Chapter 3 - The Diner
Their “usual spot” was Dawn’s Diner on Center Street.
A place they’d been coming to since they were kids. Every day after school, they’d walk in and Dawn would hand them ice cream or hot chocolate, and they’d slide into a booth to do their homework.
An hour later, their mother would show up and give Dawn a hug and tell her she wished she’d stop filling her kids up with all that sugar. To which Dawn would reply that it was her duty to spoil her niece and nephew, thank you very much. Then, she’d flash the twins a conspiratorial wink, making them giggle as their mother led them out the door.
Barbara loved her more than anything.
And she missed her terribly.
“So?” Barbara asked to break the silence.
Mikey sat across from her, running his finger through the condensation on his water glass with his brows pulled tight and his mouth pressed in a thin line like he’s trying to keep the words from spilling out, words he was desperate to tell her only yesterday.
Finally, he looked at her, opened his mouth, and let out a rush of air along with a single word, “So…”
And, like, really? He was really going to torture her like this? She wanted to grab him and shake him, but she shoved the impulse aside because they were in public, and instead pummeled him with questions, “What are we doing here, Mikey? What do you want to talk about? Where have you been for the last month?”
He sat up straighter then, wiped his hands on his jeans and said, “I’ll tell you. I promise. But can we talk about you first?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, how are classes? Work? Are you doing okay?”
She stared at him incredulously. Something weird had been going on with him lately. She didn’t like it. She also didn’t like the implication in his tone. “I’m fine. I am capable functioning without you.”
“I never said you weren’t. I’m just checking in. I know I haven’t been around much, and I’m sorry for that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still care.”
She deflated a bit at that. At the softness in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice. Sometimes it was impossible to hold on to her anger around him. She nodded slightly, conceding that perhaps a conversation would be more effective than an interrogation. For now. “I’m doing good. A couple of classes have been tough, and it’s been hard to focus on studying. The house is too quiet without you there. But it’s nothing I can’t handle. Mostly, I just miss you.”
“I miss you too.” He gave her a small smile that she couldn’t help but return.
Their waitress, a bubbly woman with dark hair pulled high into a messy bun, showed up then. She set their tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches in front of them with a smile and told them to give her a holler if there’s anything else they need before disappearing into the familiar hustle and bustle of the diner.
“So,” Mikey said around a bite of his sandwich, “are you going to tell me about that guy at the library?”
Barbara stopped mid-opening a packet of saltines and looked up at him. He crooked an eyebrow at her, and she thought about playing dumb, but knew it wouldn’t get her very far. She crushed the crackers into her soup and stirred them around as she answered, “Nothing to tell really. I don’t know him. I just think he’s… interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Yeah. I mean, he goes to Britechester, but he studies at the public library four days a week rather than the university library. He’s studying microbiology, but he’s always pouring through books about Selvadorada. The culture, geography, rare plants, myths, all kinds of stuff. He’s so focused and smart and quiet. So quiet. I’ve never heard him speak. But he stares off sometimes and I can tell his mind is just spinning with thoughts, and I want to know every one of them. I want to be the person he tells all his thoughts to.” She stopped. Her face felt like it was on fire. She hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.
Thankfully, Mikey didn’t try to embarrass her. He just breathed a laugh through his nose and said, “That’s quite a crush.”
“Yeah, well,” she shrugged, a gesture of nonchalance that was doomed to fail given her previous statement.
“Are you going to do anything about it?”
“I don’t know.” She hesitated for a moment before deciding to continue. He was, after all, the only person she could talk to about this. “He always has this little toy car with him.”
Mikey froze, but didn’t say anything.
“He puts it on the desk while he works. Sometimes he holds it, running his thumb over the tires. But most the time, it just sits there. I think it could work.”
He sighed, “Why can’t you just talk to him like a normal person?”
“I will. I just want to get a sense of him first. If you were smart, you’d do the same thing with Katie.”
“Her name is Catherine. And I’m not going to do that. You never should have done that.”
“I’m glad I did. Mikey, if you felt what I felt, you’d understand.”
“It was just a dream! It doesn’t mean anything. This, right here,” he knocked on the table as if to make a point, “you and me, awake, this is what’s real.”
