The Reunion by Kiersten Modglin

Author:Kiersten Modglin [Modglin, Kiersten]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kiersten Modglin
Published: 2021-12-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Age Eighteen

I was behind the counter of the Petal Café, counting back change to a grown man with one hand held out, the other gripping his phone. He’d placed his order without making eye contact with me a single time.

“Have a great day.” I smiled at him, glancing at the tip jar once, its bottom littered with pennies but not much else.

His head jerked upward with a quick nod and he was out the door. As he shoved out of it, I caught sight of the person walking inside, his carefree smile enough to send my stomach spiraling. I looked over my shoulder, hoping I’d find Cara in the back. If I did, I’d ask her to wait on Grant so I could hide.

As luck would have it, I was the only employee in sight.

“Hello,” I greeted him, warm and friendly, as if he were just another customer.

He’d looked straight through me the first time, but when he heard my voice, his eyes searched the room with a mission, landing on me quickly. “Hey.” His head bobbed backward a bit. If he knew I worked there, his rendition of not knowing was incredibly believable. He pointed to me, then looked around, as if he were being pranked. “You work here?”

“I just started,” I told him. “I was at Jewell’s before…”

“Before it closed, right,” he said, nodding slowly. “I remember you worked there.”

I had no idea he knew I worked there, let alone that he remembered.

“Yeah, I took a few months off after that, for the holiday, but I needed to get started somewhere before graduation.”

“You plan on staying around here, then? After graduation? Did you ever decide?”

“Um…” I clicked my tongue, thinking back to our conversation over coffees last summer. It seemed like a lifetime ago. “I don’t know yet. I don’t want to go too far from my parents, no. But I don’t know that I want to stay here, either.” I paused. “What about you?”

“I’m still planning on going to Vandy. In Nashville.” He nodded, but it was hesitant.

“Oh, okay.” Nashville was several hours away. Our time together was coming to an end. Then again, so much was coming to an end. We’d graduate in just two months and then it was very likely I’d never see most of the people I went to school with again, especially if I got out of Spider Lily, which I fully intended to do.

“It’s…it’s good to see you.” He moved closer to the counter, lowering his voice, though we were the only ones in the restaurant besides Cara, who was probably hiding in the bathroom fluffing her hair or reapplying her lipstick for the fifth time that day.

“You too.”

“I’ve tried to call you a few times.”

“I know,” I said, not bothering to explain why I hadn’t answered. We both knew why.

“How’s…Sam?”

“Fine. How’s Jamie?”

“Fine.” He glanced up at the menu board above my head, reminding me that I was still on the clock.

“Can I get you something?”

He was silent and I was pretty sure he was reading the menu, although it had been the same for our entire lives.

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