Chapter 6
Lucas
Greg was really mad. In fact, Lucas had never seen his friend so wound up, but to be fair Jenn shouldn’t have taken his pride and joy without asking. That was just asking for trouble.
He watched as Greg attempted to call Jenn on the phone again. His face was so red in color that it looked practically cartoonish. Surely, it was going to explode at any second?
‘She’s not answering,’ he said finally, slamming his phone on the counter. ‘She could at least answer my call! Why is she not answering my call?’
‘To be fair, she’s probably driving,’ Lucas tried to reason. ‘We don’t want her crashing, do we?’
‘Yeah, not while driving my car! Which she had no permission to take.’ Greg was pacing the room now, pushing his glasses up against his nose.
He was properly stressed. For once, Lucas was pleased that The Diner was mostly empty; apart from old Ernie from the bookstore enjoying his pancakes in the far corner, there was no one else that Greg could bother.
This was the depressing norm at the moment, a fact Lucas was trying not to linger on.
At least Greg was giving him some entertaining distractions.
Lucas wasn’t used to seeing his friend like this.
They had been close since high school. Typically, Greg was the chilled-out one who barely said a bad word against anyone, while Lucas, on the other hand, had a whole list of people he’d like to curse.
It was usually Greg that had to calm Lucas down, not the other way around.
But this was Greg’s beloved Buick – his pride and joy. Even worse, it was Jenn who had taken it. That was probably the last straw. Lucas knew there was no love lost between the pair of them.
‘What does she want the car for anyway?’ Lucas asked. ‘I thought she was leaving town this weekend?’
Greg shrugged. ‘She muttered something about picking up a very important person. The next thing I know Billy is gone. She didn’t even ask!’
‘Would you have said yes if she had?’
‘No – but that’s not the point.’ Greg slumped in a seat by the counter. ‘You know how wild she drives. If she gets any damage on the paintwork, I swear …’
Lucas smiled in an attempt to pacify. ‘Will some ice cream help? On the house?’
‘I’m not a ten-year-old child, Luc,’ Greg muttered, but then he lifted his head meekly. ‘Do you have any pistachio left?’
‘Of course. I always keep some by for emergencies like this.’
As Lucas busied himself filling a sundae glass with the biggest scoops of ice cream he could manage, he began to ponder who the very important person might be that Jenn was picking up.
They weren’t exactly known for attracting celebrities here.
The place was so sleepy even the birds struggled to stay awake.
He just hoped Jenn wasn’t bringing trouble to their door.
As much as the town could use being woken up a little, it didn’t need another storm.
He handed Greg his dessert. ‘There – I even added sprinkles for extra delight.’
Greg managed a stiff smile. ‘Thanks.’ He fiddled with his spoon, playing with the ice cream. ‘I know you think I’m being dramatic, but you know what Jenn is like. Look at all the drama with her van.’
Lucas frowned. He had to agree, that had been stressful.
A few months ago, Jenn had got it into her head that she was going to run some kind of cake and dessert van right next to his diner.
He later discovered that her plan was to use his electricity and water to operate the thing and being the loser he was, he had reluctantly agreed.
He was relieved that plan seemed to have fallen by the wayside. The last he had heard, Jenn was selling the van and using the money to travel around Europe. He was thankful for once that Jenn was so flaky and never actually stuck to her plans.
‘That van would’ve been a nightmare,’ he admitted. ‘It would’ve taken business away from me and it’s not exactly booming in here as it is.’
He looked around the place and the same gloomy feeling swamped him. Was he making a mess of it? He promised his mom he would keep the place going – and they were barely keeping afloat.
‘I don’t know why you agreed in the first place,’ Greg muttered. ‘I would have told her where to go.’
‘She just has a way of persuading people and getting in your head,’ Lucas replied bitterly. ‘Anyway – you know what she’s like. She would have done it anyway even if I said no. I wanted some control over the situation.’
This clearly reminded Greg of his car again as he started quickly ramming ice cream in his mouth, whilst muttering bitterly about Jenn under his breath.
‘None of this matters now,’ Lucas said casually, wiping up the trail of ice-cream drips that Greg was leaving behind. ‘Jenn will be back in no time with your car and some lame-ass excuse I’m sure and she will soon be gone.’
Greg threw his arms dramatically into the air. ‘Thank the Lord.’
‘I honestly don’t know why she annoys you so much. Yeah, I know she’s a bit of an airhead, but she’s always been like that. Even in school, she would be the one to borrow textbooks off one of us and then lose them. Or be desperate for some cash and forget to pay us back—’
‘High school was a long time ago,’ Greg muttered. ‘We’re different now. You should know that more than anyone else.’
Greg gave him that look above his glasses that made Lucas feel a little uncomfortable.
He knew he looked different now. He wasn’t the same skinny-ass kid he used to be.
Daily runs and working hard in the kitchen had filled him out.
He was fitter, stronger now – but the same insecurities rattled inside him, as he was sure they did for Greg.
Were they really so different to those nerdy kids they had been in school?
‘You need to tell me what the deal is between you and Jenn,’ he said, desperate to change the subject. ‘There is something more going on; I’m sure of it.’
Greg glared at him and then pushed his half-eaten ice cream to one side. ‘It’s a long and convoluted tale and not something I will bore you with now. Let’s just say we both have problematic girls from our past that know exactly how to get under our skin.’
