“Oh, that,” Amy replied with a casual laugh. “I get those customers all the time. Nothing new,” she said and waved it off. “He was just upset about something on the menu.”
Nikki didn’t want to press it and scare Amy off even further, so she remained silent even though she still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could barely see his face because of his positioning, but like Paul had said, there was nothing much she could do.
“Hey, do you have a minute after your shift ends? I’d like to speak to you for a moment,” Nikki blurted out.
Amy narrowed her eyes at her. “Why?”
“There’s something you need to know,” Nikki told her flatly. “Please. I’ll only take a few minutes of your time.”
Amy’s posture went rigid, and her eyes squinted. “Um, okay,” she replied, almost reluctantly. “I’ll meet you back here, then. My shift ends in an hour.”
“Okay, and thanks.” Nikki smiled. She shook when Amy walked off, and she looked across at Paul. “I feel like my insides are about to fall out.”
Paul chuckled. “Well, this is an important moment. I’d be surprised if you weren’t anxious at all.”
The hour seemed to creep by. By the time Amy returned, she was practically a basket case. She pulled up a chair to the booth table they shared, all the while being careful not to sit too close to Nikki.
“Okay, what’s this about?” Amy asked.
Nikki exhaled sharply. “I don’t think there’s any easy way to say this, so I’ll just get on with it. I’m your aunt.”
Amy looked confused. “Aunt? Mom doesn’t have a sister.”
“I’m yourrealmother’s sister. Your biological mother,” Nikki clarified. “Amy, you were adopted.”
“Is this a prank or something?” she asked offensively as her features darkened.
“No, I swear, it’s true,” Nikki told her. “Your mother had to give you up because she was too young to take care of you.”
“Why now?” Amy asked. “Twenty-one years, andnowshe’s interested in me? She couldn’t even come to face me herself?” Amy spat, and Nikki’s worst fears began to materialize.
“She couldn’t come,” Nikki explained. “She was in a car accident and is in a coma now, but she was trying to find you before the accident. I came to finish what she’d started.”
“I don’t believe any of this nonsense,” Amy said and pushed her chair back. “I have to go.”
“Wait!” Nikki jumped up and handed Amy the envelope. “Here’s proof. Everything about the adoption.”
Amy stared at the envelope like it would swallow her up if she touched it. “That doesn’t prove anything to me!” she snapped. “Is that the only reason you’re here? To let me know that I was put up for adoption by a woman who is in a coma? What’s the point of that? I find out I have another mother who’s practically dead?”
Her words stung Nikki. “She’s going to wake up, and she’ll want to meet you.”
“Too bad,” Amy replied. “I don’t want any part of this.”
“Here,” Nikki said quickly and handed her a card for the inn. “If you change your mind, this is where you can reach me. All my contact information is on it.”
Amy stared at the card before she swiped it from Nikki’s hand and brushed past her.
Paul got up and walked over to Nikki. He put his arm around her shoulders as they began to shake from her sobbing.
“I knew it!” she said through tears.
“Hey, you just shook her world with that bit of news. You didn’t expect she’d be happy about it, did you?” He tried to console her. “Just give her some time to wrap her mind around it. I’m sure she’ll reach out when she’s ready.”
Nikki wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “You think so?”
“I know so,” Paul replied. “Now, let’s go. We’ve been here long enough.”
ChapterTwelve
