Page 14 of Cups of You

“Yeah.”

“And your books for school on Monday?”

“Yes, dad,” Olivia stressed. She looked up at him. “Are you sure you’re okay for me to go? I can always stay home with you this weekend and go to mom’s next weekend.”

He waved off her suggestion with a smile. “I’m fine, bean. You go with your mom and have a good time.” He leaned down pressing a soft kiss onto her forehead. “I’ll see you Monday after school.”

She nodded and grabbed her bags from under the counter. Benjamin watched her walk out and gave her a reassuring smile and wave when she turned back to call out another goodbye. He watched her get into the back of the car and didn’t turn away until it had pulled out and was on its way down the street.

The silence left behind when Olivia was gone to her mother’s was always unnerving, but he forced himself to cope. Having a relationship with her mom was important and Benjamin refused to stand in the way of that. That was part of the reason why he never told her the real reason for the divorce.

Olivia thought it was due to him and her mother just growing apart, and Benjamin had no desire to reveal the actual cause. It was the last favor he gave his ex-wife when they parted. He wouldn’t be the one to reveal that she and her new guy had been seeing one another much longer than they originally announced even if it did smart for the first few months when the separation was fresh.

Now, Benjamin only felt sadness when he got home, and the house lacked Olivia’s warmth. He supposed it was good practice for when she eventually graduated high school and flew the coop for college. He didn’t hold any illusions that she might stay in town. The closest community college was an hour away and while some people did stay in town and commute to the college for classes, most kids left heading to Athens, Atlanta, or Savannah to attend college in larger cities in the state if not leaving the state altogether.

Benjamin wanted Olivia to go off and experience things no matter how much he would miss her pestering him when she was gone. He knew part of her push for him to find someone was so he wouldn’t be alone when the time came, but for now he would have to settle on the business and friends for company.

FIVE

The air was crisp and Amber shivered as she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. Georgia had once again decided it was still winter and the abrupt change was keeping her on her toes. She clenched her jaw against as another tendril of icy wind brushed across her face and powered on.

The sun was high overhead as Amber wandered through town taking in the changes. She had taken to driving in, parking, and then choosing a direction to walk for the day. Despite choosing a different direction each time, most days she found herself retracing her previous steps never failing to snap out of her own thoughts when a familiar scent of roasting beans curled around her.

She had attempted the coffee at the diner only once just to try to shake things up and nearly scarred herself for life. The milkshakes at the old diner were as delicious as she remembered, but the coffee was acidic enough to strip a layer from her damn stomach. She was not willing to risk a repeat of what happened last time.

Jackie had spent the rest of that evening laughing at her between telling Amber she should have known better.

She was right though Amber hated to admit it.

“Well, I’ll be. Is that Amber Jones?”

Amber came to an abrupt halt at the sound of that voice. She had hoped she could get through another walk without having to talk to people, but clearly today her luck had run out. Two weeks of not having to deal with the ‘welcome backs’ and invitations to dinner was probably a town record. She took a moment to gather herself before pasting a smile on her face and turning around.

“Hello, Mrs. Carmichael.” Amber had no trouble pitching her voice higher into the polite tone that you reserved for frenemies and nosy bitches. In this case, Mrs. Carmichael was a little of both.

If there ever was a quintessential southern belle, Karen Carmichael would be it Even in her mid-sixties, her hair was never out of place when she was seen in public, and Amber didn’t think she had ever caught sight of the woman without a full face of makeup.

If the rumor mill in Millensville had a face, it would no doubt be hers. Even Jackie tended to stay away from the woman and her aunt loved gossip. A few whispers here and there was one thing, but Mrs. Carmichael tended to take it to a whole other level, one that Amber had zero desire to be involved in.

Now, she needed to figure out a way to make a quick escape.

“Oh, there’s no need for all that,” Mrs. Carmichael said voice going sickly sweet in a way that had Amber almost gagging. “You’re an adult now. You can just call me Karen.”

I think the fuck not.Amber’s smile didn’t wane, but she tried to look around discreetly to find a way to extricate herself from this situation. The faintest scent of coffee reached her and with a jolt she realized she was only a block from the café.

“Your aunt had mentioned you were moving back to town.”

“I’m not back permanently. Just here to help out—”

“That’s what I said,” she continued barreling through Amber’s attempt at words. “I told Jackie that there was no way you would move back for good after having experienced the city.”

Amber narrowed her eyes slightly. It pained her to have confirmed anything Mrs. Carmichael said, but it was too late to recant it now.

“Well, it’s good to see you again. I need to go get a coffee so I can head back.”

“Oh perfect. I was on my way to Bennie’s now to get some of his famous coffee cake.”

“Great.” Amber couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice that time, but Mrs. Carmichael either didn’t catch it or did and didn’t care. She kept up the mostly one-sided conversation all the way to the café not pausing even with Amber’s mostly one-word answers. Amber had hoped to get away from the other woman once they entered the café, but her hopes were again trampled on when the woman stepped up beside her at the counter.

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