“No problem. I was busy perusing the books.” I jerked my thumb toward the shelf of historical fiction near our table. “Has this been here a long time? I don’t remember there being books before.”
Bo shook his head. “Caspian came to town about a year ago and bought the coffee shop from Old Mac. The bookstore addition was his idea. Cute, right? The tourists love it, and he’s great about ordering books for me.”
“Very cute. Thanks for the coffee.” I peered into the milky liquid in his mug as I took a sip of mine. “Is there any coffee in there? That’s even paler than what I drink.”
“If the caffeine doesn’t keep me going, the sugar will.” He took a sip and sighed. “Best coffee in town. No offense to the diners.”
I laughed. “None taken. I need more zhuzh to my coffee than what we have at Sparky’s. I’ve come in a few times since returning home. It’s really good.”
In high school, I hadn’t been a coffee drinker, so I hadn’t spent much time in here when Old Mac ran it, though I’d heard what he served was more tar than coffee. Now, the place was charming and cozy with delicious-looking pastries in the case below the long counter. With the exposed brick walls and wood floors in a rich, warm tone, it would fit right in with the trendy neighborhood coffee shops in Boston.
Bowie’s familiar smile took me right back to high school. He had a few more wrinkles and a couple of gray hairs mixed with his black waves, but he was still the boyishly cute kid who’d been my closest confidant for so long.
My stomach twisted as I thought about all the years that had passed—and how I’d let them—without keeping in touch with the person who’d been my best friend for over a decade. I knew it was a two-way street, but I should’ve made an effort.
“It’s great to see you, Bo. Thanks for making time to grab coffee and catch up. I’ve been meaning to reach out since I got back to town.”
“Me too. I heard you were back, but I’ve been so swamped with work. But as Mickey always says, life will pass me by unless I make time for things.” He shook his head fondly.
An uncomfortable sensation settled in my gut. I didn’t want to analyze whether it was the mention of Mickey bringing up confusing feelings or adjusting to the knowledge that Bo and Mickey were friends now. It made sense they would be since they were both in Maplewood, but Bo and I had beenclosefor so many years. Did Mickey know him better now than I had back then?
While part of my brain spiraled over changing friendships, the more animalistic part produced an image of Mickey on his knees, taping my jeans, staring up at me with his soulful eyes. Just hearing his name or a mention of Red’s now triggered the most vivid part of my imagination to revisit Halloween.
Stop thinking about Mickey!
I’d scolded myself repeatedly over the past couple of weeks, but it hadn’t helped. If anything, it made it worse. Seeing him at the Holiday Hoopla meeting had crushed any delusions I’d created around my attraction to him being a fluke.
I managed a laugh. “It feels like graduation was a few years ago, but we’re creeping toward twenty years. Where has the time gone?”
“It flies when you’re having fun. Or working too much.” Bo gave me a long look. “I was hoping you’d come back for the ten-year reunion.”
I sighed. “Me too, but my job had other plans for me.”
There had been a time when some Sparky’s employees used to tease that Bowie and I would end up married someday, but I had never thought of him that way. Not even when we’d been each other’s first kiss while practicing for our first “real one.” I was thrilled to get this chance to rekindle our friendship and was relieved there was still no spark of something more. The last thing I needed was to fall for someone in town when I needed to focus on figuring out my next career move and getting back to Boston. I pushed away the image of Mickey laughing over one of my bad jokes while wearing that ridiculous wig.
“Mom said you’re basically involved with everything happening in town. It sounds like nothing’s changed.”
Bo laughed wryly. “I like to stay busy.”
I chuckled. “Oh, I remember. President of Key Club, Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society?—”
He held up his hands, palms facing me, laughing. “Okay, okay. Please don’t remind me of how little sleep I got in high school. I’m still trying to catch up.” He tilted his head and lifted his eyebrows. “You were just as bad as I was. Are you still overachieving?”
Bo’s boyish smile took me right back to high school, when we’d sit at the counter at my parents’ diner and work on homework while eating our weight in seasoned fries without a care in the world. If only life were still that carefree and full of promise. Instead, now I felt like I was drowning in quicksand.
My smile faltered. How was I supposed to tell him I’d been laid off from an unfulfilling career in Corporate America and couldn’t force myself to hurry back?
“I grew out of that phase many years ago.” Before Bo could press for details, I decided to change the subject back to him. “I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to see you living here and working for the city. I thought you’d be running some nonprofit in New York.” Though we hadn’t really stayed in communication over the years, I’d seen snippets of his life on social media and he’d seemed happy in New York after college.
There was a wistfulness to Bo’s smile, even as sadness lingered underneath.
“That was the plan, but when Grandma died and I inherited her house, I couldn’t justify staying in a city where my job barely covered my basic expenses.”
A deep ache settled in the pit of my stomach as I remembered all the nights I’d slept over at Bo’s grandma’s house when we were young. I’d been on a business trip in Japan when Mom called to say she’d passed, and I hadn’t been able to get home for the funeral. Mom had sent flowers from our family, and I’d left Bo a voicemail, but I still regretted not doing more to be there for him. I’d grown up a lot in the several years since and knew better now how to make more of an effort.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I wish I’d done more to be there for you.”
Bo’s kind smile was more than I deserved. Where was the manual for being an adult that covered things like how to be a good houseguest, navigating dating in a world of hookups, andhow to support friends through loss if you haven’t talked to them in years?
