‘Willow!’ Jenn had gushed. ‘I can’t believe you’re calling me. How are you? And Jake! What’s high-flying city life like?’
Willow had laughed and given her a quick rundown of what they had been up to in the last five years. ‘It’s busy,’ she admitted. ‘Intense, actually. Jake loves it here.’
‘It sounds exhausting,’ Jenn had replied. ‘But you know me. That was never my thing. I think I was always destined to stick around here.’
Willow could easily picture her friend and imagined she had barely changed from their days at school. Jenn was always the easygoing, laid-back girl, who drifted from one idea to the next without too much focus. When Willow had left the Springs, Jenn had been working in the diner with Mel. Willow guessed all that had changed now.
‘You heard about Mel?’ Jenn asked, as if reading her mind.
‘Yeah,’ Willow replied sadly. Her grandma had broken the news to her over two years ago. ‘It was awful. She was such an amazing woman.’
‘She really was. Cancer is a bitch,’ Jenn hissed. ‘It’s Lucas I feel sorry for. He couldn’t cope at all. He had to get away in the end.’
‘Lucas …’ Willow whispered, feeling a stab of sadness in her gut. Her thoughts around him were still so complex. Once she had considered him her best friend, but she hadn’t spoken to him in years. Nevertheless, she was devastated that he had lost his mom in that way. She knew how close they were. ‘When I last spoke to my grandma, he was still there.’
Her grandma had loved Lucas. He helped her out around her house and popped in to visit to stop her getting lonely. Before she died, about a year or so after Mel, Willow knew that he had been there a lot.
‘Yeah, well, a few things happened. I think life wore him down and he had to leave. He went to stay with his sister, Mia.’ She paused. ‘I understand that, to be honest. That’s why I’ve decided to travel for a year. I have money saved up, so why not?’
‘Yeah, why not?’
This certainly seemed to be the time to embrace the new.
Jenn laughed in response. ‘Anyway – the van. What do you want that for?’
The reality had hit Willow hard. This wasn’t some kind of game she was playing. She actually had a chance to do something different, even if it was short term. Like Esmae, she wanted to seize the day. Willow quickly told Jenn her idea.
‘I want to run a matcha van, back in the Springs.’
She was expecting her friend to laugh in response but instead she heard a grunt of approval. ‘Sounds cool, babe – why not? It’s all set up, ready to go. I spent all my time and money restoring it and then lost interest. Typical, huh? Anyway, this place would love to have you back. It needs something new.’
And just like that, they had exchanged details. Within minutes, Willow had a potential new business and a place to stay.
Although it was really scary and moving fast, it felt like the stars were aligning.
Willow had a shower and then tidied up the apartment while she waited for Jake to return from wherever he had stormed off to. In her head, she was already packing her case and deciding what she would take. She knew she would travel light. Although it was spring and still pretty unpredictable, she didn’t want to be bogged down with too many clothes or belongings.
Part of her new life ethic was not being so reliant on material things and there was something freeing about thinking about what essentials she could take. In a strange way, she already felt as if a burden was lifting from her.
As she moved around the small apartment, she started to think about the people back home. Willow felt a twinge as she realized this would be the first time she would be back to the Springs since her grandma’s death. In accordance with her wishes, her grandma didn’t have a funeral, so Willow had never had the chance to go back then. Seeing her house again would be hard, especially as someone else must be living there now. Willow remembered the times sitting onher grandma’s porch, with a perfect view of the mountains. She had always been so wise and thoughtful.
‘Follow your dreams, sunshine. It’s the only way you can make them come true.’
Willow smiled at this memory.
She thought of the other townsfolk, like Mel, who she would dearly miss – she was always the person that everyone turned to for advice. It would also be good to see Jenn again, even if it would be fleeting.
And then there were people that Willow was more worried about seeing again. Like Lucas. Even though he had helped her grandma out, they had felt distant the last few times she saw him. Willow was silently relieved that Jenn had confirmed he had moved away.
There were other people that Willow was a little unsure about too – the prying Parker twins for example – Alice and Ava, who always had their noses in other people’s business.
And then there was Eric – Jake’s dad. Willow wanted to stay far away from him. Worry unfurled in her mind like an untangled web. Had she given enough thought to Jake? After all, he had plenty of reasons to stay away from Honey Springs and would find it so hard to go back there.
Did she truly love him if she was making him choose?
Later, Jake returned. He looked tired and drawn and Willow could smell beer on his breath.
She didn’t question where he had been, but instead gestured towards the sofa for him to sit next to her.
