Usually Kenzie enjoyed the Father’s Day brunch, but she wasn’t usually the topic of conversation.
“I’ll help bring the plates out, and then I’ll sit,” Kenzie promised. Maybe they’d have the gossip out of their systems by then.
After she’d helped Abby bring out all of the plates as Nathan put them in the window, Kenzie couldn’t put it off anymore. She sat in the empty chair at the tables they’d pushed together and forced herself to smile.
“Does everybody have everything they need?” she asked brightly. “Abby’s going to refill the coffee carafes as soon as the new pot’s done brewing.”
Most of them dug into their breakfasts, so she thought she’d get a reprieve. They couldn’t talk if they were chewing. But her aunt was slow to pick up her fork. “Kenzie, I hear you’re going to start being closed on Tuesdays. How’s it going to feel to have a day off every week?”
Like she would have an empty day with nothing to distract her from thinking about Danny, she thought, but she didn’t let her fake smile slip. “I’m excited to learn how to sleep in a little bit.”
“And you and Rhylee can go out on Monday nights. I know it’s not the most exciting night to go out on the town—not this town, obviously, but you could go south a bit—and see movies or go… I don’t know. I have no idea what people do for fun.”
Everybody laughed, saving Kenzie from having to pretend she’d love to go to a movie theater on a Monday night. Rhylee rolled her eyes at her, knowing that wasn’t Kenzie’s idea of a good time, but nobody else seemed to notice.
“Maybe you can start dating,” Karen continued, and was it Kenzie’s imagination or did they all get quiet and stop chewing? “I’m sure you can find a nice guy who doesn’t mind date nights on Mondays.”
“Maybe,” Kenzie managed to say before filling her mouth with so much pancake, she’d still be trying to chew and swallow it when everybody else was done.
“I want to hear more about the big fishing trip,” Rhylee said loudly, and she gave Kenzie a wink. “What kind of boat was it?”
She’d never loved her cousin more, she thought as she tried to get the pancake down with a big sip of water and hoped she wouldn’t choke and bring everybody’s attention back to her.
Luckily, most of the people around the table were obsessed with fishing, so even though they’d heard about the fishing trip already, they were happy to hear the stories again. It got them through the rest of the meal, but all the male voices and laughter grated on her raw nerves.
It was too easy to imagine Danny at this brunch with her family, his laughter mingling with that of the other men Kenzie loved. He’d fit in well with them, and the emptiness where he was missing was loud and impossible for her to ignore.
The pain of wishing he was with her also made it impossible for her to ignore how that would feel for him. If they were together, would he have skipped spending Father’s Day with his dad to come to this brunch? Maybe, in a world where they worked, they could have had brunch with Frank and then drive south to have dinner or a cookout with Mike and the rest of his family.
But this was a world where theydidn’twork, so he could have had brunch with her family, but he would have driven to his dad’s alone because Kenzie couldn’t go with him. There were very few holidays Corinne’s Kitchen was closed, so for family events, he’d be there without her.
She couldn’t do this anymore. If she sat at the table any longer, she was going to burst into tears, and she did not need her entire family trying to make her feel better. A few customers had come in for an early lunch, giving her an excuse to get up and help Abby clear the dishes away.
After depositing the last bus pan in the dishwashing area, she felt the tears building up, needing escape. Being out back wasn’t enough, so she kept going, right out the back door of the kitchen into the sun. She inhaled the humid fresh air, hoping it would clear away the pressure of unshed tears.
“Hey.”
Kenzie closed her eyes, wishing Rhylee could have given her another minute or two before following her out. “I’m okay. I just wanted some fresh air.”
“Do you want me to leave you alone?”
She was about to nod, but then she shook her head. “Am I wrong?”
Rhylee stepped next to her, turned so she could see her face. “I don’t think there is a right or wrong here. I wish there was because I think it would be easier to know what I can say to help you.”
“As not only my cousin, but my best friend, aren’t you supposed to call him horrible names and convince me he’s the worst guy ever?”
She chuckled. “I think so, but…he’s kindanotthe worst guy ever? And with the disclaimer that I love you completely, how often do we get to do something that’s not our Monday shopping trip? When’s the last time we had a girls’ night?”
“I know,” she said quietly, guilt making her sigh. “But if Danny and I lived together, it would be different.”
“Would it, though? I mean, if you and I were roomies now, I’d get to see you for a little while after you got home, but then you’d go to bed early and be gone before I got up in the morning. We’d have almost the same relationship we have now.”
“So what you’re saying is that Iamwrong.”
“No. You’re not wrong because this is your life and it’s better to make decisions based on your reality. I guess what I’m saying is that maybehe’snot wrong, either.”
Tears slid over Kenzie’s cheeks, and she tried to swipe them away, but they kept coming. “I wish I’d never met him. Maybe I wasn’t super happy, but at least I was content.”
