Cameron tried to hide her chuckle. “Have you ever even been to one of those coffee shops, Mama?”
“I went once with Tina.” Her mama’s frantic sigh told her the outing wasn’t her idea. “The kids wanted to go, and I went with them. Let me tell you, our bill was over sixty dollars! And all we got was coffee!”
Wilma Dean’s exasperation with the new coffee shops made Cameron laugh. She loved how dramatic she could be; loved how her accent sounded like the ideal southern accent. Cameron’s accent only showed back up occasionally these days, mostly after visiting Tennessee or when she needed to make an appeal for more money in front of the hospital board.
“I don’t understand why people can’t just make their coffee at home like I do.”
“Maybe they’re not asamazingat making coffee as you are.” Cameron smiled at her mama as she parked in front of the beauty salon. “Do you want me to come in and wait with you or wait out here?”
“Why don’t you try one of our fancy new coffee shops?” Wilma Dean smirked, exiting the car as she slung her purse onto her shoulder and headed inside the salon.
Cameron hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do. She knew the appointment would take exactly two hours—not a moment more or less. Wilma Dean paid for two hours and she would get two hours of service. There were a plethora of coffee shops Cameron could visit and catch up on work emails. Not even Thanksgiving gave Cameron a break from work.
Cancer never took a day off.
Some days, the weight of Cameron’s job hit her harder than others. Working in a small town, Cameron had had her fair share of patients who were also friends. Or kids of friends. Or even grandkids of friends. No patient was ever easy, but those always made it harder.
Checking her phone, Cameron was relieved to only find two emails from work. She quickly sent back responses before gathering her bag and stepping out of the car. Tucking her hands and phone into the pocket of her hoodie, she crossed the street to the nearest coffee shop with some catchy name that Cameron chuckled at. Cameron ordered one of their specialty coffees before finding a table by the window that overlooked the beauty salon.
Since Cameron rarely had the time to read at home, she had planned ahead for the day and brought her Kindle. She’d downloaded a new book in the high hopes she could make a major dent in her reading over the next two hours. Camerontook a sip of the coffee—it wasn’t nearly as bad as her mama had let on—and leaned back into the rather uncomfortable steel chair ready for a peaceful two hours.
But that was all shot to shit when Beth Ann Fowler walked into the coffee shop.
Beth Ann had been Cameron’s best friend when they were kids. They’d grown up together and were thicker than thieves. Well, until the night they kissed… and then some. After that, Beth Ann ghosted Cameron even before Cameron knew that was a thing people did. At the time, all Cameron knew was that she’d lost her best friend because she was gay and Beth Ann wasn’t. Which, for their small Tennessee town, wasn’t an uncommon opinion for people to have.
The town had changed some over the years. Cameron noticed more pride flags and rainbow stickers on houses, cars, and businesses each time she came back. And judging by Beth Ann’s new look, pride flags weren’t the only thing symbolizing a change in the town.
Over thirty years had passed since Cameron had seen Beth Ann aside from the few times she randomly stalked her Facebook profile before she finally deleted her own. It wasn’t like she missed Beth Ann, but more so was curious where her old friends were now. Most were married with kids, but a few stragglers like Beth Ann remained a mystery to Cameron.
For a moment, she didn’t think Beth Ann would see her. She slumped her shoulders slightly, pulling her Kindle up a little higher over her face. Peeking out just a little over the top of the device, Cameron studied Beth Ann.
Her dark brown hair was cut short into a bob. She had tattoos up and down both arms, throwing everything Cameron remembered about Beth Ann out the window. Gone was the meek debutante that Cameron had competed alongside and, in its place, stood a woman who piqued Cameron’s interests.
Oh, my god. Shut up. You want to be with Mel. Not Beth Ann.
Cameron took a sip of her coffee to clear her head. Although Melanie and Beth Ann were very different people, Cameron obviously had a thing for brunettes. Over her Kindle, she watched Beth Ann flirt with the barista before finally taking her drink and turning around. It was then Cameron noticed the ring on her finger.
And when Beth Ann noticed Cameron.
“Cameron West!” Beth Ann squealed as she hurried over to Cameron. She wrapped her arms around her neck as if they had never stopped being friends. Cameron was too stunned to respond with a hug back for a few seconds. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, Beth Ann.”
“It’s just Beth now.”
“Noted.”
“I needed a change, ya know?” Beth ran her hand through her hair. “You get that though, I’m sure. Right?”
“Totally.” Cameron wasn’t sure what Beth was insinuating, but agreeing seemed like the quickest way to get her to leave. “So Cory is your…”
“Husband, yes,” Beth laughed.
“Oh, that’s awesome.”
“I think so.”
Cameron wanted Beth to get the hint that she wasn’t eagerly excited to talk to her, but she also didn’t want to be rude. So instead, she picked up her coffee and took a sip. Beth playfully tapped Cameron’s ring finger.
