Chapter 1 #2
Something in the way she talks reminds me of Connor, so I ask, “Are you from around here? I swear I hear some kind of accent, but I’m not sure. To be honest, you sound like my husband.”
Her smile fades ever so slightly, making me think she’s insulted by my question, so I quickly add, “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry if I did.”
I’m relieved when she shakes her head, but still her smile doesn’t return. “It’s okay. I think my parents’ Pittsburgh accent rubbed off on me, even though I’ve never lived there. Is that what you’re hearing?”
Excited I’m right, I nod my head. “Yes! My husband is from western Pennsylvania, and he has that accent too. It’s slight nowadays, but when I first met him, it came through loud and clear.”
“You should have heard my parents when they talked. They never lost that accent, even though they moved away from Pittsburgh before I was born.”
That makes her chuckle, and her smile returns, brightening her face. In the very short time I’ve been around her, I already know I prefer when she’s happy because those terrible scars look ten times worse when she’s not smiling.
Our conversation falls silent for a minute or so as I eat the rest of my scone and she finishes her cookie.
While I enjoy my treat, I study her. She’s taller than I am.
Then again, at five foot four, mostly everyone but children are taller than me.
Her body is thin like mine, but something about her says she can eat whatever she wants while I’m going to have to watch my calories for the rest of the day because of my stop here.
What’s most noticeable about her, though, is how stiffly she moves her head.
I hadn’t noticed it before, but as we sit together in silence, someone drops a glass on the other side of the coffee shop, and when she turns to look at what happened, it’s like her entire upper body must turn at the same time.
It reminds me of that time Cassandra hurt her neck in gymnastics and couldn’t move her head for nearly a week.
“I guess he’s cut off,” she says with a chuckle, and when I don’t laugh because I’m so transfixed by how she moves, Kelsey adds, “Well, maybe not since he’s only drinking soda.”
I realize she tried to make a joke, so I belatedly laugh, and that smooths things over once more.
“Do you come to this coffee shop often?” she asks. “I am seriously addicted to caffeine, so I’m here all the time.”
Taking a sip of coffee, I let the flavor sit on my tongue for a moment before swallowing and then answering, “I come here a lot too, but I usually do the drive thru since I have my daughters with me after practice.”
That piques her interest, and she asks, “What kind of practice do your daughters have?”
“Gymnastics. Both Cassandra and Danielle are very talented gymnasts. They’ve already both made the team, so now I don’t have to hang out and watch their practices. That means I can come here and actually see the inside of the building.”
As I brag about my girls, Kelsey nods, as if she’s actually interested in my family. “Oh, that’s great. How old are they?”
“Twelve and eleven. We had kids very quickly one right after the other. We stopped after two.”
I hope my unhappiness about that topic doesn’t come through loud and clear. I’ve been trying very hard not to show people how much I wanted to have another child. Connor says it makes people uncomfortable.
But Kelsey doesn’t seem to sense my long-simmering disappointment and gives me a big smile when she hears how old my daughters are.
“Oh, that’s a wonderful time in a girl’s life.
You know, before boys become the be all, end all.
I remember being in fifth and sixth grade.
Good times. My best friend and I would spend hours outside after school talking about everything under the sun. ”
There’s a sadness in her voice as she talks about her younger days, so I hurriedly change the subject. “Are you married? Any children?”
“I am. We couldn’t have any children because of something that happened to me when I was a teenager. It’s okay, though. My husband and I are very content with it being only the two of us.”
I believe her when she says that. I don’t know why, but I see true happiness in her eyes as she talks about her husband and their marriage. Knowing they likely can travel far more than Connor and I can because of the girls, I imagine she could be happier than me.
Not that traveling the world is better than having two wonderful daughters. I don’t mean that at all. It’s just that without children, I bet Kelsey and her husband get to enjoy a lot more freedom than Connor and I do.
“Do you travel much? I always think when the girls go off to college that we’re going to go to Europe. My husband isn’t entirely convinced he wants to yet, but it’s Europe, for God’s sake. I mean, Italy itself is reason enough.”
Kelsey shrugs. “Not a lot. My husband would love to, but I’m not a good traveler.”
As she finishes her answer, she covers the scar on the right side of her face with her hand.
I have the feeling she doesn’t like to travel because that would mean strangers reacting to her deformed face.
I understand that. Fear of the unknown that can be a formidable opponent to living the life you want.
Before I can say another word, she stands up and gathers her coffee cup and napkin that came with her chocolate chip cookie. “I’m sorry, but I have to go now. I hope we can share a coffee another time, Jamie.”
Sure my question about her traveling is the reason she’s in such a hurry to leave, I nod excitedly. “Absolutely! I’m going to be stopping in here more now that I have a couple hours to kill when the girls are at gymnastics practice.”
Kelsey smiles and nods her head. “Great! Then I look forward to seeing you again.”
She leaves me feeling like I want to apologize for asking a question that bothered her so much. Since I can’t, I’ll be sure to look for her when I come here again.
It’ll be nice to have another person to pass the time with.