Chapter 3: Setback
"Isn't there anything that you can do," I asked Peter as he walked around the car another time as if that would change anything. I knew though what he was doing. He was putting on an act so as to give me some ounce of hope. But in reality there was none. The car was shot and the part that Peter had ordered wasn't coming in until a couple more days. "You had just ordered the part," I threw my hands up to cover my face. "I can't believe it chose today to break down!"
"It's a bigger problem now," Tobias walked out of his office. "According to this right here, it's more than just the intake valve."
"That means that you'll probably," Peter began but I cut him off.
"Don't say it," I insisted. "Don't tell me that, not today."
Tobias had said something to Peter and walked back inside. I wanted to throw something, punch something. Things had been looking up. I had gotten a job, just enrolled in the local community college and even got caught up on my rent. Even if I took the bus or the train to work, there was still a lot of time and walking that needed to be done. The nearest train depot was not close to my apartment building. I would have to transfer to three different buses to get to work if I took the bus. And then the evening classes that I had signed up for would need to be cancelled because there was no way that I would be making it in time to class with all the added travel time.
"Ana, it'll cost more for you to fix it. And in the long run it isn't worth all the time and money you're investing into an old..."
I turned to Peter and he stopped talking. He raised his hand and wiped away the tear that trickled down my cheek.
"I just got my electric back on last week," I sniffed as another tear fell. "I was able to make myself a home cooked meal! I was able to drink orange juice at home instead of going down to the mart on the corner at five in the morning to buy a small milk box or juice cup," more tears started to fall. "I can't get another car. I can't even afford to fix the one that I have. I just," my breathing became heavy that I started to hyperventilate.
Peter pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me and rubbing my back.
"It's going to be okay, Ana," he whispered as I continued to sob.
This was a major setback in my plans. I couldn't help but think that I would not have been in this situation if not for Cain. I had become so dependent on him in the end. He had told me time and time again that I didn't need to work, I didn't need to go to College, and I didn't need to worry about a thing. And I didn't. I had followed him from Amity to Dauntless. I came here so that we could start our new life together. And when all was said and done he had forgotten the promises he made to me.
"He said he would take care of me," I blurted out as I tasted the tears on my lips.
"I know," Peter replied.
"He said our future was planned out. That everything was going to be perfect when we moved from Amity," I gripped onto Peter's shirt and rubbed my face against it.
"I know," he said again.
"He had promised me," I cried. "He made me believe him! I believed him."
"I know."
"He was such an ass!"
Peter chuckled at this and pulled away a bit to show me his smile. "I definitely know that," he wiped my face again.
He let me vent about everything that had happened with Cain. He knew that Cain had cheated on me but he didn't know about the conversation that I had with Cain's mother. I knew that there were unfaithful people out there. I knew that I wasn't the first one to be cheated on. But I had just never thought it would have happened to me and Cain. He never showed any signs that he didn't love me. He only kicked up his game of neglect and arguing after I had discovered the condom and began questioning it. I had been made out to be the bad person and then I was left with nothing.
I had finally thought I recovered. I had found my very own apartment. I had got my own job. I had got a car. I had been able to say that I was doing things on my way without having to rely on him. That was what I wanted to show off to the world when those nights I had slept on my cousin's couch. I wanted to show them all that I didn't need Cain to survive. He had crippled me in those few years we had been together. I didn't plan on becoming a house wife but he wanted that and so I became that. I stopped working, stopped going College and moved away from my family to be with him.
The electric company finally turned everything back on and I had been able to use the portable stove that I had brought from a neighbor. My small fridge had food in it. I finally took a hot shower instead of the ice cold freezing ones. I had a balance, though a small one, in my bank account. I had purchased a cell phone and got rid of the house phone, since I was rarely going to be home. I had learned to rely on myself and now the car broke down completely. The money I got from work was strictly for rent, electric, my cell and gas for the car.
"You'd save money on gas now," Peter said trying to ease the tension.
"But now I need to use it on the bus or the train and you know that the train is a twenty minute walk away from my apartment building. I'm in the middle of nowhere," I shook my head. "And before you say it, I can't move. That apartment is all I can afford."
"Perhaps you need more money."
"Really, I never thought of that concept," I sassed which made Peter pinch my side.
