“She offered you something else?”
“Sort of. I mean. I kind of…talked her into it.” That smile on her face was starting to fade.
“That’s good,” I said, because I couldn’t stand to see any more smiles fade from her face.
“It is good,” she said, throwing her shoulders back. “Jolie’s been looking to add another seating during the off season to keep her profit margins up, so she needs another host. And the best part is, I can use a little of my French since the entire menu is Nouveau French cuisine.”
I’d eaten at Petite plenty of times. I had no idea what Nouveau French cuisine was, I only knew I’d liked everything I’d ever had there.
Petite was my go-to place when I wanted to impress a date and it worked because I usually got laid after. I considered the last time I’d been there. It had been months.
Stephanie? Sarah? Susan?
Oh shit, I hated that. Hated that I’d forgotten the name of a woman I’d had sex with. She wasn’t local. I’d met her at a bar three towns over, because meeting women outside of Calico Cove was easier. Fewer eyes on me. Less pressure.
Of course, it didn’t stop anyone from asking me when I was going to settle down and get married. Have kids.
I’d stopped going to therapy a long time ago, something that Antony thought was shortsighted of me, but the last few sessions had revolved around my inability to form meaningful attachments to women that might result in a long-term relationship.
My answers were always the same:
I’m busy with the garage.
Owning my own business takes up most of my time and energy.
I won’t settle down until the business is more established.
I just haven’t met the right person.
They were all totally legitimate answers, but my therapist didn’t buy any of it. He kept pressing me to dig deeper, ask more of myself. So I did the only rational thing and I stopped going.
“That’s great,” I said in response to her good news. “Let’s celebrate. I’ll take you to Pappas for breakfast.”
“Uh…”
“You don’t have an excuse,” I pointed out wryly. “Normal Nick and Nora used to go for breakfast all the time. Normal Nick and Nora ate breakfast and talked about shit.”
She huffed. “No, Normal Nora talked about shit and Normal Nick sat across from her wolfing down scrambled eggs.”
“I could do eggs,” I said.
“I’m sure. Fine. You can tell me about your early morning customer.” She nodded with her chin over my shoulder. I turned around and saw Wyatt waving from the Chevy.
“He’s checking out the area,” I said, more thoughtfully than I realized. What would it mean if both he and Liam settled into Calico Cove? There would be no escaping them. It’s not like they were easy to ignore.
“Checking out the area because he’s interested in moving here?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe. You said eggs and now I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
“Hungry is your constant state of being, but I just happen to feel the same. Being gainfully employed creates an appetite.”
We walked the short distance across town to Pappas. Madame Za and her nurse spent an hour every day at the bench where she used to read fortunes. She mostly fed the birds and chatted with people walking by. She was a Calico Cove fixture.
“Oh. Nick and Nora together again.” Madame Za said as we got close. The wind blew one of her scarves over her face and she pulled it out of the way. Her eyes were still lined with heavy eyeliner. Next to me, Nora flinched. I had a half memory of Nora being mad about a fortune Madame Za gave her a million years ago. It was all bullshit if you asked me, but no one ever did.
“Hello Madame Za,” I said. I had to stop and kiss her papery cheek because Birdie was practically a daughter to her and I looked out for her when Birdie and Antony were on the west coast. “You good?”
“It does my heart so good to see you two together again. Honestly, the energy of the whole town felt wrong when you two weren’t speaking with each other.”
