“Good morning, Mom,” Andrew said as he walked into the kitchen.
“You’re up early this morning.”
Andrew poured himself a cup of coffee. “I need to get back on an east coast schedule.”
“That’s got to be exhausting changing time zones like that, but you’re still young. You should be able to bounce right back.”
He shook his head. “Have to admit, there are a lot of days I’m not feeling so young anymore.”
“You’re probably working too hard. Every time I talk to you, all you talk about is work. Don’t you do anything for fun anymore?”
“I don’t have much time for anything else. Ever since Francois gave me the signature restaurant, it seems like I do everything. Hire, fire, prepare the menus, and cook. It’s exhausting. Last week I got stuck finding a new company to do the table linens.”
“Why on earth would you have to do that? Seems like they’d have someone to handle that.”
“Francois fires people faster than they can learn the jobs. I had to fill the gap to keep things going.”
“He’s lucky to have you. I guess that’s a small price to pay to be the chef at one of the most famous restaurants in France.”
There was a time when he’d thought that too. “I do love being a chef.” Only it wasn’t as fun as it used to be. Having to follow Francois’ recipes to the very letter was getting old. He yearned for the days when he could create something new in the kitchen for fun. Things like ordering linens and playing mediator between Francois and the employees, or soothing egos when Francois popped in on one of his surprise visits only to wield fury on Andrew’s team, was exhausting. He needed a psychology degree, not a culinary one. Not one to complain himself, he let Mom’s comment go.
“Dawn texted me earlier. She wants me to come over and see all the renovations they’ve done at the house.”
“It’s beautiful.” Her smile broadened in approval. “I’m so glad you’re making time to spend with her. She’s really missed you. We all have.”
“I’ve missed you too.” He grabbed his keys from the counter where he’d left them last night.
“Do you remember how to get there?”
“Things couldn’t have changed that much.”
“You might be surprised. If you have one of those fancy GPS in that car, you might want to use it.”
“I’ll call if I get lost,” he said, joking.
“I’ll see you later.”
He drove down the long lane that led to his folks’ house, then through the center of town.
The Main Street Cafe was bustling with customers. His first and only job in this town had been there.
It was where he’d fallen in love with cooking, and Kelly.
As he got closer, he noticed the cafe had tables out front now, not so much unlike a bistro back in France. A nice addition.
The old factory building next to it had been empty for as many years as he could remember, but now the brick facade had been spruced up with a new glossy white exterior extending both sides of the corner, boasting glossy white painted pillars. It brought a cheery brightness this end of the street had always needed.
He read the bright pink scripted letters over the door. The Cake Factory.
Andrew swallowed hard. Mixed feelings surged through him—pride, envy, and denial.
Dawn had told him Kelly had opened her own bakery. Pink had always been her favorite color, and this was right next door to her folks’ cafe. This had to be it.
He leaned forward, trying to get a better look. It was a big place.
Mom and Dawn had tried to keep him up-to-date about what was going on with Kelly over the years, but he’d stopped them mid-sentence every time. It had been his choice not to come home seven years ago. He had to live with the consequences.
But in his mind she still worked at the family restaurant while selling her baked goods out of a tiny shop in town. Seeing this fancy storefront had caught him off guard. As wrong as it was, seeing her succeed…without him…gnawed at him.
Where would we be right now if I’d made a different decision seven years ago? Married. They’d had a wedding date. An inner torment had his mind reeling, making him question his decisions. They’d once dreamed of their own restaurant and bakery.
He slowed down, taking in all the changes from the anonymity of his rental car. There were a few new businesses. A gym, a used bookstore, and a clothing boutique. A frozen yogurt shop sat right next to a new dry cleaner where the old arcade used to be. He’d pounded flippers in that place for hours a day until he was old enough to drive.
Main Street had gotten an upgrade since he’d been gone, with shiny black lampposts and new benches between the storefronts. Planters of brightly colored pansies and evergreens adorned every corner. It seemed brighter, and more upscale than the small town he remembered.
Across the street, a woman made her way through the crosswalk with the fattest little dog he’d ever seen on a harness with a sparkly leash. The lumbering animal didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry as they crossed while he sat at the red light.
The woman turned and headed down the alley road behind the row of shops.
Pretty flags lined Main Street in green and gold with the new Bailey’s Fork pine tree logo on them. He’d once carved initials in that tree. AY + KM with a big heart around it.
Bailey’s Fork Flower & Gift had new awnings and a fresh coat of turquoise paint. He thought to stop and get Mom some flowers. She’d always loved flowers, but there was no way could he get in and out of the flower shop without Mrs. Chalmers spreading the word that he was back in town. It was hard to keep a secret in a town the size of Bailey’s Fork.
Just past Town Square, a brand-new row of office buildings filled the block where the old skating rink had once been. What did the local kids do now that it and the arcade were both gone? There’d never been all that much to do here in the first place.
He made a last-minute right-hand turn. Mom was right. Things had changed. The turn to Dawn’s had snuck up on him with all the new businesses on this corner.
He had to check the address twice when he got to Dawn’s house. The small starter home she and Jeff had bought the year they’d gotten married wasn’t even recognizable now. They’d gone up a story and had even added a garage.
