4. Gabby
It’s Sunday afternoon, and the rush has slowed down. I watch as Heath leaves the diner, finally. He’s been coming in nearly every Sunday and—bless Patty’s heart—she’s been taking care of him every time. “I’m sorry,” I say, rolling my shoulders to let go of some of the tension I’ve been holding. “What was that?”
I finish writing down the order for the table I’m serving, and head behind the counter to the computer to punch it in. While other restaurants in town have fancy handheld systems now, Ms. Daisy is attached to the older way of doing things. Suits me fine. I’ve just finished ringing in the order when she comes to stand by my side.
“Gabby, when are you going to give that boy a break?” She pats my back. “I don’t know what happened exactly, but I have eyes, dear.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie. “Heath and I were friends, he left, and we drifted apart. What more is there to say?”
Ms. Daisy opens her mouth, her perfectly shaped eyebrow raised almost to her hairline. “Gabby, Gabby, Gabby . . .” She looks to the ceiling as if asking for strength. “You’re more stubborn than your grandmother was, and that’s saying something.”
“Orders up,” Ricky calls, putting four dishes into the warming window.
“I’ve got to run this food,” I say, grateful for the interruption. I stack the plates onto a tray, double checking the order’s correct.
“When have I ever messed up your order?” Ricky asks, amusement dancing in his eyes.
I shrug. “There’s a first time for everything.”
He laughs as I lift the tray in the air and head toward the table.
“Here we are,” I say, setting the tray down on a stand and passing out the warm plates. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I think we’re good, thank you,” the woman says, leaning over to cut her child’s burger in half.
“Enjoy.” I take the stand and the empty tray, and put them away. Wiping my hands on my apron, I steal a glance at the clock. Almost time for my shift to be over. “I’m going to run to the back and take a minute. Is that okay?”
Patty glances at my section. “They just get their food?”
“Yep, and they should be all set. My other table has cashed out, and they are about to leave.”
She nods. “Go on, then.”
“Thanks,” I say, taking a glass and adding ice and sweet tea to it before popping through the swinging door to the staff area in the back. I pull out a chair at the rectangular table shoved against a wall in the break room and plop down into it. My phone buzzes in my apron pocket, and I take it out.
Momma A: Are you free tonight? I’d love some company since Heath will be out with Evan.
I roll my eyes. I’m glad Heath reconnected with Evan. It seems the whole town is thrilled to have him back, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little relieved he’s home in one piece. I just can’t figure out where Zade and Olivia are, and I don’t have it in me to ask. Seems the only one who knows about them is Momma A. Why would he keep his child a secret from the whole town? Maybe she’s still in the Army and couldn’t relocate yet. That would make sense, except I’d have expected Heath to stay with them.
Gabby:I’d love that too. I’ll bring dinner—anything you want.
I stare at the phone and contemplate asking Rosie about Olivia and Zade. She was so excited to be a grandma that she gave me updates and showed me pictures all the time. At least she did until her diagnosis. I shake myself out of the funk I’m falling into when my phone buzzes in my hand.
Momma A:How about today’s special from the diner?
Gabby: You’ve got it. Be there around 5:30.
When Heath was getting ready to leave for basic training, I could tell he was worried about his mom. “It’s been the two of us against the world for so long,”he said. I loved spending time with his mom, working in her garden, cooking, just being. So, naturally, I said I’d be there for her. Keep her company and make sure she was okay while he was gone.
And I did.
Even when he broke my heart into a million pieces.
A while after that awful night, I went over to see Rosie, and she told me that Heath asked her to “explain” things to me. Then she told me that Olivia’s baby “isn’t really his;” that he was just pretending because the real daddy was her sergeant and they’d get in trouble. Uh-huh. I guess lying to your mom is par for the course when you’re already sleeping around. Every time she’d show me little Zade’s picture, I’d fight back tears. Heath and I were supposed to have a family one day.
After the facetime call that revealed the truth, I couldn’t take it. I blocked his number and his email and refused to talk about him with anyone. He sent me a letter, but I chucked it. I didn’t want letters from someone else’s man. Thinking about it makes my jaw tense still. If he wanted to be with someone else, why wait till she was pregnant before breaking up with me?
When Momma A got her cancer diagnosis eighteen months ago, I was the one to take her to the hospital. I couldn’t abandon her, not like everyone abandoned me. I was there for every appointment and treatment until Heath came home a few months ago.
“Your table is ready to check out,” Patty says, poking her head through the opening of the swinging door.
Startled, I drop my phone to the floor. “I’m sorry,” I say, picking it up and stuffing it back into my apron. “I didn’t realize I’d been back here so long.”
Patty smiles. “It’s no problem. Ms. Daisy said to let you know you’re cut for the day.”
“Thanks.” I smooth my apron down and take a deep breath before pushing through the door to the dining room. After giving my table their bill, and making sure they had to-go boxes, I did my side work, and clocked out.
“Ms. Daisy, can I get two specials to go, please?”
She smiles. “Are you visiting Rosanna tonight?”
I nod. “She messaged and asked if I’d like to come over.” Ms. Daisy is the town mom, grandma, advice giver, aunt . . . whatever you need her to be. She is something special, and I know it. I love working for her.
“On the house,” she says, handing me a bag with the hot, wholesome smell of fried chicken wafting from it. “I threw in some desert, too.” I open my mouth to argue, but she continues talking over my protest. “You just tell Rosie that I’m thinking of her, ya hear?”
