Page 10 of Stay With Me

Her comment gives me pause.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have overstepped.” She backtracks, her cheeks vibrant.

Shaking my head, I hold her gaze. “No need to apologize. I just didn’t realize my unhappiness was so obvious.”

She licks her lips, her shoulder scrunched up a bit. “I’m an obsessive observer of people. I can usually tell how people in this town are simply by looking at them. I doubt it was obvious to anyone else.”

“Ah, yeah. I’m happy now. I’m not supposed to dread going home, and I finally don’t.” We finish picking up the chairs and she offers to mop after I sweep.

By the time we finish, I’m shutting the lights off a good forty-five minutes earlier than usual.

We say goodbye to Adeline and get into my car.

“I’m in Poplar Grove.” Brynne buckles herself in.

“Okay.” I pull out of the parking lot and head toward her place. We’re quiet, but it doesn’t feel weird. It’s nice.

Brynne’s apartment is in the oldest part of town. It’s one of the few buildings that hasn’t been upgraded in the past few years and the wear is obvious.

“Thanks for the ride. I could’ve walked.” Brynne shifts, uncomfortable at accepting help.

“It was no problem at all,” I reply, my voice emphatic.

She doesn’t move to get out of the car. “I meant what I said. I’m happy to see you happy. You deserve it.”

She doesn’t wait for my response, letting herself out of my car and shutting the door with a wave.

Smiling as I drive to Young Jae’s, Brynne’s brusqueness takes me back to the times I would talk to her at school. She wouldn’t say much and held herself at a distance, but by the time we graduated there was a grudging friendship.

I’m sad it faded away, but seeing her tonight reminds me that it’s never too late.

I park on my side of the driveway, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Turning up the music, I sit through a couple songs just like I used to. What if I walk in there, and it’s exactly the same as at Jake’s?

Shaking my head, I mutter, “Young Jae would never.”

As the song ends, I turn off my car and grab my purse. The door is unlocked, so I let myself in.

Kimchi greets me at the door, her scruffy body wriggling in excitement. I laugh, greeting her as I put my shoes away. And only my shoes. I pop into the garage to put the cannolis into the spare fridge Young Jae keeps there, that way I can surprise him later.

Wandering toward the kitchen, I smell something delicious and the anxious pit in my stomach unravels. I don’t make it past the dining area, my stomach grumbling. The table has a covered dish on it and a huge bowl of rice. Everything is set and ready for us to eat.

“Perfect timing! I just finished cooking.” He sits down, waiting while I quickly wash my hands in the bathroom before he starts dishing up. As I take my seat, he says, “I hope you don’t mind, I was craving kimchi jjigae.”

Breathing in deeply as he takes the lid off the serving dish, I sigh in anticipation. “You know this is one of my favorites. Thank you for cooking dinner.”

Serving myself, I take the first bite and it’s just as good as I remember.

“It’s nice and easy after a long day.” Young Jae grins, his voice teasing.

“God, I still feel so bad, I know you’re not a morning person.” Making a mental note to go wide as I leave my room, I give him my best pouty face. “In my defense, the table attacked me.”

“So you said.” He laughs. “It’s all good. I got more done this morning than I usually do in a day.”

We finish eating, laughing and chatting. I shoo him to the living room when he tries to clear the table. “What did I say about cleaning up when you cook?”

“Okay, okay. You win.”

Stacking the empty dishes, I mentally prepare myself for the kitchen. I avoided looking at it when I saw the table so I could enjoy my meal, but as I turn and see the clear counters, I falter. Not only are there no dishes, but everything has been wiped down.

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