‘I swear I recognize him?’ She screwed up her face and Lucas could almost hear the cogs turning in her mind. ‘Didn’t he live here once? He sure has grown.’
‘We all have,’ Lucas muttered. ‘But yeah. He lived here when he was much younger. He’s Eric’s son. Willow’s boyfriend.’
‘Oh.’ Janice nodded fast, understanding. Eric came here sometimes, but not often; he was more Greg’s problem. There were occasions when he decided to go cold turkey and would come to The Diner searching for black coffee, but those were often tricky days. Lucas hated himself for it, but he was relieved he stayed mainly locked away at home now. He caused less bother for everyone when he did.
‘Poor Jake,’ Janice added. ‘Having to put up with that. But I’m surprised we don’t see more of him around here.’
‘Oh, I’m not.’ Lucas’s jaw was locked. ‘He got away as soon as he could. He’s never been one to stick around.’
And now he was an internet star he was going to be even more insufferable. Not for the first time, Lucas wondered what the hell Willow had ever seen in him.
Janice was leaving. She wrapped her thin cardigan over her shoulders and kissed Lucas gently on the cheek. She smelt of her familiar scent – vanilla and cherry blossoms. Even as a kid, Lucas could remember her smelling like this. All this time she had worked at The Diner, first as Mel’s best friend and now as Lucas’s honorary auntie. Part of him wanted to draw her into a tighter hug, to bury his head in her neck and admit to her that he was struggling. But he didn’t. He held fast and smiled stiffly.
He needed to show he was still in control. People still needed to believe in him.
Nobody wanted to see a weak man flailing.
‘We still have your mom’s day to organize,’ she reminded him. ‘I’m looking forward to eating your blueberry cheesecake recipe; it’s going to be the best.’
‘I hope so,’ Lucas replied quietly. ‘I just hope I do her justice.’
Janice hugged him again. ‘You will, sweetie. You will. I’ll bring some more recipes in tomorrow, shall I? We can make some final decisions?’
Lucas nodded; that sounded like a good idea.
‘What are you going to do now?’ she asked. ‘It’s still early. You could come back to mine. Tommy will still be up, no doubt with that idiot friend of his, Joey. They may have left some of my stew …’
‘I’ll be fine, Jan,’ he said, forcing a grin. ‘I have the books to look over.’
And he wanted to be alone.
Or at least – he thought he did.
The hammering on the door was insistent, making it shake on the hinges. Lucas jumped back in anticipation. Thoughts churned in his mind. Was someone in trouble? Had something happened? He hoped it wasn’t Eric looking for an argument – he really wasn’t in the mood for that. He swallowed, tasting dry air, and moved towards the door.
‘Hang on! Hang on!’ he called as he struggled with the bolts. They were stiff at the best of times.
‘Just don’t be anything too bad,’ he whispered under his breath. ‘I’m not sure I have the energy for that—’
He flung the door open.
There in front of him stood Mia, dripping wet from a spring shower.
‘Hello, bro,’ she said warmly. ‘What took you so long?’
Mia sat drying her hair in his small living room upstairs. Her face was drawn and Lucas could see dark shadows like bruises under her eyes.
‘Is everything alright?’ he asked. ‘You didn’t say you were coming back.’
She frowned a little, turning so that she wasn’t quite facing him. ‘I just wanted to come back for a bit? Is that such a big deal?’
‘Not at all. It’s just unexpected and you seemed so happy and settled in New York when I saw you.’ He paused, circling the room carefully. ‘How is Joshua anyway?’
Mia continued to rub her hair, but it was becoming more forceful. ‘He’s fine. Why?’
‘No reason …’
Lucas knew better than to push his sister on this. Her and Joshua’s relationship had always been up and down to say the least. Lucas had never really taken to the guy and although he appreciated that he didn’t know him that well, he seemed a little hotheaded at times and the type that would butt heads with Mia, but if she was happy who was he to interfere? As his mom had taught him before, if you told Mia what to do – she would end up doing the opposite.
