Page 21

FIFTEEN

AMOS

Netflix taunted me with the dreaded Are you still watching ?

“Yes, Netflix. I’m still watching because I’m bored out of my fucking mind. Stop judging me.” I huffed and directed Netflix to play the next episode of the holiday baking competition show I’d randomly picked.

Sage was out with friends and Mickey was working the dinner shift at Red’s. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d experienced boredom. I’d become used to being so busy with work that I could never slow down enough to get bored.

As I recrossed my legs, my attention wandered to my laptop and the job listings waiting untouched in my various browser tabs. I’d gotten far enough to peruse some prospects but stopped there.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Was it burnout catching up to me after having worked so hard for so long?

Or was I being petulant about getting laid off after having given my entire being to the company for the last decade?

Or some sort of third-life crisis where I didn’t want to go back to using my business degree for corporate projects I didn’t care about or enjoy working on?

As I thought about it while contestants freaked out on the TV about the oven not cooking their cake fast enough, I realized I hadn’t actually processed everything that had happened.

I’d gotten laid off, lost my condo, and shuffled back to Maplewood in a matter of weeks.

It was probably too much change at once.

Was that a thing? Freezing from unwelcome change?

At the time, I’d thought I liked my job. It let me travel and I was good at it. Obviously not good enough for them to keep me . I’d lived in a great part of Boston that was lively with lots to do. Except I’d worked too much to take advantage of most of it. Strike two.

I slumped against the back of the couch. I missed my friends. Didn’t I? Come to think of it, not a single one of them had reached out to me since I’d been laid off. I’d initiated all the contact. Jesus, was I really that na?ve? My work friends hadn’t been real friends.

For someone who’d always enjoyed a lively social life with lots of people, I was feeling pretty lonely. Having a full calendar didn’t necessarily mean having friends.

Even as I had the thought, one person’s face popped into my mind. Cosmo was the one person I used to work with who’d stayed in touch with me as much as I had with him. Too bad he’d decided to use his severance to go “find himself and his life’s purpose” out in Oregon.

On the flip side, I’d done the prudent thing and moved my severance into a high-yield savings account like any good corporate lackey would.

I missed Cosmo, so I opened our text thread. The most recent message was from the other day when he’d sent a selfie while lounging at some hot springs on a rainy day in a town he was staying in.

Amos: Hope things are going well out in Oregon. We should catch up soon.

Almost immediately, my phone vibrated with a video call from him.

“Hey, man. You texted at the perfect time. I just got back to the B&B and was going to shower before tracking down some dinner. I went skiing on a mountain outside of Portland with some guys I met in town. Mount Hood is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Yeah? That sounds fun. Send me pics. Wait, are those dolls behind you?”

Cosmo laughed and flipped to the back camera. A cluster of dusty and most definitely haunted dolls sat groupe on a dresser.

“So, I’m staying in a town called Dahlia Springs. Dahlias are flowers, I guess? You’ll never guess what this B&B is called. Dollia Springs Bed and Breakfast. Doll-ia. Get it?”

I groaned. “Small towns love their puns.”

A creak came through the speaker as Cosmo must’ve settled into a chair.

“I gotta say, I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying Oregon and Dahlia Springs.

I bet it’s amazing in the summer with all the outdoor activities.

” A thoughtful expression crossed his face.

“I’ve never gone kayaking before, but I bet I’ll love it.

” He lit up—always wearing his emotions on his face.

We kept chatting about what he loved about Dahlia Springs.

The more he talked about enjoying small-town life, the more certain I became that he wouldn’t be returning to Boston.

I supposed a part of me expected we’d end up back there—maybe even get a place together to save money while looking for new jobs.

Cosmo was the kind of guy who got big ideas as fast as they fizzled, and I’d figured his move to Oregon would probably be temporary.

But I could see on his face that this was different. He’d found his home.

“It sounds like you’ve found a great place.”

“I really have. How are things going back in Mapleville?”

“Maplewood. It’s going good.” Better than I had expected, which still surprised me.

“I bet you’re itching to get back to the city though. Have you been looking for a new place? Sucks your landlord decided to sell the condo you were renting. How’s the job hunt going?”