“I know that. But this being reality doesn’t make dreams meaningless. They’re a window.”
“Not the way you think. They’re memories. Distorted and jumbled. They can be interpreted a million different ways. But most of all, they’re private. We don’t belong in other people’s heads.”
She slumped. She couldn’t argue with him on that, not without sounding awful, and he knew it. But that didn’t mean she believed there wasn’t a middle ground. Because, selfishly, she did want to get a sense of Gabriel. And after spending thirty seconds in Catherine’s head, she felt it was important now more than ever. Because people manipulate, and they lie. But dreams, distorted and jumbled though they could be, were honest.
They finished their meal in silence, saying nothing until their waitress came by and they thanked her as she stacked their dishes and took them away.
“So, are you going to tell me where you’ve been or what?” Barbara finally asked because she wasn’t going to let him get away with leaving without fulfilling that promise.
Mikey nodded and leaned forward on his elbows, “Okay, but I need you to promise me that you’ll listen before you react. Set your judgments aside because I really need you to be happy for me. Or at least supportive.”
She didn’t know what to make of that. She scanned his worried expression. What could possibly… Oh no. Oh no. “Oh my god, Mikey, please tell me Catherine isn’t pregnant.”
“What? No! Is that really the first place your mind goes? We haven’t even… done… that.”
She laughed, mostly in relief, “What are you, saving yourself for marriage?” She’d meant it as a joke, but the way Mikey looked at her told her that was exactly what he was doing, and she laughed again, “Seriously? She does know you’re not a virgin, right?”
He sighed, that exasperated one she knew so well, the one she sometimes thought he reserved only for her, “Yes. She knows that. So does her father.”
She nearly choked, “I’m sorry, what?!”
“It’s not… He’s on the church council, so it’s unavoidable. Listen, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’ve been in Willow Creek, preparing to join the church. I told them everything… about my life so far. Prayed. Repented. It’s a whole process of shedding the life of sin and stepping into a new one. To walk in the Light of God.”
Barbara was speechless.
She knew Catherine was religious. She knew Mikey had been going to church with her on weekends in an attempt to be supportive. But this. This, she didn’t know what to do with. She’d never heard him talk like this before. They grew up in a secular household. Their parents were academics. Atheists even. Though, it’s not like she couldn’t understand. At least a little bit. When Dawn passed away, even Barbara questioned things. Wanted to believe in something more. Some grand design or purpose. But she knew there were no concrete answers to be had, and organized religion always gave her the ick, so she settled comfortably in agnosticism.
“B? Will you say something, please?”
She opened her mouth. Closed it again. Her voice trapped between his need for support and her need to ask him if he’d lost his fucking mind. But then one thought came barreling through in a rush, “You told them everything?”
He closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to look at her when he said, “Everything.”
“Traveling?”
He nodded and opened his eyes again. “But it’s okay. I promise.”
“How is that okay?”
“They’re going to help me. Make sure it never happens again.”
“What? How? Why? I… Mikey, how many times do I have to tell you? This is a gift. It’s not a curse.”
“I disagree.”
He said it so simply that she didn’t know how to respond.
He reached out and put a hand over hers, “My baptism is on Sunday. I really want you to be there. Listen to them. Just once. And I promise you’ll understand.”
The depth of sincerity in his eyes terrified her for reasons she couldn’t quite understand. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react. Of course, he was allowed to believe in whatever he wanted to believe in. But who the fuck were these people, and could they really take away his ability to Travel?
She already felt like they were growing apart, moving in two different directions, and it made her sad, angry, maybe a little jealous, but this… This was different. She felt like a part of her was being ripped away and she couldn’t take it.
She pulled away from him and shook her head, “I’m can’t. I’m sorry. I have to go.”
And she left.
Prev // Next
A/N: For the sake of clarity - the Dawn we know and love (Atlas' twin sister), is not the same Dawn here (the one who owned the diner). However, Our Dawn was named after Diner Dawn (she just doesn't know it). Also, this scene is probably the most evidence we'll get of Barbara and Michael's identities (and Catherine's for that matter). It's not necessary for the story that this remains secret, so if you want to know, you can ask and I'll tell you. But if you prefer the added mystery, then I'll keep my mouth shut. Just know it won't be made clear until the epilogue.
