Chapter 2
chapter
two
NATE
“I’m sure your friends are just tickled about your plans.” My mother sets a plate of pancakes in the center of the breakfast table.
“I actually haven’t told anyone yet,” I say over the rim of my third cup of coffee.
I’ve been up for hours, and it’s not because the rumble of Maren’s car engine woke me up. I knew she got up early to open Cream and Sugar, but leaving at four thirty a.m. requires a level of dedication not many possess.
I admire that about her.
But my early morning has nothing to do with my ex, or the fact that I dreamt of her all night.
Before traveling to Sapphire Creek with Teagan, I was camping in Wyoming for one of my final assignments, and the time difference has stuck with me.
“Oh?” Mom’s brows jump into her graying hairline. “The ink on the papers is dry, and they’re processed and filed away. I figured you would’ve told someone.”
“And is there a particular someone you figured I’d tell?” It’s more of a rhetorical question. Her coy expression is miles from subtle.
But she just shrugs, committing to the ruse of innocence. “You have plenty of friends here. Could’ve told any of them.”
“Right,” I play along. “Well, I did run into Annabelle outside Bready or Knot yesterday morning. I missed my opportunity to share the news in one fell swoop, given the town gossip would’ve surely spread the word for me.”
Mom swats at me like she’s shooing away a bee. “I didn’t raise you to be ornery.”
“What’s ornery?” From the hallway, Teagan rubs the sleep out of her eyes, her hair sticking up on one side.
“When you misbehave,” Mom supplies.
“Santa’s watching, you know.” My little girl nods matter-of-factly, her previously drooping eyes now wide and full of concern as if my status on the naughty or nice list is of the utmost importance.
“You’re already thinking about Christmas? We’re three months out, with plenty of other holidays between now and then.” I smile around my mug and enjoy another sip of dark roast.
“Mommy says we always have to be on our best behavior because Santa sees us all year.”
A chuckle tickles my throat. “Mommy’s right, I suppose.”
Teagan squeezes onto the seat next to mine, and her chair bumps into a stack of boxes along the wall.
We have another month, but my father insisted he and Mom get a jumpstart on packing, given how much “junk” is piled around.
He once suggested they have a yard sale to purge themselves of all the unnecessary clothes, furniture, and knickknacks that they—more accurately, my mother—have racked up over the years.
But it was a losing battle before he even took the first shot. My mother is the state’s unofficial most dedicated collector of anything she finds on sale, has sentimental value, or might provide any use for someone around town.
There’s no way she’s going to get rid of these things, whether it’s a porcelain raccoon she once won at the community Christmas party or my first Easter onesie.
“You’re up late today.” I nudge Teagan with my shoulder. “You’re usually dressed by now.”
“You’re thinking of six-year-old Teagan.” She holds her chin high.
Mom and I share a curious glance.
“Eight-year-old Teagan gets up later. Diego says it’s important for us to sleep a lot as kids.”
“Because you’ll regret it once you’re ten?” I tease, and my mother’s warm smile washes over me, the wrinkles around her eyes more prominent than the last time I visited.
“When are we going to see the purple truck lady with all the cookies?” Teagan asks around a mouthful of pancake.
“Maren?” I ask, and Mom is suddenly far too interested in what’s in her coffee mug, like she’s trying harder than necessary not to glance my way.
Teagan turns to me. “Your special friend from when you were a kid.”
Heat unfurls in the pit of my stomach.
Maren Clayton is special, indeed.
She’s no doubt the one “friend” my mother was referring to earlier, and she’s right. For various reasons I can’t afford to thoroughly analyze, Maren is the only one I’ve been itching to share my news with.
But I’ve only been in Sapphire Creek for a couple of days, and I haven’t had the chance to tell Maren my plans. It’s been enough time to make my head spin, though.
Maren has grown up. Her once long and stringy hair is now softer and shorter, grazing the tops of her shoulders. It’s a lighter shade of chestnut than I remember too.
Her once skinny legs are now curvier and fill out a pair of jeans like she had them custom made.