"Get another part time job," he suggested. "Or ask your current job to make you full time."
"The full time position is already taken," I shook my head. "And I can't get another job. No one will hire me unless I have a degree."
"All of the jobs," he questioned.
"The ones in the City, yes."
Peter sighed.
"And before you say anything else, I enrolled part time at the community college. I came to Dauntless to go to the University with Cain. I can't go back because he had paid for everything but it doesn't mean that I still can't try to get a degree."
"When are your classes?"
"Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings," I answered.
"And then you work at the Bank," he pressed.
"My schedule now is all day Monday and Friday which is eight to five thirty. Then I work from eleven to three on Tuesday and Thursday. The manager knows about my evening classes. I had explained to HR about that when I was being interviewed, that I had hoped to go back to college."
"So you need a nighttime job, then?"
"There aren't that many businesses open at night, near to my apartment. I can't be going all over the place now especially since I don't have a car," I replied knowing where he was going with this.
"Actually I know a place," Peter said. I narrowed my eyes wondering what he could be talking about. "Come on, I think you're in need of a drink."
"It's only lunchtime, Peter."
"You know what they say," he shrugged. "Its happy hour somewhere," he smiled and led me to his car.
My cousin ended up taking me to a local bar, one that I had gone to many times with Dillon and his workmates. Actually it was more like a restaurant that just turned into a bar at night. I had only seen it at night with the after work crowd and various dinner dates that were hosted here. But it was obvious that the restaurant here was rather high end.
"I didn't realize this place was open during the day," I stated out loud as we sat at the bar.
"You've been here before?"
"With Dillon but it didn't look like this," I answered.
Peter opened his mouth to say something but then quickly was interrupted.
"Peter Hayes, it's been a while," a hostess came up to us.
"Christina Kravitz," he smiled hugging the girl. "How have you been?"
"I've been better. Is this your latest victim," she turned to me.
"Christina this is my cousin JoyAnna. JoyAnna, this is Christina. She's a, well she's one of the strippers here."
My eyes grew big and my jaw dropped. Did my cousin just...
"Ha, ha, very funny smart ass," she rolled her eyes.
"Is it proper protocol to use foul language while working," he continued to goad her.
"I'm not on the clock right now. I just finished my shift. In fact I have a few minutes to spare and talk shit about you to your cousin."
I started to laugh. "I like her."
"And I like you, JoyAnna was it," she held out her hand which I shook. "The only problem I believe we would have is that you're related to this sorry excuse of a man right here."
"Bitch," Peter muttered causing me to whack his arm.
"So what are the two of you doing here," she ignored him and plopped herself onto the stool next to me. "It's kind of early for happy hour, don't you think?"
"That's what I told him," I nodded towards Peter.
"We actually came to have a drink or two and also to see you," Peter pointed to her.
"Me," she looked past me and at him. "Why on earth would you..."
"Delta Psi Beta," Peter told her.
Christina's eyes widened for a second and then she nodded. "You're calling in the favor," she looked away. For a moment everything was silent and I briefly wondered what a fraternity had to do with Christina owing something to Peter. She took a deep breath and then turned back to him. "What do you need?"
"My cousin here needs another job."
And so that is how it happened that I had begun working at the restaurant/bar called The Chasm. It was a little more than minimum wage. I had waitress experience from working at the diner back in Amity for Mrs. Reyes. There was a huge difference though between the customers and I was reminded about it on my first night here. I usually knew everyone who came into the Amity diner but I didn't know people here. And the first customer I had helped was one of the regulars who would hit on the various waitresses here. I didn't know how to react other than to yell at him when he slipped a tip under my uniform which was a black skirt.
"Wear the pants on Monday nights," Christina suggested. "He only comes in on the weekdays because his wife works late. So you're safe on the weekends."
People would not have harassed you like that in Amity. The next day I worked was during Friday and there was more of a traffic flow in there. I didn't know where I got hit on more, at the bank or working here as a waitress. Of course the people who came into the Chasm were a bit more loose than the ones I seen in the bank. Some of them were the same people but as another waitress Lauren so kindly reminded me:
"They've clocked out of their day jobs. It's time to play and that's why a lot of the guys come here," she nudged me towards a table where six men who were loosening their ties began to sit down.
