Page 11 of You Met Me There

All I can do is nod. The Maple Lake movie theater is gone?

There’s silence for a beat, and when I fully come back to the present moment, the girl is smiling at me somewhat impatiently. “Your coffee will be ready in just a minute at the end of the counter.” She points to the opposite end of the long café.

“Thanks,” I squeak, and clear my throat.

“Have a good one.” Before I walk away she’s already sighing, like taking my order wore her out.

I smile back at Pigtail Girl and then notice why her voice felt familiar—she sounds identical to my sister, Jules, at that age. The knots in my stomach tighten at the thought of seeing her soon.

Once I’m back in my car, my phone rings. I fumble through my purse to find it, splashing cold coffee on the console in the process.

I groan. “That’s just freaking fantastic,” I mutter.

I set the cup in the console, then find my phone as I reach for a pile of napkins in the glove compartment. While soaking up the coffee spill, I see it’s Emma who’s calling, and I answer.

“Hey,” I say distractedly.

“Hey. How’s the drive going? And how are you doing?” Her voice is like sweet honey, smooth and full of reassurance.

“The drive is good. I just got coffee at a place called The Burnt Bean, and I’m about to get back on the road.”

“Well,” she says cheerfully, “you had the good sense to get the essentials, so at least I know you haven’t totally lost your mind.” Emma makes a lot of jokes, and I know from her tone that she’s trying to lighten the mood.

I roll my eyes.

“Where are you staying tonight?” she asks.

I toss the wet napkins on the plastic floor mat behind my seat. “I’m stopping in Richmond, and I’ll finish the last five hours of driving tomorrow.”

“Dang,” says Emma. “How many hours is the whole drive up there?”

“It’s about nineteen, but that doesn’t include stops.” I run my fingers through my hair as pressure builds in my chest.

“And?” she presses. “How are you feeling about going back?”

Scared. Humiliated. Like I’m bringing a raging wildfire from Florida to the mountains of PA.

I stir my coffee with the straw, then take a sip. “Ummm, I’m getting nervous,” I answer truthfully. “The closer I get to Maple Lake, the more my chest seems to tighten.”

“Aww, Nat. I’m sorry. What are you the most nervous about?”

“I guess I’m scared that my family won’t welcome me back. That I’m going to see them for the first time in nine years, and they’re going to hate me?”

“No one could hate you,” she states.

“They might,” I mutter.

She clicks her tongue. “You could go back to Luke.”

“I … No. I can’t. He let me go. He told me he won’t ever change his mind about having kids, so I’m free now. I’m starting over.”

Right? Isn’t that what I’m doing? What I want? If so, then why does my heart feel torn in two?

Emma sighs. I can tell she’s getting irritated. “Natalie, Luke is beside himself. I think you should go back.”

I set my phone down, connecting it to the car speakers. “No. I can’t. I just—” I back away from The Burnt Bean and drive down the street to the north-bound interstate ramp. “Maybe I’ll go back someday, but I have to see my family. I’ve already set my mind on this, and it’s worth seeing it through.” My tone comes out harsher than I mean it to.

“Okay.” Emma sounds a little deflated. “You know I usually encourage you in everything you do, but as your best friend I can’t support this. I can’t be on your side when it comes to you and Luke. He didn’t do anything wrong.”