Just One Day Read Online Free PDF Page A

Over food. I chose not to dwell too much on how pathetic that might be.
    An elderly woman with a sweet smile waved from a table to the left, her white hair neatly arranged with barrettes on the sides. I smiled as Jarvis headed her way, and I scanned the room for an obscure spot to blend into.
    “Come join us,” he said, turning back around. “It’s no fun to eat by yourself. Makes you think too much.”
    I started to protest, thinking that’s exactly what I needed, to melt into my decadence and ponder my life. But his sweet saggy eyes were just too much, and reluctantly I followed him, taking in the room as I went. It was old, but quaint and clean, scrubbed shiny with vinyl booths and bright chrome chairs. Black-and-white framed photos hung at random, sharing space with odd metal advertisements that appeared to be the real deal and not there for décor. Like they hadn’t been moved in fifty years, and once upon a time there really was a nickel plate dinner. A massive bar filled the space to my right, with stools that appeared to grow right out of the floor.
    “Thank you, Jarvis,” I said, sliding into a booth across from his wife. I caught the surprised glance she gave him, which he winked away. “I’m Andie.”
    She flashed a brilliant smile that for a second belied the soft wrinkles of her face and showed a glimpse of what was likely once stunning beauty. “Nice to meet you, Andie,” she said. “I’m May.”
    “I apologize for interrupting your breakfast,” I said as Jarvis slid in next to her and she scooted sideways. “Your husband told me I might think too much if I sat alone.”
    “It’s true,” he said, setting to work on doctoring up a cup of coffee already in front of him. “Festering is what you get, eating alone. Just makes you want to eat more.”
    May laughed and lifted a hand to tap on his temple. “He has his own drummer in there.”
    They were adorable. My thoughts took off on their own, picturing me and Brad sitting like that in thirty years. Not that we’d be in a diner. Or having breakfast anywhere. More like a sushi bar at night. In formal wear. Would I still have to wear heels at that age?
    A blonde girl with braces set a glass of water in front of me. “Coffee?” she asked.
    “Please,” I said. “Two creams.”
    “Do you—need a menu?” she asked.
    The look on her face and the way she said the word menu told me that most of their clientele had never used one and she wasn’t quite sure where they were located.
    “What are you in the mood for?” Jarvis asked, his blue eyes looking amused.
    I licked my lips. “Waffles with lots of butter. Blueberry topping. Bacon and fried eggs.”
    The girl’s eyebrows raised as she scribbled it on her pad. “Got it.”
    May laughed as the waitress walked away. I smiled at her, knowing I probably wouldn’t finish it but I had to taste it all. Who knew when I’d get another opportunity? Then, I noticed they hadn’t ordered anything.
    “You aren’t ordering?”
    May waved a hand at me. “Oh, we’ve already eaten,” she said. “You’re fine.”
    I didn’t care if they all thought I was a loony out-of-towner with a trucker’s appetite. I might even finish it just on principal. No big plans later other than lying around reading a book in a hotel room somewhere, so if gluttony was the call of the day—so damn be it. It was my day. Twenty-four hours. I looked at my watch and felt the inner grimace. Almost ten o’clock, already. Only twenty-one left.
     
    * * *
     
    There was something cathartic about the clink of the silverware on the heavy plates. The smell of the syrup, the steaming coffee and the muted chatter of the few other patrons in the diner. It made me want to curl up with it all and take a nap. Brad would blame that on the heavy food.
    “I wonder if Jesse is around today?” Jarvis asked his wife. “Seen him?”
    May shook her head. “Probably upstairs. He was pretty cranky yesterday.”
    “That damn land deal,”