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“If I could protest, Chief—”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the fire chief continued, obviously not understanding the source of Jesse’s hesitation. “These ladies are lovely, and I’m sure everything will go smoothly. Especially with the most senior of my firefighters. Right, Jesse? Nothing you can’t handle.”
Jesse’s face looked pinched. “Yes, Chief.”
“Thank you, Chief,” I said softly, not sure how to diffuse the tension. “I think we can take it from here.”
With that, the fire chief left us alone to start looking into how the other volunteers were getting along with the staff at the firehouse.
“Well, it’s good to see you again, Mr. Delaney,” Maria said. “I wasn’t sure if Jade would get a chance to tell you about this before we got here. It seems that she did not.”
Maria gave me a look that could have killed. I gulped hard. She was right. I had promised her that I would talk to Jesse. However, I had underestimated how much he hated to have normal conversations with someone like me. It seemed like no matter what I did, he was not going to believe that I had done this because it was a good thing to do instead of doing it to make him uncomfortable.
I cleared my throat.
“Well, we’re here now,” I said. “I don’t think there’s any use thinking about what we could have done differently or what we should do differently for next time. We’re here. Let’s get going on figuring out how to rearrange this table. Maria, I think you managed to buy the most unbalanced second-hand table in the world.”
It had already collapsed once under the weight of the purses and the jewelry. I hoped that we wouldn’t have to provide our own table for the booth, but if we did, this wasn’t it. It’d have to do for the store; perhaps we could put snacks or something on it instead of the purses as Maria had originally been thinking.
Jesse heaved a sigh and helped us take the purses off the table. Then, he got down under the table and looked at all of the mechanics.
“You don’t have it secured.” He popped his head up from under the table. “It’s supposed to click into place when it’s secured. Like… so…”
He moved the bars holding the table up just a little more to each side. There was a loud, distinct click in the air.
“Let’s see if that’ll hold everything,” I said.
Maria nodded. She set it up as it had originally been set up, and we waited with bated breath. When Jesse bumped into it getting up off the floor, it only wiggled. Nothing fell over, bar one of the stands of earrings that I had set up. It wasn’t the best earring stand, but it was good enough for this meeting.
“Well. That would explain a lot,” Maria said. “Thanks, Mr. Delaney. I didn’t realize it was supposed to lock in place, but that would explain why it was so wobbly. I just didn’t go far enough to hear the click.”
“Indeed.”
With that, Jesse turned to look at me.
“Could I see you to the side a moment, please, Jade?” He kept his tone as even as possible, though I could tell that he was not happy about anything that was going on.
I nodded.
“Maria, make sure nothing happens to the jewelry while we talk,” I said.
With that, we walked off to the side. Jesse led me into one of the furthest corners of the fire station, perhaps to ensure that we would not be disturbed. Whatever the case, I was not excited. This corner had some light, but it appeared to be one of the worst areas of the fire station. Perhaps one of the oldest and most in need of repair.
“How long have you known about this? Honestly?” He looked at me expectantly.
“We were approached while setting up our shop yesterday,” I said. “Honestly. I meant to tell you last night or this morning, but I had no chance to say anything because you took off almost as soon as you were finished with breakfast, and you slammed the door when I tried to talk about it last night. We both know how last night went with Maria, and I’m sorry about that. She’s just naturally curious, despite my best efforts to keep her contained.”
I had started looking at the floor for some reason, but now, I looked up to meet his eyes.
Jesse stared at me as if he was searching my face for any semblance of a lie or of unfaithfulness to the story. I let him. If this is what it took for him to believe that I honestly didn’t mean to let this all blow up in his face this morning, then that’s what it took.
“I just want to help you get the funds you’re trying to raise. Honest,” I added. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this, but with an online-only store, it’s hard for people to believe that you’re actually going to donate the money. With the announcement that I have a store location in Lantana, it makes a lot more sense that I’m coordinating with someone to do this.”
He pursed his lips.
“Fine.”
He shook his head.
