Page 66 of Every Thought Taken

Weeks before returning home, I called and got my old job back at In Stitches. Though I wanted more than a standard retail position, I had to start somewhere. Little did I know resuming my old job would turn into the best opportunity.

A year of working side by side with the owner of In Stitches gifted me the first chance to take over the store. Living at home with my parents, I stashed most of my paycheck every two weeks. Mom and Dad refused to let me pay rent. All they wanted was dinner together three times a week, basic cleanliness, and respecting the house rules. The deal was too great to pass up.

Gayle, the owner of In Stitches, pulled me aside a week before the shop officially went on the market. Sadness creased the corners of her mouth and eyes as she told me the news, as she told me I might not have a job with the new owner.

I’d gone home with the news and let it sink in overnight. The next day, I chatted with Mags and Lessa. After hours of conversation with them, ideas started brewing. Then I spoke with Mom and Dad. Told them I had a wild idea but didn’t know if it was possible. Still young, I didn’t have the financial means or credit history to buy a business on my own.

And two days before In Stitches officially went on the market, a solid plan formed.

Lessa had recently opened Java and Teas Me, the town’s most beloved coffee shop. Though business was slow, she was in good standing. Mags offered part of her inheritance from when Mrs. Bishop passed. I fought her tooth and nail but gave up when she said her mother would have wanted to help. With a solid financial base, my parents said they would help me get the bank loan by cosigning.

Buying the shop fell into place easily. Joy hummed in my veins the day the Always Classic Boutique sign replaced the In Stitches placard. All my hard work had paid off and I officially owned the cutest women’s boutique in Lake Lavender.

But life still felt lacking, and I knew the exact reason.

Anderson Everett.

My first love. The boy I never forgot, regardless of how many dates I went on or men I kissed. The boy I should have fought harder to keep.

Not a day went by where I didn’t think of him once. Our love is something people wish for. But we’d been young. We’d had obligations and extenuating circumstances. He’d broken me as much as I’d broken him.

Then he disappeared. Without a word, without any form of goodbye, Anderson vanished.

After the way we’d left things and several years passing without any communication, I assumed he had moved on. Moved on from Lake Lavender and me. I learned to live in a world where I didn’t see or speak with him. By no means have I found real joy in my life, but I had to keep moving forward.

And just as I settled into the new shape of my life, he returned. The second my eyes met his, my heart seized in my chest. I wanted to rub my eyes. Double-check that I wasn’t seeing things. That this is real. Thatheis real.

He’s here. He’s home.

“I won’t take up any more of your time,” he says, his thumb stroking the ring on my finger.His ring.“But sometime soon, I’d like to catch up.” Another tear cascades down his cheek. “If that’s okay with you.”

The corner of my mouth tugs up in a half smile. “I’d love that, Ander.” Reluctantly, I drop his hand, take out my phone, unlock it and open my contact list. I tap his name and hand him my phone. “Will you update your number? I’ll text later after I check the shift schedule.”

Seconds pass and he simply stares down at my phone. The screen dims and he taps it awake. Without changing a thing, he hands me back my phone.

“Please don’t be mad,” he says then winces. “After you left, I wasn’t in a good place.” He levels me with glassy red eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing with a hard swallow. “The doctors suggested I block all forms of communication while I healed.”

What is he talking about?

“Heal from what?”

Pain lances his expression. “When the time is right, I promise to tell you.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and taps the screen several times. Then he stows it back in his pocket. “Text or call whenever. I’m staying with Ales until I figure out something else.” He takes a step back, a sad smile on his lips. “Talk soon.”

Like a tornado, he’s gone as quickly as he arrived. I stand on the sidewalk, stunned, as residents and tourists stroll past. The din of laughter and conversation and passing cars on the street filter back in. But I don’t move. Don’t look away from the man slowly disappearing from view as he walks farther down the road.

He’s here. He wants to talk.

After Lessa took a call at a recent weekly dinner, I knew he’d returned to town. But days passed since that Friday night without a word—from him or Lessa—and I assumed he stopped by but decided not to stay.

Our past is far from simple. He isn’t just some guy I loved and lost. Anderson is the one that got away. We both had a hand in our downfall, but I blame myself more than him. As we fell deeper in love, my attention shifted to focus solely on him. And in that move, all the other pieces of my life crumbled, suffered. I neglected my schoolwork, my family, my other friends. When it came back to slap me in the face, it hit him just as hard. Maybe harder.

I did my damnedest to repair what I’d broken, but we were never whole again. And watching him wither away during my senior year… the images still haunt my dreams.

“But he’s back,” I whisper to myself, clasping my hands and rubbing the ring he gave me as he vanishes from sight. “And maybe this is our second chance.”Or third.

I wander back into the store and apologize to the customers waiting with an armful of clothes near the fitting rooms. Fumbling for the keys in my pocket, I give them my best customer service smile.

“Sorry about that, ladies. An old friend surprised me and I stepped out to say hi.”

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