Ginger

Art is too important not to share – Romero Britto

"Apparently, Jay Dawson is in Tishomingo," Cassie Warner said as she and Ginger walked through the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. "Marnie Evans texted me this morning to say that she saw him driving through town this morning." 

The refuge had been established in 1946 for migratory waterfowl in the Central Flyway and was a popular spot for wildlife spotting and fishing. Crappie and catfish were prominent within the Cumberland Pool – a nutrient-rich shallow watering hole that received inputs from the Washita River and Pennington Creek. The mud flats flooded seasonally, creating habitat for the great blue and green herons and the great and snowyegrets that were commonly found in the refuge. 

The Cumberland Pool was not the only worthwhile habitat to peruse. In addition to the pool, there were grasslands and woodlands filled with towering oak and elm trees, through which white-tailed deer could sometimes be spotted peekingthrough the branches. 

Ginger's favourite time of year to explore the refuge were in the spring and fall, when shorebirds flocked to Oklahoma by the thousands. Once, a few years ago when the autumn leaves were just beginning to turn, she'd managed to snag a photo of a bald eagle hunting along the open waters. 

Now though, as the last of the spring faded eagerly into the summer season, it was the bright plumage of songbirds that Ginger was on the hunt for. She and Cassie walked with quiet purpose through the refuge, Ginger's eyes glancing around the trees and brush for buntings and tanagers. She'd already snapped a photo of a red-shoulderedhawk in flight and the rush of a good photograph kept her eager for more. 

Which was why it took her a moment to processwhat Cassie had said. "Jay Dawson? The actor?" 

Cassie rolled her teal-coloured eyes and let out a sigh of long-suffering. "Yes. Who else would I be talking about? How many Jay Dawson's do you know?" 

"Technically zero. Same as you. The closest you've ever come to meeting Jay Dawson is from the cover of a magazine." 

"A girl can dream." Cassie sighed again, but this time the soundwas more wistful. "I bet he's here for Bailey. All of the celebrities that come to town are here for her." 

"Well, that's because she's the only celebrityin town." Ginger raised her camera as a beltedkingfisher went fluttering past – but it was gone too quickly for her to get aphoto. "Damn." 

"Still," Cassie said and Ginger lookedover as her best friend shook her long red hair out of a braid. "It'd be nice if just one eligible guy looked my way. You snagged Travis just by pouring coffee. I can cook like a sun of a gun and nothing. If you were a good friend, you'd use those connections of yours to introduce me to all of Bailey's famous friends." 

Ginger bit back a smile. "Firstly, Travis hardly knows when Bailey's 'famous friends' are coming to town. They just pop up, stay a weekend, and then vanish. If Jay Dawson really is in the area, he'll probably do the same. Besides, I don't know why you're so caught up in this. You're heading to New York in the fall. Lots of eligible guys there. Including famous ones." 

Cassie considered this. Since they'd graduated from high school, she'd been working in restaurants across the county, trying to save up money and gain enough experience to make it into culinary school. Now that she had enough in the bank, a scholarship, and an acceptance letter to one of the best culinary institutes inthe country, she was getting the hell out of their small town. 

She kept trying to pressure Ginger into joining her in the Big Apple – a tempting offer that Ginger had almost accepted on more than one occasion. But she hadn't wanted to go without a plan and though she'd continued looking at all of the photography schools in New York as if they were a yellow-brick road to freedom, she hadn't yet applied anywhere. Not like it mattered. She'd missed all ofthe deadlines for the upcoming year. 

"Fine, you're right. But really, you and Travis have to come visit me once I leave in September." 

"Sure." Even if she wasn't entirely positive that she and Travis would still betogether in September. 

It wasn't that she didn't like Travis or was foreseeing an inevitable breakup, but they had just never talked about things long-term. Their relationship was spoken of in hours and days – not weeks and months. As if it wasn't guaranteed that they would be together that long. 

