Please Return if Lost to Jessica Collins

Paige – Chapter Ten

After looking through my purse for five minutes for my car keys, I come to the sad conclusion I’ll have to go back into my cottage where we left my father in mid-sentence.  “Momma, I need to go grab my keys.  I think I left them on the counter.”  Momma waves me to go on and continues to her vehicle.  Oh, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t let my father start in on me again. 

I quickly sneak in the front door and grab them from the counter.  Daddy has his back turned and he’s lost in thought or he has shell-shock, I’m not sure which.  At any rate, I’m sneaking back out when I notice a leather journal sitting on the floor by the couch.  Knowing it has to be Cody’s, I pick it up before my sleuth of a father finds it and shove it in my purse.  Whew… that was close.

Closing the door whisper soft and high-tail it to Mamma’s car.  I stop and compose myself before gently opening the passenger door and sliding in.  “Peanut, I hope you found your keys cuz I don’t have your extra set anymore.  Honey, why are you all out of breath?”  I look up at the car ceiling and take a deep breath, “Did you not just see me running like hell to get to the car?”  Momma raises her right eyebrow, “I was looking through my emails waiting for you, so no I did not see you running like hell.” She does air quotes around run like hell.  “Surely your daddy wasn’t chasing you.”

I expel a loud breath, “No, I managed to get in and out without him seeing me or I’m sure there would have been more words exchanged.  So many words.”  Momma reaches down to start the car shaking her head.  “Paige, just because I pulled you out of your father’s clutches doesn’t mean that a word exchange isn’t in your future.  We will be talking about the gorgeous young man leaving your cottage this morning.

I’m assuming he’s the same guy your Daddy nearly lost his mind over last night when he couldn’t find you.  Here’s the funny part.  You wanna hear the funny part?”  I give her the Uh Yeah continue to talk look.

“I knew exactly where you were last night, but I wasn’t going to help fuel your Daddy’s obsessive behavior.”  “Momma, please don’t tell me you’re psychic again because we both know that you aren’t.  Please enlighten me on how you knew where I was.”  Momma smirks and waiting it seems forever for her to spill.

“Paige McGregor, you know damn good and well that I am psychic.  This time, however, I relied on more modern methods in the form of the Verizon GPS on your cell phone that is synced with my cell phone.”

Oh my God!  I completely forgot that she did that when I was in college.  After oversharing about my extra-curricular activities, Momma insisted that we set that up just in case.  I swear if I didn’t check in with Momma every day she was always imagining me dead in a ditch somewhere. Geez, parents! 

“Ok, so you knew I was in the cottage.  Is that how Daddy knew where I was this morning?”  Momma smiles that secret smile again, “Well if I wanted to get any sleep last night, I had to tell him where you were.  You know how he is.”  I heavy sigh again, “Yes, yes I do.”

We drive into town and with a venti with whip latte in hand, I recount the previous evening to Momma.

I have always been able to pour my heart out to her.  Momma listens calmly, intently, giving me space to breathe and get it all out. We laugh as I recall what I told Daddy and then how Rhonda recounted what I told Daddy to me.

I lay my head on her shoulder and she’s gently rubbing it like she did when I was a little girl.  Talking to Momma always makes me feel better.  I finally get to the end and how Daddy woke me up this morning.

“Your Daddy poured icy water on you?  My Lord that man is ridiculous.  Well, the way I see it, there is only one thing to do.  We really have no choice but to have Cody over for dinner this weekend.”  I look at her like she has lost her mind, “No, no, no, that is not happening.  I just met this guy yesterday and sort of went on one date.  Well, I guess if you call harassed by Daddy at Betty’s Diner and then chased around town, a date.  I don’t even know where he is now.  He just left.”

He just left without a note, no see you later, no hey I’ll text you later.  What the hell.  Did I get ghosted? Does it count if you’ve known the person less than 24-hours?  I quickly google it on my phone.  Paige, get a grip.  No, it doesn’t count. 

Oh my God, what if something happened to him and he’s laying in a ditch somewhere?  What if Daddy grabbed him, knocked him out, and stashed him in a windowless basement?  Seriously Paige, listen to this lunacy you’re spewing! 

Feeling the hysteria bubbling just beneath the surface, I begin my deep diaphragm breathing technique.  “Paige honey, what’s the matter?”  She gently pats me on my forearm.  I’m beginning to slow my breathing and the panic attack is subsiding. “Momma can you please just drop me off at the garage?  I need to pick up my car and I need to talk to Danny.”  She’s giving me her classic worried look.  “I’m fine, really.  Thank you for rescuing me from Daddy this morning.  It was not going to end well if I had to sit there and listen to him much longer.”

