Chapter Thirty-One
Evangeline
“Life hasn’t changed mucharound here,” Kaitlyn says as we walk down Main Street, heading to my favorite burger joint growing up.
“I forgot how beautiful it was, though,” I say, looking around and taking a deep breath of fresh air.
She stops, confused. “Beautiful? It’s just Main Street.”
Laughing, I reply, “Yes, but the streets are clean, and I don’t have to worry about stepping in a bum’s pee as I walk down the sidewalk. And the air, my God, I forgot how good trees smell.”
“You’re not serious, right?”
“I wish I could say I wasn’t. San Francisco is not the cleanest place on the Earth. It’s more like the concrete jungle you hear people talk about.”
“But bums’ pee?”
I almost snort my reply. “Sometimes I wish pee was the only thing I had to deal with when it came to bums. You name it, I’ve seen it, and it’s not pretty.”
“Okay, I’m beginning to think Warroad isn’t all that bad.”
“No, it really isn’t,” I reply as we walk into my childhood heaven.
I always loved this place. It was where my parents took me to celebrate my birthdays or when I aced my tests in school. For the first time in years, I don’t feel that punch in the gut whenever I think about them.
I order the same thing I always did, a plain cheeseburger with a side of mac n’ cheese, and I’d always put the mac n’ cheese on the burger to eat them together. It sounds disgusting everywhere else, but here, it’s comfort food.
I talk to a few people I haven’t seen in years but nothing could have prepared me for the surprise I got halfway through our meal. Kaitlyn and I were reminiscing about shenanigans we used to get into when I heard the doorbell chime upon opening. Without realizing why, I glanced in their direction to see Carter’s parents.
His mom meets my eyes first, and a small smile appears on her face with a slight tilt to her head. She grabs her husband’s arm, leaning over to say something, causing him to look in my direction too. He nods his head, following the hostess to their seats, but she heads our way instead.
I glance at Kaitlyn, who has her eyebrows raised, and she widens her eyes to me when she notices this is about to go down. They weren’t all that fond of me in high school, and now, I have no clue if they know about the child I gave up; their grandson.
“Evangeline,” his mom, Judy, says in the sweetest manor as she approaches my table.
Kaitlyn chokes on her food and instantly coughs into her napkin as I say, “Hi, Judy. Long time no see.”
“Yes, darling, it has been a long time. How have you been?”
Okay, she’s being nice to me. This is a first. “I’m good. How about you guys?”
“We’re hanging in there. I talked to Carter last week, and he had mentioned he found you.”
I’m so glad I just swallowed the drink I had taken, or I would have spat it out directly on her. Coughing to clear my throat, I respond, “He did?”
“Yes, honey, he did. He’s been looking for you for years, you know?”
I turn to Kaitlyn, not sure how much she knows about everything.
“I can’t help but feel responsible too,” she finishes.
“Um,” I say because I have no clue how else to respond.
“I’m sorry. I was never terribly nice to you,” she says, reaching down to grab my hand, squeezing it lightly.
I stay silent again, still in some state of shock.
“I knew he really liked you, and I was so scared he’d give up his future for a high school fling. Then after your parents passed away and you disappeared, I’ve been carrying this guilt around. I knew you really needed him then, and I couldn’t help but feel I was the reason you ran away.”
