Chapter 19 Lucy
The diner’s quiet, it’s one of the times in the day that everything just stops. There’s little noise, Mawmaw’s softly singing along to the juke box on the far wall, the ovens cooling down. Mawmaw’s filling up the shakers and ketchups for tomorrow, so I’ll handle the syrups and dough.
Sydney’s sweeping, and she’ll mop before she leaves. Mawmaw should be done soon enough to help me prep the dough for tomorrow’s blueberry pies.
When a phone rings, I assume it’s most likely Briar checking up on us since it’s so late, but something about it draws me out of the kitchen to the front counter. Mawmaw’s head is turned toward the door, phone pressed to her ear.
One glance at Sydney leaning against the broom paused from mopping, she stares too. Her eyes slide to mine and I shrug and shake my head, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious.
When Mawmaw speaks, it’s low, too low for us to hear, which makes me even more curious. Who is she talking to, and what are they talking about?
“Don’t you have dough to be makin’?” She says, turning around to find both Sydney and me watching. “And that floor ain’t gonna mop itself, girl.”
Sydney grins and returns to mopping the floor, I however can’t get past the secret smile on Mawmaw’s face as she works.
“So, was that Briar?” I ask, pulling up the counter that separates the rest of the diner from the register and drink machine.
“It was,” she says, still focused on filling up the shakers. Once she’s done she moves on to the syrups filling them with sticky liquid, and sitting in one of the chairs at a table where Sydney hasn’t mopped.
“Was she checking on us?” I chuckle.
“You know Briar,” she says.
Mawmaw always has something to say, some opinion to give, and she won’t be silenced so her response is strange. I can tell when not to pry with Mawmaw, but God do I want to.
We finish up at the diner, and have everything all set for an easy morning open. I’ll be able to be at the booth tomorrow morning where I can reset and refresh everything.
RPR Blooms is my baby, it’s small, and my schedule sometimes doesn’t allow for me to get there, so when I can carve out time for it, I always feel better.
We lock up and head out. Mawmaw and I rode together this morning, so we climb into my truck together and I drive us home in silence. Mawmaw ducks out as soon as the truck’s in park without a word, for an old woman, she’s pretty spry.
“Mawmaw,” I draw out, hoping to catch her before she slinks off to her room.
No such luck, she’s already shutting her door by the time I cross the threshold, leaving me to lock up the house. We always leave the light on above the sink in the kitchen, just in case one of us needs water in the middle of the night.
Flipping the lock on the front door, I head upstairs to my room and shed my clothes finally, ready for a long hot shower. The bathrooms right next door, and since no one’s ever here, I head from my room to the bathroom, naked.
Twisting the tub handle, the water sprays heavily against the iron tub. The house needs a few upgrades that not even Heath can fix. He’s become extremely handy, but plumbing is not his forte. The small bathroom starts to fill with steam as I step into the spray, pulling the curtain behind me.
The warm water soaks into my skin as I stand there enjoying the feeling. I know Mawmaw’s probably using the hot water too, so I only stand there for a moment before scrubbing down and washing my hair.
Turning off the water, I pluck the towel I use for my hair off the hook near the sink and wrap my hair up.
It’s gotten longer, and I could use a trim, but I’ll hold off until Briar wants to go with me again.
The teal in her hair won’t last too much longer, and I’m sure she’ll be ready to change it soon.
In my bedroom I can hear my phone ringing, pulling a towel from the shelf above the toilet, I wrap it around my body and race to my room. Indy’s name flashes on the screen and I swipe the answer button before it can go to voicemail.
“Hey, Goose!” I answer using the nickname I gave her when we were kids.
“You ready for tomorrow’s market?” She asks, her voice is strained, most likely tired from working double jobs.
“Mhmm,” I nod, as if she can see me. “You?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of honey this time, thinkin’ about seeing if Mr. Soloman would sell the overstock at the country store in town.”
“I’ll bet he would, people could always use local honey.” Encouragement is my strong suit, and Indy needs that right now. She’s quiet on the other line, so I jump into the whole cooking encounter the other day with Reese.
“We had… a moment,” I blurt, which now that the words are out, I want to gobble them back up because Indy won’t quit until she knows every minuscule detail.
She squeals on the other line, “You little minx! Tell me everythin’, and don’t leave anythin’ out!”
“Reese showed up at the diner, I mean, I should have known he would. I still had his card, you know? But it was early, like when I make all the desserts for the day, kinda early. He walked right into the diner, didn’t bat an eye when he saw that I was knee deep in a mess, and then asked to help.”
Her gasp is animatedly loud, and I suppress a giggle that threatens to escape.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be alone with him, you know? I mean, ever since Levi…”
“I know Loo, you don’t have to talk about it.” By the tone in her voice I know she knows how upsetting it was and I appreciate her willingness to skip over it.
“It felt big,” I have to pause because Indy snickers on the other side of the line and I roll my eyes.
“You know what I mean, dirty bird. Anyway, it was like one of those moments you know in your gut, whatever you choose it’ll shape somethin’ in your life.
That’s what it felt like Goose, I’m tellin’ you… ”
I don’t know any other way to describe it.
“It must’a been somethin’ for you not to have the words,” she laughs and I have to admit, she’s not wrong.
“We almost kissed.”
“You what?!” She hollers so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. “Damn Buttercup, I didn’t think you’d have it in you. It’s been how long now?”
“Listen,” I giggle, “I don’t know if anything is going to even happen… But I do know I think I’d like it if it did. Our faces were so fuckin’ close…”
She gasps when I’ve told her all about it, “You like, like him!”
Her voice is higher pitched, which makes me smile, at least she’s not worried about her family’s dude ranch.
“I don’t know him well enough to like him,” I scoff, even though my stomach pinches and my body tingles.
“You sooooo like him!” She shouts, and I shush her out of habit. “Did you get his number?”
“Uhm, no,” I sigh, knowing she’s going to scold me. “He had to leave, family emergency.”
“Well, how do you expect to talk to him again?”
“He’s never had any trouble finding me before…” I mention, my words falling off as I yawn.
Indy laughs, “Get some sleep, Buttercup, it’s your turn to bring the coffee tomorrow.”
After ‘I love you’s’ I hang up and change into a long t-shirt I found at the consignment store in town. It’s huge and hangs off one shoulder, soft and airy. It’s perfect for sleeping.
Wrapping my hair around the plush curlers I use to save time in the morning, I finish moisturizing my face and neck before placing the towels on the hook in the bathroom and then slipping into bed. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll fall into another dream and get lost in a pair of deep blue eyes.