Page 101 of Lovetown, USA
“Now you know, huh?”
“Yeah.” She shakes her head. “Sorry.”
“Yep.” I’m already walking away. “Enjoy your day, your honor.”
Lane comes bouncing out of the county courthouse with a thousand-watt smile on her face. Her notepad is tucked under her arm, and her bag is flapping against her hip.
She jumps in before I can even get my seatbelt off.
“What’s up with you?” I ask.
“Just…happy.”
“You found something?”
She throws her arms around me and plants a big, wet kiss on my lips. “That’s an understatement.”
I wanna know, but at the same time, I don’t. So I say, “Congratulations,” and pull off, debating if today’s gonna be the day.
“Where are we going?" she says as she looks around. “This doesn’t look familiar.”
“I wanna show you something.”
I drive us out to the lot where the clinic will stand. It’s just gravel and foundation markers for now, but in my head, I see the vision. The walls, waiting room, exam tables. I see kids running in with coughs, the elderly filling their prescriptions. And nobody having to check their bank accounts before I check their vitals.
We stand there in the dust, and she looks around like she’s seeing it, too.
“This is it,” I say quietly. “This is what I’ve been fighting for.”
Her smile softens as she looks up at me. “This is healing something in you, isn’t it?”
I look down at her, surprised that the thought never occurred to me before she said it.
“Maybe,” I say, still working it out. “Thinking about my grandaddy…that still hurts.”
She’s quiet, absorbing it, her eyes steady on mine.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does.”
We’re quiet for a while before I turn to her. “What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your story. Is that healing something in you?”
She kicks at a rock. “I just want the truth. That’s what drives me. Black letters on white paper. No obfuscation. No confusion. Just facts.”
I think about that. “But is it always black and white? Don’t we live some parts of our lives in the grey?”
“I don’t,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’m not built like that.”
“I hear you,” I say. “I respect it.”
Her smile widens. “No spoilers, but you’re really gonna respect me when you read what I wrote.”
“Can’t wait.”