Sure enough I had recognized helping one of them earlier in the bank and he definitely wasn't the same respectful customer as he had been earlier.
"I tell you, I love this counter," I told Myra the following week at work.
"I think this is the barrier," Myra ran her hand along the counter. "It stops them from coming to close or looking at our entire outfit or if we're in heels because," she rolled her eyes. "They totally make you look doable," she repeated what a guy had told me one night I was working the bar.
We both laughed at it but I still felt uncomfortable. It certainly was a different atmosphere than working at the diner in Amity. I didn't mind the type of work, it reminded me of home. But I just didn't like a lot of the people that came in.
"That's Dauntless for you," one of the male bartenders told me. Apparently the women were just as aggressive.
There were a couple so called 'bouncers' or security that wore all black just like the waitresses who got rid of customers who became too rowdy. I had made friends with one of them real easily, especially after he found out that I was working part time at the Bank of Dauntless.
"My mom is the manager there."
"Mrs. Rodriguez," I asked.
"Yup," he answered.
Hec was a cool guy and often would check on me after waiting a table or helping someone at the bar. He was also attending community college with me the same nights that I was. He recognized me on the first day in class and offered to become partners. When he saw me walking home, he said that wouldn't do and had started giving me a ride to school and sometimes to work at the restaurant.
There was another reason why we had bonded immediately. Hec too was coming out of a bad relationship. The girl had gotten pregnant from another guy and he didn't know. Everyone had been so thrilled in his family, disappointed because he was still seventeen but happy nonetheless. She tried to pass it off as his and he never questioned the possibility that she had cheated on him. When the baby was born it was so obvious that Hec was not the father. A paternity test cleared him but he loved the girl so much that he helped her out for the first couple months only to have the girl leave him and the baby. His oldest sister had been trying to have a child with her boyfriend and it was decided that they would adopt the little boy.
"I know how it feels," he told me one night after class as he dropped me off. "The thing is that I never would have guessed that she had been with someone else," Hec shook his head.
"You had been together since high school too," I asked.
Hec nodded. "My oldest sister and her fiancé have been together since they were seventeen. My parents since they were fifteen," he chuckled at the memory. "I just thought that perhaps years down the line, we would tell this cute story about how we were high school sweethearts and only had eyes for each other."
"I thought the same," I said sadly.
He started laughing lightly causing me to look over at him. "You know I thought that all girls were just users."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You know, you want the guy who makes a lot of money and has the nice car, comes from a good family and of course knows to have good sex," he finished the last part which made me laugh. "Girls just use guys for the money or for the car or for the sex. Nothing else matters."
"I'm not going to lie," I replied. "I want someone who makes decent money to buy nice things so I don't need to sleep on an old futon on the floor. I want someone who has a working vehicle so that I don't need to catch bus everywhere or rely on other people, like you to take me places."
"What's wrong with me taking you to school? We go to the same classes."
"I know but I can't have you drive me everywhere. If I had a car, I'd drive myself."
"Honestly Ana, I don't mind driving you to classes. You don't need a boyfriend so you can get a ride everywhere."
"But again, I don't have a car. So that would be one quality that I would look for in a guy."
"So what are we saying," Hec asked playfully. "A Lexus, Audi, or maybe an Acura kind of guy."
"Just a working vehicle kind of guy," I said as we both started to laugh. "But I wouldn't use a guy just for money or his car," I shook my head as things quieted down and took a serious turn. "After what happened, I could do without a guy who came with those luxuries."
"They're out there," Hec said which made me smile. "What? They are. Just like how there are girls out there who actually want to give as much they take, who sacrifice as much as they are gifted, who love just as hard. But I'm with you. After what happened, I decided that perhaps I wait until I finish college. I took a break so I could focus on being a father and a potential husband and that didn't go as planned. So now I'm back in school."
"You're a great guy, Hec. I believe you're right. The person we both need is out there somewhere. We just need to focus on ourselves first."
"Hey, when life gives you lemons," he shrugged and then pushed me out the door in a playful manner.
