Night Shifts Black Read Online Free PDF

but
seem to hold me hostage in conversation.
    He’s too young to be
widowed. Way too young to be widowed for long. He needs to know that. I clench
my fists. Of course he knows that. It killed his music.
    Shauna brings our
meals, and I thank her for both of us. I know Luke won’t. In fact, I’m
surprised he’s still here. I study his face in silence, watching him consider
his omelet. I imagine him wishing he’d ordered toast like usual, but then I
realize how silly it would be to think about toast when you have a dead wife. I
don’t know how to talk about dead soul-mates to twenty-seven-year-olds.
    “Luke…” I have to try.
    “I said no personal
stuff.”
    “I know.”
    It’s my turn to study
the omelet. I need hot sauce. At the very least, ketchup. I signal Shauna. Like
everything I could request at Jemma’s Café, hot sauce is no problem, and she’ll
bring it right back.
    Luke still hasn’t
moved. He’s lost in his head now. I’m not sure he even remembers that I’m here.
He definitely doesn’t care.
    And then, it happens.
    Before Shauna can
return with the hot sauce, the hostess seats an older couple beside us. I watch
Luke tense as the man takes his seat. No, not his seat, the ghost’s seat. The
hostess even casts a quick glance at Luke, and I can’t tell if she’s concerned
or gloating about her decision. She certainly understands enough to acknowledge
what she’s done.
    I suck in my breath,
waiting, fearing, watching Luke, anticipating something, but I have no way of
knowing what. His blue-green eyes absorb every square inch of the table beside
us. I can even see his muscles constricting through his shirt, contracting as
he clenches his fist, already punishing the couple for a sin they can’t
possibly be liable for. But they are, and I understand that, even though I want
to rescue both sides from an unjust war that can’t occur.
    “You want to go?” I
ask. I’m sure the concern in my heart is all over my face, but he’s not looking
at me. He’s looking at them. “Luke, we should just go.”
    “What am I doing? What
have I done?” he rasps, shoving back from the table.
    I’m stunned. Hurt, but
also afraid, as he charges from the restaurant. I don’t know what he has to run
to apart from me and his chair, but I’m terrified it’s only going to make
things worse for him.
    I can’t follow him, I
know that. I have no right to offer comfort. I’m only part of his life when
he’s here, at this table. He hasn’t invited me into the rest, but Shauna comes
rushing over and prevents such a mistake anyway.
    “Are you ok?” she
asks, staring at the door just as Luke disappears through it.
    “Fine,” I say. “It
wasn’t about me.” I glance over at the table beside us and notice the couple
whispering to each other. They’re watching the door as well, and suddenly I’m
angry at their gossip. They don’t know. I don’t even know. They’re not allowed
to judge him. I hate them for judging him. Shauna follows my gaze, and I’m
pretty sure she understands my message.
    “I told Ailee to leave
that table open while he’s here,” she mutters. “I’m sorry.”
    I want to tell her
that it’s ok. That it’s not a big deal, but it is. There are plenty of other empty
tables in the café. It’s not packed. It’s not ok.
    “His name is Luke,” I
say, drawing Shauna back to the conversation.
    “Luke.”
    She says it like that
information answers a lot of questions for her.
    “He’s a musician. Or
was.”
    She nods. “I can
believe that. He’s pretty cute, actually.”
    He is, but it seems silly
to talk about stuff like that right now. I try to smile. “I hope he comes
back.”
    “I was surprised when
he started talking to you. He didn’t talk to anyone until you.”
    “Did anyone ever try
to talk to him?”
    No. That’s obvious.
She just looks away and shrugs. It’s not her job to talk to customers if they
aren’t customers. I know that. I can forgive her. It still hurts.