10. Naomi
TEN
Naomi
I sat at the front door the next day, regretting my decision. I didn’t know what overcame me last night, but agreeing to spend the afternoon with Fiona had been a mistake. My body ached this morning, and I desperately wanted to tell Fiona that I was sick, but Jackson wasn’t having any of my excuses.
He barged into my room and demanded that I get out of bed.
While getting ready, I got a call from my new physical therapist across the bridge. His name was Christopher, and I was to see him twice a week, starting tomorrow. Apparently, my doctor was going to remove my cast soon, and they wanted to start strengthening my body in preparation to walk.
I desperately wanted to return to normal, but the fact that I was close to getting my cast off meant that time was marching on. I was going to need to make a decision soon before my belly got too big and people started questioning me about it.
Which sent my anxiety and desire to find Walker spiraling out of control.
Every time I tried to think about what I was going to do, my stomach ached, forcing me to push those thoughts from my mind until they no longer hurt me. I wasn’t ready to have a baby without Walker, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to give it up for adoption either.
The fact that I was so weak and incapable of taking care of a child made me feel even more guilty in those moments when I wanted to keep the child even if that meant I was going to raise it alone. As soon as I made the commitment, fear and doubt crept into my mind, and I was forced to waffle on that decision again.
I was in my own personal hell.
Now I was waiting to head into town to meet new people and make small chat with Jackson’s girlfriend. I was tired and sore, and I doubted I would be good company.
Maybe when Fiona got here, I’d let her know I wasn’t up for this.
A minute later, the door handle turned, and Fiona appeared in the doorway. She looked startled when she saw me, but that quickly turned into a smile. “Hey,” she said as she shuffled by me and shut the door.
The hot sticky air lingered for only a moment before it was overcome by the house’s air conditioning.
“Waiting for me?” she asked as she smoothed her wind-tousled hair .
“More like Jackson wheeled me over here and then left me.” I winced, my tone coming out harsher than I intended. “I’m sorry. I’m sore and woke up in a mood today.”
Fiona waved away my comment. “I understand completely.” She shrugged. “I live with a toddler, so I know how to handle mood swings.” Then she pressed her hand to her lips. “I’m not calling you a toddler.” Regret filled her gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
I waved away her apology. “Don’t be sorry. I do act like a child sometimes.”
I wanted to tell her that I was confined to a chair. That my body ached everywhere. And that there was an alien invading my body and zapping all of my energy. But that wasn’t going to help me win friends.
“We all can be that way, can’t we?” she asked as she peered into the house. “Speaking of childish behavior…” She glanced back at me. “Where’s Jackson?”
I chuckled. She’d pegged my brother accurately. “I don’t know. After he forced me out of bed, he disappeared.” I squinted. “I think I heard Colten. So maybe he’s with him?”
Fiona glanced one more time toward the loft and then shrugged. “Sounds good. I’ll just text him later.” She turned and clapped her hands. “Ready?”
I wanted to say no, but I was here. Might as well go along with it. “Sure.”
Fiona moved to the back of my chair, and I leaned forward to open the door. The sun was blinding as she wheeled me out onto the porch. I raised my hand to shield my eyes and dug around in my purse for my sunglasses.
There was a moment when I was in the car and Fiona was struggling to shut the wheelchair that I wanted to call the whole thing off. But she seemed determined, so I remained. After a few tries—and some swear words—the chair folded, and Fiona put it in the trunk.
Then she climbed into the driver’s seat, and we took off.
Magnolia was beautiful. Driving the road along the beach was calming in a way that I hadn’t expected. Sure, it wasn’t home, but I knew the water was connected. Whatever touched the sand here could have easily touched the sand back in North Carolina.
That thought gave me some much-needed peace.
“Magnolia is beautiful,” Fiona said over the soft ballad that was playing from her speakers. She reached over to turn the volume down.
I turned to look at her. “It is. I hadn’t realized that.”
Fiona chuckled. “When Dave and I broke up, I moved back here from Tennessee.” She sighed. “It was hard. I left my life and my friends, packed up my son, and started over.” She slowed to a stop as the light changed red. “I had my mom here, but it wasn’t what I’d envisioned for myself. I had to find a new path, and that was scary.” She peeked over at me.
I knew she was telling me this as a way to connect. And I knew she had the purest of intentions, but I couldn’t help but feel like the class project. I was broken and alone here in Magnolia, and everyone was going to make it their mission to fix me.
