Once Tori had gone, she and Cliff stood awkwardly on the theater’s steps. He looked different somehow. He looked not just older than the boy she’d known, but somehow humbler than the businessman who’d presented his development plans at the town meeting.
“You wanted to talk to me?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Would you mind coming over to Coastal Coffee? It’s closed now, and we can have some privacy there.”
He raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Sure.”
They walked down the street to the cafe, and she used her key to let them in, flipping on just a few lights rather than the full overhead fluorescents.
“Have a seat,” she said, gesturing to a table in the back corner. “Can I get you anything?”
Cliff hesitated. “I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. I have some chocolate cake left over from today.”
A boyish grin spread across his face. “Chocolate cake? You wouldn’t happen to have some milk to go with it, would you?”
“I think I can manage that,” she said, unable to suppress a small smile.
While Cliff settled at the corner table, she went behind the counter. She cut two generous slices of cake, poured two glasses of milk, and carried everything back to the table on a tray.
“This looks great,” he said as she set a plate in front of him. He took a bite and grinned. “Delicious.”
Silence dropped between them like a wall while they both took nibbled at their cake. Finally, he looked at her. “So… you wanted to talk to me.”
Now was the time. No more stalling. Her pulse raced as she reached into her pocket, pulled out the letter, and placed the yellowed envelope on the table between them. Cliff’s eyes widened when he saw it.
“Is that what I think it is? You kept it all these years?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, I just received it today.”
Confusion crossed his face. “I don’t understand. I left that letter for you the night I… the night I left Magnolia Key.”
“I know. But I never got it.” She tapped the envelope with her fingertip. “Your father must have found it before I did. He kept it hidden all these years. Your mother found it today while clearing out Theodore’s office.”
Cliff stared at the envelope, his fork forgotten halfway to his mouth. “My father took it? All this time, I thought…” He set his fork down, his appetite apparently gone. “I thought you got the letter and chose not to write to me.”
“And I thought you left without a word, that you didn’t care enough to say goodbye.”
They sat in silence for a moment, both processing the magnitude of all the misunderstandings that had shaped their lives.
“May I?” Cliff gestured toward the letter.
She nodded, and he picked up the envelope, carefully extracting the letter he’d written decades ago. His eyes moved across the page, reading his own youthful words.
“I remember… I remember writing this,” he said finally. “I was so crushed after overhearing my father. The things he said about me…” He folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope. “I wanted to prove him wrong so badly.”
“Did you?” she asked quietly. “Prove him wrong?”
His expression turned pensive. “In some ways. I made money. Built a successful business. But in other ways…” He shook his head. “Maybe he was right about some things. I’ve spent my life chasing success without stopping to think about what really matters.”
She took a sip of her milk, gathering her thoughts. “Your mother told me what Theodore said that night. That you’d never amount to anything.”
“Yeah, well, dear old Dad never did think much of me.” His tone was bitter, but there was resignation in it too. “I always thought if I just made enough money, built enough buildings, he’d finally see I was worth something.”
“And now? Do you still feel that way?”
He looked around the coffee shop, his gaze thoughtful. “Coming back home has made me realize how empty all that success felt. This place…” He gestured around them. “Magnolia Key hasn’t changed that much. It still feels like home, somehow.”
