
“Hey, Jess, who’s the lucky guy?” I asked, trying to make conversation.
“Oh, hi, Edward. Um, Mike Newton. He joined the army and they shipped him off to Iraq. He said he wanted to leave me with hope,” she said with a watery smile as she touched the ring.
Even Mike Newton was a better man than I was.
“So, have you seen Bella?” she asked.
“No, uh, from what I hear she’s in Europe with Alice and Jasper,” I shrugged.
“Oh, well, uh, what can I get you?” she asked trying to change the subject.
I ordered a pastrami and corned beef sandwich on rye and sat down to eat. I watched the people walking by the window and tried to use little cues to figure out who they were and where they were going. At the moment I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. I feared I’d be stuck forever. I sat well after I was done eating and waited for my hour to be up. Back at the shop, Maria was out front reading a magazine.
“You ready, kid?” she asked.