Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 45-Meg

Meg

I get down to breakfast early, excited for the prep work we're doing today.  I offer to help the ladies in the kitchen but they're almost finished.  I grab stacks of plates and utensils setting them out on the buffet table in preparation.  I step back in and get the serving spoons and other utensils ready.  I check the drink station and realize they need cream and sugar so I go to the kitchen grabbing both.  By the time I'm finished, I see Jai and a few others arriving in the dining hall.  I wave to them.  They all wave back.  Jai gives me a big smile and joins my side for the prayer.  We sit together with Valentina, Gale, Izaak, and Floyd for breakfast. 
"I'm so excited about packing everything up today," I tell everyone. 
"This will be fun," Gale agrees. 
"What exactly are we doing?" Jai whispers in my ear. 
I look to see his eyes fixed on me.  "We're getting the donations ready," I whisper back.  I back away but he still looks confused.  So I lean closer to him once more and whisper in his ear, "We ordered food and clothing... things like that.  We're going to put bundles together today and we'll be visiting homes tomorrow and the next day to give them away."
"Oh," he nods. 
We continue eating.  I'm loving my plantains.  The cocoa-tea drink is delicious, too.  Jai seems to like the spicier foods I've noticed.  I try to stick with the more mild ones, not that I don't like the others.  I think I'd actually make some of these dishes but just not so frequently. 
"Jai," Pastor Ben calls out walking up to our table.  "When you're finished, do you think you could give us a hand?"
"Sure," Jai says rising. 
"Take your time," Pastor Ben insists.  "The truck's not leaving anytime soon.  See, the driver is even joining us for breakfast."  He motions to a Jamaican man who just stepped in.  Pastor Ben leads him to the buffet and the man seems really excited about joining us.  I smile and look to Jai.  He's watching their interaction before looking to me.  He smiles at me before starting back on his plate. 
I think about how my brother worked for a shipping company before and how he got really dirty.  I put on junky work clothes for today but Jai looks to be wearing something nice.  "You may want to put on some junk clothes for today," I warn him. 
"Why's that?" he asks. 
"The boxes in the truck might be dirty," I say. 
"Oh," he nods.  "I assume I'm the muscle."
"I'm pretty sure that's what they're hoping for," I grin. 
"Alright.  Tell Ben I'll be right back," he says getting up. 
"You done already?" Gale laughs surprised. 
Jai smiles at her clearing his plate.  I continue eating.  "So... what exactly have you two been up to lately?" Gale asks me. 
"Who?" I question. 
"You and him?" she motions to Jai's retreating form. 
I shrug, "Just hanging out together.  How about our two?" I ask her quietly motioning to Floyd with my eyes.  He and Izaak are in the middle of a deep conversation about mosquitoes.  She smiles widely at me and motions to the hallway.  I nod and eat my last couple bites before we clear our dishes and step out to the hall. 
"So?" I ask. 
"So, yourself," she laughs.  "You can't tell me there's nothing going on with you two."
"We're just friends," I insist.  "We've both just had some bad breakups.  Neither of us is looking for another relationship.  We're just hanging out." 
"I really think he's past his," she tells me. 
"I don't think so," I disagree.  "He finally told me what really happened.  I think maybe he's just hiding the hurt down deeper than me.  He sounded really upset about what occurred."
She frowns and nods. 
"So?" I ask.  "You and Floyd, huh?"
She giggles and bites her lip. 
"So, what's going on there?" I inquire. 
"We've spent a lot of time together.  I really like him," she divulges with a massive smile on her face. 
"How about him?" I ask. 
She sighs.  "He said he was engaged before.  She passed away two years ago in an accident.  He hasn't seen anyone since then..."
I frown at that.  "I'm so sorry.  That's got to be rough for him."
"Yeah.  He says he wants to take things slow," she tells me. 
I nod in understanding. 
"But... on to the good news," she grins. 
"What's that?" I ask. 
"Izaak and Valentina are going out," she gossips. 
"No way!" I say excitedly. 
She giggles. 
"How'd that happen?" I ask. 
"I guess things just progressed this last week.  He asked her out on Saturday, you know, when you disappeared," she tells me. 
I nod in understanding. We both giggle and tell each other stories about things we've seen them doing together.
"What are you two chooks giggling about?" Jai asks.
"What?" Gale laughs.
"I think he means hens," I explain.
"Izaak and Valentina are a thing," Gale blurts.
Jai nods in understanding. "They look good together," he says.
"They do, don't they?" Gale nods in agreement.
"We about ready?" Pastor Ben says rubbing his hands together.
"Sure," Jai nods. I notice some of the other big guys he worked with on the school project join him: Hakeem, Rashaad, Khalan, Jamal, Javier, and even Juan.
"Come on. Let's go get the dining hall ready for all that stuff," Gale says tugging on my arm. I step with her but watch as Jai and the guys open up the semi-truck parked in front of the lobby entrance door. I turn my gaze to Gale and she's watching me.
"You can't tell me you're not crushing on him," she says disbelievingly.
