“Say, Jessie!” Earle shouted over to her. “Looks like John Harwood is back with that beautiful wife of his. You don't have to be a mistress anymore, you know. If you want a real man, you and I could...”
Earle stopping short in the middle of an inappropriate comment was unusual for him, and Jessie looked over to see what had so abruptly ended his sentence. At that moment she noticed that the entire diner had grown quiet and that everyone seemed to be looking over her shoulder at the restaurant's front door. Jessie slowly turned around in dread and, for a second, worried that Kimberly Harwood had stopped in for another dramatic appearance. Maybe she wanted to brag that she had won back her man, and if that was the case she'd be getting a face full of ketchup, too. Possibly even a side of mustard.
As her eyes reached the door, the wash rag she was holding fell the floor and she stood just as frozen as the diner's patrons.
“Hello, Jessie.”
Standing in the doorway was John Harwood, looking just as out of place in the diner as his wife had weeks earlier. He wore a dark suit and crisp, white shirt with a deep red tie and the same Italian shoes he had so eagerly kicked off during their one night of passion. His face was serious, his skin tanned, and his hair freshly cut. He stood tall and broad against the rickety diner entrance, with its peeling lettering and ancient “OPEN”' sign still swinging from the door having closed behind him.
Jessie didn't answer him, but managed to regroup and pick the wash rag up from the floor. Without saying a word, she headed to the counter to retrieve a new rag and began nervously wiping down a table she'd already cleaned as the entire establishment watched the scene unfold in silence. Marching across the room and refusing to make eye contact with the diner's spectators along the way, he approached Jessie and gently laid a hand on her arm. She felt the recognizable spark of his touch along with a brief wave of affection, but quickly remembered how much she hated him for what he had done to her and withdrew her arm from his reach.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “You have every right to be angry with me.”
“I'm not angry,” Jessie snapped, clearly upset as she continued wiping the table without looking at him. “But if you don't mind, I'm kind of busy here.”
“Before you throw me out, at least listen to what I have to say. Please. Then I'll walk away and you'll never have to see me again,” he asked without taking his eyes off of her.
Jessie cast a look around the diner. The place was packed, yet she had never heard it so silent. You could hear a pin drop, and it almost felt as though time itself was standing still. Burt was craning his head out of the kitchen, but even he remained motionless and you could tell that he had no intention of interrupting by demanding she get back to work. At the other end of the diner, Melanie stood open-mouthed and wide-eyed with her arms folded across her chest. It was show time, and all eyes were on them.
Jessie looked at her watch. “You've got thirty seconds. My shift is over soon, then I'm out of here.”
“Okay, I better talk fast then.” John cleared his throat and looked around the diner at their captive audience. “I suppose you know I stayed in Italy for a few days after my meeting. I was worn out and just needed a damn break. Believe me, I would have called you to join me but somehow Kimberly found out I was there and followed me everywhere. The whole time, she just showed up wherever I was, trying to get me to take back the divorce papers. I couldn't escape the woman.”
Jessie put down the cloth she was wiping the table with and stood with her eyes looking at anything and anyone other than John.
“Then there was the accident,” he continued, “and the medical staff recommend I stay at the hospital with her since she was slipping in and out of a coma. They thought me being there might somehow help keep her conscious, so I did what I had to do and didn't leave her side. Her injury made it hard for me to pursue the divorce, and it would have been even harder had she slipped into a permanent coma. You have to believe me when I tell you it's all that I wanted, Jessie. You're all that I wanted. The hospital refused to let me keep my cell phone on me. They were worried it would interfere with their sensitive equipment, and I didn't have your phone number anyhow. We kind of skipped that whole phone number exchanging thing, if you recall. Occasionally I'd sneak out of the hospital and try to reach you here at the diner, but the phone would just ring and ring. I sent somebody to track down your number and asked them to contact you as well. I gave them several messages to deliver, along with a package full of souvenirs I bought you along the trip. Turns out I sent the wrong person. Kimberly had been paying them to make sure I didn't contact anyone, let alone a female, and that includes my own personal assistant. You met her, remember? Heather Bryant? Yeah, even she stopped getting my messages and was worried sick about me. It was a nightmare, to say the least. I only found out about Kim's deceit two days ago and rushed back here to see you. To see you, and to fire my supposed messenger,” John laughed weakly.
Slowly Jessie turned to look at him. His blue eyes were filled with that same sincerity she'd seen weeks earlier, and he also looked extremely nervous.
“I asked my people if they'd heard anything from you, and they said no. I didn't know you hadn't received a single thing from me, so I thought you didn't want anything to do with me anymore. You're a beautiful girl in a city full of men who would kill to be with you. I assumed you met somebody else, and that hurt me more than you'll ever know,” he said as his eyes welled with tears.
