Chapter 52
Chapter fifty-two
Audrey
Instead of turning onto the highway to head back into the city, I make a right at the stop sign, and head into downtown Roseville. I need comfort—of any sort—and I know where to get it.
Rain soaks the sidewalk, but inside the diner is quiet, the booths full of mostly older folks, who all look at me as the door chimes. It’s weird to be here without Rhett, but he doesn’t own this town. Or the booth.
“Just one?” A waitress about my age asks with a small smile. I nod, pulling my damp hair up into a top knot.
“I’m sorry, the rain got me good,” I wince, apologizing as I slide into the red booth with water dripping off me.
“Don’t even worry about it. How about a warm cup of coffee?” She turns over the white ceramic mug.
“Yes, thanks, and I'm going to get the classic waffle.”
“Sounds good.”
Once she walks away, I add cream to the coffee, breathing it in before sipping it, letting the warmth fill me. The chatter around me settles me a little, and I do everything I can to push the image of Mabel from my mind. I have to.
I take out my phone to text Penny.
Audrey: Mission complete. Got your boots.
Penny: Did you see him? And thank you. I owe you.
She did owe me.
Audrey: He wasn’t home. But Mabel chased me as I left, and now I'm in the diner in town, sitting alone in his booth, waiting for a waffle. Please tell me I haven’t lost my mind.
Penny: I think this is all necessary. It’s part of healing. It’s closure.
I shake my head, bringing the white mug to my lips. The thing is, I don’t want to heal, I don’t want closure from Rhett. I don’t want this gaping wound in my heart to become a scar I look back on one day, like a distant summer fling.
That’s not how I want to remember this summer.
I slide my phone back into my jacket pocket, at a loss for what to say next.
Music plays softly in the background, and I bring my focus to the quaint Main Street outside.
A few people walk by the diner with umbrellas.
I’m grateful for the rain. It made me slow down a bit today.
The car across from the diner pulls out of its parking spot, revealing a boarded up shop I've never noticed before.
“One waffle. Anything else I can get for you?” The waitress comes back, placing my food before me.
“Thank you.” I pause, the coffee mug halfway to my lips. I tip my head slightly toward the window. “Actually, maybe you can answer this. Do you know anything about that empty store front across from the diner?”
Her eyes follow mine to the window, where the rain has softened to a drizzle.
Across the street, an empty retail space sits wedged between two busy storefronts.
The awning sags slightly, its fabric stained and weathered.
A faded ‘For Rent’ sign clings to the inside of the dusty windows, its edges curling from age.
The sign is so bleached from the sun that the phone number is nearly invisible, just faint shadows where ink used to be.
“That place has been empty since I started working here…gosh, probably before that. So, at least six years.” She shrugs her shoulders, turning back to me.
“Oh okay. Thank you.” I smile as I savor my waffle, a nervous flutter igniting within me as my mind wanders off on its own. I eat in silence, my eyes trained out the window.
I linger in the booth, my coffee refilled twice, as a wild idea claws at the edges of my mind. It’s relentless, impossible to ignore—a notion which would've been unthinkable just six months ago. Yet here it is, screaming for my attention, daring me to consider it.
Twenty minutes later, I find myself in my car, surveying the sad, neglected space. It’s crying out for reinvention, for someone to show it love. It needs to be reminded that just because it’s been empty for so long, it doesn’t mean it’s unworthy.
The right person simply hasn’t come along to see its potential. Until now.
I hit a contact in my phone, and my Realtor's voice fills my car. “Hello, this is Elena!”
“Hey Elena, it’s Audrey! I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. I have a question for you and was hoping you could help me.” I smile, my heart skipping a beat as I lean over my steering wheel to get one more good look at the empty store.
“Can you get the information on a property for me? The address is 308 Main Street in Roseville.”