Free Afterthoughts by Lynn Tincher

scratching him, she
opened the door and let him out.
    “ I’m glad you let me
help.” He stood and walked over to her and gave her a hug. Paige
kissed him on the cheek making Jay tremble. His hand brushed across
her cheek as he looked at her.
    “ You’ve been such a great
friend,” she smiled warmly at him. Jay’s mouth was dry at the
thought of kissing her. It would be easy to right now as he rubbed
his thumb along her jaw line. His thought was interrupted by the
telephone ringing as Paige walked away to answer it.
    “ Hey, David!” she beamed
as Jay’s heart dropped into his feet. “Did you win big at the
tables? … Yeah … no kidding? … Wow, you’d better bring back
something nice for me then … She’s fine … she’s busy getting ready
for the auction. I think that’s what is keeping her sane right now
… I’m fine …” Jay’s heart dropped again as he became afraid that
Paige was about to tell David he had stayed the night. “I slept
really well last night so I feel much better today … When will you
be back? … Great … see you then … Bye now.” Paige hung up the phone
and looked at Jay. He was staring out the picture window at the
bird feeder. She walked over and placed her hand on his
shoulder.
    He automatically put his hand over
hers. “Come on, let’s go get some breakfast. Do you feel like
eating?” he asked.
    “ I’m famished!” she beamed
at him.
    They dressed quickly and
headed out for Pauline’s Café at the end of Paige’s street. Paige
ordered scrambled eggs, toast and bacon while Jay only ordered
oatmeal. He watched her as she devoured her meal and thought how
great it was to see her feeling better and hoped had he played a
small part in making that happen. Admiring the simple, yet alluring
features of her face and how she always wore her hair casually
about her shoulders. “I’d bet she’d look
great in a baseball cap,” he
mused.
    He realized he needed to be here for
her but to not let himself get too close. This was a task that he
didn’t know how he was going to balance knowing he had to work with
her every day and wanting to be there for whatever, whenever she
needed him. Besides Aileen and David, she really didn’t have anyone
anymore. His heart broke for her and he felt like his head was
spinning in circles.
    He looked around the cafe to try to
take his mind off of things.
    The cafe was noisy and crowded. The
smell of bacon and waffles filled the room with such wonderful
fragrances that should have made him hungry. Somehow, it didn’t. He
watched an elderly couple. They looked so pleasant. The man was
cutting his wife’s ham into pieces to make it easier for her and
then helped her to use her fork to eat the pieces.
    There was such love in his
eyes as he helped her. Jay was sure the wife had probably had a
stroke and was struggling to learn things all over again. He
wondered if this was a permanent situation. “Would the old man get tired of helping her? What would
happen if he passed on before her or ended up in the same
state?” Yet, there he was taking care of
her. The years of love they’d obviously shared made Jay really
jealous. Would he find that someday? As he glanced at Paige he
hoped she would find that as well.
    “ Okay, that’s not
working,” he thought to himself as he
looked away, noticing Paige watching him intently.
    “ What’s going on in that
incredibly busy mind there?” she asked him, trying to look
cute.
    He played with the corner of his
napkin. “Just watching the elderly couple over there. He is really
taking care of her isn’t he?”
    “ Yeah, it’s really sweet,”
she sighed. “They give me hope. Ah well, maybe someday I’ll have
that.”
    “ You don’t think you and
David will get there?” he asked hopefully.
    “ I don’t know. I can’t
tell if he’s the right one. Maybe I’ll never find the right one.”
She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
    Jay’s heart skipped a beat.
    “ It started out so
perfect,