That suited Ginger just fine. She wasn't tied to anything, could leave and never look back if she had the funds and the mental willpower to go. A serious relationship meant roots. It meant staying here in Oklahoma where maybeshe'd take over Mr. Kaufman's accounting firm like her mother had suggested. Even if she hadn't even spoken to the accountant yet about what his job was like, she already had a guess as to what it was that she'd endure if she followed that route. 

A life spent hunched over a desk, punching numbers, never seeing anything more than the inside of an office building ...Ginger was already bored. 

"Speaking of Travis, how'd he do at thatrodeo? He's back home, right?" 

Ginger nodded and lowered her camera from where she'd been angling it through the foliage towards a squirrel climbing on a tree. "Yeah, he got back from Amarillo the other day. He came in second which he said he was happy with." 

"You two doing anything to celebrate?" 

"Not tonight. I've got to work this afternoon, remember?" 

"Right," Cassie said with a glance towards her watch. "Guess we should probably be heading back soon then, huh?" 

Ginger nodded. "Probably. Annie will kill me if I'm late." 

Cassie snorted. "No, she won't. You're her favourite employee. She likes you even better than Beth, and that's her own niece!" 

"It's only because I'm willing to take every single closing shift and extra overtime. Anything to pad my bank account." 

"You still looking into art schools? There are good ones in New York." Cassie nudged Ginger's arm with her elbow. 

"I know," Ginger said dryly. "Because I'm the one who told you about them. My parents are pushing me to apply to this accounting program at the University of Oklahoma. Apparently, Mr. Kaufman is looking for someone to take over his business when he retires. My mom wants to set up a meeting between he and I next week." 

For a moment, Cassie said nothing. Then, she burst out laughing. The birds and other wildlife in the woods around them fell silent. "You're not serious? Ginge – If you go into accounting instead ofphotography, then you're making the biggest mistake of your life." 

Ginger tried not to let her relief show, but it was nice to have someone else confirm her thoughts. Sure, it was only Cassie who, since they had become friends in preschool, had been Ginger's biggest supporter. Even when Ginger's dreams seemed crazy or outlandish, it was always Cassie who told her that she could do it. 

And so it was Cassie's words that replayed over and over in Ginger's head throughout the start of her shift at Annie's Diner. The restaurant was mostly empty – odd for aSaturday. But Ginger supposed the weather was nice, summer feeling as if it were in full-swing though it was onlythe first weekend in June. 

Her mind kept drifting back to the wildlife refuge, wishing that she could have stayed longer, rather than babysit a near-empty diner. 

Instead, she wiped at a spot on the counter. Over and over until it was gone. She checked on her one table – a family with two little toddlers – and then went back to absentmindedly cleaning. 

The biggest mistake of your life, Cassie's voice in her ear. The biggest mistake of your life the biggest mistake of your life the biggest mistake of your life. 

There was nothing else to do so Ginger dug out the college brochures she'd hidden beneath the counter months ago. California Institute of the Arts, Parsons School of Design, Columbia College, the New York Institute of Photography, even the University of Central Oklahoma – the latter of which had a fantastic photojournalism program but was a little too close to home for Ginger's liking. 

She flipped through them all, weighing the pros and cons of each program. Ginger couldsee herself away at college, toting her camera – using it for assignments and class projects. Learning everything there was to know. Taking courses in photojournalism, telling stories through her photos... 

The bright sound of the bell above the door had Ginger hastily shoving the papers into a neat, clean stack. She pushed them off to the side and glanced up with her customer-service-smile already forming on her face. 

"Welcome to Annie's," Ginger said. 

There was a man standing in the doorway, his eyes covered by a pair of dark sunglasses, face cast in the shadows of his baseball cap. He was handsome – the type of handsome that made you look twice. Tall and tanned, his skin was a deep warm bronze that screamed of a spray tan. Strands of dark hair peeked out from beneath that hat. He had a straight, aquiline nose, a strong jaw and sweeping cheekbones. 