It could’ve been my mind playing tricks on me, but her brown eyes appeared darker last night. Maybe it was only the reflection of the evening sky, but the optimist in me wants to believe they darkened once she saw me.
Lightning has become a beautiful, sexy woman.
“To answer your question, little lady,” Mom starts and sets a glass of orange juice in front of Teagan, “we’re going to Maren’s after you finish every last bite on your plate, while your father goes to the school for the tour.”
“My new school?” Curiosity flashes in Teagan’s eyes.
“It’s my old high school,” I clarify. “The tour is part of our reunion weekend.”
Mom snaps her fingers. “Darn it. Does that mean Maren won’t be at Cream and Sugar this morning? I didn’t even think of that.”
I clear my throat, dislodging a bite of scrambled egg that went down the wrong pipe. “Not sure.”
“Can I come on the tour?” Teagan asks.
“You need to do your online homework, so you don’t fall behind while we’re here. Then you and Nan-Nan can pick out cookies for your movie night later. Wouldn’t that be more fun?”
My daughter squeals, and I’m positive she didn’t hear the first part about the homework. Her selective hearing is a constant topic of discussion between her mother and me.
Teagan pushes her plate away. Several bites of egg are still scattered across it, and a pancake lies on the edge, completely untouched.
Unsurprisingly, Mom tsks. “You’re not finished yet.”
“But I’m full.”
“You only had one pancake, then pushed the eggs around to make it look like you ate some.” She shoots Teagan a knowing stare. “I know every trick in the book, little lady. You’re not getting anything past me.” Mom wags her finger. “Get used to cleaning your plate. We don’t waste food around here.”
With a groan, Teagan retrieves her plate and resumes eating.
“No groaning, either,” I add and sip the last of my coffee. It’s cooled down by now, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not thinking about the coffee, anyway.
Only one person is on my mind.
Nostalgia washes over me as I pull into my old parking spot on the side of the high school.
Most of the other cars are parked outside of the lobby, where we’re supposed to meet, but I couldn’t resist popping into the old spot.
Since we lived next door to each other, Maren and I would carpool. I’d hop out, open her door, and slip my hand into hers before we practically floated into the building.
We skated on clouds back then, in a globe made of steel. Nothing could knock us down when she and I were together.
I walk inside, feeling sixteen again.
As I reach the cafeteria, phantom smells of different foods assault my senses. The fluorescent lights overhead bounce off the spotless tiled floor, which is clearly new. There are no scuff marks to speak of.
The boisterous chatter from up ahead draws my attention. Plenty of old classmates mill about the lobby, and my gaze falls on each one, hoping to find Maren among the crowd.
“Nate?” Addie’s the first to notice me.
Other heads turn in my direction, and my old buddy Owen Conrad rushes over, his mitt of a hand outstretched for me to shake. “I didn’t think you were going to make it, man.”
“I moved some things around, and, well, here I am.” I spread my arms as if they need proof that I’m actually here.
The giant heaves me into a bro hug, and he metaphorically punches a breath out of me. I haven’t seen the guy in a few years, not with him playing professional baseball. But we’ve kept in touch and remain good friends.
Some bonds can’t be broken by time or distance.
I’m glad I could be here to see Owen and other friends, but what I don’t tell any of them is that I had to be in town this weekend to get a few things in order for Teagan and myself.
Owen shifts the hat on his head and scratches his temple, a wicked glint in his eyes. “You know who else is here? Wake.”
“Wakeford ‘Tattletale’ Burke? No way.” I throw my head back and laugh.
“The whole gang together again.”
The shit Owen, Wake, and I would get into could fill a library.
Wake moved to LA soon after high school, just as I did. We saw each other from time to time, but our careers swept us into different directions. Weekly hangs became monthly, and ever since I started traveling for work, we lost touch entirely.
It’d be good to reconnect here in our hometown.
“Hear ye, hear ye… Sir McAllister is here!” a familiar voice joins us, and another laugh rumbles from deep in my throat.
I smack Wake on the shoulder. “Thought a wave might’ve carried you out to sea over there in California.”
