Chapter Nine
“I still can’t believe I cried all over Ben.”
Dawn laughs, then pulls my hands away from my face. “He let you? That’s great.”
“Great?” I frown at her. “How?”
“He let you do it. So that means…”
“What?” I still don’t get it, or want to admit I get it.
The emotion snuck up and washed over me like a violent wave when I heard what happened with my dad. Turning into Ben had been the most natural thing in the world. And he’d held me, gently. He could have been a prick about it, stood back and basically let me know I deserved all the pain and more for not bothering to show back up here for all these years, but he didn’t.
“Well, he’s kinda angry about the whole situation, but he still comforted you. Oh, come on Elle,” she nudges me with her elbow. “You write romance books for a living. As if this isn’t one of those moments."
"Please don’t." I pick up my coffee and take a few sips, catching the eye of another waitress at the cafe. I have noticed her looking over a few times, which isn’t an uncommon occurrence these days.
“Yes, it’s like a second chance romance,” Dawn nods enthusiastically. “Like your book, Dreams on Fire , urgh. Owen was so dreamy and hot. You know, he kind of reminds me-”
“Believe me,” I turn to her, cutting her off before she gets carried away. “As someone who writes romance, I know better than anyone those kinds of things do not happen in real life.”
“Not if you don’t have an open mind,” she grins and picks up her hot chocolate.
“You’re out of your mind. Besides, we still haven’t been able to figure out what to do about dad’s crazy plan. Last night was a total bust. We barely even talked about what we’re going to do.”
“It’s obvious to me.” Dawn rubs the top of her stomach and I turn a little in my seat to look at her. “You have to agree. Oh, Elle, it would be so great to have you back here for part of the year. And once this thing is out,” she points to her protruding stomach. “Think of the fun we can have.”
I notice her rubbing her stomach again. Momentarily, my mind is taken off the conversation. Even though it is ridiculous. “Are you okay?”
“It’s just reflux. I shouldn’t have eaten that croissant.”
I nod, though I’m not entirely sure. I recall Adrian’s sister making a similar gesture right before she gave birth. Although Dawn is on her third, so surely she knows the signs.
“Seriously, you’ve been here two nights now and you still don’t know what you want to do?”
“I’ve no freaking idea,” I tell her with a heavy sigh. “I came here thinking I would get in and out. I never even booked a place to stay after last night and I’m getting kicked out because the room has been booked by someone else.”
“Oh shit, where are you going to stay?”
“There are plenty of other places in Mystic.”
“You do realise the River Jam Festival starts at the weekend? ”
“Shit, really? Well, I doubt the hotels will have sold out of rooms for that.”
“Yeah, no. I know that. You could stay with us?” she scrunches up her face as she suggests it. “Ha, yeah, that would be hell on earth for you with my brats.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll find something. Don’t worry.”
“In Mystic, though, not out of town.”
“I’ll go where there is a room.”
“You could always ask Ben. He has that big old house. I’m sure he has a spare room,” she winks.
“I think you need to lay off reading my books,” I laugh at her.
“Well, my cousin works at the Hyatt. Do you want me to see if he has anything?”
“I’ll be fine Dawn. Once I’ve finished breakfast, I’ll go online and find something.” She gives me a huge grin and I can see she is plotting. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You forget I know you. What is it?”
“I was just thinking how fun it would be for you to stick around for the River Jam. We used to love it when we were kids.”
The festival runs from Friday to Sunday. That means staying a whole hell of a lot longer than I’d intended.
“Think about it, okay? Who knows how long it’ll be before we see you again after this visit?”
I gulp, feeling guilty, but Dawn just squeezes my hand. Then she says she has to use the bathroom. She slithers awkwardly off the stool as it took her a while to get into, but it was the only seat available in the diner when we got here for breakfast. I offer to help, but she waves me away. I drink my coffee, cradling it in my hands and staring at the array of bottled flavours for their various different coffees.
I’d been so embarrassed yesterday when I got myself together and pulled away from Ben. He hadn’t argued when I said I needed to leave. He’d walked me back to my car outside the restaurant. We still hadn’t come to any resolution over our issue, but he didn’t push it.
How can I leave now?
I spent the whole night tossing and turning, thinking about dad and Ben, the business, and my home in New York. I still have no idea what I’m going to do, but I can’t leave right now. There is far too much to wrap up here.
“Er, excuse me. Hi. I don’t mean to bother you,” the waitress I noticed earlier is standing in front of me. She’s holding the coffee jug in one hand, her other palm is pressed to the counter.
I immediately smile. I’m so used to people doing this. Although, perhaps I need to be more cautious, given where I am. Strangers approaching me here doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a fan. She’s petite, with shoulder-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her uniform is snug on her voluptuous frame. I can tell she probably gets a lot of attention, but she doesn’t seem to flaunt it.
“You’re Elle George,” she says, her voice quiet, her eyes showing what seems to be fear.
“I’m sorry. Have we met?” I ask.
“Not really, but I remember you.”