“I thought you didn't want to know me anymore,” Jessie muttered, her jaw beginning to tremble as she struggled not to burst out crying. “You had Kimberly back in your life.”
“When I told you it was over between me and her, I meant it, Jessie. Since the day you walked into my office, I knew who I wanted, and it wasn't Kimberly.”
Jessie glanced at Melanie, who was now holding onto the counter as if she might faint. Her eyes were hopeful and also filling with tears. Jessie looked at Burt next. He wasn't angry, and his raised eyebrows indicated that he was encouraging her to speak to John.
“You didn't really try hard enough to get a message to me, John,” she eventually said.
“I know you think that, but I did the best I could given the circumstances I was under. My trip to Italy was complete hell thanks to Kimberly's insanity. When she finally did regain consciousness, she refused to sign the divorce papers and demanded we fly back home together immediately. She was sick of being cooped up in that hospital and wanted to return to her posh lifestyle here in the states. I used that as leverage and told her we weren't leaving that damn hospital until she signed the papers. She's a stubborn woman so it took some time, a bit too much time, but it eventually worked. She caved and signed them. I had to promise her a small fortune, but she signed them.”
“You did that?” Jessie said.
“What else could I do? I wanted to come back here with good news. I've been completely smitten with you since the second you walked into my office in the same beat up shoes and stinky apron you're wearing now.” He paused and looked at Burt with a smile adding, “No offense, sir.”
When he spoke, he seemed so earnest and tender, but Jessie still didn't know what to make of his seemingly outlandish story. He may very well be lying, but what would be the point of that? What did he stand to gain by walking into a seedy diner at lunchtime and spilling his heart out in front of all of these people? He sensed her conflict and continued on.
“I wanted to come back here a free man for you, Jesse. I know what kind of person you are. You'd never truly be mine if I were married, and that's one of the things I love about you. Had Kimberly slipped into a long coma, the divorce would have taken an eternity and been a legal nightmare. That's why I had to stay to make sure she snapped out of it long enough to sign the papers. I also spent seven years of my life with the woman. I owed it to her to help her recover. She did, and it's all over now. The papers are signed. I'm finally free.”
“Free to do what?” Melanie chimed in from the counte
r, causing the onlookers to chuckle and breaking the tension in the diner. John looked over at her with a smile and then returned his blue eyes back to Jessie.
“I'm be free to tell this beautiful girl how madly in love with her I am,” he said as he reached for Jessie's hand. She didn't recoil, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tightly as emotions overcame her and tears streamed down her cheek.
“What are you gonna' do, Jessie?” Earle shouted over to her. She looked at him and grinned, shaking her head before looking into John's eyes.
“Oh, John…” she began.
“It's been a long time since I've felt this way about a woman,” he interrupted. “Hell, I don't know if I've ever felt this way about a woman. I've spent my entire life looking for a girl like you. I didn't think you actually existed so I gave up, hence Kimberly. But you do exist, Jessie. Here you are. Smart, funny, gorgeous, and most importantly; you're genuine. For years I've been surrounded by fake —”
“John!” Now it was her turn to interrupt him.
“Yes?” He asked nervously.
“You talk too much,” she joked, grinning wide. “Now shut up and kiss me.”
The entire diner exploded with hoots, hollers, cheers and whistles as she quickly swept in and kissed him passionately while standing on her toes to reach his mouth. He returned the kiss, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her into him tightly, arching his back and lifting her off of the floor as the place went wild with applause. Their kiss was long and deep, and as the customers and staff continued lauding the couple John set Jessie back down and whispered something into her ear that was intended for her and her only.
“I love you, Jessica Drew. I love you so much.”
Gently placing her small hand on his cheek, she turned his head slightly, stood back on her toes, and returned the whisper into his ear. “I love you, too.”
It felt like a scene from a movie as the diner celebrated their love, and when the commotion died down John jokingly took a bow and set the place in laughter again. Burt ventured out from behind the counter to shake John's hand and pat Jessie affectionately on the back.
“Well done, kid,” he winked at her. “You two lovebirds get out of here.”
“We do have things to discuss,” Jessie said as the diner fell quiet again. “And I don't want to keep breaking Earle's heart by making out with you here any longer,” she looked at John and quipped.
There was another ripple of laughter, and someone patted Earle Jackson on the back. He raised his coffee cup to Jessie, who was now untying her work apron.
“I'll take this for you,” Melanie said, grabbing for the apron. “Go have fun. You have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Thanks, Melanie,” Jessie replied with a warm smile. “Burt, you said something yesterday about me taking some time off from work? Well, I'm going to do just that if it's okay with you still. Right now, I'm dead on my feet from working at this place.”