I sigh. "The truth is, I've had a crush on him for years. I just don't think it would work out," I admit.
"Why not?" she asks concerned.
"We're just too different," I shrug. "I'll still be friends with him but we're from completely different worlds."
"We're all children of God," she says soothingly. "I think whatever you're thinking of isn't such a big deal."
I frown and nod. If only she knew... but it's his secret to tell, not mine.
We step into the dining hall to see several people getting the food mess picked up. Some ladies are in the kitchen washing dishes. Gale and I take some hand towels and cleaner. We spray down the tables and wipe them up. Valentina passes us with a broom and dustpan.
"Congratulations," I tell her.
"Thanks," she beams. "Is it that noticeable?"
"I was kind of thinking something was going on but Gale's the one who told me. You don't mind, do you?" I inquire.
"No," she grins. "Tell the whole world. He makes me that happy."
I smile, a moved sensation filling my heart. "I'm so happy for you," I tell her genuinely.
She thanks me again and continues to sweep up. We finish wiping the tables. Jai and several guys come in with armfuls of boxes.
"How about we set those over here?" I suggest.
Jai follows me and sets the boxes down. "Are there labels on them or are they all plain like this?"
"All plain," he says.
"Why don't we bring everything in? We can open them and figure out what they are, then separate them," I suggest.
"Alright," he smiles at me.
Gale hands me a cutter and I open the box in front of me. It's canned food. She has clothes. We space them out. I have the guys set the boxes on the table. I open them, then direct them to the different stations: clothing, food, toiletries, school supplies, and bags. Another box comes in and I open it to reveal cleats. My heart melts that Jai donated so we could give those to the school. I direct Juan to put those off to the side in their own pile. Those will be for Thursday. Jai comes in with more heavy boxes. I open it to see canned ackee.
"Oh, this is canned? I'm definitely going to make that for my parents sometime," I say.
He smiles at me and I show him where the food goes. I point out the other locations as well. He nods and takes the heavy boxes over there. I see him glance back at me before heading out the door. I continue on opening boxes and directing traffic until that's everything.
We thank the driver and get to work opening up the boxes and separating the items inside. We start with the clothes—separating the men's, women's, and children's.  We get the bags putting in shirts, shorts, underclothes, and socks for each group.  Jai meets my eyes and smiles at me as I take a completed bag from him and set it with the others.  We separate the toiletries and put them into individual bags.  I find a box of ladies products and take that aside.  I separate it into the female's toiletry bags.  I figure I'd rather not make the guys uncomfortable but it was a thoughtful gift for some ladies. 
We start with the food and open up each box, spreading them on top of the tables with the extras nearby.  I go through and pack up the first box.  There's some extra space so I figure we'll pack them all like that and divvy out what remains between them at the end.  We form a line and everyone does the same—reusing the boxes the food was in originally.  When we're just about finished, we spread out the extras on top.  We line up all the finished donation boxes around the outside of the room and I stand back in awe of what we've done. 
"What about those boxes?" Gale asks. 
"Those are cleats for the school on Thursday," Pastor Ben explains. 
"Oh, I didn't realize we were giving them those.  That's wonderful.  Where did we get the funds?" Gale questions. 
"It was a last minute donation," he grins. 
I look to Jai and he smiles at me.  He doesn't want anyone to know.  That was really sweet of him. 
Lunch is almost ready so we separate to clean up.  I definitely need to wash my hands—maybe my arms and face, too.  Jai accompanies me down the hallway. 
"I feel like I've got my workout lately," he laughs. 
"Yeah, me too.  Those boxes were heavy," I agree. 
I step into my room walking toward the bathroom.  I wash my hands, arms, and face.  I change my clothes into one of the new outfits Jai bought me.  I'm actually not used to wearing something quite so fitted lately.  Everything had been so loose on me the last year.  I can't believe I'm in a size two.  I used to wear tens.  I guess I have lost a ton of weight.  I decide to wear the necklace Jai gave me since it's light and matches this cream colored top.  I pull my hair up and step out to Jai waiting for me beside my door. 
He looks me over.  "You look good," he says. 
I laugh in surprise, "Yeah?  Thanks for the clothes."
"I got you those?" he asks. 
I nod. 
"Maybe I should take you shopping more often," he says escorting me down to lunch. 
"I think I'm all set for the week," I chuckle. 
"You're flying out on Friday?" he asks.
"Yeah, I am," I admit. 
He nods pursing his lips. 
We enter the dining hall and grab lunch.  We sit together with Gale and Floyd.  He's whispering something to her and she's smiling. 
I enjoy my steamed cabbage dish with hot pepper shrimp.  It's incredible.  I have a bite of the coco bread and I've got to remember to get a recipe for that.  I glance to Jai.  "You okay?" I ask.  He looks really sad. 
"Yeah, no worries," he says attempting to smile. 
"You sure?" I question nudging him. 
"Bloody oath," he replies grinning. 
"Does that mean yes?" I smile. 
He smiles and nods so I leave him be.  He does seem to try to hide a lot from me.  I guess he's just not very open.