I glanced away. “Fine.”

Cosmo snorted. “That sounded about as convincing as the time you told our boss you were excited about the six-hour layover in Amsterdam because it was ‘long enough to get work done and not too long that you would be distracted by sightseeing.’”

I groaned. “I really said that, didn’t I?”

“You sure did. Epic ass-kissing, but not the fun kind.”

The memory made me laugh, but sobering reality chased it away, and I blew out a harsh breath. “Fine. I haven’t really been looking.” I waited for Cosmo to tell me to get my ass in gear, but his expression held understanding.

“How come?”

That was the million-dollar question.

“What if I’m miserable at the next job too? I’ve created enough PowerPoint presentations and reports to last a lifetime. When I was in my early twenties, all I cared about was the biggest salary I could get. I had no idea how soul-sucking it all would be.”

Cosmo nodded with a grim expression. “What are you doing now? “

“Helping out at my family’s diner. One of the college student part-timers quit early in the school year, so I’ve been covering their shifts and some extra.

My older sibling, Sage, is taking the restaurant over whenever my parents decide to retire.

” I moved the phone to my other hand and stretched out on the length of the couch.

“Your whole family works there? Oh, I’m remembering now. Your mom’s the head cook, right?”

“Yeah, and Dad is a server but also runs the business side. Sage has been doing that too.”

“It’s got to be nice spending time with your family. I know you didn’t get the chance to do much of that when we worked together. Have you reconnected with your high school friends? Wait, what was that look for?”

My eyebrows shot up. “What look?”

A smile spread across Cosmo’s face. “ That look. Who is he?”

“Who?”

Cosmo snorted. “Your face says otherwise.”

My shoulders slumped. “Did I ever tell you about the rival diner in town? I’ve been spending time with the son of the family who owns that diner because we’re working on an event together for the Christmas festival.”

Cosmo’s eyes went dreamy. “And you like him? How Romeo and Juliet of you. Scratch that, Romeo and Julius? But let’s skip the tragic ending though, yeah?”

“It’s not like that. We just get along well and understand each other with our similar backgrounds, family restaurants, all that.” And almost hooked up that one time, but Cosmo didn’t need to know that, otherwise he would start pushing me to make a move on Mickey.

As if I wasn’t already thinking about that exact thing every day.

I only planned to stay in Maplewood for the rest of December, and it hardly seemed worth making things even more complicated.

On the other hand, we could try to have a little fun together while I was in town.

Something that could continue anytime I came back to town, maybe?

It’s already getting complicated and it’s still imaginary.

Cosmo’s expression turned serious. “If you like a guy, who cares if your parents run different restaurants?”

I tried to think of how to explain it to someone who didn’t grow up with the division between diners woven into the town’s cultural tapestry. “It’s like if my family owned the Red Sox and his family owned the Yankees. But on an intense, gossipy, small-town scale. People would freak out.”

“It’s that serious?”

I noted. “Friendships have ended over diner allegiances.”

“That’s wild.”

“Tell me about it.” I smirked. “I’m sure you’ll find out now that you’re a small-town guy. There’s got to be a feud of some sort over in, what did you say the name was? Dahlia Springs?”

“It looks like some of these dolls are about to start feuding with each other. Or with me in my sleep. If I die here, know the dolls did it.”

I laughed. “I’ll be sure to try and get a ghost hunting show to go out and communicate with you.”

“All right. I like the sound of that. Well, on that morbid note, I’m going to shower and then head out for some grub. Good to talk to you, Amos. Keep me posted on what happens with Julius, yeah?”

Chuckling, I shook my head in exasperation. “Send me mountain pics. Talk to you soon.”

I wasn’t sure I felt any better once we hung up, but it was good to get a reality check from someone who wasn’t swept up in the Maplewood madness.

Inhaling a fortifying breath, I opened my laptop to a job posting for a national cheese brand that I’d found the other day. An idea sparked, and I felt that familiar rush in my gut that I often experienced with the new ideas that had kept me going through all the frustrations with my job.

I smiled and began making a plan.