
"I just came to get some dinner." The doctor--I recognized him from the hospital--replied, "I thought you said you and Rachel were spending time together today."
Juliet opened her mouth to talk but then closed it as Jack asked curiously, "Are you on a date?"
"She sure as hell is." I answered for her, and the doc, now looking at me, stated, "Really? Because I'm her husband."
"W-what? What are you talking about, Jack? James, he's not my--" She spit out but I soon interupted, "It's alright, sweetheart, ya don't have to explain yourself. I think I'll just be leavin'."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Juliet
With that, James rushed out the door and left me with a content looking Jack.
"What the hell was that for, Jack?" I asked slowly, the anger evident in my voice. He looked back at me innocently and declared, "That guy's not your type, you deserve better than him--Trust me, I did you a favor by getting him to leave."
"I was actually having a good time with that guy." I explained as calmly as I could, "Why did you have to come over and say that you were my husband?"
"It's not like I lied." He countered, "Technically we are still married."
Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter or what you would like to see in the next chapter! :)