It was easy to be friends with Myra at the bank, often joining her and Edward at the movies or at dinner. But with Hec it was different and perhaps it was because he was a guy. I didn't have too many friends who were guys. That's when I realized the only guys I knew who weren't family were Cain's friends. He had isolated me completely, not just from moving me away from Amity but also keeping me from making friends. I really had no one in the relationship.
"He made you dependent on him," Hec noticed.
I nodded. "It's not like I was wild before or careless," I added. "I was a good girl. I just..."
"JoyAnna if you came here and made friends easily with people at the bank or even at the Chasm, something tells me that you get along with a lot of people. He didn't want that because then you would have a backup plan to him. He wanted you to think that you only needed him," Hec finished.
"I just wished I had noticed it before it happened."
"You know what to look for now."
"Yeah I guess I do," I answered.
There were few people at both of my jobs who knew about Hec and I being friends. After his mother had found out she told me to keep it quiet on that end. Apparently a couple tellers had been dating the sons of other branch managers in the hopes of getting a promotion. She assured me that she didn't think of me that way but knew that someone might accuse me of it. The only person I told was Myra who thought that something was brewing between me and Hec but I confidently told her that we were friends. Hec and I both had pasts that we were trying to recover from and for us it was nice to have someone who understood. Talking to your parents and other family was nice and all, but they didn't go through the same thing.
Hec's parents were just like mine. They had been married for years, been together since they were teenagers. It was comforting to talk to them about what we were going through but they still didn't know the feeling like Hec or I did. We joked about our potential future marriages a lot and what we had planned. It was a nice outlet for me and apparently a good one for Hec as well, according to his mom.
"So, there's that new movie with that hot guy inside," Myra told me one week at work.
I had been working two jobs and attending night classes now for almost a month. It had worked out great that I met Hec who was able to take me classes and also to my second job at the Chasm. Myra picked me to work at the bank on the two days that I worked all day. So I basically just worried about the whole train to bus to bus again for two days out of the week. I had been working overload in both school and work that Myra had insisted I take a weekend off.
"I still have the night shift this weekend," I told her.
"Did you not hear what I said," she stated and I couldn't help but laugh because I knew it was coming. "This is the new movie with that hot guy inside. Do we need to know what's happening," she asked. "No," she answered as I shook my head at her. "All we need to know is that there is a sexy guy who is going to take off his shirt and make us jealous of the stupid girl on the screen."
"I heard what you said but I still..."
"Nope," she waved her hand. "We're going to watch it."
"Why can't you take Edward with you?"
"I can't watch a guy while I'm with another guy. I already tried to do that with Magic Mike," Myra said.
"But I can't take off Myra. Yes the customers are touchy but the tips are great. And I'm not talking about the ones that Mr. Marcus tries to put in the waitresses skirts."
And that was partially true. The tips made a huge difference. And Friday nights were when we had got the most. A lot of people just got paid. Another group of people had just gotten too drunk and would give us twenties instead of fives and tens. Some people left hundred dollar bills and told us to keep the change. I'd walk away with two hundred on a good night once everything was said and done.
"Tell you what," she began after we had finished the small rush that came in the bank. "We'll go after you finish your shift and watch the last show. There's nothing Saturday for me. You can sleep over at my place and we can get lunch whenever we wake up. Go to mall or something. I want a weekend with my girl and you're not going to deny me."
"Alright then, let's go."
"Yes," she did a small fist bump before turning in her chair to call the next customer. "I can help you here."
In all honesty I wanted a carefree weekend also. I felt that I had worked hard the past month. My parents were proud of me that I was doing things on my own and learning to enjoy my life again. And I was. Going back to college, even though it was just night classes, made me feel important and meaningful. Hec had commented several times on how smart he thought I was and that he was happy for me that I was attending classes again. And I'm not going to lie about how good it felt to pay rent on time this past month. I felt like I was regaining my strength by relying on myself. It was giving me a sense of independence and I was enjoying it.
"Hey JoyAnna," Lauren called when I started my shift at the restaurant. "Tonight we'll have you in the party room with me. There's a huge group coming in."
"The party room," I asked looking off to where some hosted bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, birthday parties or even small business events. "I don't know," I shook my head.
"You'll do fine," she smiled. "Most suits like a sweet girl like you."
"Suits," I asked Hec as he walked by.
"Businessmen," he stated. "At least you won't be out here or by the bar."
