Tessa slapped her hands against the papers in her lap, completely aware that she was on the verge of a meltdown. “Why did you agree to that? Didn’t you see me shaking my head?”
Paul started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “The last thing you need to do is sit at the apartment. You need to get out and surround yourself with people who care about you.”
Tessa’s bottom lip trembled. “But Iwantto sit around and feel sorry for myself.”
Paul reached over and patted her paper-covered leg. “You have at least an hour and a half to wallow, and then we’re going out.” He glanced over at her. “They’ll want to know what’s happened.”
Tessa sighed and stared out the window. As much as she wanted to lock herself away in the bedroom with a bag of caramel creams and a romance novel, she felt her spirits lift, if only slightly, at the thought of being with her best friends.
Paul opened the door to Fred’s Diner and motioned for Tessa to enter. The scents of greasy comfort foods—salty french fries, hamburger patties sizzling on the griddle, and buttery sandwich bread—beckoned Tessa inside. The noon crowd was busy eating and wiping their fingers on too-thin brown napkins pulled from dispensers on the tables. Conversations hummed around the room like a few dozen radio stations all broadcasting at once.
Tessa glanced around until she saw Anna raise her hand from a back corner booth. Tessa weaved her way through the tables. Lily, Jakob, Anna, and Eli sat at a rounded booth, and Tessa slid in beside Anna so Paul could sit on the outside seat.
Tessa struggled to make eye contact while she said hello to everyone. Paul held his hand out across the table toward Jakob. “I’m Paul Borelli.”
Jakob shook his hand and introduced himself. “Heard you were helping Tessa with the house. We live down the street from Honeysuckle Hollow. That was some storm last night, wasn’t it? Our street looks like every tree in the neighborhood dropped their branches. Good thing you haven’t moved in yet. I’m not sure anyone slept well.”
Tessa made a strangled noise in her throat. Then, because she was worried she might start crying, she cleared her throat a few times before reaching for her glass of water and drinking half of it.
Anna focused in on Tessa. “What is it? You were beaming like a sunburst yesterday, and today you look like you did that time we lost the three-legged race at field day.”
Tessa pressed her lips together in an attempt to control her emotions. “Let’s order. It’s been a long morning. We can talk while we eat.”
Anna looked only momentarily satisfied with Tessa’s answer, and Tessa knew she wouldn’t be able to withhold much longer. No one but Paul needed to look over the menu to make a selection, so Tessa pointed out the local favorites on the laminated pages.
After the waitress took their order, Lily clasped her hands together on the tabletop. “Spill it. You ordered a salad from Fred’s Diner. You’re not well.”
Tessa felt Paul’s hand slide over hers on the vinyl seat, and he squeezed her fingers. She cleared her throat one last time and went into detail about the destruction of the house and how she had no choice but to forfeit the majority—if not nearly all—of the rehab projects she’d planned. Most of her money would have to be used to repair the roof and the exterior wall of the house, including all the damage in between. When she was finished talking, everyone sat in a silence so heavy it felt as though a sopping wet sleeping bag had been dropped over Tessa’s head.
“I was this close.” Tessa separated her forefinger and her thumb an inch apart. “I really thought it would all work out. Now—now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Anna’s compassionate expression caused Tessa’s eyes to water. “Will the house be livable once the major repairs are made? Can you still move in?”
Tessa shrugged. “I’ll have to. I won’t have finished floors or a working kitchen. The electrical and the plumbing will work because those are necessary for all the permits.” She folded a napkin in half and then in half again, pressing firmly along the creases. “But in college we survived with only a microwave.” She glanced across the table at Lily. “Remember? We did okay then.”
Lily scoffed. “We lived off macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles. I hardly think that constitutes as ideal.”
“Lily,” Anna scolded, “positive thoughts.”
“I love macaroni and cheese as much as anyone,” Lily said. “Upside, it’s not as though you’re an avid cook.” When Anna glared at Lily, she added, “Hey, what about a scratch-and-dent appliance store? Couldn’t you check one out for deals? I bet you could find a good enough cooktop and refrigerator until you find what you really want.”
Tessa propped her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford much more than a low-wattage microwave. Maybe in a year or two I could save up enough.”
“Will the house be safe to live in?” Anna asked.
Paul nodded. “Safe, yes. Comfortable? Depends on your definition of comfort.”
“You have indoor plumbing,” Eli said. “That’s something.”
“Yeah,” Tessa mumbled.
The group quieted again, and the waitress delivered their food. The silences were punctuated by idle chitchat about the weather, what funny thing Rose—Jakob and Lily’s daughter—had said recently, or the new baked goods Anna had created at her bakery in Wildehaven Beach.
“I’m sorry I’m bringing down the lunch atmosphere,” Tessa said. “It’s just—does anyone mind if I—if Paul and I go? That way you can enjoy the rest of the meal. I don’t have much of an appetite anyway.”
Anna put her hand over Tessa’s hand on the table. “Tess, we want to help you, but I’m not sure what we can do. You’re not in this alone, though.” She glanced over at Lily. “We’ll call a few people we know, see if anyone has items they want to give away. Appliances, furniture, spareanything.”
Lily nodded. “Jakob’s mama knows everyone in this town. She’ll call around too.”
