“I need to see you,” Iam said into his phone as he drove home.

“I’m not sure, bro,” Jess said. “I’m still pretty pissed at you. Jacob and Henrietta are beside themselves. They tried to do a good thing, and you crapped all over them.”

“Well,” Iam retorted, “if you’d warned me, I might not have been so pissed. That was a shitty thing to do, Jess.”

“If I’d warned you.” Jess shot back, “you wouldn’t have shown up.”

Iam clamped down on his anger. He didn’t call Jess to argue, but that’s what always happened. Frustration tinged his words, and he spoke through gritted teeth.

“I don’t want to argue, sis. Please, have lunch with me. We really need to talk, but I don’t have a lot of time. I need to be at work tonight, so I gotta get some sleep.”

Jess grudgingly agreed to meet him at Rosie’s Diner, and Iam beat her there. The flask in his pocket felt heavy as he walked along the sidewalk and to the door. The bell chimed as he opened it, and the obscenely cheery waiter from the previous morning greeted him. Iam gave him a friendly nod and moved to the booth in the back. When the waiter came to the table, Iam put on a smile.

“Hey, sorry about yesterday…bad morning.”

“No worries, sir,” the waiter said. “Black coffee, four eggs over medium, and wheat toast?”

“Good memory,” Iam said, “but it’s almost lunchtime.”

The waiter’s smile faltered, but he held out his pad, his pen at the ready. “Of course it is.” God, Iam could do without the incessant cheer. “What’ll you have?”

“You know what,” Iam said, trying a little cheer himself, “the eggs sound perfect.”

The waiter smiled, then paused. “Will, uh, Jess be joining you today?”

Iam smiled. The spark of hope in the man’s eyes was hard to miss. He’d almost forgotten that Jess ate here regularly, and this guy seemed to have it bad for her. Maybe he’d help the poor guy out. Jess wasn’t attached at the moment, and she preferred men of modest means. Her success had come despite the backstabbing and conniving of many men, and she hated the mentality of success at all costs. As she put it, “I’d rather have a happy man than a driven one.”

“Yeah, she’ll be here,” Iam said. He gestured the waiter down to his level. The man leaned in, and he continued. “Have you asked her?”

The waiter jerked up. “Uh…um…no…I mean, it’s against policy.”

“You can wait tables anywhere,” Iam said. “But, your choice, man.”

Jess came in, and the flustered waiter ran to the back. Jess waved at him as he passed.

“Hi, Mike!” She frowned as Mike darted into the kitchen, then looked down at Iam. “What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did anything?” Iam said somewhat defensively. He couldn’t hide his smile, though. “He’s just a good waiter.”

“Uh-huh,” Jess said. “Spill, bro. What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Iam insisted. “I just pointed out something he hadn’t thought of.”

“Yeah, and what was that?”

“Nothing, I swear. I just gave him a choice.” Iam’s voice trailed off as he spoke.

Could it have been that simple? In the moment, things had seemed so complicated, but that’s really all Jackson had done, presented him with a choice that only he could make. More than that, though, it was a choice he had to make on…what? Faith? Hope? Fear, maybe? Did it even matter what the impetuous of the decision was? What mattered was that he made it. He held up a hand to a confused-looking Jess and pulled out his phone.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Yes, Mr. D’Mann,” Jackson said.

“It was about the choice, right?” Iam’s voice was high-pitched and excited.

“Very good, Mr. D’Mann,” Jackson said. “See you tonight.”

Iam set the phone down, a distant look on his face. Jess snapped her fingers, breaking his train of thought.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Nevermind,” he said. “More weird boss stuff.”

“Oh yeah,” she said. “You were supposed to tell me about that.”

The waiter came back, his face beet red. The pad trembled as he scribbled something onto it.

“Uh, hey, Jess. I’ll, uh, have your tea in a, um, in a minute. You ready to order?”

“You okay, Mike?” Jess asked.

Mike looked toward Iam, then down at his pad. “Yeah, just, uh, you know, busy day.”

“Okay, then,” Jess said. “How about a club sandwich, then?”

“Sure thing, Jess,” Mike said.

He looked at Iam again, then left. As he did, the top page of his pad dropped to the floor. Iam grabbed it up and read it. His smile returned, and he laughed.