My brows lift. “You don’t seem familiar. I’m sorry.”
“We never met. I’m sorry, I’m messing this up so bad.” she shakes her head and turns to put the coffee pot down. She wipes her hands on her apron. “I’m Claudia. Claudia Beaufort. I…” she gulps. “I knew Darren.”
The smile falls off my face and my heart begins beating too fast. I think about him all the time, but his name hasn’t been spoken in my presence for years.
I try to speak but have to clear my throat before I get the words out. “How did you know him?”
“Back in high school, we were friends,” she frowns, as if that isn’t what she wanted to say. She shakes her head slightly again .
“I don’t remember you from school,” I tell her. Darren was two years older than me, so we were at the high school at the same time.
“I never went to school here. I went to the Oxford Academy in Westbrook.”
“The boarding school?”
She nods and glances around as someone calls for a server. Someone else heads their way, obviously thinking Claudia is serving me. “It was difficult when he passed. It must have been so much worse for you and your family.”
She doesn’t know the half of it, but I keep the family history to myself. She is staring at me like she can’t believe I am standing here before her. And I don’t think it has anything to do with me being a semi-well-known author.
Without wanting to cast any aspersions on the woman, I wonder why someone with an expensive private boarding school education is working in a diner in Mystic, Connecticut. I won’t judge her, but this whole thing is a little odd.
“Did you know him well?” I ask. After the initial shock, I actually like the thought of speaking with someone who knew my brother.
She nods and for the first time since she mentioned him, a soft smile tilts her lips. Fond memories clearly filling her mind. Darren never said anything about having a girlfriend. He dated, for sure. He was a popular kid at school. He was the senior year quarterback, too good looking for his own good and he looked out for me, even though I sometimes annoyed him.
It was what made it so hard to comprehend how he could take his own life. He had no shortage of attention from girls. But there had never been anyone special to the best of my knowledge. Then again, it turned out I didn’t know my brother as well as I thought I did. I can’t imagine how he met a girl from all the way over in Westbrook .
Although Darren did used to go out a lot with friends, disappearing in his truck for hours on end. No one ever questioned him.
“We dated for a while. I was a junior when he was in his senior year.”
“He never mentioned you. I’m sorry.”
She waves a hand. “It’s okay. I wanted to come to the funeral but my parents…” she looks over my shoulder, but her eyes are distant, like she is staring at a memory rather than whatever is behind me. “Anyway… I always wanted to pass on my condolences. I just never thought I’d get the chance to speak to you.”
“Thank you. Have you lived in Mystic long?” I ask her.
“About a year now. I got divorced recently and decided to get a fresh start.”
“Sorry to hear that. Mystic is a nice place to live.”
“I like it,” she smiles a little brighter.
“Oh, hey, Claudia. You’ve met our famous Elle, then?”
“Stop being ridiculous.” I look at Dawn as she grabs her purse. “And yes, we were just talking about-”
“Are you okay, Dawn? You look a little peaky,” Claudia interrupts me. My head automatically whips to Dawn to check her over.
“I’m fine. Stop worrying. But I am tired. Do you mind if I head home?”
“I’ll give you a ride,” I say, getting up too. I take some money out of my purse, despite Dawn’s protests, and pay for the food. “It was nice to meet you, Claudia. Hopefully, I’ll see you around. I’d love to catch up some more.”
“Well, I’m usually here, but that would be fine.”
We head out of the diner after saying our goodbyes. I help Dawn out and into the car, and she doesn’t fuss this time about my assistance. Once I’m in the driver’s seat, I look over at her as she huffs slightly.
“Are you really okay? ”
“I’m fine,” she rolls her eyes. “I’ve been through this twice already. I’ve just overdone it is all. I need my afternoon nap a little early today,” she laughs. “So, how’d you know Claudia?”
“I don’t,” I tell her. “She introduced herself to me. It was the weirdest thing. She said she dated Darren.” As I start the car, I fill her in on what we talked about, albeit briefly.
“I can’t believe she dated your brother. Wonder why she never said anything.”
“She wouldn’t know you were my friend, and I’ve not exactly been around.”
“Don’t start that again,” Dawn rolls her eyes. “So you had no idea about her?”
“No. I’ve never met her.”
Dawn nods, giving me a gentle look. “She’s nice, hard worker. If I didn’t know Joy loved me so much, I’d worry she’d steal my title as the best waitress in town.”
I pull up to her house and she offers for me to stay with them again, reminding me I still need to find somewhere. Of course, my house is sitting empty. The thought of that makes me shudder, though. All this talk of Darren has brought too many memories up, and knowing both he and my dad died in the house is enough to make me never want to step foot in it again.
“Will you see Ben today?” Dawn asks me.
I make a non-committal noise and she stares at me in that knowing way she always did when we were kids. I marvel at how little she’s changed and, again, how easily she has accepted me back here. I watch her waddle into her house and then head back to the Inn.
I promise the man behind the counter I’ll be back down in time for checkout, then go upstairs, fire up the laptop and start looking at hotels.