Holy shit, Ginger thought. Cassie was right. That's Jay Dawson. 

Despite his disarming good looks, he seemed the farthest thing from a movie star. Dressed in a simple grey t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers that looked like they'd seen their best days at least ten years ago. Scuffed and stained. The left one even had what appeared to be a hole forming near the top, right where his big toe would be. 

He also looked as if he were trying to avoid detection. Shoulders slightly hunched, casting a wary glance around the diner as if making sure that the coast was clear. There was a hesitancy about him, a nervousness. But he glanced her way at her greeting and she could have sworn that his eyes narrowed slightly behind the glasses. 

"Hi," he said. His voice was rich and smooth yet he lingered near the door as if he were waiting for the moment that Ginger would start jumping up and down and screaming for an autograph. 

She only held up a menu and gestured around the diner. The family was still there in the corner by the window but the counter and other tables were completely free. "Dine in or take out?" 

Jay approached the counter unhurriedly. "Dine in." Gingerset a menu down before him as he pulled out a stool and sat. "Thank you." He smiled warmly. 

"Can I get you anything to drink? Water, coffee, soda...?" 

"Coffee would be great." 

"How do you take? Milk and sugar?" 

"Just the milk." Ginger nodded. "Coming right up." 

She turned away, her fingers deftly grabbing amug from the rack and heading for the coffee pot down on the other end of the counter. It was a fresh batch, strong and hot, and the routine of filling a mug soothed her nerves. She had served celebrities before – Bailey and her friends that visited whenever they came to town – but somehow this was stressful. 

It was Jay Dawson. He was, without a doubt, the biggest celebrity that had ever graced Annie's Diner. Most of the others that had come here were musicians. Never had she ever had a HollywoodA-Lister of such a high calibre sitting at her counter. 

So it made her nervous. Palms clammy with sweat, Ginger nearly dropped the mug of coffee as she carried it back to him. Yet the nerves dissipated with a flash of that grin. Different than the ones she'd seen on the cover of magazines or in movie promos. Softer, a little bit crooked, just a glimpse of the teeth. 

"Thank you," Jay said. He took a sip of the coffee and his eyes widened in surprise. "That's amazing. Best cup of coffee I've had in a while." 

"I'd take the credit but really that should go to the people who harvest and roast the beans in Hawaii. We just bring 'em in and brew it." 

"Well, what you do here with the beans is much better than the instant coffee I make at home." 

For some reason, it surprised her though she didn't quite know why. Ginger supposed that she'd thought that all famous people had their daily coffee delivered to them fresh from the Starbucks down the street. It hadn't really occurred to her that they might also make shitty instant coffee in their immaculate kitchens while wearing ratty sweatpants and t-shirts with holes in them like she did in the mornings. 

Ginger only smiled at him. "Is there anything else I can get you? Or just the coffee?" 

Jay raked an eye over the menu again. "How good is the mac n' cheese?" 

"Best in town." 

"Is that hard to be?" 

"Nope." Ginger laughed and he chuckled alongside her. Low and muted but with a trace of real amusement. "But it is good. I promise. The trick is that instead of breadcrumbs on top, we use potato chips." 

Jay looked as if he wasn't quite sure how to process that. Then, he nodded slowly and shut the menu. "Okay. I'll try that. If it's terrible, I guess I know who to blame. Right, Ginger?" 

She was so used to people picking up her name from the nametag on her shirt that she wasn't even surprised when her name rolled off his tongue. Though she was surprised at how melodic it sounded coming out of his mouth. And familiar. Jay said her name as if they were old friends – someone he was close with. 

"That's right," she said to him as she took the menu. "I'll put that order in for you." Ginger wrote up the ticket and passed it into the kitchen. 

