Part 6
[May 25th, 2010-9:11 a.m.]
6 Days ‘Til Tour Launch
Xavier climbed out
of her black Audi A5; she grabbed her red leather laptop case, her aged leather
saddlebag and finally a set of red chef jackets concealed in clear plastic. She
juggled her load while pressing the button to set her car’s alarm as she walked
toward the gated back door of Cherry Boo restaurant.
She unlocked the
gate’s padlock, dropping lock into her saddlebag then slid the gate open with
her hip to reveal a steel door. She released another padlock then punched in a
series of numbers. Four beeps sounded before the access was gained and she
pushed the door open. Xavier closed the door behind her, setting the security
code again.
No one would be
there for another hour or so.
The back area was
dim and held a chill; Xavier switched on the lights which sent a wave of
electricity through the entire building. The buzz of the current made her smile
while she walked to her office. She set down her laptop case and bag then hung
the set of chef coats on a tall, black lacquer coat rack before she made her
rounds.
Her rounds started
with her turning on the music; her sound system bled through the entire
restaurant and played everything from Carly Simon to Muse. When she pressed
play, Nina Simone’s droning voice filled the kitchen and made its way to the
front of the house. She stopped at her coffeemaker next.
Circa 1999 but she
refused to let it go; she filled the basin with water, followed by her usual
ground coffee, hazelnut crème. The maker went to work on brewing and she walked
onto the main floor of the restaurant. Nina continued to sing and Xavier went
to work drawing back the heavy crimson red drapes of the front picture windows.
Sunlight filled the eatery in sections, bringing life to the round tables and
crystal glasses at the bar.
Once the drapes
were set, she made her way back into the kitchen to retrieve a cup of coffee
and her laptop. She returned with both and took a seat at the bar. Xavier sipped
her coffee during the powering up process for her HP computer; once the black
and white image of a geisha popped up, she went to work.
Xavier pulled her
up an Excel spreadsheet, reviewing the earnings from the previous night. She
had tried to go over a list of reports the previous night but spent the
night…researching. She sipped her coffee then peeked at a folder on her
desktop.
PICTURES.
She directed her
eyes back to the net income from last night but her eyes shot back to the
folder. It wouldn’t be long before she
would give in.
Why not now? She
asked herself.
Xavier double
clicked and the folder open quickly. More folders appeared, each with a
detailed label:
FAMILY
FRIENDS
MARDI GRAS- 2006
CHRISTMAS- 2008
NEW YEARS- 2007
STORE OPENING- 2008
AJ AND ME- 1999-2007
She circled her
cursor over the folder labeled for her and AJ before double clicking it and
willingly let the past consume her. Her eyes scanned over the images as they
appeared in extra large thumbnails. She stopped at a picture of her and him
lying in bed, looking up at the camera with sleep in their eyes. Her head
rested on his chest and they both had smiles that radiated through the
computer.
Tears rested in
her eyes; crying was not an option, the past was the past but for some reason
the past couldn’t and wouldn’t stay in rear with the change of events to come
in the next few days.
Eight months on
tour with him.
Four beeps warned
her that someone had entered the building; Xavier clicked the picture closed as
well as the rest of the folders. She stood up and walked to the back of the
building; her sous chef, Joy smiled at her as she hung up her black messenger
bag and leather biker’s jacket.
“You’re early.”
Xavier said while batting her eyes.
“I figured you would
be here doing your routine.” She said before grabbing herself a cup of coffee.
“So are you packed up and ready to go?”
“For the most
part.” She replied. “Joy, thanks for offering to house sit too.”
“No problem. What
are you doing with Teddy?”
“Oh, management
said that I can bring him since I get my own bus.” Joy’s bushy eyebrows rose
into her low forehead. “Yes, I have my own bus.”
“Nice. Are you
mentally ready?” Her smile faded to a slight curved line and Xavier read the
concern in her face. “You know how to deal with him.”
“I’m gonna try my
best not to. I have been doing my best to throw it all out of my system but…”
she trailed off.
“But you can’t,
can you, boss?” Xavier sighed and rested against a meat slicer.
“I loved him, Joy.
We were gonna be married and he…” she paused. “He ruined it with drugs and
girls and…” She stopped again, looking down at the ground to compose herself.
Joy stepped closer
to her, resting a hand on her shoulder then she spoke.
“You said that he
apologized last week, right?”
“Yeah. He did.”
“Do you believe
him?” Joy and Xavier exchanged glances.
“A part of me
doesn’t and a part of me does.” She explained. Joy set down her coffee cup and
smiled.
“Did you ever
think that maybe this was meant to be?”
“Excuse me?”
“Seriously, boss.
Maybe this whole touring thing is meant for you and AJ. A chance for you and
him to hash things out and possibly reconnect.”
Reconnecting with
AJ. It had been something that Xavier spent the first year of their breakup
imagining but with time and lack of communication the thought and desire to
reconnect with her love fizzled out like a dead candle. Now, the thought was
returning and the desire was sparking.
In fact it almost
caught fire.
***
