Page 27 of I Met Him At The Library

Emily laughed as she stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her and locking it.

“That’s nice of her to be concerned about her brother. How old is she?” She asked as we descended the stairs.

“She’s ten years younger than me, so twenty-six.” I replied before holding the outside door open for her to walk through.

“Oh she’ll learn soon enough. Meghan got me blasted on my twenty-ninth and I didn’t feel right for a week. I don’t think I’ve been drunk since.”

“You and Meghan are close,” I noted, and she hummed as she nodded.

“She was two classes younger than me and Poppy, but because of Poppy and Trey we were all pretty close.”

“Poppy and Trey?” I asked.

Her eyes widened as she stared at me, “Trey never told you about Poppy?”

I shook my head, and she chewed on the corner of her mouth - turning her head forward as we walked toward The Blue Plate.

“I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you,” she said.

“I’m assuming Trey and this … Poppy … dated a long time ago?”

“They were childhood sweethearts, they started dating the moment they knew what dating was. But …” she paused and winced a little.

“I’ve been here five years, and Trey’s one of my closest friends. If he hasn’t told me, he probably never will, so I’ll keep it to myself.”

“You remember me telling you how only one person in our class went to college?”

“Yes.” I nodded once.

“Well, it was Poppy. Except, before she was supposed to leave she didn’t know if she really wanted to. She was mulling over giving up her scholarship in order to stay here with Trey,” she explained and then gave me a sad look.

“Let me guess. Trey being Trey, he broke up with her in order to force her into deciding to go to college.”

“Yup, he was supposed to tell her he still loved her when she graduated. We planned a whole trip. Then I found out she was getting married right after graduation. We tried to convince him to go and stop it, explain why he did what he did. He refused … believing it was truly over and that he’d waited too long to try to win her back.”

“Why did he wait so long?”

“Probably afraid she’d give up her education to move back here to be with him.”

“Is that why Trey doesn’t date?” I asked.

“That and a lack of options. He took over his dad’s company right out of high school, so he wasn’t leaving town at all. Plus, anyone from here knew about Trey and Poppy and most figured he’d never actually open up to someone else, so no one bothered so much as flirting with him.”

“Wow. That sucks.”

“Yeah, but maybe one day someone will come through who sparks his interest.”

“Maybe.”

Walking into The Blue Plate we sat in a small booth against the back wall and pulled our menus from the caddy which held the usual assortment of condiments. Sadie came by and poured coffee for both of us. As I read over the menu, I glanced around the restaurant and there were quite a few eyes on Emily and me.

Ignoring them, I focused back on the menu. Secretly, I loved that people were seeing me with her. I wanted people to think she was mine, and to know I was hers as well. After a couple of dates we’d have that conversation about being together.

We ordered breakfast. Steak and eggs for me, while Emily ordered eggs, pancakes, and sausage. While we waited for our food, we sipped on coffee, and I shared a bit of my childhood with her. I told her I was raised by a single mom and avoided too much detail about my dad. The situation was complicated because, after the divorce, my dad was rarely present.

I talked to him periodically, choosing to let go of the past but not necessarily forgiving him. My sister, however, refused to speak with him at all. She was most hurt by the divorce and his drinking. I was old enough to see my dad suffering from mental health problems, but she felt it was no excuse. I didn’t pester her, and I’d never play the go between. She was a full grown adult who could make her own decisions.

Emily talked a bit about her childhood. She was an only child and her parents were both retired. They traveled the country in an RV, only returning home for holidays and Emily’s birthday. Emily talked a lot about her decision to take online classes instead of going to college - choosing to solely study creative writing instead of going for a degree. It was cheaper and it wouldn’t put her or her parents into any type of extra debt.

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