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“Nope. You introverted when you should have extroverted.” She shook her head hard enough to swing her signature braid. When Lauren moved to Peace Falls in the middle of seventh grade, she’d worn her hair chopped in a short bob. To my knowledge, she hadn’t cut it since.
“If I’d told you what happened, you would have told Poppy.”
“And that’s a problem because?” Poppy shouted from the counter.
A group of teenage girls flung open the front door, talking over each other and laughing. Lauren welcomed them, and they stopped their conversations long enough to tell her hello. We stepped aside to give them room, and they headed straight for the coffee bar.
“And that’s a problem because?” Lauren prompted.
“Poppy would have told Chris. Chris would have told Mom. I didn’t want her to see me like that. I let y’all know as soon as I was out of the hospital and had a plan.”
“You never toldmeyou were hurt. I heard about it from Poppy. I can keep a secret, you know.”
I didn’t question that. Lauren was the most open person I knew, but parts of her childhood before Peace Falls remained a mystery, even to me.
“But could you have kept away?” I asked, taking her hand and giving it three quick squeezes and one long one, the secret handshake we’d created for our club of two.
She sighed and returned our handshake. “I would have taken care of you. Cooked your meals, packed your stuff, changed your bandages. Anything.”
“No doubt,” I said, motioning to the cat hotel where Lauren’s three-legged cat, Desdemona, slept beside her blind cat, Medusa. Lauren had a habit of adopting damaged pets, theuglier the better. Sometimes she kept them, but more often she nursed them back to health and found them loving homes. I wasn’t sure what that said about her decision to adopt me as her best friend, but I was glad she did. “I’m here now. Fuss over me as much as you want.”
“Ugh,” she said, pulling me into a stronger hug.
My back protested the pressure, but I’d learned to pretend I didn’t feel it. Otherwise, everyone would be afraid to come near me, and after everything with Brad, I needed every warm embrace as a reminder that I was still loved.
“I can’t stay mad at you.” She finally smiled, flashing the deep dimples that had snared more than one boy in high school before she set them free.
The teenage girls filled all the tables while Poppy fired up the milk frother. “I better go help your sister before she stabs the espresso machine. Again. You’re hanging out here a while, right?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d use your Wi-Fi to look for jobs.”
“Do you need a computer?”
The “career center” by the front door had two old desktop computers and a three-in-one printer/copier/fax Lauren had salvaged from a retiring lawyer. She allowed anyone to use them, whether they purchased anything or not. Unlike the library, she didn’t limit the number of pages printed and supplied the paper and ink herself. At first, I worried people would take advantage of her kindness, but Lauren inspired generosity in everyone who knew her. Printer paper and ink appeared on her doorstep often, and local business owners added job listings to the cork board on the wall beside the computers regularly.
“I brought my laptop,” I said, patting my large carryall bag, which was starting to hurt my shoulder and worsen the ache in my lower back.
“Great. Get settled and do some work while we handle this crowd. Then, I’m bringing you a drink, and we’re having a real talk. Because textingBrad cheated with Kelli. Getting divorced. Riding home with Poppy on Sundayis not enough information. So, prepare to spill everything.” She spun around before I could argue, not that anyone could talk Lauren out of something she wanted, which was the real reason I hadn’t told her about Brad until after I’d scheduled a ride to Peace Falls with Poppy and left out the accident completely.
I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and walked deeper into the building. The café took up the front, but the back housed tall cases of books from every genre. The bookshop had been Lauren’s grandfather’s and was my favorite place to spend my allowance ever since I learned to read. I’d cross the street from Red Blossoms whenever I had enough for a new book and settle in a comfy chair for the day. Once Lauren moved into the apartment upstairs with her grandfather, it became my favorite place in town, whether I had spending money or not. After he died, Lauren removed the greeting cards and magazine displays to make room for the café, but much of the bookstore remained untouched. I walked to my favorite pair of worn leather chairs, dropped my bag into one, and groaned down into another.
I connected to the Wi-Fi, opened a browser, and then stared at the search bar. Pinnacle Group had hired me as a management trainee during on-campus recruiting my senior year of college. I’d worked my butt off to be promoted twice in the past four years. None of that mattered now. I sure as hell wasn’t asking my old boss for a reference, which meant the best I could do was update my resume with my work experience and hope no one called Kelli to confirm it. I needed a job ASAP. My work-sponsored health insurance ended this week and COBRA cost a fortune, not to mention my student loans and lawyer fees. I’d eaten through almost all of my meager savings. I needed a jobto afford rent, but I couldn’t afford to rent anywhere near where I could get a job similar to the one I’d left. Let’s be honest, I couldn’t afford to rent a place in Peace Falls.
“Look at you being productive,” Lauren said, leaning over my shoulder. “Or not?”
I closed the laptop and rubbed my forehead. Lauren set a steaming mug on the small table between us, tossed my bag on the floor, and collapsed into the chair across from me like it was the first time she’d sat in hours.
“Maybe I should think about where I want to live first.”
Lauren frowned. “I hoped you might stay in Peace Falls.”
“Not without changing careers.” I took the mug and enjoyed a sip of the best latte on earth.
“So change careers.”
I shook my head. “I’m good at what I do. Plus, it pays well. My student loan payments are insane, and I’ve racked up a ton of bills from the accident and divorce.” I savored another gulp of my latte, which helped ease some of my panic. “You’re a magician.”
“No more than you when you bake.”