I wasn’t sure I wanted them to fix me, but I was grateful she was trying to help.
“Thanks,” I whispered, surprised at how emotional her words made me.
I wanted to be strong enough to overcome this, but I wasn’t sure if that was a possibility anymore. Not when I felt as broken as I did right now.
Fiona pulled alongside a coffee shop and turned the car off. She smiled over at me. “I thought we could get some coffee first. I’ll introduce you to my mom.”
I nodded. I almost said I really had no choice but decided to bite my tongue. I was a nice person, usually. I wasn’t always going to be in this predicament. If I wanted to have good relationships when this was all over, I needed to keep myself from alienating those around me.
Thankfully, whatever issue Fiona had with the chair earlier was sorted out, and she was able to open it with minimal effort. Once I was situated, she slammed the passenger door and pushed me into the shop.
The aroma of coffee and cream filled my nose, and I inhaled deeply. Without the ability to drive, I hadn’t had a good coffee in ages. Oh, how I missed it.
“You have that look,” Fiona said as she parked me in front of the register and grinned.
“What look?”
“The look of a woman missing her favorite drink.”
I smiled. “You have an uncanny ability to read people. ”
Before Fiona could respond, a woman who looked identical to her—just twenty years older—approached the register. She had on an apron and a soft, welcoming smile.
“Well, you’re new,” she said as she glanced over at Fiona.
“Mom, this is Naomi. She’s Jackson’s sister.” Fiona waved from me to her mom. “Naomi, this is my mom.”
“Call me Anna.”
I could tell where Fiona got her approachable demeanor. Anna was just as soft and warm as her daughter. “It’s nice to meet you.”
After introductions were over, Anna was all business. She took our drink orders and even threw in a few just-out-of-the-oven macadamia nut cookies on the house.
Fiona pushed me over to the table while Anna bustled around behind the counter, stirring and whipping up my smoothie and Fiona’s iced coffee.
I sat at the table, fingering the napkin my cookie sat on. It looked and smelled divine. I wanted to dive into it, and it was taking all of my strength not to.
“You can start,” Fiona said, waving toward my cookie.
“Did I look that desperate?” I asked as I broke off a chunk and slipped the whole thing in my mouth. The warm dough mixed with the salty nuts made all of my tastebuds sing with pleasure. “Oh my gosh,” I whispered. “This is amazing.”
Fiona laughed as she took a bite of her own. “You act like you haven’t had a homemade cookie before.”
I paused, trying to remember the last time I had homemade anything. My baking was limited to whatever I could make from a box. “It’s been years,” I said as I took another bite.
“Years?”
“Years.”
The look that passed over Fiona’s face had me worried for a moment. I wanted to make a good impression on the woman that had my brother falling over himself. Was she going to judge me?
“Our mom wasn’t a make-from-scratch kind of person,” I hurried to add.
Fiona nodded. “My mom is. I, unfortunately, was not blessed with that gene. But I’m learning.” She paused. “You can come over sometime, and Mom and I will teach you.”
I knew I should have said no. My head was screaming at me to back away, but I couldn’t. It was like my body could not physically form the word. So, instead, I smiled. “I’d like that.”
The look of joy that filled Fiona’s face was priceless.
It almost made me feel guilty. Fiona seemed to want us to be friends, but I wasn’t sure I was in the mental state to do so. What if I couldn’t give her what she needed? What if I failed her like I’d failed so many in my life?
We fell silent as we ate. Anna brought us our drinks, and I sipped on mine while Fiona did the same with hers. She seemed content with sitting in silence, but it was eating me alive. Fear gripped me harder than it had in a long time .
“Does it hurt?”
Fiona’s question snapped me out of my spiral. I looked up to see her nodding at my leg. I glanced at it for a moment and then shook my head.
“It did at first. But not anymore.”
Fiona took another drink of her coffee. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”
Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. It felt nice to hear that. Jackson was very much a problem solver. But to have someone reach me out to me this way felt wonderful. Putting aside the fact that my hormones were out of control because of the pregnancy, I guess I just didn’t realize how much I craved female interaction. She was filling a void that I’d tried to convince myself didn’t exist.
“Thanks,” I whispered when her hand reached out to cover mine. She had this look in her eyes that made me feel as if she really understood what I was going through.
