“You could try talking to him again.”
“It wouldn’t do any good. He’s made up his mind. I could see it in his eyes. He won’t take another chance with me.”
“Well, you can’t force a person to take a chance, to risk changing their life.” Beverly stared at her coffee mug and sat quietly, lost in thought.
Maxine finally broke the silence. “Are you okay? You sound like you’re talking about something other than Dale and me.”
Beverly looked up, a sad expression on her face. “I am. I’m talking about me. About someone I loved. Someone who wouldn’t or couldn’t take a chance on me.”
“Who? I didn’t know you were ever serious about anyone.” This surprised her. How had she let them drift apart so far that she didn’t even know something like this about Beverly?
“No one knew. We were dating secretly.”
“Why?”
“Because his family didn’t approve of someone like me. They had big plans for him and I wasn’t part of them.”
“Who was this guy?” Maxine couldn’t believe she’d never known about this.
Beverly sat silently for a moment. “He was… He was Cliff, Eleanor’s oldest son.”
“No kidding?” She sat back in her chair, stunned. “But he was always…”
“The town troublemaker? Yes, he was. But I came to realize as I got to know him that it was just his way of trying to get his parents’ attention. And he craved their approval.”
“So, what happened between you two?” She leaned forward. “Why didn’t you end up together?”
“I was supposed to meet him at the ferry. We were going to run away together. I was going to give up Coastal Coffee and everything. But I didn’t care. I would have done anything to be with Cliff. I… I loved him so much.”
“But what happened?”
“I showed up at the ferry landing and he wasn’t there. I waited for hours. He never showed up.”
“But why?”
“I went back to Coastal Coffee and there was a letter waiting for me. He said his father asked him to go work with his uncle up east and eventually take over that branch of the family business. That he couldn’t run off with me because he had to concentrate on this new opportunity. He was going to prove to his father that he could make a success of it.”
“But you could have gone with him, couldn’t you?”
“He didn’t want me… I didn’t fit into his plans anymore.” Beverly took a sip of her coffee. “But I regret that I never went after him. Talked to him. Told him how I felt about him and how we could make it work. Even if his parents would never approve of me as a match for him.”
She sipped her coffee and tried to digest all that Beverly had told her. “You and Cliff. I can’t even imagine. My memories of him are just that he was a wild, irresponsible kid.”
“He was. But he got this chance to prove himself. And he took it.” Beverly shrugged. “So I stayed in Magnolia. Kept Coastal Coffee. Made a life for myself. A good life. But I still harbor disappointment and anger toward Cliff. He just left me waiting there, and then all he left was a letter. Wouldn’t even talk to me face to face. I was devastated.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you when you were going through all of that.”
“Like I wasn’t there for you when Victor divorced you?”
“I can’t believe we drifted apart so much that we didn’t know about major things happening in each other’s lives. Let’s never let that happen again.”
“Good plan.” Beverly's lips lifted in a sad smile. “Because I missed having you here to talk to. It’s been nice having you back.”
“It is nice, isn’t it?”
“And since we are so close again, I’m going to give you some advice. Go talk to Dale again. Stand up for what you want. Ask for it. Tell him how you feel about him. Take that risk.”
“I think that ship has sailed.”
