Page 3 of Right Where You Left Me
“You didn’t have to make all this for me, Mom.” I sit down in the seat that has always been mine for as long as I can remember. The one that was flanked by my parents’. My mom sits in hers, giving my dad’s old empty seat a sad smile before piling food on her plate. “I need to get down to the cafe soon. The owner wants to run through my job expectations and everything before my official first day tomorrow, and I should head out soon.”
“Oh, nonsense.” She huffs. “You need a full stomach before you can do anything else. How are you going to focus if your stomach is growling?”
“Okay, Mom.” I say with a chuckle. Sometimes it’s easier to just do what she wants. Small battles and all that.
I shovel the pancakes she made in my mouth and really should have been more careful because as I’m about to swallow she hits me with. “So, are you excited to see any of your old friends?”
I choke, banging on my chest to get some air before I respond. “What? No.” I rasp out. “No one lives here anymore, last I checked. Or at least no one I kept in contact with. The only people I talked to after high school don’t live here?—”
She cuts me off. “Well, then you’ll make new friends.” She does something weird with her face, but it’s hard to tell if she’s being weird or just… herself.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I should really be going, thanks for breakfast, Mom. It was delicious as always.”
I give her a hug before I quickly grab my bag and phone and run out the door. The cafe is a short ten minute drive from my house, but the nerves are starting to amp up. I call Liam and he answers on the second ring.
“Headed in?” He asks, his voice already calming me down some.
“Yeah. I’m about to pull into the parking lot actually. I don’t know why I’m so nervous! It’s not like it’s an interview, I already have the job.” I say with a self deprecating laugh.
“You’re going to do great, Em. Today is just a meet and greet anyway. Low stress.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” I say taking in the adorable cafe. Its front windows are covered in chalk art of autumn leaves and pumpkins saying cute coffee puns. The sign above the door is handmade and says “The Coffee Cottage” in big bold letters. I take a deep breath and head inside. The inside of the cafe is quaint, fairy lights twinkling across the ceiling with an assortment of cozy mismatched tables and chairs. The coffeebar in the back is raw wood and gorgeous and I’m cut off mid sentence as I dictate this all to Liam when I make eye contact with my new boss.
“Liam, I have to go.” I say quickly and hang up. “Piper?!” I choke out.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. This isn’t happening right now.
“Oh, god. Hi, Emma.” She says shifting on her feet. “Emma… Reynolds?”
“I was married.” I say roughly. “Now, I’m not. Which… Piper McGuire?”
“Still married.” She holds her left hand up. “Wow. Um. Well, I guess you can follow me back to the kitchen.” She says, her voice wavering slightly.
I can’t breathe. How can I be so fucking unlucky that the cafe that is supposed to be my fresh start is owned by my ex-best friend’s older sister? An ex-best friend that I haven’t seen or spoken to in thirteen years. An ex-best friend that I?—
This is so awkward, but I really need this job. And, oh, fuck. Is she living in Cedar Falls too?!
I follow meekly behind Piper as she shows me around the kitchen. It’s a nice sized industrial kitchen with all the appliances I’ll need. It’s open and clean and all the stainless steel gives it a nice commercial kitchen vibe that always makes me feel like I’m on my own baking show.
“This is really nice.” I say softly as I take everything in. I could really love it here, but I doubt she’s going to keep me on now that she knows who I am.
“Thanks.” She says and grins before clearing her throat. “So, as I know you already are aware based on your job experience, I’d need you here bright and early to get everything prepped and started. We open officially at eight. And once you’re finished up with whatever back-of-house baking tasks I have for you I’dsometimes need you to work up front at the counter if that’s still okay. Your shifts would still all end around noon.”
I nod in agreement. “Yes, yup. Totally fine with all of that.”Oh my god, she’s going to let me have the job still?
“Okay, that’s great. Good.” She says toeing the ground as she looks everywhere, but at me.
“Piper…” She looks up at me with a pained smile. “Is this going to be weird?”
She lets out a breath. “Probably, but you know what, Emma? It’ll be fine. I need the help and your experience speaks for itself. Whatever happened between you and my sister is in the past, right?”
“Right. It won’t affect my job here, I promise.” I say and try to give her a genuine smile. I can push back all the feelings that crop up when I think about her. I don’t have to let it affect me at all. I am a grown-ass woman and I will not let something that happened over a decade ago mess up the chance I have of starting a new life here and cause me to lose the job that I need in order to do that.
“Then things will be perfect.” Piper says. “Maybe a few awkward mornings here and there, but I’m sure we will all be able to be grown ups about it and it won’t affect my cafe.”
“Wait, what do you mean by awkward mornings?” I ask, but before Piper can answer a loud crash sounds from the cafe and we’re both moving to see what the sound was.
There, standing with a carafe of iced coffee dumping all over the ground at her feet, is Sage.
