Chapter 7
The following day, Jack and I take Lilly to the vet. On the drive there, rock music blares from the radio. I look out of the window as Elken Grove flies past us. It’s quaint and looks like a one-horse town with its mostly wooden buildings and their neatly tended front yards. A large woman walks her Pomeranian and is stopped by another woman working in her yard. They have a chat over the short hedge. The peacefulness of it all fills me with unexpected yearning, and yet I found it difficult to live in a backwater town like Elken Grove.
I take the music down a notch. “How was growing up in a small town like this? What did you do ?”
“School. Sports. Making music.”
“You made music?”
Jack shrugs. “What teenager isn’t in a band?”
“I never was.”
“Why not?”
“I feel more comfortable listening to it.”
“So what did you do?”
“Sports. I played soccer.”
“Cool. Me, too. I was goalie.”
I can totally see a gangly teenage version of Jack jumping to catch a ball.
“See,” Jack adds, “our childhoods have been practically the same.”
I snort and shake my head. “Movies, indoor pools, ice-skating rinks, clubs, libraries, art galleries…” I look at a hair salon that looks decidedly uninviting. “There is something that makes me wish to live in a place like this, but it wouldn’t be enough. I’m not as deeply rooted as a lumberjack is.”
Jack scoffs at that and smiles at me.
“No, seriously, I want to travel and see the world before eventually settling down. Most likely that won’t be before my future kids start school.”
Jack nods. “I’m the same.”
I laugh outright. “Do you take your trees with you?”
He shakes his head. “No, of course not. Lumberjacking gigs. And vacations.”
“You travel? Where have you been last?”
“Japan.”
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve never been, though.”
“You’d love it.” He tells me of exotic meals and odd customs and how he and the friends he traveled with wanted to treat themselves to a limousine from the airport to the hotel and learned that in Japanese, limousine means bus. I enjoy his tales and we laugh a lot. I feel so comfortable in Jack’s presence that it scares me.
???
On our way back to Elken Grove, Jack whistles happily. He doesn’t realize the gravity of the tentative diagnosis. “No need to fret before we get the lab results,” he says and whistles on.
I ask to be dropped off at the Caffeine Drip. That coffee Jennie talked about sounds just like what I need now. The coffee shop is located on a corner of the main street, flanked by some stores to its left and right, a few of them sitting empty. I wonder whether it’s off-season or if they are permanently closed. Across the street, there’s a hardware store and the fire department. Down the street I make out a church and a grocery store.
Large windows frame an old-fashioned glass door with swirly golden lettering. Inside, the furniture is an eclectic mix-and-match that hasn’t been styled; instead it consists of what chairs and tables came in handy. Beautiful nature photographs are hung on the brick walls. Music plays from large speakers and I recognize Tawpie Tantrum. Rock music for the background? Interesting choice. The counter area, with its white tiles, showcases shelves that are stacked with beautiful artisan bread and a glass cabinet filled with cakes and pies. A heavenly smell of warm bread and freshly ground coffee permeates the air. I instantly fall in love with this place.
Jennie greets me with a grin and introduces me to Robin, the owner. She then guides me to a table with three women and urges me into a chair. “You do know Grace, don’t you? That’s her sister Meghan and Lauren, who used to work here before the sheriff whisked her away.”
Lauren chuckles good-naturedly. “And it feels like I’ve been pregnant ever since.” She pats her protruding belly.
“Pah, you’re not the only one here,” Grace says and mimics Lauren’s gesture.
Jennie giggles. “Grace, you are hardly showing yet. Hunter, although these ladies are weird, they’re a good bunch. I’ll get you a coffee and a cake right away.” With that, she walks away.
I stammer, “But I didn’t order anything.”
Meghan reassures me with a smile, “We hardly ever do. Jennie has a knack for getting it right. Just go with it.”
Finn enters, warmly greeting everyone. He settles at a table nearby, and within a minute, Jennie serves him a hearty sandwich and brings me a peanut bar with caramel and dark chocolate sprinkles. The coffee she picked for me comes in a glass cup. It is milky and has ice cubes and rose petals in it.
Lauren whistles appreciatively. “Cardamom rose iced coffee. Jennie, you’re a daredevil.”
Jennie pats my hand. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”
Lauren smiles reassuringly. “You probably will.” Turning to Jennie, she adds, “As I’ve valiantly finished my chamomile infusion, I’m now ready for my treat of the day.”
Jennie gives her a thumbs-up. “Got ya.”
Sighing, Lauren leans back. “You’ve got no idea how much I miss coffee. Dr. Weller allows me one cup a day. I’m sure Jennie is watering it down, too, but still—that one cup is pure bliss.”
An old man who sits at a table behind me—I had not even noticed him before—snarls, “You should be ashamed of yourself. If you cannot go without coffee, maybe you should not have kids at all.”
We’re all taken aback, but Finn calls loudly, “Look, Mr. Vance!” He points outside. “Out there, there they are—the things that concern you. What’s in another person’s cup is not your cup of tea.”
It feels like the whole shop bursts out in laughter. Jennie fist-bumps Finn before she places a cup of cappuccino in front of Lauren. To Mr. Vance she simply says, “Don’t.”
A life where people stand up for each other, know each other so well, they can celebrate small victories without saying a word—I’m envious. I spent too much time working for entitled clients to build that kind of camaraderie. I resolve to change that. I know not how nor where, but I want this.
After that, the conversation shifts to Lyle and Grace’s wedding that is set to happen in early November when the fall colors are at their peak. They invited family and close friends only and came up with one hundred and twenty guests. I guess that’s small-town life. If I ever get married, there’d be only my family: Dad, Carson, Brittney and the kids, and Gramma. And maybe Amanda, although she is more Brittney’s friend.
Grace shares various table decoration ideas from actual printed catalogs. Dozens of them. And she wants to get our feedback. And no, a simple, “I don’t really like that,” won’t do. Why wouldn’t we like it? What about it puts us off? Half an hour later we still haven’t ruled out any designs. Grace becomes increasingly frustrated. I ask, “What does Lyle like?”
Grace’s bewildered expression says it all. “I haven’t even asked him!”
Lauren comforts her, “Pregnancy brain, honey. Happens to the best of us.”
Finn, who’s been quietly observing, stands up and puts his jacket on. “Lyle will love whatever makes you happy. You know that, right?”
I need to blink away a tear or two. All this wedding talk must have made me mushy. Someone who’d be okay with anything that made me happy—who wouldn’t want that? I force that thought away and remind myself of my family’s track record considering love. Nope, it’s not for me.
Grace nods and smiles at Finn.
“You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Lyle’d be glad to put some weight in, too. But I’m sure he’d like this one.” He points at the picture of a table decked in a white cloth with leaves and twigs with berries as decoration. “He’d love the fall theme. Just make sure there are no pumpkins; otherwise, it’ll look like Halloween or Thanksgiving.”
Through the big window I spot Jack coming our way. At once, my stomach flutters. It’s unreal what that man does to me. He is more than just handsome, okay. His contradicting sides are intriguing. But his absentmindedness is getting old. I’m not really falling for someone like him, am I?
He has a spring to his step and smiles happily. He has his hand already on the door when the sheriff stops him. They talk and Jack sobers immediately. He shakes his head and the sheriff shrugs. He tilts his head as if to say, “Come along,” and puts his hand on Jack’s shoulder to nudge him on. Has this been a friendly gesture or has Jack just been arrested?