"I know," I wiped my hands nervously. "I'll miss you," I teased.
"Oh I'll miss you too short round," he teased right back as I stuck out my tongue. He had begun calling me that when I found out his middle name was 'Ford'.
"You're H. Ford," I told him, "like Henry Ford."
"Who's Henry Ford?"
"You're joking right? He's an American industrialist. The founder of the Ford Motor Company," I stated as he shook his head.
"I'm guessing he's an old guy."
"Considering that he founded a company that has been operating for a hundred years now, if he was still alive yes he would be a really old guy," I started laughing. "You know you probably shouldn't have told me about your middle name. I think I'm going to start calling you Ford. H. Ford."
"Don't call me Ford after that guy."
"He was an important guy."
"Only someone as smart as you would know things like that."
I scoffed. "A lot of people know who Henry Ford is."
"That's beside the point," he waved me off as we drove to work. "If you're going to compare my name to someone famous then make it Harrison Ford."
"The guy from Indiana Jones?"
"I'm surprised you know that."
"I went to Disneyland and rode the ride," I stated which got a laugh out of him.
"You've never seen the movie?" I shook my head. "Then you have not lived! Tell me you've seen Star Wars."
"The one with Hayden Christensen?"
"Nope, nope," he protested. "That won't do! We can't be friends unless you watch the original. That has Harrison Ford in it."
We did end up watching Indiana Jones one night after classes at his place. And it was because of that movie that he had started to call me 'short round'. I was Hec's sidekick the same as Short Round was to Indiana Jones. And I was also short. Myra had said that wasn't really a term of endearment but I told her again that the two of us were friends. I didn't mention that that night I slept over at Hec's in his bed. She didn't know because nothing happened. It was just nice to have another friend to talk to who could relate. In fact Hec had told me that he was interested in a girl that was in our Thursday class.
"She's cute," I nudged him. "You should go talk to her."
"I don't know what to say."
"You say a lot of things to me."
"That's different," he whispered as the teacher walked in.
"Ask her about the assignment. Tell her you need help."
"Yeah but I go to you for help."
"You really have nothing to say to this girl?"
Hec had sunk in his chair. "My ex was the only girl I have ever been with and I didn't exactly flirt with her. I don't know how to flirt."
And I could see it. I pushed Hec 'accidently' into the girl one Thursday night and he could barely get out an apology. The girl smiled that cute smile and shyly said: 'It's okay Hec. See you,' and she left. But the smile on Hec's face wouldn't go away all night on the ride home. He kept gloating that she knew his name, had said his name and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I decided to push a little more and invited the girl to study with us one night, which she declined because she had to get home and help her parents with something. It was later on that I had found out the girl was four years younger than us at eighteen years old. She couldn't take day classes because she had to help with her four younger siblings. Hec had asked how I found that all out and I told him that I just talked to her, like he should.
"No one is going to be missed," Lauren came by us. "Hec I need you there too. Keep the other guests out of the room. Apparently the reservation is under Carmichael."
"As in David Carmichael," Hec asked.
"Could be," Lauren shrugged. "Either way I want you at the door."
Hec had stood at the front of the party room while two other waitresses and I waited inside. Lauren showed the group inside and introduced the three of us along with Hec and a couple bus boys who would be serving the room. True to their assumption it was David Carmichael. I only recognized him because I noticed his daughter Nita was sitting at one of the tables in the room. She was invited to our wedding. Their family was close friends with the Banners. Hopefully, none of them were here. I shook my head and saw Hec giving me a small smile.
I was glad that Lauren assigned me to the first table where neither David nor Nita had sat. I walked there cheerfully and introduced myself again. A lot of them had on business suits and looked highly important. I presented the specials perfectly and asked if they had any questions before taking their drink orders. Everything was going well until I reached the last person who sat at the table.
"Forgive me, is your name JoyAnna or Ana," the voice sailed across the table.
I looked up to see Eric, my cousin's shift supervisor, our biggest account holder staring at me with his alluring grey eyes. I smiled and looked down shyly. I had never thought I would see him again. This time he was in a full suit, unlike the other two occasions that I had seen him. He looked dreamy, like one of those guys that you see in a car commercial but he was ten times better.
