Laughing Fate (42 page)

He caught the look and grinned. “My new girl friend finds them sexy, so I thought what the heck? Does it make me look older?”

“Uh sure,” Sandy said with a smile and sat down the steaming cups of coffee. “The special today is eggs and ham with a side of toast or pancakes. But umm listen, I wouldn’t give my order to Puck today…”

Both men glanced up at Puck just in time to watch her pour syrup into a cup of coffee and creamer over a plate of pancakes.

“Oh for goodness sakes!” Sandy cried and rushed off to intercept Puck before she brought the food to the table of old ladies. She had been running interference for her all day! The first time it had been funny, and later Sandy had been worried. Now Sandy was just tired.

The guys sat at the table in silence. They were both shocked to see Puck acting so strange. She seemed so…lifeless. They exchanged a look and then turned back to watch Puck. A customer was complaining to her about receiving toast instead of ham. Puck was nodding absently and staring at them with dead eyes. The only time her eyes ever cleared was when the door would swing open. Then her head would snap up and she’d watch the door. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that she was watching for Potter.

“I thought she was the one who broke up with Potter,” Brad whispered to James.

James leaned in closer, his blond hair falling across his forehead. “She did! I saw Potter the day she broke up with him, he was all despondent and stuff. He told me Puck didn’t want to see him again.”

“Then why the hell is she acting all weird? I could handle it if Puck was angry, but it’s breaking my heart seeing her like this! I mean look at her! She’s a mess.”

“
I know…but dude- have you seen Potter? He’s a mess! And
she
is the one who made him that way. He hasn’t gone surfing in at least a week! And he hasn’t been at the shop either! He
loved
her and was planning on marrying her! I was with him when he bought her the ring-

“
He bought her a ring?!”

James leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper, “Yeah, I guess they went to marriage counseling or something and she mentioned that she was refusing his proposals because he hadn’t done it all traditional like. So he went out and bought her a ring and was planning on proposing all proper like, but then she broke up with him.”

“Oh man, that’s just cruel. No wonder Potter’s taking it so hard!” Brad looked at Puck and winced. “I know I should hate her, but dude just look at her! I think she loved him too!”

“
Then why did she refuse him? Potter would leap at the chance to take her back, all she’d have to do is-

“
Here’s your two specials,” Puck said listlessly as she put down to plates with California omelets with a side of hash browns.

“
Umm, Puck? I think this is a different table’s. I mean it looks great and all, but we didn’t order this.”

“
Oh hey Brad, James. Uh I have to go over there,” Puck said, gesturing over towards the counter with a large sweep of her arm. She ran back to the counter and hid behind it.

“
Puck! What are you doing behind the counter and where did my omelets go? They were for table number five!”

Puck poked her head above the counter and blushed. “I’m sorry. I think I just ran away.”

“What?!”

“
You know how when a wolf mates for life and the one mate, say the girl wolf, sends the other wolf off alone in the woods and the pack members are all like either bring the wolf back or kill the wolf cause wolfs mate for life and the other wolf now has no mate. Neither of them does. They are mateless….”

“
Puck for god’s sake! Do you have a point?”

“
I saw Brad and James.”

“
So you are hiding behind the counter? Hun, they already saw you! You talked to them; you brought them the wrong plates…remember?”

“
Wolfs mate for life.”

Sandy rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. “Puck, honey, I love you. But if you don’t get out of my diner right now I swear to god I will tie you up and leave you in the woods. Are we clear?”

“So do geese,” Puck said as if Sandy hadn’t spoken. She furled her brow and continued, “I’m not sure what other animals mate for life. I think elephants. But I’m not sure.”

“
Puck- what does that have to do with anything?”

“
They mate for life is all,” Puck mumbled.

Sandy heaved a giant sigh and threw down her dish towel. “Puck Berri! That is enough! Go home! If I hear one more mumbled comment about geese and wolves I swear to god I am going to shoot you in the leg!”

“Hey Puck,” Brad said from besides Sandy.

Puck glanced up at Brad and winced. She opened her mouth, but Sandy put her hand over it. With a glare and a stern warning not to speak so much as a word about geese or wolves, Sandy pulled her hand away and left Puck to deal with the very unhappy table number 5.

“Puck, is everything okay?”

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
Cause you don’t look okay. You look kind of…sad.”

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
So you are sad? Cause Puck if you just went to him and told him you were sorry I’m sure that he’d forgive you!”

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
Really?! That’s great! I’m so happy! When are you going to see him? He’s at home he hasn’t left it that I know of and…”

Puck looked up at Brad and frowned. What was he talking about? “Who?”

Brad’s face fell. “How can you ask who? Potter! You’re going to Potter’s right? To apologize?”

Puck felt the blood drain out of her face. She quickly took a couple steps back and shook her head vehemently.  “No. Oh no, I won’t go with you wolves.”

Brad scratched his head and glanced at James. “Any clue what she’s talking about?”

“
Nope none at all,” James drawled. He lost his smile when he saw Puck stumble further backwards. “Jesus, Puck! What’s wrong with you?” He quickly grabbed her arm and led her to a seat.

“
Nothing, nothing is wrong with me!” Puck said, with a little bit of her old fire.

“
Hey, look we are just worried about you. Sandy said you are acting a little weird.”

“
Oh.”

