I carefully sat, unable to take my eyes off of her. It was still so strange to be in contact with her after all this time, without the presence of my friend or the hostility I'd once known. I kept expecting for it to end, as if her true demeanor was just lying low, like a snake in the grass, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
Her eyes came back to mine. “Do you like it here?”
“I do. It was a little rough at first. People were kinda scared of me, I think …” I laughed awkwardly, glancing toward the purple-haired woman behind the counter. “But it's gotten better.”
“Good.” Laura nodded. “Did you just come from work?”
I glanced down at the apron I'd forgotten to take off. “Oh …” A chuckle rumbled through my chest as I reached around my back to untie it. “Yeah.”
“What's The Fisch Market?”
“Local grocery store.” I took the apron off and draped it over the back of the chair. “I'm the assistant manager.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. Good for you,” she said, clearly taken aback. “So, you're doing well for yourself here, I take it. And … so soon after …” She swallowed, not wanting to say the words I knew were hanging on the tip of her tongue.
“Yeah …” I laughed uneasily. “I kinda got lucky for the first time in my life, so …”
There was that smile again. Affectionate. Compassionate. “Good for you, Soldier. Really, I'm so happy things are going well for you.”
“Thank you.”
A thought popped into my head. That she and my mother still lived in the same town, that they might be in contact. That Laura might actually be here to fish for information—had I already revealed too much?
“What's wrong?” She must've noticed my sudden shift toward apprehension.
“Um …” I cleared my throat and glanced around the coffee shop—not at all busy and quiet, save for music in the air. “My mother doesn't know where I am, and I, uh … I really want to keep it that way.”
“Soldier, I don't have any contact with her at all.”
My eyes met hers with a gentle warning. “But in case you ever do, I want her knowing nothing. Not where I am, not where I work. I don’t want her knowing you’ve seen me at all.”
Her brows pinched with concern as she nodded softly. “I understand, and you have my word. Really, I haven't spoken to her in …” She inhaled deeply before shrugging with her exhale. “God, it must have been … five years, maybe six. I think the last time was when I saw her at my doctor's office. She was the secretary there, and …”
My interest was suddenly piqued, and I remembered that first visit from my mother while I had been at Wayward. She'd told me she had gotten a job at a doctor's office, one she seemed proud of.
“Never mind,” Laura said, waving her hand dismissively. “It's nothing—”
“Wait. Did she say something?” I interrupted. Because as much as I wanted nothing to do with my mother, my desperation to put these discombobulated pieces together couldn't be thwarted.
“Um …” She pinned her lips between her teeth as her brow remained crumpled with contemplation. “Well, she said hello, like we had always been great friends or something, and, uh … she asked how I was doing, and I didn't know what to say to that because … well, what could I say really?”
She lifted her eyes to mine and curled the corner of her mouth in an apologetic smile. Like she was sorry for not wanting to talk to the mother of the guy who had inadvertently taken her son from her.
“Anyway, what I really remember is that she asked if I had seen you.” She swallowed and folded her hands on the table, interlocking her fingers and gripping them tight. “Which I found odd. Not just because of the nature of the situation, but that she … she was whispering, like she didn't want anybody to know that she was asking. And when I told her no, she nodded and said, 'Good.’”
I narrowed my eyes with questions I knew she wouldn't have the answers to. “Good? Why the hell would she care if I was seeing you or not?”
Billy's mom shrugged. “Maybe because … I don't know because …” She was hesitating, and I looked at her expectantly, encouraging her to continue. So, she sighed and dropped her gaze as she concluded, “You didn't deserve it?” She said it like a question. Like she wasn't sure of it herself.
“Yeah,” I muttered, wiping a hand over my beard and pinching my chin thoughtfully. “Maybe.”
“Anyway, she doesn't work there anymore, I don't think. I only saw her the one time, and that was so long ago.”
“Yeah, well, that's par for the course.”
The conversation lulled, and I cleared my throat before offering to buy us both a drink. She gratefully accepted before asking if I'd like money, but I declined. The least I could do was buy the woman a freakin' cup of coffee for driving all the way here.
So, I ordered and waited for Kylie to make our drinks. Billy's mom stayed at the table, and I turned from the espresso bar to glance at her. To drive home that this was real, that she was here, and we were … what? Rekindling seemed extreme, but she clearly cared for me, and that had to mean something, didn't it?
My phone rang, and I pulled it out to see Ray's face light up the screen. With a smile I couldn't contain, I answered as Kylie handed the two drinks to me.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Brawny. Are you here for dinner tonight?”
“Um … I'm not sure. I'm at Black & Brewed now, and we're just sitting down with coffee,” I admitted. I had told Ray I was meeting Billy's mom—Laura—and she was more than supportive, but I’d neglected to tell her what time I’d be seeing her.
“Oh! I'm sorry. I should've texted. I didn't realize,” Ray quickly replied. “Sorry.”
Her constant need to apologize profusely for little things like calling me at inopportune moments made me grit my teeth, knowing what had instilled those insecurities and fears in her.
“You're fine,” I assured her, placing both cups on the table.
Laura mouthed, Thank you, before eyeing the phone pinned between my ear and shoulder curiously.
I asked Ray, “What are you cooking?”
“Noah really wanted meatloaf, so it's in the oven now.”
“Oh, damn.” I took my seat and gripped the paper cup of coffee. “You know I love your meatloaf.”
Ray giggled, as if meatloaf were a code word for something else. “So, should I save you some?”
“Yeah, I'll be over later.”
“Okay.” There was a smile in her voice, and that made me smile too. “You have your key?”
“Yes, ma'am,” I said, thinking about the spare key she had given me that morning before we both left for work.
“Okay. I'll see you later. Good luck with your friend's mom.”
“Thanks.”
Then, she was gone, and with a smile I couldn’t help and warmth surrounding my pulsing heart, I tucked the phone away. My eyes lifted to find Laura watching me with a knowing glint in her eye as she brought her cup to her lips.
“Sorry,” I said needlessly, gesturing to my pocketed phone. “That was my girlfriend.”