Lucas flinched. Was that comment really necessary? ‘Yeah, well – at least my problem is many, many miles away,’ he replied sharply.
And long may that continue.
The last thing he needed was more drama in his life.
As the hours continued to tick by, Greg’s complaints grew.
He couldn’t settle in The Diner but refused to open the bar until he knew his beloved car was back safe.
Lucas rustled him up some steak and fries, hoping that food might placate him, but it only seemed to make him more tired and grumpy.
Greg finally retreated into one of the side booths, looking mournfully at photos of Billy on his phone.
It seemed to Lucas that he loved that car more than a child. Or anyone else for that matter.
It was understandable though. That car had been his father’s.
Lucas knew that the most important person in Greg’s life had been his father.
He hadn’t exactly gotten along with his mom and when she met Rick and moved to the neighboring town of Westpine Ridge, Greg had stayed here with his dad, Al.
He was an older man with a lot of health issues.
It hadn’t been easy for Greg to see the decline in Al’s health and mental well-being, and Greg cherished everything he had of his.
‘How is the old boy?’ Lucas asked now, conscious that he had just recently recovered from another heavy cold.
Greg put down his phone and sighed. ‘He’s still forgetting stuff. I went over there yesterday and he had put his front-door keys in the fridge. He was all upset and worked up – kept talking about Mom like she was still here.’
Lucas nodded empathetically. He knew his friend could come across as grumpy and cold, but he had a lot on his plate.
‘How are you?’ Greg asked suddenly, breaking the short silence. ‘I figured this might be a hard time for you, what with your mom and that …’
Lucas blinked. He wasn’t expecting this question.
If he was being honest, he liked to keep the focus on Greg, so that he didn’t have to think about his own shit.
He was aware that his mom’s anniversary was looming.
He still couldn’t believe it had been nearly two years.
It still seemed so raw. Time was cruel like that; sometimes it had you believing that things were still true when they clearly could never be again.
‘Maybe you should do something. To mark the day?’ Greg suggested hesitantly. ‘It’s coming up next month, isn’t it?’
Yeah, Lucas thought sadly. May 22nd. In no time at all, the anniversary would be here.
He shook his head. ‘I dunno. I was thinking of just having a day to myself, you know? Hiking up the mountains. Or going to the Falls. I don’t think I’d want to be around people—’
‘But your mom did, didn’t she? And so many folks around here still talk about her. I know Dad does …’ Greg paused, perhaps sensing he was pushing too hard. ‘Anyway, you’ve got a few weeks to think about it, haven’t you?’
‘Yeah, I guess I have … Janice wants us to do something special here, some kind of celebration of life for Mom, but I’m not so sure …’
Lucas was about to say more. He was about to tell Greg how hard he was finding it back in the Springs.
His short time away in New York with Mia had helped clear his mind a little, but ultimately after eight months he had been drawn back to the town, not least because of his promise to his mom to keep The Diner going.
Despite the promise, he was struggling to be in a place that had ghosts of his mom everywhere he looked.
It would never be the same.
He would never be the same.
But maybe he needed to try to make things better.
Janice, his mom’s friend who worked alongside Lucas at The Diner part time, had also been on him to do something special for the anniversary.
Her suggestion was to cook many of Mel’s special dishes that the town loved, including her notable blueberry cheesecake.
He had the recipe upstairs in his apartment but hadn’t had the emotional strength yet to try and replicate it. Maybe now was the time.
He turned to Greg. ‘I guess I could do something—’
However, Lucas never got the chance to get his words out as suddenly, they heard the distinctive sound of wheels squealing on the asphalt outside.
‘She’s back!’ Greg yelled, jumping up and running towards the door. ‘I swear if there is one scratch on that car, I will actually kill her. I will …’
Lucas sighed and followed him out, wondering what surprises would hit him next.
As he followed Greg out to the parking lot, the first thing he saw was Jenn jump out of the car – hands held up, ready to defend her actions immediately.
‘Hey Greg. I looked after him, I promise. There isn’t a mark on him – look! And it was an emergency.’
‘I don’t care!’ Greg shouted back. ‘Emergency or not, you should have asked first.’
‘You would have said no.’
‘That’s not the point.’
‘Of course that’s the point. You always say no. You are a grumpy, mean ass that never agrees to anything. I was just trying to do something good.’
‘Mean ass! How can you accuse me of that when you have stolen! You are a stealer!’
Lucas was trying not to laugh. It was hard not to see the humor in all this. Greg was getting even more red faced and toddler like. Lucas wouldn’t be surprised to see him stamp his feet at any moment.
And what was all the fuss about anyway? What was this so-called emergency?
With perfect timing, the passenger-side door opened and out hopped another person. Lucas saw the cloud of light brown, wavy hair and then he saw the bright, excitable eyes and wide smile.
A smile that was still as magnetic and dangerous as it had always been.
And eyes that had always reminded him of purest honey.
An icy blast hit him right in the gut.
It was Willow. Willow Davis. She was back in town.
How? What? Why on earth was she here? Last thing Lucas remembered, she and Jake had left this place for the city, swearing never to come back.
This wasn’t an emergency; it was an absolute nightmare.
He closed his eyes briefly and sucked in a deep breath, trying to ignore the thundering of his heart in his chest.
Suddenly, this day had just gone from quiet to worryingly complicated.