Page 7 of Grateful in Watch Hill
Which gave him an extra magnetism.
Beyond that—I liked how he smiled at me, and how he made me feel whenever he saw me, as if there wasn’t anyone else in the club, or any other person at the party.
Seth had it, and I wanted it.
I unlocked the message. The drama of the last few months had prevented me from keeping up with him, but now that he’d reached out, I was curious. A flicker of interest was growing into a flame, and it wouldn’t take much to stoke it.
Seth: Hey, I was wondering how you were doing. I know it’s been a weird year. Hope you’re well.
Three sentences, less than twenty words. No big deal at all. And yet I read it at least five times before I replied.
Me: Thanks for the text. I’m doing okay. Hope you’re doing good too.
Simple enough. And true in a lot of ways. Weweredoing okay, despite the problems Dad and I recently faced. Neither of us had gotten sick from the virus, we’d both been vaccinated, and we had our home thanks to Dad’s efforts to pay off the mortgage during my childhood. I still had hope, and if I had that I’d be able to make it. We could make it.
I closed the message app and opened up FoodSwap. Time to get to work.
FOUR
SETH
“We need more help.A lot more.”
I keyed the newest order into the cash register and turned to Tyler. He’d agreed to work that night to give Kyle a rare night off from the restaurant. The food drive had been a huge success, but Kyle and Ashley were tired. They deserved some time to themselves.
But we were busier, and I felt a change in the air. The warmer weather and the availability of COVID vaccines meant more people wanted to venture out, and for some of them, that meant ordering dinner from the restaurant.
“Can you call someone?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Well, we could use some extra delivery people.”
I wandered into the kitchen and pulled a tray of fresh dough from the rack. A row of toppings was nearby, and I spread some of the pizza’s signature sauce on top. This order called for extra cheese, green peppers, and Italian sausage. It needed to go in the oven as fast as I could make it.
“Do you know anyone?” I added over my shoulder as I covered the sauce in peppers.
