Her Name Was Annie

in my sleep and it will be easier? I think once you come to that point, you lose all sense of fear and what’s going to become of you. Look at the people who throw themselves in front of moving trains…you would have to be fearless and lost all hope to do something like that.” I winced just thinking about it.
Jack nodded as we pulled out of the parking garage and onto the road. “You’re right. I guess I never really thought about it that way.”
My mind was reeling, wondering who this mystery man was. He had a name, he was at one time someone’s son, maybe someone’s husband or father. Was there some woman out there devastated because her husband never came home from a walk on the beach? It immediately triggered me to call my father as soon as I got home. Even though he was still totally independent, I worried about him since my mother had passed. “I didn’t recognize him as being a local,” I finally spoke. The small Jersey Shore beach town where the beach house was located was close-knit. The population soared in the summer months with vacation-goers, but the residents who remained year-round all knew each other.
“Who knows, maybe he was renting a place nearby. Maybe he was visiting someone. They’ll be able to put more of the pieces together once they find out who he is. Are you hungry?”
It always amazed me how Jack’s train of thought could shift in a moment’s time. One minute talking about something so devastating and the next talking about eating. Guess after being so long in his line of work, you learn to turn off feelings for victims and their families.
“A little. I’ll just have some left—” Before I could finish letting him know I planned on having my leftover pasta from the night before, we were pulling into the diner, and not just any diner—our diner. It was a no-frills eatery with the best burgers and shakes. It had been in business since I could remember. We’d always made a stop there on the way to my parents’ shore house. Whether it was to grab lunch, a shake for takeout, or at 3:00 a.m. for breakfast after hitting the bars and then going back to the beach house to pass out. It was the place where I had told him he was going to be a dad for the first time, and the place he told me he wanted us to spend forever together. I hadn’t been inside in years. I knew it was stupid, but to me it held too many memories I didn’t want to relive. Memories from another lifetime of two foolish kids who thought their love could withstand anything.
Jack put the car in park, seeming unfazed by any sentiment this place held, making me feel a little silly for holding on to those happy times held here.
“Wow, I can’t believe this place is still in business,” I remarked, trying to sound unaffected, as if my heart didn’t ache a little every time I drove past it on my way to the beach.
“Yeah, wonder if it has the same owners.”
“Maybe if they’re like a hundred years old.” The husband-and-wife owners who basically lived at this diner back in the day when we’d frequent it had to have been in their late sixties, and that was thirty-plus years ago.
“You know what I meant…the same family who owns it.”
I shrugged as we both got out of the car and took the first steps into a familiar place that hadn’t been frequented for so long. The unchanged brick exterior of the building was the exact opposite of the newly remodeled interior. The gaudy 1970s color scheme of orange and green was now white and gray. The worn-out leather booths were replaced with sleek modern ones and the old Formica tabletops were all chrome and glass.
“It definitely got a facelift, that’s for sure,” I said as we followed the hostess to be seated. I slid into the booth and tried to concentrate on the menu, instead of the memory that came to mind of sitting in this same exact spot so many years ago.
“Just be yourself, and they’ll love you,” I said to Jack.
He and I had been dating for three months, and I still hadn’t told my parents about him. I was trying to get over the fact that he was my boyfriend. All the girls fell over him when he had transferred to our school right after Christmas break, and not without good reason. He was absolutely adorable, dirty-blond hair, dreamy blue eyes, and star soccer player. When we became lab partners in chemistry class, we instantly clicked and also became good friends. The friendship we forged put me at odds with some of the more popular girls who had wanted that position. When I started dating him, they hated me even more. That was until the next cute guy came along they could ogle over.
“What if your dad hates me?” Jack asked, taking a bite of his burger.
I crinkled my nose. “Not to scare you, but my dad is a big teddy bear. It’s my mom you’re gonna have to win over.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. I’m up for the challenge.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, you’re worth it.”
I grinned from ear to ear, leaning over the booth and kissing him. It was the kind of kiss you’d be embarrassed to give in public as an adult—passionate, young, and new.
“And what about you, miss, what would you like to drink?”
I snapped out of it to find the older waitress standing at our table, instantly assessing her. Her gruff voice and wrinkled skin gave the appearance of someone who hadn’t had an easy life, but she more than likely had a kind heart underneath her rough exterior. “Oh, umm…I’ll just have an iced water with lemon, please.”
“You got it!” She smiled and walked away.
“It will fade away soon,” Jack said.
“What… What will fade away?”
“The memory of that dead body. I