Jeremiah pushed the lawn mower around his parents’ yard, thinking a few steps ahead to get the job done. He didn’t edge every week, but he’d skipped it last week so he could take Shannon to dinner. He’d have to get the weed eater out and make sure everything was neat and trim.
Besides, he wasn’t seeing Shannon that night. Or much at all lately. She’d broken their last three lunch dates, and while they used to walk Hercules every evening together, she’d begged out of the last two.
So he hadn’t seen her for three days now, and his heart felt like it might be made of lead. The smell of oil and gasoline filled his nostrils, along with the scent of flowers and freshly cut grass, and sweat poured down his face as he worked.
Afterward, he trimmed and weeded and cleaned up all the tools. Back in the house, he bent over the sink, cold water pouring out of the faucet and into his hands. He scrubbed them cleaned and then doused his face with the icy liquid, simultaneously flinching away from the cold and absolutely relieved as it cooled him down.
He exhaled and toweled his face as his mother came inside. “Lawn looks amazing, Jeremiah.”
“It’s so hot out there,” he said in response.
His mother frowned and reached up to touch his hair. “You need a haircut.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” he said.
“Sit,” she commanded, pointing to a barstool. “I’ll get the clippers.” She bustled off before he could argue again. In the end, she’d win, so he did as she said and sat down. It took her longer than usual to get the drape and the clippers, but she did eventually return to the kitchen.
“How’s Shannon?” she asked as she tossed the drape around him.
“She’s great,” he said, a note of falseness in his voice. Hopefully, his mother wouldn’t hear it, but Jeremiah knew his mom.
She didn’t say anything, and the clippers started buzzing. She worked on the back and sides of his head before turning off the clippers and reaching for the scissors. “Things not going well with Shannon?”
Jeremiah sighed, but he couldn’t exactly say things were going how he’d like. “She’s really busy right now,” he said, the same thing he’d been telling himself for a week now. “Lots of weddings, and her boss is training her to run the business.”
He felt tired in every muscle and joint, but he sat straight and let his mother finish the haircut. He didn’t want to talk about Shannon, and thankfully, his mother pulled out a large pan of chicken cordon bleu. “Are you hungry?”
“Am I ever not hungry?” Jeremiah grinned at her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for the haircut, Mom.”
She smiled and started working to heat up the food. “You can go wake up your father.”
“Wake him up?” Jeremiah looked at the microwave, which said it was almost six-thirty. “Isn’t it a little late for a nap?” And he couldn’t believe the lawn mowing and trimming hadn’t woken his father. “Is he not feeling well?”
“Oh, the Palmer’s dog barks all night long,” his mom said. “He keeps saying he can’t sleep, and then he naps for hours in the afternoon.”
“I’ll go get him up then.” Jeremiah walked down the hall and knocked lightly on the door at the back of the house. “Dad?”
“I’m up,” a voice croaked from behind the door. Jeremiah entered the bedroom and found his dad sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to call the city about that dog.” He yawned, and Jeremiah moved to sit next to him.
“You should get some earplugs, Dad,” he said. “And blow a fan. Then you won’t be able to hear that dog.”
Hercules came into the room, and Jeremiah had forgotten he was even there. He reached over to pat the dog’s head, and his dad did too. “You can keep him tonight if you want,” Jeremiah said.
“You and Shannon aren’t walking him?”
“Not tonight.” Jeremiah stood up. “Mom’s heating up leftovers, so come eat with us.” He left his father to finish waking up, and then he came out to the kitchen with Hercules. They sat down to eat, and thankfully the conversation moved onto something besides Shannon.
Jeremiah wished his thoughts would do the same, but they seemed on a perpetual Shannon merry-go-round.
He had never been so patient before, and he wondered if a person could literally die from how long they had to wait for something.
A couple of weeks later, Jeremiah had taken to texting Shannon as their main means of communication. She’d stopped coming on walks with him, and it was a lucky week if they got together for lunch.
He’d even stopped bringing back salads and tacos for her. It was like their relationship had slid backward a couple of miles, and Jeremiah had no idea what to do about it.
But this afternoon, he was definitely going to see her, because it was the first ever Your Tidal Forever company picnic. He’d been invited, and Shannon had sent him no less than six texts that morning.
His own excitement felt like it was electricity buzzing through his bloodstream, and he double-checked the buttons on his polo to make sure everything looked good and that the collar lay flat.
He left his office and stopped at the reception desk and exhaled. “Ladies, how do I look?”
Flo turned from the files in front of her. “Oh, Doctor Yeates. Very handsome.”
“Casual,” Janey said. “For the picnic.” She exchanged a glance with Flo, and the two older women grinned.
“I haven’t seen Shannon in a while,” he said. “I’m very nervous.”
“Oh, pish posh.” Janey stood up and ran her hands over his shoulders. “You’re handsome. Rich. A real catch. If she can’t see that, well, then you need to find someone with better eyes.”
Jeremiah swallowed and said, “Flo, you’ve got Hercules tonight and for the weekend, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
He glanced around at the women he worked with and headed for the front door. “See you guys on Monday.”
The heat outside nearly knocked him back into the building, and when he breathed, the air felt sticky inside his lungs. But he was going to this picnic even if there was a tropical storm. He drove himself over to the other bay, and around the curve in the highway that led out to the Cattleman’s Last Stop.
He pulled onto the road for Aloha Hideaway, a quaint little bed and breakfast he’d never personally attended before. But he wasn’t a tourist, so he didn’t need to stay at a B&B.
Aloha Hideaway had beautiful gardens tucked away between the beach and the road, and he took one of the last parking spaces and pulled out his phone to text Shannon that he’d arrived. She arrived on the path leading between the trees, and Jeremiah couldn’t help grinning at the sight of her.
She wore her classic black pencil skirt and a bright yellow blouse with barely-there white polka dots. She ran toward him for a few steps before he swept her into his arms, laughing now.
“It’s good to see you,” she said.
Jeremiah breathed in the strawberry scent of her hair and held onto her, trying to commit the feel of her beside him to memory. “I’ve missed you,” he said, wishing he didn’t come across as quite so desperate to be with her.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy,” she said. “But come on, we’re about to start, and you don’t want to miss the Kalua pork this place serves. It’s delicious.” She linked her fingers through his and they walked toward the path.
The shade took the temperature down a few notches, and there were misters and fans making things downright cool in this paradise. He glanced around from the long rows of flowers growing in the shade, to the tables that had been set up for the party.
Everything was perfect, and proper, and perfectly white among all the greenery. “You are unbelievable,” he said to Shannon, knowing that much of what had kept her from him was spread before him.
“Do you like it?” Shannon gazed around at the tables, the lanterns hanging from the trees, and the food sitting on a long table near the only building Jeremiah could see.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “Oh, there’s Riley.”
“Yep, come on.” Shannon linked her hand through his arm. “You’ve met a few of the girls at the company, but there are a lot more who are dying to see that I really have a handsome boyfriend.” She giggled, and Jeremiah put a smile on his face, ready to spend time with Shannon any way he could, even if it met shaking hands and meeting her friends.
After all, she’d done that for him when they’d gone to the gala. He had a feeling she’d be much better at it than him, but if there was Kalua pig and poi in his future, he’d do his best.