Her chest tightened as she nodded and managed a half smile. “Of course. I’m sure he writes you all the time.”
The three didn’t say anything. Instead, they gave her a polite nod, went to a table, and spoke in low tones as they finished their coffee.
When they finally paid their bill and thanked her, it was obvious they were doing their best not to say anything more about their brother.
As soon as they were gone, she turned toward the hall and quickly wiped her eyes. She had to get a grip and pull herself together. Fast.
Paddy was the first to speak. “Well, now, that’s that, then.”
“Paddy,” Grandma warned softly.
Lila turned around in time to see him lift his hands. “I only meant…”
“I know what you meant, Paddy,” Grandma said firmly. She turned to Lila, her voice gentle. “You all right, child?”
Lila blinked and set the dish towel she’d been twisting down. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
None of them answered.
Finally, Irene huffed. “He’s a fool, that’s what he is! You don’t leave a girl like you behind unless your head’s full of sawdust!”
“Irene,” Grandma scolded.
“Well, it’s true,” Irene said stubbornly. “If he were my grandson, I’d march over there myself and give him what for.”
That earned a chuckle from Paddy. “Aye, but then we’d be short a good coffee boy, and that’d be a shame. Besides, you can’t just march across the ocean. He’s in England, Irene!”
“Paddy!” Polly hissed.
Grandma rose, came around the table to the counter, and rested a hand on Lila’s arm. “Sometimes, child, love needs a long road to find its way home. Doesn’t make the waiting any easier, but it does make the finding sweeter.”
Lila swallowed hard. “Maybe he’ll write or send an email. Or maybe he won’t. Either way, I guess I’ll have my answer. Leaving without saying goodbye though, is answer enough, isn’t it?”
Grandma squeezed her arm gently. “Time will tell.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Customers came and went. Lila smiled, poured coffee, took payments, and barely remembered any of it. By closing time, her heart still ached. Grandma walked out with Irene, Paddy locked up the back door, and Polly hummed softly as she gathered her things.
Lila lingered a little longer. She wiped down the counter one last time, straightened the napkin holder, and stared at the empty space near the door where TJ had once stood laughing about something Muffin and Espresso had done. Tilly’s aunt was the cat wrangler now.
When she finally left and opened the door, the bell above swayed gently in the draft, jingling once, then falling silent.Lila stepped back in to flip the sign toClosed,and whispered, “Goodbye, TJ Jones.”
Lila sat curled on the couch, a half-empty mug of cocoa growing cold on the coffee table in front of her. Outside, twilight settled over Clear Creek. Soon the town’s evening lights would blink on. And as much as she enjoyed this time of day, tonight, it only made the ache worse.
She’d done what she always did when life refused to make sense: cleaned. The place was spotless. Her laundry was folded, the floors gleamed, and there wasn’t a dirty dish in sight. But still, the silence pressed in.
Her phone sat on the table beside her. She’d stopped checking it after the fourth day of nothing. He wasn’t going to call. Why would he?
When a knock came at the door, Lila nearly ignored it. But a second, sharper knock followed. She sighed, setting her mug aside. Lila knew that knock.
“Come in,” she called.
The door opened, and her mother stepped inside, bundled in a knit scarf and carrying a pie tin.
“Hi, honey,”Margaret Comfortsaid gently. “Thought you could use a little company.”
Lila blinked back fresh tears. “Mom, I’m fine.”
Her mother’s expression said she didn’t believe that for a second. She set the pie on the coffee table, pulled off her gloves, and walked over to sit beside her.
