Harper's Hill, Chapter 12: Across The Diner

It was a sunny Wednesday on the day that Raymond's roommate, Marty, wanted to go out to get some food. As there were no restaurants on the East side, the closest option was Redwood Valley, even though it was 20 minutes away. Raymond always counted his lucky stars that his best friend had a vehicle, and him and Marty had been going to get lunch every other Wednesday in Redwood Valley for the past four months.

Raymond was learning about how nice it was to have routines — you could count on them, they were reliable, they were stable... these were all things that he aspired to be himself. However, they could also become predictable, and for some reason he feared becoming predictable. Maybe because he would lose the last semblance of an edge that he had left.

The problem with living a sober life was that it did get predictable. And even though he did like his routines, he would sometimes get bored. He tried to throw himself into his spirituality and hobbies to keep himself busy, but the boredom would make his mind race, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself.

"What are ya thinkin' about?" Marty asked from the driver's side of the truck, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and his arm hanging out the window. Seeing Marty for the first time might take you back, but he was a well-meaning guy with good intentions.

Raymond didn't really want to answer his partner's question. He was trapped in thoughts of the past, and he caught himself thinking about Emily and James again. He thought about how he had been to their house and almost knocked on their door, but then chickened out. "Nothing," Raymond lied. He was quiet for a second, listening to the sound of the wind whistling through the truck and the radio on low. "The weather is nice today."

Marty never engaged in talk about the weather with Raymond, because he knew it meant that he was trying to change the subject. He puffed on his cigarette for the last time and then flicked it out the window. "Do you think we should get an XBOX or a PlayStation for the living room?" He asked suddenly.

Raymond looked over, a bit taken aback. "When? A new one? Why?" He asked. Raymond and Marty shared a house with two other guys, and they all lived a sober life and were working on getting their fresh starts. The two other guys were a bit younger than Raymond and Marty, who were close in age.

"Yeah, a new one. We don't have one, and I think Paul and Chris would like it. Give us something to do," He said passively, signaling to turn into Redwood Valley. "I know you've been getting bored, and I've saved up some good money the past few months. By Christmas I'd have enough for a new system with two controllers. Maybe you can pitch in a few games." He parked in the driveway of the Morgan Diner and turned off the truck, getting out. "Think you could handle that this year?"

Raymond got out of the truck on the other side and closed the door. "Probably," He said, "I think the guys would like that. Do you think you'd be able to fix up a used system?" Marty was good with devices, either mechanical or electrical. He wanted to start his own business fixing other people's things, or maybe fixing cars, which was what he liked to do best.

"I'm good with electronics," Marty said, opening up the front door to the diner, signaling for Raymond to go ahead of him. "I'm not that good though. Those things are just like computers, so damn complicated for no reason."

Raymond nodded. "Fair enough," He said. He started to walk over to their usual table. "If you say you can afford it, I'm good with it. Maybe I'll pay for one of those controllers, too. It depends on how much I can save up the rest of this year." Raymond worked as a night janitor at the school in the East side, which was a reliable gig, but not extravagant.

Marty sat down on his usual side of the booth. "No pressure," He said. "I could probably handle it. I've got some big projects coming up."

"Like what?" Raymond asked, quickly and politely smiling at a waitress who handed them menus as she glided by. He started to flip through the menu, though he knew what he wanted.

"A dishwasher... and then a regular washing machine," Marty started, and Raymond wanted to listen, but then something caught his eye. Facing the door, he could see a young woman walk in. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and she looked just like her mom, who had passed away many years before.

He didn't say anything to Marty, but he came to realize that the universe had placed Emily right in front of him. There she was, across the diner, talking to someone behind the counter. She was beautiful, just like his wife had been before he had ruined her. Emily turned away from the counter and Raymond casually looked down at his menu.

"Are you listening?" Marty asked. "Some guy is gonna let me fix his old hot rod. It's from '78..."

When Raymond looked up again, Emily was sitting at a table, facing away from him. She was sitting with someone, and after a few seconds observing, he remembered Sharon's brothers. This was the youngest, Alexander.

That would be the ticket. That would be how he would get to his children.