"My name is JoyAnna but my nickname is Ana," I answered meekly as I choked on the last word.
"JoyAnna is a pretty name but I like Ana better," he said and I remembered that I did not introduce myself to him as JoyAnna when we first had met. That was probably why he had questioned it.
"What would you like to drink Mr. Coulter," I smiled sweetly as his eyes shot up to mine. I don't know why but I gave him a quick wink.
It got a smirk from him as he sat straighter and faced his entire body towards me. "I'll take a Grey Goose martini. I want it extra dirty," he said every word slowly while staring at me. I couldn't help but notice that his tongue flicked out and licked his bottom lip. I almost gasped at how sexy it looked. "With extra olives," he added at the end.
I nodded. "I'll be right back with your orders," I said before quickly hurrying out of the room.
I grabbed Hec's arm quickly and pulled him to the side where no one could see us.
"What is it? Did one of them give you a bad time?"
"This hot guy is in there and I can't concentrate with him in the room," I whispered loudly as Hec started to chuckle.
"Now you know how I feel when we're in class."
"This isn't funny. What do I do? The thing is that I've met him before and argh," I groaned. "He's probably wondering what I'm doing working here. He knows I work at the bank. He..."
"Calm down," he gave me a quick hug. "Go and put in their drink orders. Try not to think so much about him being there."
Like that was a possibility, I mentally huffed. Christina had looked at me weird when I gave her the order and had started fanning myself. I had gone back and delivered the drinks and Eric had rest his hand over mine before accepting the drink from me. The whole time he stared at me. When I went over the appetizers, he had me repeat them over and over again, asking detailed questions about what was in each dish. For a brief moment I thought he was just being picky and demanding, like Myra and Dillon had told me that he was but we ended each conversation with a smile and a 'thank you, Ana'.
Going after the dinner selections, I was not prepared for the numerous questions that came out about the lobster and salmon dishes.
"Which would you prefer," Eric asked.
"I highly doubt..."
"I want to know which dish you would eat. In your honest opinion," he reaffirmed. He stared levelly at me and I could tell that he wasn't going to let the issue rest.
I took a deep breath before proceeding. "I would eat neither actually. The lobster isn't fresh tonight, unless you don't mind that taste that seafood loses when it's been frozen. I also would not eat the salmon dish unless I asked them to lightly sear it. That dish also comes with seafood fried rice which is too buttery for my palate so I would ask to substitute that for maybe a vegetable side."
"Just order already Coulter," one of the other people at the table stated.
Eric chose to ignore the comment. "I like it when people know what they want and when they honestly say what is on their mind," he said with those cloudy eyes piercing into me. "I'll take the salmon, exactly how you suggested," he handed me the menu and again touched my hand as I took it from him.
I couldn't concentrate the entire evening. This was after all the first time that I had worked the party room. But I knew exactly that it had nothing to do with inexperience of the job or the demand of the customers we had been waiting on. No, it was the glances and smiles that I got from the man in the crisp dark grey suit. I had to get several prep talks from Hec about keeping calm and trying not to get nervous.
I was glad when the evening had died down and they had gotten ready to leave. Of course they had spent a lot after the meal ordering various desserts and more rounds of alcoholic drinks for the group. Nita Carmichael had almost noticed me when they had left. She stated that I looked familiar but I shook my head and told her that I had just moved, which wasn't a lie because I did move to my apartment. She eyed me once more before leaving.
When Eric had come over to thank me for the meal, he took my hand in his and placed something into my palm. "Thank you Ana. I hope to see you soon."
I simply nodded unaware of what to say. After they all had left, I immediately went to the employee room to open whatever he had given me. There in my hand was the largest tip that I could have ever gotten. He had given me three one hundred dollar bills and his business card. On the back of the card he wrote down: I want to have dinner with you again, this time as a date instead of a server. Call me when you're free. Eric
I melted against the door and smiled. I would have took his demanding attitude and attention to detail as overbearing. If I didn't realize it sooner I would have grown irritated. But in reality he was doing all of that as his way of secretly talking to me, getting to know more about me. He wanted my opinion. He asked what I preferred, recommended or suggested. And he left me with such a huge tip and his phone number. He wanted to see me again. It was nice to feel wanted.