If someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be eating regularly with Fiona Murphy—meals where we actually converse rather than sitting as far away from each other as possible and avoiding all contact—I wouldn’t have believed them.
And yet in the month or so that Fiona has been back in Honeywell, we’ve shared countless meals, and it’s felt…normal.Maybe not at first, but now I look forward to the mornings when Mae insists on feeding me breakfast, or when Fi and I run into each other at Sweet Escapes and share coffee or lunch, or the times Mae invites me for dinner.
While many of those shared meals have been spur of the moment, tonight was planned in advance.Liam and Joss asked Fiona, Mila, and me to join them at The Watering Hole for pizza and drinks.I’d nearly swallowed my own tongue when Fiona walked in with Mila an hour ago.She looked like a spring goddess, in a flowery green dress that swirled around her bare legs, and a white flower tucked into her free-flowing auburn waves.
She’d been laughing at whatever Mila was saying, and the lightness in her expression had caught me off guard.I’ve seen her smile and laugh over the last few weeks, have even been the cause of both, but outright joy has been mostly tucked away, buried under layers of grief.I always thought of Fiona as being lit from within, with a natural glow that drew me like a moth to a flame.That glow is back tonight, even when she has moments of drifting away from the conversation or looking like she’s lost in thought.
“You know, I really love it here,” Mila says.She’s got a glow about her tonight too, along with a purple flower in her dark blonde hair.She told us earlier that Fiona has shown her every inch of Honeywell since she arrived.Today they went to a maker’s market and flower show at the community centre, followed by lunch at Sweet Escapes.
“Here, as in The Watering Hole?”Joss asks with a laugh.
Mila titters.“I mean, this place is great, and that pizza waswaybetter than anything I expected to have at a bar—”
“We’ll be sure to tell Jeremiah that the pizza oven was a good investment,” Liam interjects.
“Please do!But I meant Honeywell in general.I’ve been to a million small towns all over the world, and they all have their own unique charm and selling points, but there’s just something about this place that feels extra special.I could see myself living here.”
My gaze slides to Fiona in time to see her eyebrows wing up.She catches me looking and quickly smooths out her expression, smiling slightly before taking a sip of her cider.
I’m vaguely aware of Joss speaking, and then I tune back in to hear Mila say, “No, really.It’s something to consider, even if it was just part-time.Seamus loved it enough to settle down here, right?”
Joss nods.“When I came last winter, I chose Honeywell at random because I needed an escape from reality for a month or two, and figured a small town where no one knew me was the best place for that.I had absolutely no intention of making connections, but, well, the magic of this town had other ideas.”
“I told her from the beginning that there’s something about Honeywell that makes people either want to stay, or has them returning again and again,” Liam says, laying a hand over Joss’s where it rests on the table.They exchange a knowing look that shines with love.
“There’s definitely magic here,” Mila says.“I always thought there must be for Seamus to love it enough to put down roots.Obviously, Mae was enough of a reason, but they could have lived somewhere else, right?Anywhereelse.”
My gaze trails once more to Fiona, who’s now staring into her glass while toying with the edge of her cardboard coaster.Her brows are pulled together as if she’s deep in thought.When she lifts her head, her eyes lock immediately with mine.
As Fiona and I stare at each other, the others continue talking about Honeywell.I half listen as Joss says she’s still getting used to the quiet after living in Toronto for so long, and Liam tells Mila she should return in the autumn and again around Christmas because if she thinks the town is charming now, she needs to see how they go all out for fall and the holidays.
“Is it couples’ night or something?”Mila asks suddenly.
Fiona and I finally break eye contact to glance around the bar.When I first arrived, I noticed there were more couples than usual, but I didn’t think much of it.
“Not unless Jeremiah has started doing theme nights, which I doubt,” Liam says.“It took him a year to decide on the pizza oven, and that’s about the only change he’s made in the last five years or so.”
Mila doesn’t respond, and I see that something—or rather someone—has caught her attention.Van Peterson, a friend of Liam’s and mine, and also one of our employees at Honeywell Handymen, is sitting at the bar.Our eyes catch, and he nods, raising his beer bottle in salute.I do the same.
Van used to be an outgoing, happy-go-lucky kind of guy before a nasty divorce last year.He’s mentioned that he’d like to try dating, but doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing since he was with his now-ex-wife for so long.If the small, curious smile on Mila’s face is any indication, I’m guessing she’d be happy to help Van dip his toe back in the dating pool.
The catchy pop song playing over the speakers ends, and a slow song I don’t recognize begins.This isn’t usually the type of bar where people dance, even though there’s a space for it on the far side of the room near the pool table.Despite that, couples have been coming and going from that space all night, and several of them head in that direction now.
“I love this song,” Joss says, swaying slightly in her seat.“I’ve convinced the team to look into getting permission to use it on the movie’s soundtrack.”
Liam slides out of the booth and holds his hand out to Joss.“Let’s dance.”
Joss shoots Fiona and Mila a smile before taking Liam’s hand and following him out onto the floor.Across the room, I see Van drain his beer and get up.He gives himself a visible shake before crossing the room toward our table.Something like pride swells inside me.He’s actually going to do it; he’s going to talk to Mila, maybe even take Liam’s lead and ask her to dance.Fiona and Mila whisper to each other, but I keep my eyes on Van, ready to give him an encouraging look if he needs it.His eyes dart to me as he approaches the table, and his expression turns almost pained.
“Hey, Nathan.Ladies,” he says, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans and then immediately wrenching them free again.“Fiona, it’s nice to see you back in town, although I’m sorry for the reason.I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times, but Seamus was a great man, and he’s missed around here.”
“Thank you, Van, I appreciate that,” Fiona says with a sweet smile that tugs at my heart.
Van’s gaze flicks to Mila, then back to Fiona.“Do you wanna dance?”he blurts.
I nearly choke on a sip of beer.My eyes dart between the three of them, taking in Van’s pink cheeks, the surprise on Fiona’s face, and the clear disappointment on Mila’s.Fiona glances at Mila, who covers her dismay quickly with a smile, and urges Fiona to go.Fiona avoids my eyes as she takes Van’s hand and lets him lead her across the room.
“And here I was worried about being the third wheel tonight,” Mila says.“Or fifth wheel, I guess.”
