Agnes in JackieLand

Chapter 26

Jackie arrived about thirty minutes later, rounding the corner of the path. Spotting Graham and me, she cursed loudly and turned on her heel. One look from me to Graham had him running after Jackie.

I knew that she wouldn't want to stay once Jackie saw me. I thought that I would feel rage seeing her again. But upon seeing her, I felt a familiar bond I couldn't place. I needed to find out what it meant. Graham came running back towards me, stopping in front of me. I stood.

"Please tell me you convinced her to stay and talk to me," I said.

Graham shook his head, and my stomach fell. "I'll never understand why you want to talk to her, but yeah, I got her to talk to you."

My heart soared. Chalk one up for Graham. I clapped my hands together and flung my arms around his neck, squeezing him tight. Graham stiffened under my hug. This was the first time we hugged since the accident, not that we hugged that often.

His arms came around my waist, and he held onto me hard. It was so hard; it was getting difficult for me to breathe. Slowly I disengaged from the hug. Tears were shining in his eyes when he looked up at me.

"Graham, I am sorry that you had to go through with the scare of almost losing me. I couldn't even imagine what it was like for you, but I'm here now. I'm fine, and I'm not going to leave again. Well, except for when I go off to college, but somehow, I get the feeling that you will be following me," I joked.

Graham grinned like his old self, and it was good to see. "How'd you know." He joked.

"Jackie said that she would talk to you, but not here. She's not allowed to be within one hundred feet of you."

I frowned. "Don't worry," he said quickly. "I know a place where no one will know either of you."

I followed Graham to his truck. Jackie was already in the backseat. I gave Graham a questioning look. "I gave her the keys so no one would see her," he explained.

I hopped in the passenger seat, Graham driving. It was silent as they drove to wherever Graham was taking them. I fought the urge to flip down the visor and peek at Jackie. The tension in this vehicle was prominent.

Twenty minutes later, on the city's outskirts, we pulled into Molly's Diner. It was exactly what it sounded like, an old-school diner.

"Before you two dismiss it with a glance. They have the best cherry coke floats ever," he said while he parked the truck.

We all sat there for a moment, soaking in the atmosphere. "Come on, girls, it's not that bad," Graham said, breaking the silence.

I got out and followed Graham to the door. Graham opened it, and we looked back at the truck; Jackie still hadn't gotten out.

"I'll come. You know Jackie. She has to do everything her own way at her own pace," Graham said as he ushered me inside.

It was like a movie set or something like that. I had never been inside a sixty's diner. I'd only seen them in movies. This was no exception. It had a blue Formica countertop with black stools at it. Booth seats with red vinyl covering them. A jukebox sat at the far end of the room. I followed Graham to a booth seat at the room's far end. I took a seat across from him, facing the doors. I wanted to see Jackie when she came in.

A woman of about forty came over to their table. She smiled down at Graham with affection. "Hey Graham, you finally brought me your lady," she said.