Page 32 of Jacob Michaels is Trouble

Glancing at the Town Car, Randy beeped the horn at me sharply and waved from the driver’s seat. He looked as out of place and clueless as Nelda Hammersmith did, though he seemed to be dressed more appropriately for Buttcrack Nowhere. I waved back with a confused smile before turning my attention back to my manager.

“Nelda.” I sighed. “This is Point Worth, Ohio. It’s a diner. It’s a walk-in place. They have never even thought of the idea of reservations. You seat yourself when you go inside.”

Nelda frowned, confused at the concept as she glanced at the squat, though charming building behind us.

“Quaint.” She stated magnanimously.

“It is that.” I agreed, not wanting to defend the café since it would distract from my point. Trying to explain that the rest of the world didn’t work like Hollywood elite believed was not on the agenda, either. “Look, what’s the latest I can come back? I have some…things…I need to do before I hop a flight.”

“No later than a week, Jacob.” She was shaking her head admonishingly. “You should just fly back in the morning with Randy and me, though. I can book you a flight right now.”

Nelda reached for her clutch again, probably to pull out her iPhone or some other device she had no clue how to use well enough to buy airplane tickets on the spot. Holding my hand out to slow her down, I drew her attention back to the matter at hand.

“I’ll be back before a week is up.” I nodded slowly, my hand on hers as she clutched her tiny bag. “I promise. And I’ll get my own ticket.”

“Well,” She turned her nose up, “if you insist. Personally, I would make my assistant do it if I were you. What else do you pay him for?”

“Her,” I said blandly. “Jessica is a woman.”

Nelda shrugged and brought her cigarette holder to her lips once more.

“It’s not even a unisex name.” I shook my head. “Nevermind. Look, I’ll see you in a week, Nelda. Okay?”

One shoulder rose and fell as Nelda blew out a plume of bluish smoke, right into my face.

God, I missed cigarettes.

“See you in a week, Nelda,” I state hurriedly as I turned and headed back towards my car, pulling my phone out of my pocket in the process.

“Hopefully sooner!” She stated grandly in response.

As I was sliding into the driver’s seat of my car, Nelda was waving for Randy to get out of the car and join her. Randy was exiting the car as Nelda plucked the cigarette from the telescopic holder and dropped it daintily to the ground before crushing it with the toe of her shoe. As Randy approached, he held an arm out to her, and together, they made a grand entrance into the Sunny-Side Up Café. I shook my head as I watched them disappear inside, wondering what they would think of Midwestern café food. Hopefully, they both would end up puking after eating more grease than they’d both collectively ever had in their lives. At the very least, a nasty case of The Trots was in their futures.

Once I was certain that they were safely inside and making asses of themselves in the café, I unlocked my phone and brought up my notifications. Several from Oma—which I had no intention of returning quickly—one from Jessica, probably to warn me about Nelda’s impending arrival, and two from Lucas.

You are still coming over for dinner, right?

The question was followed by the grinning devil emoji.

But I didn’t know if that little devil would still be smiling after I told Lucas what my future plans were going to be. Then again, I wasn’t so confident that I knew how to tell Lucas that I was giving up on my previous idea of staying in Point Worth. My head fell back against the headrest as I groaned, thinking of everything that had happened in the last few weeks. If I had been smart—which was something no one had ever accused me of—I would have left to go back to Hollywood as soon as I had gotten my memories back. Staying and giving Lucas his memories back had been the worst decision I had ever made. Really thinking about it, I felt that it might have also been the cruelest as well.

My phone got tossed into the passenger seat, and I pulled out of the Sunny-Side Up Café parking lot. Meeting Nelda Hammersmith outside of the café had helped me make a decision about my future—and how I really felt about staying in Point Worth. Lucas, on the other hand, was a major fly in the ointment. It was one thing to give Oma “deuces” and jump on a plane. I’d done it before without so much as a single word, so it wasn’t beneath me. Telling Lucas I couldn’t stay any longer and keep my sanity was another issue. Not just because it would be cruel to him…but because I genuinely did love Lucas.

That was one thing my memories didn’t contradict.