I nod and lean in to give her a quick hug. “I hear.”
I pull into the drive, noticing again how sad the front garden is looking. I make a mental note to come by and refresh the flower beds. She loves a colorful front walkway.
I make my way up the steps to the front door and ring the bell. The front door swings open, and Heath is standing there in sweatpants and a t-shirt. His eyes widen as he takes me in. “Gabby.” He whispers my name like a prayer. As though I might disappear.
“There you are,” calls Rosie from behind him. “Come in, dear. Come in. Don’t block the doorway, Heath. Where are your manners?”
Heath steps back and motions for me to come inside, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. My mouth goes dry, remembering for a moment how soft his lips had been on mine that summer.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Rosie’s saying. “Seems I got my days mixed up, and Heath was staying home tonight.” She looks at me with a sparkle in her eye, and it dawns on me that I’ve been set up.
Heath glances from me to his mom, before tipping his head to the side and pointing a finger in her direction. “Mom, did you invite Gabby here under false pretenses?”
Momma A gasps and draws back, her hand fluttering to her chest. “Why, I never! Heath Josiah Atkins, what a thing to suggest.”
I’d almost buy it if she wasn’t fighting a smile.
“Honestly, you’ve gotten my blood pressure up. I need to lie down. You don’t mind, do you, dear?” she asks, pinning me with a look that leaves no room for argument. “I’d hate for that food to go to waste, but I just don’t think I’ll be able to eat a bite tonight. You two go ahead without me.”
Before I can respond, she hugs me, kisses Heath’s cheek, then turns and trudges down the hall.
“I’m sorry,” Heath says, watching as his mom closes her bedroom door. “I didn’t know she’d invited you over.”
I stare at him for a moment. It’s clear he’s just as surprised by this turn of events as I am. “It’s okay. I’ll leave the food and go. I’m sure Ms. Daisy’s fried chicken will reheat well.” I put the bag down on the coffee table and make my way back toward the front door. Heath follows and speaks to my back.
“Gabby, wait. I’ve never gotten to thank you for all you’ve done for my mom. It’s meant so much to me to know that you were here caring for her while she’s been sick. I’m so grateful to you for all of the hours you’ve spent with her. Thank you.”
I soften a little, letting my shoulders relax a fraction. I talk to the door as I answer.
“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure to repay some of the kindness she’s shown me for years. I love your mom. Tell her goodbye for me.” I turn the knob, but the door doesn’t open. Heath’s hand is holding it closed.
“Please, stay.” His voice is soft, pleading.
I close my eyes, tears welling up behind my lids. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please. One hour. Eat the meal you brought.” He takes his hand from the door.
I shake my head and open the door. “I can’t.” Tears are falling down my face before I even step off the front landing.
“Why?” Heath asks. “I know we broke up, but we were best friends, and I never intended for that to end. I’ve missed you so much. You stopped taking my calls. You never wrote me back. Don’t I deserve to know why?” His voice is soft, sad even. “Please?”
I gasp and spin on my heel. “You deserve?You deserve?” I hiss, barely holding my temper in check. “You dumped me and then I find out you already fathered a child with some other woman and didn’t have the nerve to tell me yourself. You broke my heart,” I say, poking him in the chest. “Did I deserve that, Heath?”
He shakes his head and lifts his hands to my shoulders. “Gabby, my mom told you the truth about the baby, didn’t she?”
I shake my head. “She told me the story you told her. You expect me to believe that? Listen, I got over you a long time ago, so just let me be, and I’ll do the same for you.”
He pulls me into him and wraps his arms around me. I sink into his warmth for a moment before realizing my mistake. “Gabby, he’s not mine.” I pull out of his arms and rush to the car.
I freeze as I open the car door. “What good is it to lie to me still? You broke up with me to be with her, so go be with her. You don’t need me.”
“Please, can we talk?” Heath asks from behind me.
I let out a breath. “Why? What difference does it make now, Heath?”
“Because I still love you,” he says, just loud enough for me to hear him.
A sob breaks from my chest and I open the car door and slide in. “You can’t,” I say, shaking my head no. “Don’t say that. Don’t treat Olivia the way you treated me. You’ll break your mom’s heart. Zade and Olivia are all she can talk about. She is so proud to be a grandmother.”
He nods his head. “Honorary grandmother, Gabby. Zade was never mine. It was never a question. I let people believe he was to help a friend, that’s all.”
“Yeah. I heard that. And, what, now you and your friend Olivia are breaking up, so you’ll settle for me? Good job sticking to your story, but I don’t want to be the other woman in your life. I want you to leave me alone.” I give him one last lingering glance, close the car door, and drive away.
Back at home, I sit on the couch, clutching a throw pillow to my chest. I’ve replayed his words a thousand times, and they’re still swimming around in my head. The whole time I knew Heath, he’d never lied. Not even to get out of trouble. Why would he make up that story?
And Rosanna believes him. Wouldn’t she have found out the truth by now? Maybe I’ve been holding onto this anger for all the wrong reasons.
But whether or not the story’s true, why did he break up with me? Was he just not in love with me? Maybe he got that distance between us and decided his life was better without me.
The worst part is I still miss him. I miss talking to him . . . He was my best friend, even before we acknowledged we had deeper feelings.
A knock at the door saves me from that train of thought. I use my shirt to wipe the trail of tears off of my face. “Coming,” I call out.