“Of course.”
“You really liked my brother, didn’t you?”
Her expression changes behind the rim of her etched crystal glass, but she smiles as she lowers it. “Yeah. I really did. I thought...”
“What?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably silly, but I thought maybe he was going to be someone special for me. Someone I could be with long term.”
“That’s not silly.” I can barely finish speaking because images of the life they could have had together begin flashing through my mind, engulfing my heart with grief for what could have been. “I wish that could have happened.”
“Me too.”
I reach over and squeeze her hand. “Well, are you dating anyone now?”
She laughs softly and shakes her head. “I haven’t had the greatest luck with men, so I decided to take a break from dating when I moved here.”
“Nobody’s measured up to Brandon?” I smile.
“Not yet. But, I do have a blind date this weekend,” she says, sounding cautiously optimistic.
“You do? With who?”
“John something. I can’t remember his last name. My cousin Sarah set us up.” She rolls her eyes and sips her drink. “I swear, she thinks if I’m not married by the time I’m thirty I’m going to shrivel up into an old maid or something.”
I laugh. “Sarah? Didn’t she get married when she was twenty-two?”
“Right out of college. She married the perfect husband, had two perfect children, and they have two perfect golden doodles, all living together happily in their perfect house.” She cuts her eyes at me. “Or that’s what she’d have you believe.” She shakes her head and sighs.
We sit quietly for a long moment.
“Hey, Liv?”
“Yeah?”
“Next time you hear Brandon’s voice, ask him to send me a good one, okay? He set the bar pretty high.”
* * *
I’ve worked the lunch shift all week and still no signs of Gabe. It’s Friday afternoon now, and I haven’t talked to him since last weekend when we went to the beach. I’m starting to experience cold, clammy Gabe withdrawals. But I’m excited to see Trisha, who should be arriving sometime this evening.
Shelby, formerly known as the prom queen, waves me over to the hostess station and says, as bubbly as ever, “Hey, Liv.”
“Hey.”
“So...how was your first week?” The corners of her pouty mouth turn up and her dimples dive deep into her smooth, round cheeks.
I can’t help but smile back at her as I answer, “It was good.” But I’m slightly suspicious when I notice another young waitress, whose name escapes me, standing awfully close to her, poorly hiding her interest in our conversation.
“So, you know Gabe, right?”
I fight an uncomfortable, slightly amused, smile. “Yes.”
“You’re, like, friends with him, right?”
The other waitress’s attention is fully centered on me now.
“Yes,” I say carefully.
“Are you...more than friends?”
I have to stifle a laugh, which gets caught in my throat and comes out as a quiet cough. “Shelby, how old are you?”
“I’ll be nineteen next week.”
I nod and say gently, “You realize Gabe is almost thirty, right?”
A seductive smile spreads across her face. “And?”
“And”—I shake my head with concern—“he’s too old for you.”
She glances at her friend and they share a knowing look that I find troubling at best. “Well, how old are you?” she asks me.
“Twenty-nine.”
“Oh.” Her face falls and her thoughts appear to shift.
I can’t tell if she’s surprised or disappointed that I’m the same age as Gabe. By the look on her face, I’ve given her a lot to ponder.
“Well, was that it?” I force a polite smile and glance over my shoulder. “I’ve got tables waiting on me.”
“What...happened to him?” she asks quietly. “I hear people talk sometimes when he comes in, but I’ve never asked.”
“Oh. Um.” I close my eyes and try to shake off the thought of people gossiping about him. I exhale a quiet breath and explain, “He was, um...we were...in an accident when we were younger. A really bad accident.”
Her eyes get big, and I realize she’s too young to remember it, or to comprehend the magnitude of it. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” she says sincerely.
“It’s okay. I know.”
“Were you hurt?” her friend asks.
“Yes. And we lost my brother.”
Shelby pulls in a slow breath and lowers her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Liv. I had no idea.”
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t.”
“I shouldn’t have...what I said before—I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot.” I smile softly and slant my eyes at her. “But Gabe’s still too old for you.”
She laughs quietly and says, “He’s so cute, though.”
“I know.” I widen my eyes and spin around to tend to my tables. Believe me, I know.
I spend the next half hour serving up plates of biscuits and gravy, eggs benedict, shrimp and grits, and, of course, chicken and waffles, to the accompanying sounds of Lou’s all-time favorite singer, Patsy Cline. She’s currently crooning the lyrics of I Fall to Pieces, which I now know by heart.
I move around the diner singing quietly to myself, “I fall to pieces...each time I see you again. I fall to pieces...how can I be just your friend?”
Finally, I pull my phone out of my apron pocket and send Gabe a text, hoping to evoke a of response from him.
Me: My friend Trisha from Raleigh is coming in town for the weekend and I want to show her around. Thinking about Charlie’s tonight. You should come!
A few minutes later, my phone whistles in my pocket and I nearly throw it at a customer’s head trying to pull it out.
Gabe: I’ll meet you there. What time?
No explanation for his radio silence, but he replied, and he wants to come. I quickly type a reply and hit send.
Me: 8:30. See you there :)
He’s busy, I remind myself. Busy handcrafting beautiful pieces of furniture in his garage...shirtless, most likely. Maybe a little sweaty.
I’m as bad as the prom queen.
I bury thoughts of Gabe and return to my work. His text was just enough to give me the fix I needed to hold me over until tonight.
“Liv Dalton,” a wonderfully familiar voice says from behind me.
“Trisha!” I turn around and see her standing in the middle of the Friday lunch crowd wearing white skinny jeans, rattan wedges, and a flowy printed silk shirt. Her wavy auburn hair is pulled back into a ponytail and her tortoise-shell sunglasses are pushed up on top of her head.
“What are you doing here so soon? I thought you weren’t going to be here until later today.”
“I was so excited to see you, I couldn’t sleep. So I left early.”
I leap toward her and throw my arms around her neck. “I’m so glad you’re here!”