Page 37

Comments:
Jade Clark: ??? Are you vague-posting in the group?
Kerry Winsor: It’s not illegal.
Tammy Jane: Doesn’t look all that great.
Kerry Winsor: You do know you’re supposed to ask what happened, right?
Kerry Winsor: Tammy??? Seriously? Why is this post getting no attention?@everyone
Marjorie Brown:Kerry, I love you, but I do not have time for your little drama fest.
Kerry Winsor:YOU’RE RETIRED! How could you nothave time?
As I drove,I watched for the town welcome sign and the multicolored, two-story buildings of the town square again. I was technically on my lunch break from work, but I needed to get out of the house. I was in a new place. I wanted toexplore,and while Dad and Trevor were in meetings, I knew no one would be looking.
The town square had always been incredible when I was a kid, but seeing it with adult eyes was different than the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. There was a lot of color, but more of the buildings were vacant than I remembered—including the once-massive library.
“No,” I moaned. “It closed?”
I wasn’t surprised. In small towns like this, things like recreation were the first things to lose tax funding. Still, I’d spent hours in there. It had been the largest in the area.
For a long moment, I bemoaned the loss of the library before surveying the rest of the square. The places that were open, like the grocery store, the diner, and the antique shop were all in good shape. The sidewalks were maintained, and impressive pots full of pansies and mums were on every corner. In the center of the square was a green space with paved walkways and a brick center courtyard. It felt so odd to be in the middle of downtown and see so much nature.
It was near lunchtime, and though I was mostly full from eating breakfast rather than having a protein shake, I wanted to check out the diner.
Center Point Diner was on the other side of the square and its neon sign flashed that it was open. When I walked in, I was greeted with white and black checkered tile and pink walls.
It was exactly how it had been when I was a kid.
“Oh! Hello,” a woman with a rough voice said as she walked to the podium. She had dyed blonde hair with a pen in it. Hername tag read Geraldine, but I knew that wasn’t who she was. “A table for one?”
“Yes, please.” I smiled. “Tammy.”
She nodded and walked away, but then froze. “Wait a second, I’m not wearing my real name tag.”
“I know. You’ve done that for years.”
She turned an appraising eye on me. “You’re from here.”
“It’s nice to meet you again. I’m Mollie, Bennie’s granddaughter.”
Her jaw fell to the floor as fast as the menus in her hand. “You’re—you’re back!”
“I am.”
“My God, kid! You’ve grown. You’re a knockout!” She walked a circle around me. “Where have you been all this time?”
“Unfortunately, working for theotherfamily business. But I needed a break, and here I am.”
“Well, let me be the first to welcome you.” She pulled me into a tight hug. “Unless I’m not the first?”
“Ah, good catch. You’re not. But we don’t have to talk about that.” I bent down to pick up my menu.
“First rule about small-town life, kid,” she said as she walked me over to a table. “We talk abouteverything.Your mama owns the farmhouse, right? And I happen to know someone lives there.”
I sat with an awkward laugh. My eyes widened when she followed suit and sat across from me.