“
Not that we blame you!” Brad quickly added. “We know how much you liked Potter. Maybe if you just tell us why you broke up with him, then we could help you out, you know?”

“
Wolves!” Puck cried- pointing her finger at them accusingly. She hastily stood up and ran out the back of the diner.

“
I think she’s on drugs,” Brad said in amazement.

“
What did you two bird brains say to Puck?!” demanded Sandy with her arms on her hips.

“
Nothing, we swear! She just freaked out and called us wolves!”

“
You just stay away from her! She hasn’t been sleeping or eating in days…the last thing she needs is you two bone heads spreading rumors about her being on drugs!”

“
Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison and quickly left the diner.

Sandy shook her head at them and returned to her table.

“I’m sorry about that, now what can I get for you?”

Chapter 14: Do wacka do

Puck didn’t feel like going home so she walked to the public park and sat morosely in a swing. This whole melancholy thing was all new to her. She didn’t know exactly what to do. She knew she didn’t want to be home, because Perri would only fuss over her. She wondered if this was what her life would be like from now on: Sleepless nights, unappetizing food, and fussing friends and family, not to mention wolves.  She didn’t like wolves or geese or elephants. They were all dumb.

She stayed at the park until the sun set. She had long ago given up the swings and had spent the last several hours lying in the middle of the merry-go-round and staring up at the clouds as they passed along the sky. She was a cloud, a wisp of something that was not really there. She was the snail crawling along the dirt road. She was…tired. So tired. She felt tears pooling behind her eyes, but she refused to let them out. She would not cry in a public park. She just wouldn’t!

“Okay kids, we have to be quick okay? Just a few spins on the merry go round, and then we have to go home.”

“
Okay mom!” a chorus of kids shouted.

Puck frowned. She knew that voice, didn’t she? Who could it be? And did they say they were going to the merry-go-round? But she was on it! She didn’t want to have to get up! Well, she wouldn’t. She was here first after all. They could play around her.

“Uh, mom! There’s an old lady lying on the merry-go-round!”

“
And she’s frumpy!”

“
She smells weird too!”

Hey! Puck sat up and groggily looked at a tall Native American who was dressed impeccably. The kids had stared at Puck in disgust and then scampered back to their mom. She looked vaguely familiar…where had she seen her before?

“Puck? Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re homeless now!”

“
That’s right, you’re the shrink.”

“
My mom’s not a shrink! You are! She’s a talented doctor and you are just some bum!” a squeaky little voice shouted from behind the therapist.

“
Puck, what are you doing here?”

“
Well, I didn’t want to go home.”

“
Why not?”

“
Are you charging me for this?”

“
Not if you keep it brief. Why don’t you want to go home?”

Puck scratched her head and grimaced when she felt how oily it was. When was the last time she washed her hair?

“I broke up with Potter. Because I can’t trust him, I can’t trust anyone. So I sent him away, even though he looked so sad and even though I really love him. But I can’t marry him! And he deserves so much more, a wife who trusts him completely and who doesn’t have abandonment issues, and trust issues, and family issues, and boy issues, and safety issues, not to mention relationship issues! I have issues!” Puck cried and let her head flop into her hands.

The doctor looked slightly amused as she asked, “So you broke up with him and broke both of your hearts because you have issues? Puck, so does he! He’s afraid of seagulls, right?”

“Well, yeah. But it turns out he’s only afraid of seagulls because I told him some story when he was a little kid about killer seagulls…”

“
Puck, everyone has issues. If you want to be with Potter then you can! I’m sure that if you just explained all of that to Potter that he would CHOOSE to be with you and your issues.”

“
Yeah, because he’s stupid.”

“
I have a friend, who deals with depression and special ‘issues’. Why don’t you give her a call? I bet that if you deal with your past then you’ll be able to make a future with Potter.”

Puck looked up from her hands and raised an eyebrow. “You sayin’ I have issues?”

“I’m saying
everyone
has issues. Why not give Potter a chance? There’s no rule that says you have to marry him right away.”

“
Mom, you’re SO smart! Not like that bum!”

“
Yeah Mom, you rock!”

“
Yeah,” the third and youngest moppet added and stuck out her tongue.

Puck smiled at the three little girls that looked like little clones of their mother. She stuck her tongue out at them and pulled a face. The girls squealed with laughter and jumped onto the merry-go-round. Puck laughed shakily and got off to let the kids play.

“So does this mean that you’re feeling better?”

Puck paused and looked her in the eye. “I’m not sure, but I’ll see that friend of yours and see what she has to say.”

Puck left the park with the number clutched in her hand. She was afraid to hope that maybe she could be with Potter. She had spent a lifetime thinking that love was not in her future. She had honestly thought Kyle was her soul mate once upon a time, and look how that turned out.

And didn’t each soul have just one mate? Oh, but what laughing fate if the truth was that there was no such thing as soul mates, or maybe multiple ones, or maybe fate had nothing to do with it. Maybe Puck could have love if she just worked hard enough at it?

She walked slowly down the streets, the thoughts rolling through her brain. The stars sure looked pretty this night. They were twinkling happy as can be, shining like tiny little beacons.

She wondered what it would be like to travel to those stars, to be the first to walk on a planet. Maybe she could colonize one and live there by herself. Okay- now she was just thinking nonsense. Maybe her brain had shut off because she had been exposed to nuclear waste while swimming in the sea? That would explain why she was acting so off key, wouldn’t it?