CHAPTER ONE #2
The time on the dash read eight thirty and she let out a slow breath as she reached for her phone on the passenger seat, hit dial, and then placed it on her lap as the phone rang over the loudspeaker.
The call connected abruptly and she hastily turned down the music as her mom’s voice rang out, surprised but cheerful.
“April, baby! How are you? I’ve been meaning to call you; sorry I didn’t get the chance last week. You know how it is.”
April swallowed hard, the sound of her mom’s voice sending a fresh rush of dampness to her eyes.
The truth was, she didn’t know how it was.
It had been six months since she’d seen her mom face to face, at her dad’s funeral.
They usually called each other once a week, sometimes more, but the last three times April had called she’d been sent to voicemail.
Her brother, Noah, had assured her that everything was fine so April had tried not to fret too much, though it had made her wonder who the phone calls were really for—to keep her mom company and make sure she was looking after herself after Dad passed?
Or were they really more for April than her mom?
“April? You there, honey?”
She cleared her throat. “Hey,” she squeaked and then grimaced. “Sorry, I know it’s later than I’d usually call—”
“Oh, nonsense. I’m more of a night owl these days, anyway.”
April’s hands flexed on the wheel, her eyes focused on the road ahead even as her mom’s words set alarm bells ringing. “A night owl, huh. Since when?”
“Oh, you know.”
April waited, expecting more of a reply, and when the silence continued she had to force herself to unclench her jaw. “Listen, I was just calling because I’m coming home for a while. So don’t lock up, OK?”
More silence. Then: “Is everything OK?”
Her lip wobbled and she clenched her jaw again, refusing to give in to more tears.
Swallowing them back down, April forced out, “Yeah, of course. I have to go, need to focus on the road. I think I’ll get to you in an hour or so?
” A breath of relief rushed out of her when her mom agreed without further questions.
“OK. Drive safe. See you soon.”
The call ended with an obnoxious beeping sound and April threw the phone back onto the passenger seat without looking at any of the other notifications waiting.
Six months since she’d been back. Last time, it had been with Tyler by her side, keeping her strong at the funeral, hugging April’s mom when she cried. Now, the weight of the empty passenger seat felt heavy, as daunting as the questions she knew she’d face when she arrived in Magnolia Springs.
In truth, the last time she’d been there she couldn’t wait to leave.
The town felt different without her dad in it, like a slightly dislodged puzzle missing a piece, crooked and aching.
But now … Maybe it would be different this time.
Now that her heart had had time to heal a little, his loss less sharp even though it still hurt, maybe Magnolia Springs would once again feel like home.
The approach into Magnolia Springs was the same as it always was, the familiar sights and smells enough to send a fresh wave of tears trickling down her face.
“Get it together,” she chastised herself, squinting her eyes menacingly in her rearview mirror, before she hiccupped and the effect was ruined. Lights from the condos in the new town washed her face yellow intermittently as she drove past and toward the old town where she’d grown up.
The approaching spring had the first hint of green showing on the bare trees, though she knew from experience that the magnolia trees wouldn’t be in full bloom again until the end of the month or even early April.
It wasn’t overly late, but in a small town there wasn’t much to do after the shops shut between six and eight, only the odd bar or late movie showing still open.
As such, Main Street was practically deserted and April glanced to her left, eyes resting on the fountain that sat in pride of place among the green.
She hesitated before jerking the wheel to the side, pulling in at the old church, and shutting the car door quietly when she climbed out.
Her steps ate up the distance easily and she glanced both ways as she jogged across the road and into the treeline.
Maybe it was stupid, but right then she needed some hope.
To know that things could, and would, get better.
So she came to a stop in front of the town’s wishing fountain, the water still where the jets had been turned off for the night, and lifted her face to the sky as she inhaled deeply.
The air smelled like damp earth and a light floral perfume that seemed to be unique to Magnolia Springs, and when she looked away from the stars, her pulse had settled and an ease filled her limbs that was warm, comforting.
A coin glinted in the light from the streetlamps, teetering on the edge of the fountain’s rim, and April smiled slightly as she reached for it, tucking it tightly into her palm.
All she needed was a fresh start. To rediscover who she was without Tyler, and without her dad.
Somehow leaving New York had pulled at the old wounds of her grief, and, more than anything, all she wanted was to start afresh, to navigate happiness without the presence of two of the most important men in her life, now gone.
Her fingers gripped the coin for a moment before releasing it into the water with a gentle plop. Throat tightening, she blinked several times and shook out her hands, like she could release the weight of her thoughts into the fountain’s waters.
It had been a long-ass day.
The breeze stirred, gently lifting a strand of her newly dyed hair, and she bit her lip when it seemed to caress her cheek the way her dad used to do, like the town was welcoming her home.