Momma pulls into the station and puts the car into park.  “I’ll just hop out, there’s no need for you to get out.  Thanks for dropping me off.”  Danny comes over to the open doorway, waves, and walks over to the car.  “Well hello there Danny.  How are you doing today?”

Danny gives Momma his patented crooked grin, “Why couldn’t be better Ms. McGregor.  Well, Paige, I see you’re still alive after last night.  Sheriff McGregor looked like he was going to explode when he showed up at Rhonda’s house last night and didn’t find Paige and lover boy.”  Momma gives me that you didn’t share that little tidbit look.  I give him a withering stare and he smiles even bigger.

“Well, Momma aren’t you late for that one thing at that one place you normally go?”  She just shakes her head back and forth, “Oh that’s right, I’m late for that one thing, at the one place.”  She chuckles to herself and starts the car driving away before Danny spills any more details I may or may not have left out of my tale of sorrow.

“So where is lover boy this morning?  Have you already scared him off with your neurotic behavior?”  I just turn and walk into the station ignoring his jab about my panic attacks.  He doesn’t give up easily.  Yelling at my back, “You know some guys might find that sexy.”

Don’t engage, don’t engage, just keep moving and don’t turn around.  “You can’t ignore me all day Paigey and you owe me big time.”  Slamming the door to my office, I plop down into my chair, dropping my purse onto my desk.  Putting my face into my hands and my elbows on the desk, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

It’s crazy how loud a quiet room can be.  It’s then I remember the journal in my purse.  I fish around and finally find it laying it on the desk.  “I wonder who you belong to.”  I flip through it and look at the inside front cover.  “Please return if lost to Jessica Collins.  4120 W 94th Terrace, Prairie Village, KS 66207.  Huh, I wonder who Miss Jessica is to Cody?”

I open the journal up to an entry near the beginning.

“Thursday, March 20, 2014 

I think my life will never be the same again.  Today I met the most gorgeous guy.  I swear, I could drown in his green eyes and float down a peaceful stream lying in his arms.  I couldn’t help myself, I brought him back to my place and we made out for two-hours.  It was funny how we met. 

I was out with my girls having drinks after work for thirsty Thursday.  Who even came up with that name?  So, this lame guy comes up and I can’t even deal.  Out of nowhere this gorgeous guy comes up and leans on the bar between me and dickweed and says, “Sorry I’m late.”  He looks at double zero and he sees he’s out gunned. 

This guy had some serious guns and shoulders, oh my God!  Is a girl a slut if she doesn’t get a guy’s name first before she jumps him?  God, I hope not because there was no way I was going to let him out of my site.

Yeah, so yeah, we made out and then his phone went off and he had to leave.  It’s so unfair to get a girl all riled up and not finish the job.  But I made him give me his phone.  I sent a text to myself, so he’d have my number.  God I really want to see him again.  Such is life.

Jessica”

 I flip through and find the last entry.

There is a picture tucked in the journal as a bookmark.  I see a beautiful brown-haired woman smiling up at me from my hand.  I set the picture down and begin reading.

“Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Dear Diary,

You are not going to believe what happened tonight.  I still can’t believe it.  Cody finally proposed!  Aaahhh!  I was hoping that this day would come but to be honest I had given up on him ever popping the question. 

With him always gone and deploying overseas, it has not been easy to keep our relationship together.  I couldn’t believe it when he told me that he was going to take me out for Valentine’s Day. 

In usual Cody style he had this whole elaborate scene with a note under my dessert at Ophelia’s. I was taking my last bite and written on the plate in sharpie was “Hey Look Up.” 

So, I looked up and noticed that Cody was down on one knee on the floor by my chair.  Oh my God, I just started crying and shaking my head yes!  I am in shock.  I’m going to be Mrs. Cody Dalton in 8 months.  I can’t wait!

Jessica”

What in the living hell.  I don’t believe this.  Of course, he’s taken!  Overcome with nausea, I run into the bathroom and dry heave over the toilet.  Oh my God, I almost made a gigantic mistake.  To think I almost had sex with him.

Well in a manner of speaking I guess we did have sex but thank God I wasn’t able to go all the way with him.  I would never be able to forgive myself.  The poor girl.  How could he do this to Jessica?” 

Danny is yelling from the other side of the bathroom door, “Hey Paigey, lover boy is here!”