Farrah starts to pull out containers. “Marcie’s fries really are the best. I wish I knew how she makes them.”
“If you worked anywhere else but the diner, I’d say you could ask her,” Gwen says.
“Why does that matter?” I ask her. “It’s not like she’s cooking the food.”
“No, but Marcie and Desi have been in a feud since they were in college. Supposedly, Marcie stole Desi’s fiancé, but Marcie swears she didn’t know they were together. She even dumped the loser right after she found out, but it didn’t seem to matter to Desi. They’ve been rivals ever since.”
“I’ve always believed that no man can be stolen. He has to decide to cheat instead of setting a boundary with whoever is trying to get him to stray,” Farrah says.
I grab plates from the cabinet and hand them out. “Agreed. But I’ve also never understood women who go after married men. There are plenty of available guys. Why go after the one who isn’t? Unless it’s an accident because you didn’t know, there’s no excuse.”
“I think it’s the challenge,” Farrah answers. “It likely makes them feel like they’re the winner in a one-sided competition.”
“Were you a therapist in another life? That was seriously insightful without being mean.”
Farrah grins at me. “I’ve just had a whole lot of shitty life experiences. Plus, I’ve been in therapy for years.”
I hold up the wineglass that Gwen hands me. “Cheers to the miracles of therapy.”
We pile into the living room with our plates full of food. Contentment washes over me as we talk about everything under the sun.
I’ve been cautiously waiting to see if I’ll regret moving to Pine Creek Falls, but so far I’ve only felt at peace. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve made some questionable choices over the course of my life, but I’ve never regretted any of them. I wouldn’t be who I am without those experiences. But moving across the country on little more than a whim is a whole differentstory.
I left everything familiar to me—my friends, my family, the town—to live somewhere I’ve spent a minuscule amount of time in.
But those few weeks were monumental. For the first time, I finally feel like I fit in somewhere. I can be myself without any preconceived notions about who I am or who I should be. I get to find out what it would be like to let my walls down without the fear of disappointing people when I don’t live up to their expectations.
Not everyone is going to like me. I’m okay with that, but at least I don’t have to worry about people making snap judgments about me before I’ve even said hello.
That’s incredibly freeing.
CHAPTER 24
Holt
The house is lit up brighter than the moon tonight. It’s a welcome sight despite wincing at the thought of every single light being on inside.
I’d rather have all the lights on than come home to darkness every day.
“Anyone home?” I holler as I walk through the garage door. Mom’s piddling around in the kitchen as two little shouts come from upstairs, followed quickly by pounding steps.
“Daddy!”
I get three steps into the house before I’m waylaid by my girls. “How are my monkeys?”
“I got to be Ms. Nelson’s helper today,” Leah says.
“You did? What did you help her with?”
“I passed out worksheets and helped clean up the classroom while everyone went out to recess.”
“How come you didn’t go with the rest of the class?”
Leah’s face is set in a stubborn pout. “I didn’t want to.”
I glance at Lauren to see if she knows what’s going on, but she just shrugs. “I had a normal day. No one even got in trouble,so we got to have extra play time at the end of the day. Can we go to the library tomorrow? I finished my book.”
“That’s a great idea.” I kiss Lauren on her head and then pick up Leah. She wraps her little arms around my neck as we walk into the living room. I give Mom a little wave, and she blows me a kiss in return. “Want to tell me why you didn’t want to go out to recess?”
