Page 46 of The Summer We Mended
In the center of the table was a basket of fried pickles, already half-gone, and an assortment of other appetizers: onion rings and pretzels, sweet potato fries, and sliders.
Jess slid into the booth beside Anna.“Going all out?”
“Cody ordered everything while he waited,” Anna said, her eyes dancing.“Some things never change.”
Cody shrugged.“I was hungry.And it felt like old times.”
Old times.Jess swallowed hard, the memories bubbling up uninvited.Sleepovers at their grandparents’ place, bike rides to the lake, fighting over the last piece of pie at Thanksgiving.
The server appeared to take their drink orders.Jess asked for an iced tea, Anna chose a cider, and Cody, a local pale ale.
After a few minutes of dipping into the appetizers and catching up on meaningless chatter, how hot it had been lately, how weird it was that the town parade was canceled this year, the server returned for their dinner orders.
Jess went with the grilled chicken salad.Anna picked the blackened fish tacos.Cody got the brisket sandwich with a side of fries.
“God, I forgot how good the food is here,” Jess said, sipping her tea.
“You used to come here with Matt all the time, didn’t you?”Cody asked, his tone gentle, not prying.
Matt was Jess’s high school boyfriend.He wanted a life with a stay-at-home wife, raising babies, while he worked.That wasn’t the life Jess saw for herself, so they went their separate ways.It wasn’t long after that she decided to move to California.
Jess nodded, a quick bob of her head.“Yeah.Feels like a lifetime ago.”
Anna reached over and squeezed her hand.“You look good, Jess.Seriously.I know this year’s been…a lot.But you’re still standing.”
Jess gave her a lopsided smile.“Some days it feels like barely.”
“Still counts,” Cody said.
There was a beat of quiet between them before the conversation slipped into stories from childhood, laughing about the time Cody tried to build a zip line in Grandma Ruby’s backyard and ended up breaking her birdbath.Or the way Jess used to boss them around during their made-up talent shows, always demanding to be the director.
“I think I still have the VHS of our Fourth of July musical,” Anna said, giggling.
“You mean the one where I tripped over the sparklers?”Cody groaned.
“That was your greatest performance,” Jess deadpanned.“You really sold the whole ‘flaming idiot’ thing.”
They erupted in laughter, loud and genuine.For the first time in a while, Jess didn’t feel like she was outside herself, watching the world move on without her.She was here.Present.Laughing.
Dinner arrived, and the table quieted as they dove into their food.But conversation soon turned to more serious subjects.
“So, how’s being back at your parents’ house?”Cody asked.
Jess looked down at her plate, unsure how to answer.“It’s…humbling.”
“You built a business from the ground up,” Anna said firmly.“You took a leap, Jess.That takes guts.This is just a temporary setback.”
Jess met her cousin’s eyes and saw nothing but pride.It made her throat tighten.
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for,” Anna continued.“You always have been.Even back when you thought wearing butterfly clips and glitter lip gloss made you invincible.”
Jess laughed through the burn of tears.“Don’t knock the butterfly clips.That was a power look.”
Cody raised his glass.“To power looks and fresh starts.”
They clinked glasses, even Jess with her iced tea.
By the time they finished eating, the restaurant was buzzing with Friday night energy, and the air had cooled outside.
