| |
The following day at work, Carly walked up to Charlotte. “Hey, do you have a minute?” She’d spent the night before tossing and turning. Carly regretted how she’d treated Charlotte and made it the day’s top priority to fix it.
Charlotte turned around from the cupcakes she was icing. “Of course, let me just wash my hands.”
“I’ll meet you at the courtyard.” Carly went out the back to the courtyard, the part of the cafe that no one ever saw. It was the space where she, Charlotte, and Steph escaped to for a quick break in the day. The three of them had spent many late nights de-stressing in the courtyard, especially during the peak months of the year.
“Hiya,” Charlotte said, as she joined Carly. “What’s up?”
Sheltered from the sun by a large outdoor umbrella, Carly looked up from where she sat and smiled. “I just—I want to apologize for how I’d acted yesterday,” Carly said. “It was really immature of me and I shouldn’t have walked out.”
Charlotte shrugged. “Look, we all have our bad days. Don’t worry about it.”
Carly shook her head, embarrassed. “Did you manage alright without me? I mean, being one man down?”
“We survived,” Charlotte said with a wink. “But look, I owe you an apology as well.”
“What? No—”
“I was out of line. I shouldn’t have shoved my nose where it didn’t belong. I was just worried—actually, no. I shouldn’t make any excuses,” Charlotte said. “You’re a grown woman and I know that. But if you ever need to talk, you know that I’m here, right?”
Carly nodded. She knew that Charlotte would always be there for her. “You weren’t out of line,” Carly said. “You were just looking out for me.” Carly smiled. She appreciated how Charlotte and her friends were always so nice to her. Growing up, they didn’t have much to do with each other because the age difference was too wide. Sure, they saw each other at Sunday mass—but so did everyone else. There were also the annual town events and the odd times that Charlotte babysat her. Other than that, they were from different worlds. But when Charlotte first opened the cafe and Carly applied for the job as a front of house waitress, the gap between them closed and she had found a dear friend in Charlotte. Today, Carly felt as if she was ten years old again, looking in on the older girls—wanting to be one of them.
“Are we okay?”
Carly nodded. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
Carly took a deep breath. She needed to know. “Do you really think there can’t be anything between Mick and I?”
Charlotte relaxed into her chair.
Carly returned Charlotte’s gaze, allowing the thoughtful silence to take hold of the moment.
“Mick is,”—Charlotte sighed—“Mick is two years older than me. Growing up as best friends with Jenna meant that I grew up around him too.”
Carly listened. She knew about them growing up together. Living in a small town, they’d all grown up around each other. They witnessed family hardships, break-ups, new life, and even death. Every generation in Willow Oaks always formed a strong bond, passing it down on to the next. Each other was all that they had, and it was that same bond that fostered the success of the town. From cafes and eateries, to bookstores, hardware stores, and other small businesses. The people of Willow stood by each other, buying only from their own, when it was possible. Without that kinship, Willow Oaks might have not have been as successful.
“Mick has always been a bit of a loner. No, that sounds bad. What I mean is, he does not like to rely on anyone.” Charlotte ran her finger over a potted succulent which sat on the table between them. “He might have changed—who knows? But I remember when Jodie Ann Keller left—”
“Who?”
“Jodie Ann Keller. You might not remember her, though. Her family left town when you were quite young—in fact, you might not have been born yet!” Charlotte laughed, but Carly decided to let it go. It was one of the things that she would have to get used to if anything were to come of her and Mick. “She and Mick used to date. They were always together.”
“She left town? That’s so sad.” Charlotte was right. Carly couldn’t remember Jodie Ann, much less put a face to the name.
“The Kellers moved to New York, and the rumor was that Mick had left home to go after her. Whether he’d found and reconnected with her or not, no one really knew. Mick kept to himself.”
Carly gasped. She’d never heard the story before. Of course she knew Mick left, but she never knew the full story. It had never really mattered to her.
“People say that’s the reason Mick left. And he just never came back. I mean, sure he would come back every so often. But he’d never really come back home to stay.”
“How old was he then?”
Charlotte paused to think. “I think he was about seventeen or eighteen. Jenna and I were in high school when he left. Mrs. Myers was heartbroken, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it.”
“I had no idea.” And she really hadn’t. Mick was always the talk of the town whenever he was home—so far, just for weddings or funerals—but Carly never really bothered with the truth. She’d just always accepted whatever story floated around.
“After that, I hadn’t really heard anything about his relationships. News about Mick was rare.”
“Are Mick and Jenna close?” Carly shook the niggling feeling that she was betraying Mick by asking about him. She knew she would hate to have someone asking around about her. But she needed to know.
Charlotte shook her head slowly from side to side, and her hand waving along. “I’m not sure if close is the right word to use. As I understand it, Mick isn’t close to anyone in his family. Jenna takes what she can get. You know how she is. Family is everything to Jenna.”
“I shouldn’t be asking you these questions.” It didn’t feel right. Carly shook her head. “I feel like I’m digging for dirt.”
Charlotte studied her. “Are you?”
“Digging for dirt? No!” But even Carly could tell by the defensive tone of her own voice that that’s exactly what she was doing. “Just curious,” she said softly.
“Look, all I’m saying is—be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Carly stood up. “I know. Thanks, Charlotte. I’m a big girl.” As soon as the words came out, Carly wanted to take them back.
“I know you are.” Charlotte stood up as well. “Shall we get back to work then?”
Carly nodded. “I’m meeting NYJedi today.” She’d said it softly, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear... in case he stood her up again.
“Wait, what? Why?”
A shrug. That’s all Carly could give.
“What do you mean?” Charlotte mimicked her shrug.
“I just want to know.”
“You want to know what? Does Mick know?”
No, Carly thought. “Does he have to?”
“I don’t know. I guess not,” Charlotte said. “I mean, if you guys aren’t really a thing-thing. Are you?”
No, Carly thought again. “No. We’re not.”
“Is he coming here?”
“Who? Mick?”
“No—the Jedi guy.”
“We’re meeting at lakeside park.”
Charlotte didn’t say anything.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Carly said nervously.
“I’m not,” Charlotte said.
“Stop it!”
“I’m not doing anything!” Charlotte laughed.
Carly paused. “I want to get to know Mick,” Carly said, her voice almost a whisper.
Charlotte took Carly’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know.”
“Is it wrong?”
“Does it feel wrong?”
Carly shook her head. It felt good to be with him. There was something about Mick. Something that made her feel warm and fuzzy.
“You just have to trust your instincts.”
Truth be told, Carly’s instincts were all over the place. “I want to see who NYJedi is, and then that’ll be it. I’ll tell him that we can’t continue our relationship.”
“Is that what you want to do?” Charlotte asked.
Carly thought about it. “Yes.”