“I think this is for you,” he said, holding out the paper.

Jess read it, smiled faintly, then slid the paper into her pocket. “A choice, huh?”

“Yup,” Iam said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled check. He didn’t remember taking it out of the folder, but it had been there when he grabbed for the keys. Sliding it across to Jess, he sighed. “I don’t want this.”

“Bro,” Jess groaned, “why do you have to be so stubborn?”

Iam held up a hand. “It’s not what you think.”

He’d thought about the check a lot since his meeting with Jackson. He could use it in so many ways but knew deep down Jackson was right. He had no self-discipline, so that money would eventually be his downfall. He’d stumble from one drunken stupor after another until Jackson’s vision came true. That’s why he’d insisted on meeting Jess. He needed to get that check out of his possession as soon as possible.

“Then why?” Jess said.

Mike came back before Iam could answer and set Jess’s tea and Iam’s coffee on the table. He mumbled something about the food being on the way, then snuck a glance at the floor before doing the same for Jess. Jess didn’t look away, and when their eyes met, Mike practically ran away.

“How did I not notice that?” Jess said.

“Dunno,” Iam said. “Probably the same way I never noticed how right you’ve always been. Too close to the situation.”

“Okayyy,” Jess said. “Where’d that come from? Are…are you doing okay, bro?”

Something vibrated in Iam’s pocket. He jumped a little before remembering the damn breathalyzer. He tried to pull it out surreptitiously but knew Jess had seen it. With a flourish, he popped it in his mouth and blew. It beeped after a few seconds, and without looking, Iam put it back in his pocket.

“A breathalyzer? Oh my god, bro, did you get arrested last night?”

Iam harumphed. “Figures that’d be your first thought. No, I didn’t get arrested.”

“Well,” Jess said, throwing up her hands. “What else am I supposed to think? I mean, who just goes around carrying a breathalyzer?”

“I do, now. My boss gave it to me.”

Jess leaned forward. “Is that part of the weirdness?”

Iam barked a laugh that got the attention of the entire diner. “Are you kidding? That’s the only remotely normal thing he’s done.” He lowered his voice. “It’s a helluva lot more than I deserve after this morning.”

Before Jess could ask, Iam told her everything that had happened over the last day and a half. She listened without judgment, and when he finished, she leaned close to him and took one of his hands in hers.

“That’s a crazy story,” she said, tears shining in her eyes, “and I don’t care about all the weirdness. You’re getting help. No…it’s more than that, bro. You’re accepting help.”

Iam squeezed Jess’s hand. “But I don’t understand any of it.”

“Who cares,” Jess said. She took his other hand and kissed the back of both of them. “This is a huge step for you. So go with it. Let Jackson lead you to wherever this takes you because, bro, it’s got to be better than where you’re at.”

Mike came back with the food, getting Iam’s and Jess’s attention. He gauged the mood of the table and quietly set the plates on the table. When he backed away, Jess reached out to him. They didn’t grasp hands or anything, but Mike stopped nonetheless. Jess pulled the paper out and snatched Mike’s pen. She wrote something and handed the pen and paper to him. Mike smiled when he read it and darted off.

“Looks like good news for Mike,” Iam said.

“Good news for all of us, maybe?” Jess said. “Now, tell me why you don’t want that check.”

Iam explained why he was afraid of the money, and they spent the rest of the meal talking amiably. It was the first time Iam could remember them sitting for so long without fighting. Mike came by a few times but never stayed long. When the check came, Iam let Jess take it without protest. If he could accept help from Jackson, he could damn sure do it for his sister.

“You know what you have to do next?” Jess asked.

“I know,” Iam said. “It won’t be today, but I’ll talk to them.”

“Want me to be there?” Jess said.

“I’d like that,” Iam said. “Now, I have to go home and get some sleep.” He stretched his arms over his head. “Passing out isn’t exactly restful.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Jess said. “Call me in the morning. I want to hear all about your first day.”

Iam got up and flashed a thumbs up. “You got it, sis.”

When Iam left the diner, he saw Jess’s Lexus. The car always filled him with jealousy, but now, he realized he didn’t need a Lexus. He needed sobriety. Everything else would take care of itself. Full of optimism, Iam jumped in his car and drove away. Tonight was going to be a great night.