Page 17 of The Beachside Cafe
“It’s been almost three days.” Cameron didn’t sound very confident. “I’m afraid if we don’t hurry up and find out what these vials are and what they have to do with Doug’s disappearance, we might be too late.”
“It doesn’t feel like he’s gone to me,” Cheyenne said, softly. “It feels like Mom said, like he’s going to walk in any minute now.”
“I’m sure we all wish that would happen,” Cameron said, “but without knowing where he is or any leads on where he was last or who he saw or anything, it’s just really hard to tell. We’ll keep looking though.”
Jaymee stood up and picked up a pair of tongs. She gave out pieces of chicken and slapped spoonfuls of mashed potatoes on all three plates.
“Thank you so much,” Cameron said, eyeing the food. “This looks and smells wonderful. I’m sure it will taste just as good.”
“I certainly hope you enjoy it,” Jaymee said. “I slaved over the hot stove all day to make it.”
They laughed.
Jaymee watched as Cheyenne and Cameron struck up a conversation about literature. Apparently, there was little Cameron didn’t know something about. She ate in silence, looking at them as they laughed and joked together. It had been at least a year since the last time she’d seen Cheyenne do that with Doug. He’d just been too busy, what with the café being constructed and his own business he was running.
She enjoyed seeing it. It made her feel comfortable and happy. Whenever her daughter laughed and smiled, she felt a sense of relief and happiness of her own.
“Isn’t that right, Mom?”
Cheyenne’s question brought her out of her thoughts. She looked down and noticed she’d eaten most of her food. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was thinking. I didn’t hear what you said.”
“Oh we were talking about books, you know. And I said my favorite classic was Little Women and his is Gone with the Wind. I think Little Women is a better novel. What do you think?”
Jaymee grinned wide. “I have no idea,” she said. “I didn’t read Gone with the Wind. I don’t like to say something is better than something else unless I’ve tried both.”
“Well said, Jaymee,” Cameron said, affectionately. “Well said.” He turned back to Cheyenne. “If you want some real heavy reading, you’ve got to get into War and Peace.”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Ugh, War and Peace! One of my college professors made us read that and you’ll never guess why!”
Jaymee watched them as they conversed.
“I have no idea,” Cameron responded. “Why?”
“Because he wanted us to check it for grammatical errors! Can you believe that? One of the longest books ever written and he wants us to proofread it.” She rolled her eyes again, shaking her head.
“Yeah, that sounds real bad.”
The rest of the dinner went well and when they were all finished, Cheyenne told her mother she was heading up to rest and look at her phone for a while. They hugged and the girl went up the steps, waving to Cameron.
“Good night, Cameron,” she said. “Thanks for coming and thanks for helping us find my dad.”
Cameron nodded, smiling at her. “Good night, Cheyenne. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
Jaymee watched her daughter turn and ascend the stairs with light steps. She looked up at Cameron. “You’ve made her feel a lot better about this situation,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m glad. I don’t want her to be overconfident though. It’s a long battle ahead of us, I suspect. If he’s still alive, which I hope he is, we need to find him soon.”
“There’s one problem with that,” Jaymee said.
“What’s that?”
Jaymee sighed. “I’m starting to think he isn’t a victim. There’s just no reason for that vial to be in my bedroom. He wasn’t taken from here.”
“Are you sure?”
Jaymee looked up at him and sighed again. “No. I’m not sure about anything. Except one thing. You’re here to help. Thank God for that.”
Cameron blushed. “Well, thank you.”
Jaymee gave him a warm smile. “No. Thankyou.”
She lifted up on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She could tell it surprised him and he hesitated before hugging her back.
“It’s gonna be okay, Jaymee,” he said quietly. “We’re gonna find him. Whether he’s the bad guy or not.”
