Page 15 of Claymore
She grabbed the little hand-painted sign, hanging it on the door so everyone could see. She let down her thick red curls, slipping her jacket on before we took off. She insisted on walking to get a bit of fresh air, even though the Sedona heat was practically burning us both. I tried not to spend every moment with her looking over my shoulder. She was the only thing that really felt normal to me anymore and I just wanted to preserve that.
She stopped to tie her shoelaces. The first thing I did was I look around, noticing that Claymore wasn’t anywhere I could spot him. I could still feel his presence, like he was close enough in case I needed him, and I hated that I was starting to like it. I hated depending on people, expecting others to fight my battles for me because I’d been fighting for myself my entire life.
The scent of fresh pizza and oregano wafted through the air when we stopped in at the inviting Italian restaurant for lunch. The hostess immediately sat us down, handing us menus which we eagerly looked over. It was just another one of our little traditions, getting pizza to catch up, chatting about how mundane yet comforting our lives were. I bit my lip, wishing I could tell Hallie what was going on, but she didn’t know the half of it. All she knew was that I had a hard childhood, that my brother was trouble, and not having my parents around anymore was difficult.
There was such a stark difference between us. While we enjoyed our time together growing up, I always envied how simple and loving her home was. There was a time I’d give anything to experience that.
The waitress brought over our piping hot Margherita pizza, gnocchi, and a bottle of wine. It was a little early to be drinking, but I didn’t mind. I needed something to take the edge off. I heard my cell phone buzz in my purse, and I quickly fished it out.Need to take care of some business in the area. I’ll be back soon. Stay out and call me if you need me. - Claymore.
The fear crept up on me as I reached for my first slice. I glanced around the room to see if anyone had been watching me, but no one was. The tables across from us were pouring up another glass of wine, enjoying their complimentary focaccia, and I finally started to calm down again. I shut my eyes for a split second, taking a deep breath, but when I opened them, Hallie was staring back at me concerned.
“Ella? Where’d you go?” she asked, waving to jolt me back to reality.
“Sorry, I guess I’ve been so stressed lately I can’t even get out of my head long enough to have a nice meal.”
She stretched her hand across the table, squeezing mine comfortingly and I smiled.
“It’s okay. Trust me, I know how crazy things can get down at Crystal’s. I’ve seen you whip around the lunch rush like you’ve got wings. Are you sure that’s all it is? I've known you for a long time, Ella. The other night when I came over, you seemed pretty distracted then too.”
I bit my lip, twisting my ring on my finger while I tried to calm my chaotic mind.
“I’m not sure what’s going on. My mind is a mess. My life feels like a mess. I feel like there’s something missing, like at any moment, I’ll just lose what little happiness I had left,” I said and that was the truth.
I skipped out on all the dirty details, but at the very least, that was how I felt.
“You’re doing the best you can, Ella. You’ve been through a lot, but you’ve done incredible things. No matter what you’re dealing with, you’ll always find a way through. I learned that from you,” she said, sipping on her wine.
I smiled warmly at her, enjoying the rest of our meal, and by the end of it, I’d somehow started to forget all of the terrible things that were happening. I waved at the waitress, and she came over handing us both a small block of chocolate wrapped in gold foil.
“Is there anything else I can get you?”
“The bill, please.”
“Coming right up.”
She ran off to get it, and I opened up the little piece of chocolate, popping it into my mouth.
“Sometimes I really think these little after-dinner chocolates are the best part of coming here.”
“I know what you mean,” I said with a chuckle.
I glanced up to see the waitress at the hostess station. She was chatting with her about something, and they both turned to look over at our table. She came over a few minutes later with the little black leather receipt and cardholder.
“It seems your meal has already been paid for. He left a sizable tip as well.”
“What?” asked Hallie.
“Who? What was his name?”
“He actually didn’t leave one.”
“Thank you,” I said, furrowing my brows.
The waitress collected the rest of our dishes and she rushed off into the kitchen. Hallie looked up at me with her head tilted and her eyes narrowed.
“Now, who in the world would do something like that?”
“I have an idea of who it might be.”
