Page 124 of Still Love You

Ruth gasps. "You made her engagement ring?"

"I did." I keep my eyes on Willow. "I designed it and used a stone Willow found in the sand."

"That's so romantic." Ruth fans herself like she's going to pass out.

"Ruth!" Larry yells from the window. "Order's ready!"

She rolls her eyes. "I guarantee he'll never make me a ring. The only thing Larry's ever made me is a burger." She gets our food and brings it to the table. "If you need anything else, just let me know."

When she's gone, I ask Willow, "So what did you mean when you were talking about some things always being the same?"

"It's just...I don't know." She swirls her straw in her soda. "I liked growing up here, but as I got older I couldn't wait to go away. I wanted something new, something different. I wanted change. And I had it when I went to Camsburg. That was my first step in my new life."

I wait for her to finish because I can tell she's working this through in her head as she talks.

"But then when your old life completely changes, or is about to completely change, you desperately want it back. Or at least the things you're familiar with. The things that haven't changed. Like this restaurant." She picks up the milkshake and takes a sip. "See? It tastes the same as always." She slides it over to me. "Thanks for taking me here. I needed this."

"Maybe we'll come back tomorrow," I say casually.

She doesn't agree to it, but just eats her burger. I take a sip of the milkshake, but let her have the rest. She needs it more than I do. She can't handle uncertainty and that's all she has right now. I hadn't even considered coming to this restaurant would make her feel better, but once she explained it, it made total sense. So when we're done eating, I take her to another place that hasn't changed. A place we used to go.

"Are you going to our make-out spot?" she asks.

"It's just a field."

"That we made out at, like a million times."

I park the truck in our spot. "It wasn't a million. Maybe a hundred."

We're at an open field close to her old high school. As she said, we used to come here late at night and make out. We always parked next to a tree, thinking it would somehow hide us from the cops if they happened to be driving by, but they never did.

"Silas, we need to talk."

I undo my seatbelt and turn toward her. "Go ahead."

She undoes her seatbelt as well, and faces me. "First, I want to say that I really appreciate everything you've done. Working for my dad. For free. I can't believe you're doing that. And that you dropped two classes so that you could. You shouldn't have done that."

"To me, it was the right decision. School can wait. Saving the farm can't."

"This is what I mean. The way you're able to just drop everything and change your plans without worrying about it? I admire that about you. I always have. But it just shows how different we are."

"Willow, we don't have to be the same people in order to have a relationship. We can still make this work."

"Let me finish." She looks down at her hands. "I'm angry at you for not telling me what was going on. I understand you only did it because my parents told you to, but by doing that, I feel like you took their side instead of mine. Like you betrayed our friendship. You've never kept secrets from me before."

"Willow, I begged your dad to tell you, and he said he would, but he kept putting it off. He didn't want you to worry. He thought if he gave it more time, he might be able to turn things around and not have to tell you."

"They're too far in debt to turn things around, unless they use my college money. And it sounds like they've finally agreed to do that."

So she's not going back to Camsburg in the fall. Shit. She loved that school. I had a feeling she wouldn't be going back but was hoping it wouldn't come to that. Even though I love the idea of having her here in town, I want her to be happy, and she was happy at Camsburg.

"I'm sorry, Willow." I reach over and slip my hand around hers.

She's quiet and I'm not sure what to say, so I say nothing.

The silence continues and then she lifts her head. "What do you think I should do?"

I'm surprised she's asking me that. Willow prides herself on being independent and making her own decisions. But now she's asking me for advice, not as her boyfriend but as her friend. I've given this some thought, so since she asked, I'll give her an answer.

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