Page 10 of Into the Light

I hesitated, and she called me on it.

“Come on, what else do you have to do?”

The truth was, I’d been meaning to go see Ellie so I could open my birthday gift from her. I didn’t do well with gifts, but I had a feeling this one was special by the way she looked at it as she handed it to me. Like she was psyching herself up. I figured the least I could do was bring over a pizza and her favorite wine and open it with her. But I hadn’t seen Annie in years, and if she was leaving tomorrow, this would be my only shot at catching up. Something I didn’t really feel comfortable doing, but knew I had to.

“All right, yeah. Let me go home and shower and I’ll meet you at Landry’s at, say, six?”

“That works for me. I’ll go drop these off at my hotel and see you then.”

* * *

Landry’s was one of the restaurants in Moon Harbor that consistently catered to tourists and townies because the food was just that good, but the atmosphere was still casual. The weather turned this week, the temperature finally dropping to normal autumn numbers, so they’d removed the outdoor seating. I stood against the brick wall and waited for Annie.

The trees lining the sidewalk were orange now, and a few of the leaves started floating in the cool breeze. One fell to the ground in front of my feet and I stepped on it, but it wasn’t as satisfying a crunch as I’d wanted. Still too bright in color. Too much life left.

“Hey!” I heard Annie’s voice from down the block and turned to see her walking over to meet me. Her long tan coat was open and flying behind her.

She approached and we hugged. It was awkward, but welcome, on both sides.

“Should we get a table?” she asked, pulling back.

“Yep.” I turned and opened the door, letting her walk in first, of course because my mom taught me manners. Hopefully Kirby remembered to do the same.

The hostess sat us at a table at one of the windows, with a view of the sidewalk and harbor across the street. I worked it, I knew the water like the back of my hand, but I never tired of it. It was my lifeline. The only constant I had.

“So…” Annie started, but paused, and smiled, clearly unsure of where we should start. We hadn’t seen each other in years, and the circumstances around that were fucked, so I sure as hell didn’t know where to start either. But I tried.

“How’ve you been?”

A waitress, one of the new younger ones I didn’t recognize, dropped off two glasses of water and said she’d be back to take our order.

I let out an awkward sigh and repeated the question.

“Good.” She nodded, still smiling, but it was a little forced.

“Truly?”

She let out a laugh. “Yeah. I mean, I have been for the past few years. The first few… I don’t know. We all just muddled through, right?”

I bowed my head, and she continued.

“I finished school, and bounced around jobs for a while. But I do sales and marketing now. Not what I ever thought I’d be doing, but I love it.”

“That’s great, Annie. I’m happy for you.”

“And you?” Her eyebrows raised up, expectant, hopeful.

“I’ve been good.”

“Really?” She couldn’t hide the doubt in her voice, but I didn’t blame her.

“Yeah,” I said, running a hand through my short hair. This wasn’t a topic I’d ever expected to talk about again. The words got stuck in my throat, tossed with the emotions clawing their way out of my chest.

I took a sip of my water and started over. “Yeah, actually, I’ve been great up here. Not at first, but over the years. It’s been a long time. I’ve made a home here.”

Her eyebrows knitted together like she still doubted me, but only for a moment, before she smiled again and reached across the table to grab my hand.

“I was so sorry to hear about your mom. I can’t imagine what that was like for you.”

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