“Are you questioning my surfing skills? Because I’m a fucking top tier surfer dude through and through.” Wake pounds his chest. “I’ve gotten a lot better since the last time we were out on the water.”
“Why don’t I believe you? Oh, probably because you couldn’t even balance yourself in a canoe, let alone on a damn surfboard,” I tease.
“Didn’t you fall off a snowboard on the bunny hill during your sixteenth birthday?” Owen adds.
“For once, could you two not remember every single embarrassing moment I’ve ever had?” Wake drags a hand down his cheek.
Being here with the two of them in the middle of our old high school brings back so many memories.
As the former wide receiver to his quarterback, Wake and I weathered the most brutal practices, sacks, and speeches from Coach. We celebrated our wins with his father’s moonshine around a bonfire—it became tradition.
Even though Owen was a baseball player, he’d often join us too. He was our honorary football teammate.
I’ve experienced so many different phenomena of the world—swimming with dolphins in the Pacific, hiking the Grand Canyon, skydiving in New Zealand—but most of my favorite memories live in the walls of this school and in this small town.
This is where I made my lifelong friends.
Where I honed my passion for photography.
Where I fell in love.
I wouldn’t trade those experiences for all the adventures of the world.
Principal Weathers holds his hands up for our attention and welcomes us back to our roots, then launches into a monologue of all the recent updates they’ve made to the school.
As he gestures for us to follow him for a tour, starting in the auditorium, I gravitate toward Addie. She was sitting with Maren at the game last night, so it’s safe to assume they’re still close.
I scoop Addie into a hug and nod toward Caroline over her shoulder. The trio was always such good friends when we were growing up.
“Is anyone else joining us this morning?” I ask Addie.
“I don’t think so.” She skims the crowd in the dim, expansive space filled with cushioned seats and lit-up aisles. “Unless… Are you looking for someone specific?”
I rock on my heels.
“Maren’s working this morning.” She tosses me a knowing smile.
“Sure.” I nod a little too emphatically to be natural.
I’m fucking embarrassing myself, and I don’t even know why.
“I was also curious about… Bond.” I blurt the name of the first person I find.
With a tight-lipped smile, I back away, my skin on fire like my entire body is blushing. “I should say hi.”
Why did I have to ask about Maren? I just couldn’t help myself, could I?
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jeans and jog over to catch up with the guys.
Owen smacks my shoulder. “Remember when we got my Jeep stuck in a ditch while cruising back roads?”
“How could I forget?” I smile. “We had at least two inches of mud on our faces by the time we got the damn thing free.”
“My mom lit into me like I was trying to show up to church like that.” Owen shakes his head.
During our raucous conversation, more memories resurface.
The time Wake, Owen, and I drove down to Daytona for Senior Skip Day.
When I overslept the morning of a big math test, and Owen faked appendicitis in order to stall for me. It would’ve worked too, had he not used the same excuse on the same teacher the year before, at which point he did have emergency surgery to remove his appendix.
Our last homecoming dance, where we tried getting tattoos afterward. One of Owen’s sisters ratted us out to his mom, and she hid his car keys. She’d said it was for our own good and that if we still wanted tattoos once we were off to college, we could get them then.
We meander through the halls and poke our heads into different classrooms, and all the while, I ponder how much has changed.
New paint jobs, equipment, and iPads. SMART boards instead of dusty old chalkboards.
Shiny new textbooks instead of the worn, tattered ones we had back when—the same ones Maren and I used to doodle in during class.
Despite the updates, so much of this place will forever be the same. Countless memories that will never fade, even with time and distance and new layers of paint, because some memories are just too strong to forget. They cling to us like smoke on fabric.
As we stop at a freshmen math classroom, the proverbial smoke begins to suffocate me.
I skim my fingertips along a desk in the back of the room. This is where I sat, with Maren right next to me. We’d leave lunch early just to sit here and finish the previous night’s homework together.
I always pretended I hadn’t done mine, because I just wanted to hang with my best friend.
My chest tightens as I finally admit to myself how much I fucking miss her.