There was only one cook in today – Jerry – but he was the best Annie's Diner had.  He was older, in his sixties, with white and a grizzled stubble of a beard on his chin. Aging lines were just starting to deepen in the plains of his face. Jerry nodded at her as he took the ticket and got to work on Jay's order.

While she waited for it to be finished, Ginger brought out the check for the family by the window and after they'd left, she went back to the counter and pretended to clean again. It was half to pass time and half to keep from studying Jay. 

After a few minutes though, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you in town to see Bailey Grant?" 

Jay's head whipped towards her. "What? How'd you know that?" 

Ginger snorted and threw down her rag. It was just the two of them now – and Jerry in the back but he was older than her father and definitely didn't have a clue who Jay Dawson was. "Oh please. It's pretty obvious to tell when out-of-towners pass through here. There's really only one place you all head to." 

"I'm just here on a vacation." 

"Right. Sure." 

"No, really," he said firmly. Jay sighed and took the sunglasses off as if there was no point wearing them now. His eyes were impossibly green, like the colour of springtime. "My roommate is the one who is here to see Bailey Grant. They're both musicians. I just tagged along." 

Ginger raised a brow. "You willingly chose to come to a random little town in Oklahoma instead of jetting off to some all-inclusive resort or something?" 

"That surprises you?" 

"Well...yeah." 

Jay huffed a laugh and seemed as if he wasabout to say something but a bell rang in the kitchen and Ginger rushed off to grab his mac n' cheese. A curl ofsteam rose into the air above the little cast-iron skillet the pasta was bakedin. 

 As she placed it in front of him on the counter, he said, "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. All I wanted to do was get out of L.A. I didn't really care where." 

"That's good," she told him as he picked up afork. "Because if you're looking for a five-star experience, you might be out of luck." 

Ginger walked away, leaving him with his meal as she went to clean up the table and the mess that the family had left behind. She stacked plates and cups and placed them in a bucket beneath the counter. Later, she would take them to the kitchen to be cleaned but for now, she only wiped down the tabletop so that it gleamed. 

 Her eye was caught by a group of people across the road. A pack of young teenagers were staring at the diner with a look of intense interest. She bit down on her lip, considering, and watched them begin to cross the road. 

"Hey," she said without turning. "I'm assuming that you're trying to go incognito here, right?" 

There was a short pause rife with tension. "Um...yes." 

"Just so you're aware then, there's a group of people who are on their way over here that look as if they're on the hunt. I'm assuming that's about you." 

Jay cursed, low and dark, as he whirled to face the door. The teenagers had reached the only car visible in the lot – presumably Jay's. They peered through the windows, faces pressed against the glass. 

Ginger rushed for the counter and glanced at Jay insistently as she reached for a spare apron and a hat from the bin they kept for the staff. She shoved them into Jay's arms. "Get behind the counter and put these on." 

Jay didn't waste any time as he hopped over thecounter and threw the apron over his head in one smooth motion. He ripped his own hat off of his head and chucked it onto a shelf beneath the counter as he shoved the hat that had the Annie's Diner logo imprinted into place. 

He had only the time to turn and blink at her as the bell on the front door chimed. Ginger reached for the container of dirty dishes and thrust them into Jay's empty hands. 

"The kitchen," she hissed, pointing him in the right direction. "Go."

Jay didn't need to be told twice. He kept his head turned firmly away as he walked quickly through the swinging doors that led into the kitchen. Ginger turned towards the front door as the first of the teenagers walked through it. 

"Is Jay Dawson here?" one of them asked. Ginger knew her. It was Olivia Harper, one of the two daughters of a doctor in town. Doc Harper owned a small private practice in Tishomingo that most of the townsfolk used regularly. Like her father, Olivia had green eyes but the red hair was all her mother's. 

"Who?" Ginger asked innocently. 

"The actor," Olivia said irritably. Her friend giggled and rolled her eyes as if she thought Ginger was stupid for not knowing who he was. 

