Panda's Box

Chapter 11: The Visitor: Part 1

Chap. 11

I turned around to see him sitting at a table in the corner.

"Nash, what are you doing here?" I squealed as I walked over to him.

"Your mom told me about your interview when I called to check up on you, and when you called me over the weekend, I couldn't help but think that I wouldn't hear from you until school started, so voila."

He gave me a tight hug. I never realized how much I missed him until now. He was always encouraging me.

"I'm sorry," I began.

"No, none of that. You said that already," he stated while pulling me to the table. "Hey, Justine, can we get two slices of your mom's lemon cake?"

As she disappeared behind the curtains, he turned his attention towards me.

"So, the night you left, what happened? I want to know everything."

I smiled at him, but then turned my attention towards a moving figure- it was a puppy, which reminded me of Ruth.

"Oh, I need to call Ruth," I said as I got up to get my phone.

"You can inform Ruth later, besides, she is indisposed for the day," said Justine as she made her way over to our table with our order.

"Fine," I replied, but what did she mean by indisposed I wondered.

My thoughts were interrupted by Nash's voice, "Who is Ruth?"

"Oh, she is a good friend of mines."

He nodded in acceptance, and then said, "So, what happened?"

I informed him about where I went, waking up to Justine the next morning, working here and at the farm, meeting Ruth and the interview, and what led me to calling him.

"Mhmm, sounds like a lot," he said as he took another bite. "Look, Cade and I would not view you any less than how we view you now, and even though Lane may give a cold shoulder, I'm sure she still loves you."

"I know, I know," I said as I looked at my untouched slice of lemon cake. "What happened after I left?"

He smirked, "Well, Lane had a fit, and Mrs. Stewart came out to investigate. Cade tried to calm her down while I kept calling and texting you."

He cleared his throat, and continued, "When Lane finally calmed down, Cade and I left to look for you. We called and texted but you know the rest. Now for that young lady, I must say...don't you ever scare us like that again. That's a big lonely island Panda. You don't just go off in the middle of the night by yourself like that," he stated, his tone more serious than normal.

"I'm sorry Nash. I really am, I just wanted to get away. I must admit, that was a stupid move on my part,"

"Got that right,"

"Hey?" I said, while smacking him with a napkin.

"What? You said it, not me...and I just agreeing with you."

"Mhmmm."

The rain had finally let up and the sun was starting to shine.

"Come on, I have something I want to show you."

"But you haven't touched your cake yet," he whined.

"You can have it for me later," he smiled at this. The boy could never pass up food.

I placed the cake in the employee's fridge and headed out.

I took the long way around, showing him the park, the library, and the Sun's Weekly.

On our way back to the bakery, I made a detour.

"Hey, umm, isn't the bakery that way?" he asked scratching his head.

"Yes, but I want to show you one more place."

"Okay, is it far?"

"Umm, no..."

It was actually a loop, as there was a building sitting in the middle of the road separating the bakery and the store.

When we got there, I realized that it was closed. "This is strange."

"What is?" asked Nash with a worried look in his eyes.

"It's not that serious Nash, don't look at me like that."

"Then what is it Pan?"

"This is Ruth's store, it's after 4 now. It's strange that it's closed. Usually if she has errands to run, one of the other girls who work here will look in for her."

"It's a cool looking place, maybe you can show me some other time. I don't mind travelling back," he said casually with a smile.

"Yh, you are right. Let's go back."

"You know, I like it here, and your aunt is nice."

"Yh, but you met her before."

"True, but you were always around, so I never really got to talk to her. Your cousin reminds me of you too."

"Really?" I asked in surprise. I have honestly never placed Justine and I in the same category.

"Yh, she is smart, funny, and quiet...at first,"

I giggled at this.

"OH, and when she has to do something, she puts her all into it until it's done, and she doesn't react well to mistakes...but she learns from them."

"You got all that from spending four hours alone with my family?"

"I am an observant person and her mother put her in charge for a bit when she went out."

Now that's even stranger, why would Aunt Josie PUT Justine in charge?

I stopped for a bit, "Did she actually say she left Justine in charge? Or did she just leave and left it at that?"

"Ah...she said Justine was in charge, and then she and your mother left,"

Now, things just didn't add up. We remained silent for the rest of the way.