Amy drives past Betty’s Bakery as she heads for home, but something catches her eye and makes her drive around the town square again, passing Betty’s for a second time. There it is. Gabe’s truck. She starts to drive away but something in her makes her slowly drive that loop around the square for a third time, and she pulls up in front of the restaurant, holding tight to the steering wheel. She remains here for several minutes, staring at the restaurant door as people come and go, battling with herself over what she’s doing here. She rests her forehead on the steering wheel before turning off the engine. When she enters Betty’s, she inhales a combination of smells—savory soups, pot roast, and mulled cider—and realizes how hungry she is; it’s after seven thirty and she has normally eaten something by now. Gabe catches her eye from a booth and he waves, standing up. She takes off the hood of her jacket and walks to him, shoving her gloves inside the pockets. “So weird seeing you here again,” he says.
She shrugs off the coincidence. “Just picking up something for Gloria again. Are you eating?”
“I was supposed to be meeting Travis but Lauren called him and said something came up that she wanted to tell him and Gloria about.”
She nods. “I’m sure it was about her dress. I worked late for her so that she could go pick it up.”
Gabe glances down at the table. “You’re welcome to join me if you haven’t eaten.”
Amy purses her lips, thinking, as her head bobs up and down. “I’m really hungry and that sounds…”
She doesn’t finish and Gabe says, “I haven’t ordered yet so…”
They sit facing each other in the booth and Amy picks up the menu, looking it over. “Hard to believe that the wedding day is so close.”
“Right. A little less than a month away.”
She sets the menu down. “They don’t seem nervous. That’s good.”
“Were you nervous?”
She looks at him. “I wasn’t. I was ready because I was marrying the man I wanted to live with for the rest of my life.” His mouth turns up in a sad smile. “I didn’t mean for that to make you sad. I just remember that day so clearly because I wasn’t nervous. It’s not a sad memory for me. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “No. You don’t need to apologize. That day isn’t a sad memory for me either, but something inside me knew I wasn’t the man that you deserved. Even then, I knew what I needed to do to be a man, but I didn’t do those things. I thought that marrying this amazing woman would somehow make everything right with my world.”
She leans on the table. “I’m really glad that everything seems right with your world now, Gabe.”
He chuckles, running his fingers through his hair. “It took God awhile but, thankfully, He’s persistent. I knew that if I wanted to live I needed to get sober.”
“And you did.”
“With a lot of help, yeah.”
“And you have a job that you seem to like.”
He smiles. “I do.”
“And before you know it you’ll be teaching inside a classroom. Will you stay at Grandon?”
He picks up the napkin and begins to fold it over and over on the table. “I hope there’s a spot for me when I graduate. I really want to teach there.”
“I didn’t ask before … when will you graduate?”
“I have two semesters left.”
She shakes her head. “I had no idea.”
He shrugs. “There hasn’t been a lot of time to … catch up.”
They give their orders to the waitress and Amy sips her club soda. “I saw you drop Maddie off the other day. She hugged you and…” She turns her head to look out over the tables. “She trusts you, Gabe. She’s crazy about you.”
He shrugs. “I seem to be more charming to little girls.”
“That’s not true. Big girls find you charming too.”
She holds his gaze and his heart skips a beat, wondering if what he’s sensing could possibly be true. Gabe feels as if he’s floating off his seat and grabs the end of the table, hanging on. “Somehow that little girl makes me want to be a better man.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know what it is, but every time I’m around her I think that I just need to be a good, good man for her.”
“And you are.”
An hour into their conversation, he realizes he’s barely touched his food. Amy’s plate is nearly full as well. If Gabe has to order three more meals in order to hold on to this table and this moment with Amy, he’ll do it!
“I’m going to be a foster mom,” she says. He sets his fork down, listening. “I was really nervous about it but I just kept feeling this nudge. Gloria says that a lot of people ignore the nudge.”
“You’ve never ignored the nudge for anything. It’s not in your DNA. Wow. A foster mom. Those will be some blessed kids!”
They order dessert and take their sweet time eating; the restaurant empties with the exception of a few employees sweeping the floor, filling salt and pepper shakers, and clunking around in the kitchen. When the waitress informs them that she needs to cash out for the evening, they laugh, realizing they have single-handedly shut the place down. A wintry cold blast of air hits their faces as Gabe opens the door and they step out onto the sidewalk. “You forgot the stuff for Gloria,” he says, reaching back to reopen the door.
“You need to know something, Gabe.” She looks at the star on top of the gazebo and smiles, surprised at herself for this. “I told you that I was no longer engaged but I didn’t tell you why.” She looks back at him and his eyes are full of questions. “He was a good guy but when it came time to set the wedding date I couldn’t do it.”
He waits for her to finish but she doesn’t. “Why?”
“Because he wasn’t you.” Gabe is silent, not quite believing what he’s hearing. “The truth is, I didn’t come here to pick something up for Gloria. I was driving through town to go home when I saw your truck and I drove around the square three times just trying to drive on past. On the third time around, I said to myself that if there was a space open next to your truck, I would go inside and look for you. But if there wasn’t a space I would drive home.”
“And there was an open space next to my truck?” he says, craning his neck to see where he parked.
She shakes her head. “No.” His mouth opens, listening. “I thought, that’s a really stupid way to determine what could possibly happen in your future.”
The wind picks up, blowing across their faces, but Gabe doesn’t seem to notice. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t know. But I don’t want to turn my back on a friendship or…”
He leans into her, kissing her once, before pulling back to look at her face. “I’m sorry. I was following a nudge.”
She puts her hand on his cheek, and steps closer, kissing him, and then pulls away. “Me too.”
“Remember when Ben came into Betty’s after the Glory’s Place fund-raiser?”
She sighs. “How could I forget!”
“He was right. I don’t know how he knew it but he was right. I do love you.” Her face is serious as she listens. “I never thought I’d see you again but I never stopped loving you, Amy.” She turns her head, not sure if she’s ready for this. “You told me the truth and I feel like I need to tell you the truth.” She faces him again. “I never did. I never stopped.” She shakes her head. “Please don’t let that scare you away.”
“I don’t think it does. Maybe I’ll be scared tomorrow when I remember everything that’s been said, but right now I don’t think I am.”
He walks her to her car and she unlocks it, looking across the street to the gazebo and the star. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Amy says.
“Maddie says it’s a sign.”
She looks at him. “A sign for what?”
“For us.”