Ginger only played it up. "Oh, him. Why would Jay Dawson the actor be at Annie's Diner? Oklahoma is pretty far from L.A., isn't it? Don't all the actors live in California?" 

A boy named Elliot Haines added, "I heard from Josie who heard from Carson who heard from Marnie Evans that he's in town. And Donny claimed that he saw Jay Dawson come in here like a half-hour ago. He was driving by and Josie swears that he was here." 

"Well do you see him now?" Ginger gestured to the empty dining room. Doubt began to shine on their faces and as brown-haired girl opened her mouth to argue, Ginger added, "Listen, I'm pretty sure if Jay Dawson was in my restaurant, I'd know. The only people here are me, the cook, and the busboy. So based on that, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's not here. Meaning that you all can either sit down and order something or you can getout." 

Half of the crowd left immediately but they didn't go far – just back out to the parking lot where they continued to stare through the windows of the rental car. The others lingered, taking up tables and placing miniscule orders as if they were settling in to wait for Jay Dawson to come walking in through the door. 

Shit, she thought, thinking of the movie star hiding out in the kitchen. Ginger took the orders back to the kitchen to hand off to Jerry who was waiting at the pass. 

Jerry took the order tickets with a grunt and asked, "We get a new dishwasher? I've never seen that kid before in my life." 

"Yeah, he's new. Just walked in and I said I'd try him for a one-day trial basis. Not sure if he'll be back," Ginger replied quickly as she walked towards the sink where Jay was dutifully washing dishes. To him, she murmured lowly, "You really don't need to do that." 

He looked up and grinned in a way that was young and childlike. "You kept me from getting mobbed. Washing a handful of dirty dishes is the least I can do. How's it looking out there?" 

"You might be hiding out for a while. They've encircled your rental car and others are sitting in the dining room like they're waiting for you." 

That smile vanished, turning thoughtful. Jay rinsed a plate, the soapy suds sliding off of it into the stream of water, and placed it into the rack to dry. "Do you have a back exit? I can come back for the car later." 

"We do – but you'll need to go through the parking lot to get to the sidewalk. They're on high-alert. Though he didn't curse, she watched the words float through his eyes as if he had. 

Ginger bit her lip, thinking for a second before she sighed. "Listen, if you're staying with Bailey—" 

"I'm not," Jay cut in. He shook the water from his hands and dried them on a towel. "But I am going to her house for dinner tonight." 

"Oh. Well, how about this. Give me the keys to your car. You can take mine and I'll meet you to exchange them back at Bailey's place tonight." 

He gaped. "Really?" 

 "Sure. It's on my way home. I can meet you there tonight. It's no inconvenience and Bailey and I are friends." 

Sort of friends, anyway. The kind of friend you were with someone when you were dating their brother. Comfortable, but also a little bit awkward. 

Before Jay had the chance to refuse though, Ginger was pulling her keys out from her pocket and holding them out for Jay to take.  He paused, reading her face –those green eyes scanning – and then he nodded. A grateful look danced over his expression. 

"Ginger, I—" 

"It's no trouble," she cut him off. "Really. I just figure you shouldn't have your vacation ruined by groupies." 

"I love my fans," Jay said quickly, as if trying not to come off ungrateful. He handed his own keys over to her as he started, "But..." 

Ginger interrupted, "But you're only human. And sometimes we all need a break." 

He nodded once, looking a tad bit surprised that she seemed to understand. 

"My car is parked around back so you'll see it right when you go through that door. It's the crappy blue Toyota Camry." She nodded at the door in question. "I'll see you tonight then." 

Jay walked towards the door and opened it a crack. He glanced around and seemed to determine that the coast was clear. For just a second, he turned back to her and he was illuminated in the sunlight of the day beyond. Jay looked almost ethereal, especially with those green eyes that glinted like jewels. 

"Tonight," he promised – and then he was gone. The door falling shut as if he'd never been there at all.