Bab 21: A Funny Feeling
Jesse watched his family take in the unexpected news that Pearl was leaving California and the United States. It was obvious from their reaction that she was prone to taking impromptu trips away from home and that they weren't always happy with the idea. It amused him a little because he knew she would be back. Furthermore, there were ways one could keep in touch from South America.
But then again, he knew that none of them did very well with good byes and separation. There'd been too many of those in the past years. Pearl was Sam's best friend and he was clearly unhappy that she'd be missing at his table for his friendly get-togethers, but Jesse figured it had to do with the dedication she gave her work. She often got too busy to communicate. Then again, this was not a work trip. She just wanted to be away from home, it seemed so he wondered why they were so reluctant to release her.
Jesse had been invited a number of times to outings and dinners where she was present. He knew he would miss Pearl too. She always made the time pass so pleasantly.
"Well," Jesse's mother was saying with a smile, "we will all miss you a lot."
Todd nodded and Sam just sat back in his chair again and shook his head.
It was a smaller gathering that evening. It was just Todd, Vivienne, her two sons, Dana and Pearl. The latter smiled.
"I'll miss you all, too. Of course you know you can still call me, right?"
"Yes, of course, honey," Vivienne chuckled.
"I personally expect weekly updates, like the ones I get from the Gutin girls," Jesse said, sitting back, relaxed.
"What?" Pearl laughed. "You'd be so lucky."
He grinned at her again. "I would."
Sam shook his head. "Pearl forgets phones when she goes away."
"No, I don't! You forget time zones," she retorted.
"Well, I don't care what the two of you forget," Jesse interrupted easily, "I want my updates."
Todd and Vivienne laughed. "You play the big brother well, Jess," Todd chuckled.
"It's in my blood, apparently," he said, grinning.
In the end, Pearl said she'd do her best to keep in touch and the conversation shifted to Jesse's career plans.
He was reluctant to share his plans because many of the most appealing offers he was getting were outside California. He didn't want to limit himself just to stay close to family but at the same time, he didn't want to negate the point of moving to the US in the first place.
"I'll be spending some time touring the facilities at some of my top choices for a new work place," he finally told them. "So I'll be in and out."
"In and out?" his cousin echoed.
"Yeah. In and out of California," he said, glancing at his mother.
"Oops," Pearl chuckled softly, seeing the expression darkening Sam's face.
The memory of Sam's souring mood made her chuckle again as the plane was touching down in Bolivia.
Jesse had simply smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder as he passed by to get another drink.
"I'm just touring facilities. I'm not moving."
"So," his mother had chimed in, "where exactly are you going, honey?'
Jesse had rattled off a couple of states nearby and some medical facilities within California. And the conversation had moved on, but Sam had still maintained the almost petulant scowl on his face for a while.
Safely through immigration, Pearl found a cab and asked the driver to take her straight to the hotel. Both her doctor and Jesse had stressed that she had to slow down every once in a while, so she was ready to settle in before starting off around the city.
It had been five weeks since her asthma flared at camp and her schedule had been rather hectic leading up to this trip. Whenever Jesse had met her at a family gathering, he would take the time to ask her how she had been faring. It wasn't in her nature to lie so she'd reluctantly tell him how she was really feeling and most of the time he'd just nod but the last two times he'd enquired, he had frowned at the report.
In fact, he had actually called her GP, she discovered, after their last meeting. Pearl had only found out when she'd gone to see her doctor before flying out.
"Don't frown at me, Pearl," Connie Douglas had smiled. "He told me because he knew you probably wouldn't tell me. He said you'd brush it off in 'perfect wingman fashion'. The thing is I don't need you to be strong for me. I need you to take care of you! Or else it's actually more work for me."
Pearl's annoyance at Jesse faded before it had even fully registered. He had acted out of concern and she could appreciate that. It didn't help that the two doctors were already friends. So he was almost helping Connie do her job, just like he had been the day she'd met him. Old habits die hard, she knew, and sometimes she did still disregard her own discomfort much to her own detriment. But she'd promised the two physicians that she'd rest properly on the vacation stretch of her trip. So upon arriving at the hotel, she checked in and headed straight to her room.
Kicking off her shoes, she climbed onto the king size bed with her phone. Once she was connected to the hotel Wi-Fi, she sent an email to Beth and another one to Sam telling them she had arrived safely. With that, she tossed her phone on the bedside stand and closed her eyes.
That afternoon she dreamt of the little café that she used to visit with her parents again. It was part memory, part dream because Pearl could hear her mother laugh at her childish antics but she felt like she was sitting at a table looking out at the road alone.
When she woke up, Pearl was filled with a sense of longing she couldn't quite define, but there was also a sense of calm.
Sitting up she rubbed her face and asked out loud, "Why do you want me to go there so strongly?"
After waiting a short moment, Pearl shook her head. "I'll go… just wish I knew what I'd be looking for."
Pearl had dinner with the director of the orphanage she and her parents had visited whenever they had been in that city.
The woman was so pleased to see how Pearl had grown and was following a path similar to her mom and dad's; it seemed natural to invite the adult Miss Guthrie to speak to her young charges. Pearl was more than willing and they set a date.
It was another two days before Pearl made it to the little road side café. To her delight, there was still a flower cart, manned by an old native at the corner, the tables were still set up outside in the same way she remembered and it brought a big smile to her face.
Sitting down at a square table covered in a crisp white table cloth, Pearl immediately sat back and closed her eyes.
She was only that way for a short moment but when she opened her eyes, there was a young waiter looking at her anxiously.
"Are you okay?" he asked in Spanish.
She smiled and nodded assuring him that she was perfectly fine. He then took her order and went away. Looking around Pearl took in the changes that had been made to the area.
Soon enough she realised with delight that the café was pretty much unchanged. The surrounding buildings had been renovated and changed but apart from fresh paint and new upholstery, the restaurant was practically the same way it had been when she was a child. As was the flower cart. Pearl could hardly wait until after lunch to go talk to the man, if only to find out whether he was related to the gentleman who had sold flowers in her childhood.
It was more than a surprise to discover that it wasn't just a relative of the flower man in her past, he was the very one who had sold flowers and sung songs back then, too. Pearl realised, when she got to the hotel that she must have miscalculated his age all those years ago. When you're ten, everyone looks old to you, she thought with humour.
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