It almost made me want to allow myself to be vulnerable.
Almost.
“I was thinking that we could stop by the hardware store after this,” she said as she pulled her hand back and picked up her coffee to take another sip. “I’d love for you to meet Clementine. And after that, we can head on over to inn. You’ll love Maggie.”
My throat tightened at the mention of all the people she wanted me to meet. I knew that Fiona was trying to be helpful. She probably saw me as a woman in desperate need of friendship.
She wasn’t wrong. But I needed to be careful. I could only take so much mental stress. At the moment, I felt as if my emotions were going to explode.
“Okay,” was all I could muster.
After we finished, Fiona gathered up our garbage and tossed it in the trash. Then we said goodbye to Anna as Fiona pushed me out of the coffee shop. After a short ride through downtown, she pulled up alongside Magnolia Hardware and turned off the car.
It didn’t take long before I was in my chair again and Fiona was pushing me into the hardware store. The bell above the door chimed as we walked through.
“I’ll be there in one second,” a voice from deep within the store called out.
“It’s just me, Clem.”
There was a pause, and then a woman with long brown hair and a soft smile emerged from one of the aisles. “Me?” she asked before her gaze fell on Fiona and her smiled deepened. “Hey, girl.” Her gaze flicked down to me.
I hated how out of place I felt. To everyone in this small town, I was a new person. In a big city, people came and went. Nobody bothered to learn the name or history of people walking into a store. The likelihood of seeing them again was next to nothing.
But here in Magnolia? I’m sure it was an oddity to see someone you didn’t grow up with, or at least you knew their parents. I doubted anything was kept a secret here .
“Clem, meet Naomi.” Fiona took a step forward, so I could see her wave her hand from Clementine to me. “Naomi, this is Clementine.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
She closed the gap, extending her hand to me. “Nice to meet you, too.” After we shook, she took a step back. “Wow.” Her gaze ran over me again. “Jackson’s sister.”
My cheeks heated under her stare. I knew she wasn’t doing it to be mean, but I wasn’t used to being paid this much attention. It was…daunting.
Her gaze flicked to my leg. “How’s the healing going?”
Not sure what to say to that, I just nodded. “Good.”
“Clementine runs the dance studio here. That’s probably why she’s asking,” Fiona explained.
Clementine looked sheepish. “Right, yes. Sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I don’t mind people asking.”
Clementine smiled again. “Good. Well, once you’re up and moving, I’d love for you to join us for a class. The book club ladies indulge me when it’s my turn to host. We have fun trying all kinds of dancing.”
“Clem,” Fiona hissed.
Clementine glanced over. “What?”
“She’s just here to get better. She has a life in North Carolina.”
Clementine didn’t look convinced. “Magnolia is way better than North Carolina.” She snapped her fingers. “You’ll be moving here in a heartbeat once you see what the Red Stiletto Book Club ladies can do on the dance floor.”
Fiona snorted as she leaned closer to me. “Most times, we’ve had a few drinks before we even start. It’s kind of like watching a bunch of newborn foals try to stand.”
Clem narrowed her eyes. “We do pretty well.”
Fiona shook her head.
I just laughed. It felt good. These two women did make Magnolia seem like a wonderful place. There was a part of me that ached for this kind of friendship. But that just wasn’t in the cards for me.
I wasn’t sure it ever would be.
Thankfully, the two women moved on from our conversation. Clementine walked me around the store, stopping at the small repair shop and introducing me to Spencer. He was a tall, quiet man who just nodded in my direction.
After she guided me through the dance studio, Fiona caught me yawning and stated that it was time to go. We said our goodbyes, and Clementine stayed on the sidewalk until we were out of sight.
I sighed as I settled into my seat. Fiona was talking about how we would skip Magnolia Inn, so she could take me home. That she never knew that Clementine could talk that much, and how grateful she was that we were friends.
I just let her talk, nodding and softly responding when it was appropriate.
I had to admit, I liked that we were friends as well. The more I got to know the women of Magnolia, the more I was beginning to realize just what I was missing in my life. Sure, I had Walker. At some point, he was going to show up to take me home. But the more I was face-to-face with what I didn’t have, the more I was beginning to desire the life I should have led. One that involved book clubs, girls nights, and a hopeful view of the future.
I was beginning to question if Walker was the man to give that to me.