She ran out onto the wraparound porch as he pulled into the driveway.
“This place looks great,” he said, getting out of the car.
“Come in. You’ve got to see everything.”
An hour later, he’d seen the whole house and even toured Jeff’s man cave.
“This is pretty cool,” Andrew said. The garage was as neat as an auto parts store. In the middle of the two-bay garage sat a ’34 Ford nearing the finishing stages of restoration.
“That’s his pride and joy,” she said. “Sometimes I think he’d rather spend time with ol’ Bessie here than me.”
“She’s a beauty.”
“He says she’ll be ready to drive by this summer. I might forgive him then.”
“Women.” Andrew shook his head.
“Speaking of which, how’s your love life?”
He thought before he answered. “Varied.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you start thinking about settling down?”
“Haven’t met the right kind of girl.” Not that he’d really been looking.
“Life happens fast. You’d better slow down, or you’ll miss out on what it has to offer.”
“Easier said than done in this 24/7 world we live in.” He followed Dawn to the back patio. The sun was warm on this side of the house. It was a gorgeous day for February.
“Fine. I know you’re not going to listen to me anyway. So, what’s your schedule while you’re here? Anything you want to do? People you want to see?”
“There’s not enough time to visit. I’ll have to do that on another trip, but maybe we could do a little horseback riding. That’s one thing I haven’t done since I’ve been away.”
“You’re on. That’ll make Mom happy too. It’s hard for us to get all four horses ridden as much as she’d like them to be. Want to go out to lunch?”
“Didn’t I just say I didn’t want to see anyone? Sure as heck if I go into town, everyone will know I’m here and I won’t get a minute’s piece.”
“Oh? Well, with Jeff out of town, I haven’t been doing much cooking. Why don’t we pick up a pizza? No one will know you in that low-key car you’re driving.”
It was definitely eye-catching.
“You can stay in the car, then we can go over to the old barn and have a picnic. It’ll be nice.”
“That sounds good.”
Dawn gathered a sheet and some paper towels to take with them.
They were able to get their pizza and get out of town without being noticed.
When Andrew drove past the McIntyres’ house, a twinge of something soared through him. Guilt? Sorrow? He’d done a pretty good job ignoring those old feelings, but being right here—practically in her front yard—made it a little harder.
He glanced over toward Dawn, who was smiling gently at him. “You okay?” she asked.
“Sure.” He remembered this stretch of road. He’d travelled this path what seemed like a million times to meet up with Kelly.
“Do you know where you are?”
“I do.” The tallest loblolly pine in North Carolina was on the left. “This was halfway between Mom and Dad’s house and Kelly McIntyre’s. We used to meet here.”
“I guess you do remember that. You did community service for a whole summer to make up for defacing that tree.”
“All in the name of love.” He laughed, although it hadn’t been funny at the time. He’d had to do community service and pay a big fine. “Every time I walked or rode Doc down here to meet Kelly, I’d hum that old Diamond Rio song, ‘Meet in The Middle.’”
“I loved that song.”
“Me too. In the song there were seven hundred fence posts to the middle. There weren’t that many on this walk, but I’d lay odds that I’ve been down this path every bit of seven hundred times.”
“Y’all were really good together.”
He pulled up to the old barn in the curve. “We were.” The creek ran right behind it, and as kids, he and Dawn had picnicked here often. He was thankful to arrive so they could change the subject.
They ate pizza and skipped rocks on the creek like they had as kids. It was a relaxing afternoon. He hadn’t realized how tense he was, but boy could he tell the difference now that he wasn’t.
Dawn tucked the trash into the pizza box. “We’d better get back to Mom’s. She’ll be mad if I keep you all to myself, especially while Dad’s out of town. I like to help her with the horses at night when Dad’s not around.”
“Sounds good.” Andrew led the way back to the car, and they headed home. Nightfall came early this time of year, and the sun was already dipping low beyond the horizon when he pulled into the driveway.
“We should’ve saved her some pizza. Let’s throw the box away out here so she doesn’t know.”
He put the trash in the bin and slammed the lid.
Dawn pointed down the hill. “Mom must already be down there. The barn lights are on.” She cupped her hands to her mouth and hollered, “Mom!”
“I’ll check inside.” Andrew went inside, then came right back out. “She’s not up here.”
“She’s not answering. That’s not like her.”
“I’m sure she’s fine.” He caught the look of worry on Dawn’s face. “I’ll race you down.”
Dawn took off down the hill, but he caught up with her easily.
She stopped and yelled again, “Mom?”
Andrew turned and ran backward, waiting for her to catch up. “Slowpoke.”
“I can’t run anymore.” She stopped and bent over with her hands on her knees.
“What’s wrong, Ms. Yoga Teacher? Are you getting old?” He ran a circle around her.
“Real funny.” She leaped onto his back, and he ran to the barn with her piggyback style.
“Hey, Mom. Need some help?” Andrew called out as they got to the barn, but she still didn’t answer. Then again, she didn’t cry out for help either. “She’s probably behind the barn,” he said, hoping to calm Dawn.
He swung open the barn door, but he never expected to see this.