“Alright, be right back.” She marched away, picking up a coffee pot from the counter as she went.
Quinn watched her move. She had filled in the way women did when they got out of girlhood. Much like Quinn wasn’t the boy he’d been at eighteen, she wasn’t the same girl either.
She had a smile for everyone and patted an old guy on the shoulder when he got out of his seat and headed toward the door.
She took his order to the kitchen and then ignored him until the chef rang the bell and she had to bring him his lunch.
Once she’d plopped the plate in front of him and placed his shake down more carefully, she took a seat and stared at him.
“You look old. The hair is nice.”
“Easier to maintain.”
“Uh-huh.” Charlie looked out of the window. “You know, I never thought I’d stay here.”
“I never thought I’d come back.”
“Yet here we are. Your cousin will turn our peaceful little haven of meth cookers and poor people into a violent, bad place.”
Quinn didn’t have anything to say, so he bit into his burger. They sat in silence, and Quinn’s gaze wandered to her hands. There was no ring, and he would’ve thought she’d be married by now.
“Why didn’t you leave?” he ended up asking.
She laughed without humor. “With what money? My dad…”
“He still around?”
“Sort of. He’s…”
“Up to his old habits?” Quinn made an educated guess.
Charlie’s mom had left when she was little and her dad was a junkie. Charlie had been the parent since she was a little girl, always taking care of her dad instead of the other way around.
“Yeah. It is what it is.” She looked tired for a moment, as if she let herself relax into her seat and felt the weight of it suddenly.
He didn’t tell her she wasn’t responsible for her dad. He knew how she’d felt about the old man then and could guess how she felt now. Family was fucking complicated.
Charlie observed the street while Quinn ate, and he was happy just to have her there as company. Nobody seemed to need her right then, or maybe she’d taken her break, he didn’t know.
“For fuck’s sake!” Charlie got to her feet so fast that Quinn jerked back, almost spilling his milkshake.
He watched, alarmed, as she opened the diner door, reached out a hand, and pulled in a kid. She then marched the boy back to Quinn’s booth and sat him down.
“Why are you here?” she asked sharply.
The boy looked contrite yet stubborn and Quinn could relate.
“I was in math class and I saw grandpa out the window,” the kid said. “He looked really bad, but the time I got out of class and went to look for him, I couldn’t find him.”
Charlie cursed under her breath. “You are not allowed to leave school grounds during the school day, Lennox, you know that!”
“Yeah, but Mom, he didn’t have much clothes on and it’s really cold out there,” the boy whined.
Then he looked at Quinn and from the first moment Quinn got a proper view of the kid’s face he saw…himself.
Jesus Christ.Cold shock rushed over him like a blast of icy water, but his years of experience with tough situations saved him.
“Hey, I’m Quinn,” he said, and held his hand over the table for a shake.
