Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - I'm Already There

Lucky stood outside in the small courtyard and double-checked the address that Emily had given him. This was the place. Kelly's.

The diner reminded him of one his family had owned once, in Canada he thought it was. He could never be sure of where he was living when he remembered something but this one he was fairly certain about. He was almost positive that while they had lived in Canada, his family had owned a dinner. He was most likely 10 or 11 but he still remembered working in the dinner with his dad. He smiled at the memory.

He noticed a ''Help Wanted'' sign in the window. Well maybe he could put that experience to good use. He would need a means of support if he was going to stay here awhile. His savings would only last so long. And if he could afford to live here, well the commute could not be beat!

Of course staying here was all dependent on whether or not he could afford to pay the rent. Emily had mentioned that it wasn't expensive but she didn't specify what her idea of not expensive was.

''Let's face it.'' He said to himself. ''You aren't the ideal renter at the moment.''

He was new in a town where everyone seemed to know everyone else, had very little money, no job and no clue as to how long he would have stay there. Those weren't exactly good qualities in a potential tenet.

''I wouldn't rent to me'' he sighed.

''Is that the same as 'I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member'?'' a female voice sounded behind him.

He turned around and spied her standing there, observing him. She was balancing a dish tub on her one hip. She was petite, with golden brown hair that reached her shoulders. She looked about his age. Her eyes were laughing at him.

''I didn't plan it that way, but it does sound like something Groucho would say.'' He smiled at her.

''Oh a man who knows his comedy legends! I'm impressed. There are some people in this town that try to use that as an original line.''

''Present company included or excluded?''

She laughed at him. ''Only when I know I can get away with it.''

He chuckled at her response. For the second time that day a complete stranger has made him smile. He felt a wave thankfulness pass over him. He wondered if all the waitresses in this town were so friendly with complete strangers?

She cocked her head to the side and glanced at him, ''Are you going to stand there blocking the door all day or do I have to run you over?''

Lucky realized for the first time that he was indeed blocking the door. And the dish tub she carried did look heavy. He moved quickly to one side for her to enter the diner. ''Sorry. Let me fix that.'' he said. He opened the door, bowing slightly as she walked past him.

''A gentleman too? I don't know if you will last long in this town, but I definitely want you to stay!'' She scooted past him into the diner. He followed her.

''Well my mom always taught me to be polite whenever my natural personality got me in trouble!'' As he mentioned his mother, a wave of guilt passed over him. He shouldn't have been that cruel to her. He should stop right now and call her. He made up his mind to do so the second he got near a phone.

His face was an open book and couldn't stop his emotions from showing. The girl in front of him noticed the way his facial expression changed at the mention of his mother. He looked guilty about something. She could tell he was beating himself up over something and wondered if she would ever know what ''it'' was. She decided the best course of action would be to change the subject.

''So I gather you are looking for a place to stay.''

Lucky shot her a confused look. She smiled and pointed outside. ''Remember two minutes ago? Talking to yourself?''

He shook his head. ''Right. Sorry. Temporary amnesia.''

She smiled and laughed. ''Happens all the time here.'' If he only knew how true the statement was she thought.

He flashed a smile at her. ''Yeah. Anyway, I'm new in town, which you probably already knew, and this waitress I met where I ate lunch suggested that I look here.''

She nodded wisely. ''Emily. I swear the girl does better advertising for this place than she does for the place she really works at!''

''How'd you know it was Emily?''

''Well, as you already guessed this is a small town and you get to know just about everybody. Plus Emily is one of my best friends, so she's here all time. Not to mention that she lives upstairs too. It's not that hard of a guess actually.''

''I guess not. Well, since you seem to be the expert on who I need to talk to, maybe you can tell me. Who do I talk to about renting a room?''

''Give me a hard one.'' She turned and moved behind the counter. ''Tammy!'' she called as she went towards the kitchen. ''There's someone up here about a room!''

The woman he guessed to be Tammy came through the door to the back about two seconds after the call went out. She was an older woman; Lucky pegged her to be in her late 30s to mid 40s, with big, blonde curly hair. She wiped her hands on a towel and extended one to him.

''Hi! I'm Tammy. I hear that you want a room.'' She smiled at him.

''Yes ma'am. My name's Lucky. I heard that you guys were the place to stay.''

A few minutes later and Lucky had his room. The people in this town were awfully trusting he thought. All it took was a few minutes of chat and what Tammy had called ''an honest face''. Tammy took him upstairs and showed him to the door of his new room. Then she went back downstairs,leaving him alone to ''settle in.''

His eyes explored the living room area of the furnished room. He had not been able to move more than two feet into his new home, when he heard someone knock. He opened the door, which revealed the waitress from downstairs. He smiled, genuinely glad to see her.

''Well I guess I'll be seeing you around a lot then.''

''Is that a complaint?''

''No. I'm just glad that I have a neighbor with manners for a change. The last guy who rented this room was always walking around in a towel, pretending to lock himself out of his room. And he wasn't even that cute! He used more hair products than I do!''

''Well I think I can do better than that.'' He repeated what she had just told him back in his mind. ''So was that your subtle way of saying that you live here too?''

''Shoot! I was going for obvious! I need to work on that.''

He laughed at her comment. He could see the two of them getting along just fine. He held out his hand. ''Nice to meet you neighbor. Do you have a name or do I have to yell 'Yo! Woman!'?''

She offered her hand to him. ''Elizabeth. But everyone calls me Liz.''

''Elizabeth.'' He rolled the name around in his mind. It suited her. ''Well Elizabeth, I'm Lucky.''

She gave him a ''you can't be serious'' look. He returned with a grin and responded to her unasked question. ''Yup. That's my name.''

''Lucky huh? Well we'll see.'' She smirked at him. ''Listen, I just wanted to say ''hi'' again real quick. I got to get back to work. I'll see ya later!'' With that she turned and sprinted down the steps.

He closed the door once she was gone. His eyes, as if controlled by a will of their own, landed on the telephone that was sitting on a small table on the opposite wall. It was almost like it was taunting him. ''Come on, coward. Call your mom. You said you were going to. Or better yet, call that name you spent the last 24 hours memorizing. Make a choice. Go forward or go back.''

He moved slowly towards the phone. He knew that he had to make a call. The question was whom would he call? Would he go forward or backwards?

He drew in a shaky breath and picked up the receiver. As if controlled by the same force controlling his eyes, his fingers moved across the numbers of their own accord. Even if he wanted to change his mind, he couldn't. His fingers moved quickly, dialing the number before his brain had registered what number he was dialing.

He listened to the phone at the other end ring. He tried to make himself hang up but he couldn't. The same force that had made him say in Port Charles when he bought his ticket took over now, forcing him to keep the phone next to his ear.

Someone on the other end finally picked up. She barely had a second to finish her greeting when Lucky ended the connection by slamming the phone down. What the h***? he thought.

He could still hear the voice at the other end clear as day. ''Thanks for calling Kelly's. How can I help you?''