In the summer, I could imagine the empty flowerpots would be full of brilliant blooms. None of the stores were vacant as they were in some small towns, and it surprised me to see over one choice for eating. This might be smaller than the larger city I was used to, but it appeared to be thriving.
But was it a town my son should be raised in? Not that there was anything wrong with it. Despite my initial reluctance to come here, already, I’d found a certain charm to it. But I could provide him with so many more opportunities—would have been doing so if only I’d known about him. Instead, he was basically living in a hotel, full of the comings and goings of total strangers.
Seven years ago, Emalee and I had never talked at length about where we came from. We knew enough that both of us were reluctant to carry out the dreams of our parents. Instead, we were naively planning out a different future, one spent together and not worrying about our backgrounds. I knew she didn’t have the luxury of wealth like I had, but whenever she spoke of her family, I heard the love in her voice. She said she stayed because of her sense of duty. If that was the case, where was her sense of duty when it came to my son; her duty to allow him to know his father?
It was all I could do not to call the clinic and tell them I wouldn’t be in today. But despite my desire to grab Emalee and lock her in a room until she told me everything, I still had a job to do, and not fulfilling it to the best of my abilities would get back to Doctor Anders in Charlotte. I couldn’t afford to mess up, not when a coveted surgical internship was at stake, an opportunity that finally made my dad look at me with a flicker of approval.
Fortunately, I’d had a lot of practice in my lifetime of compartmentalizing my true feelings and focusing on what needed to be done. Plastering a smile on my face as I continued my walk down the street, I half-heartedly returned the many greetings directed my way.
Whatever else, my son was growing up in a friendly community, and for that, I was grateful.
For now.
* * *
Somehow,I got through the workday with a smile on my face. On my way home, I decided to try Simply Ruth’s; some good old comfort food seemed in order after the startling day. Inside was a long bar with stools and booths lined the walls, including under the front windows. Small tables fit in between. Even though it was only late afternoon, the place was already half full. The smells coming from the kitchen made my stomach growl.
“Have a seat anywhere, darlin’,” a woman with a short, red apron wrapped around her jeans hollered.
I found a table near the back where I could watch as people came and went. Despite the snow and cold weather, there was no shortage of people who seemed to come for everything from an early dinner to a cup of coffee. And from where I sat, almost no one came into the diner who didn’t see someone to wave to, including me.
It reminded me of Emalee when I’d first met her—kind, soft-spoken, and genuine. I wasn’t so naïve as to believe nothing bad ever happened here or that there weren’t any rotten people, but I didn’t feel like I needed to double-check for my wallet in my back pocket.
I was eager to talk to Emalee and understood why she’d never contacted me when she thought I had cheated on her, a burr that was still stuck in my saddle, but I’d been here for three days, and she’d never told me about our son. When was she planning to tell me? I was still in shock over the revelation.
After I placed an order for some coffee and blueberry pie, I decided to call Clay, my best friend back in Charlotte. Hopefully, he would have a different perspective and could talk me through a plan to handle the surprises that had come my way since I’d arrived.
“Hey, man! What’s up? How’s small-town life?” Clay’s enthusiastic voice came through the line.
I barked out a short laugh. “Bigger in ways you can’t imagine.”
“Wherever you ended up, I’m jealous you got away. I’m not sure the last time I had a vacation.”
“Well, I definitely wouldn’t call this a vacation, and I guarantee, no matter where you went, it wouldn’t be as crazy as what’s happened here.”
“Let me guess. They’ve already talked you into a pie-eating contest. Wait, no, they entered you into a greased pig contest.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “No, nothing like that.” I told him about Tillie and Mayor Sterling. I’m not sure I ever heard him laugh so hard. “At least, everyone else seems very nice and has been very welcoming.” I leaned back in my chair and drummed my fingers on the scarred, wooden tabletop. “You’ll never believe who I ran into at the bed-and-breakfast where I’m staying.”
“Who?”
“Her.”
“Her? How the hell am I supposed to know who that is?” My hesitation in answering was the only clue he needed. “Oh,her! You mean the bitch that left you years ago?”
“Don’t call her that, but yes.” Despite everything, I felt compelled to defend her. Until I knew what happened, I was going to do my best to refrain from judgment. After all, our lives were now connected, forever.
“You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was.”
“She’s a guest there? Maybe you won’t run into her anymore. Or, maybe you should track her down and have it out, once and for all.”
“Oh, I’ll see her again. She lives there.”
“At the hotel?”
“She runs it.”
