“You mean like one of those grief counselors?” she asked, tilting her head to the side so her eyes caught the afternoon
sunlight just right.
“Sort of, only our meeting will be in the cemetery. You can talk to your mom, to me, or not at all.” To be honest, it sounded kind of nice, just being able to sit with someone and be present with my own thoughts. It wasn’t something I did very often as most of the time those thoughts involved the shop and my pile of bills.
“You really don’t mind?”
I offered her a partial shrug. “It’s been nice having someone else around,” I said, averting my gaze as heat brushed my cheeks.
“Especially when she understands what you’re going through?” she urged, placing a hand on my knee.
“Exactly.”
“Could we go tomorrow during lunch?” she asked, her voice wavering a bit.
“Only if you’re ready,” I told her, placing my hand on hers.
“You have plenty of time.”
“Time goes by fast in this business,” she said with a nervous laugh.
“It does,” I agreed, “but the offer still stands no matter if you want to go tomorrow or months from now.”
“Thank you,” she said, leaning her head on my shoulder a moment later.
Smiling, I let myself be present with her, taking in the sweet scent of her shampoo and the warmth of her body next to mine. Even if our meeting one another didn’t amount to anything, it was still the happiest I’d been in months. If I could give her the same in return, I would.
Chapter Nine
Weeks passed since Cassidy last spoke about her mother, and even though she visited the store on a regular basis to hide out in the tower, it felt as though a wedge had forced its way between us. She still had the same smile, the same soft voice, and always brought me a coffee from Maggie’s in the morning, but something was still off.
When she spoke, there was an edge to her words, and whenever she managed to meet my gaze, she looked away soon after. It wasn’t in that shy, I like you kind of way, either.
No. It was almost as though she was guarding herself, slowly pushing away from me to avoid discomfort later on. I used to do the same thing, so I honestly couldn’t blame her.
Even so, it hurt seeing her with her eyes down and very few words shared between us.
“I finally did it,” she said one morning after handing me my coffee. “The storage from my mom’s house is empty.”
I looked at her, unsure of what to say. Was she pleased to have the weight off her shoulders? Or was she like me and regretted getting rid of some of her mother’s things in the first place?
“It’s surreal,” she said, oblivious to my thoughts. “I knew it would take time, but I sort of pushed it from my mind and simply went through the motions. I can’t remember where I dropped half the stuff off, but it’s empty.” Her voice was tight and hard to read.
Definitely not a happy occasion. “I’m sure her things went to those who needed them most,” I assured her. “I remember sorting through everything before giving them away. I don’t remember all that much aside from how hard it was to sort through someone else’s life.”
She offered me a curt nod. “It’s strange. In the end, all our lives come down to are an assortment of boxes, packaging tape, and bubble wrap.”
“And those who are still around to remember us,” I added, forcing a smile.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been distant,” she apologized, her brows furrowing the slightest bit. “I was stuck in my own head.”
“It’s okay. I figured it was something like that and I didn’t want to bother you in case it was something you had to do it on your own.”
“Thank you for that. Thing is, I still can’t bring myself to visit her by myself. It shouldn’t be that hard but…” She blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s not that I need to go, but—”
“You don’t have to explain,” I told her, walking around to her side of the counter so I could take her hand in mine. It was something I’d done before, only this time, instead of easing her mind, it only seemed to make matters worse.
Her body tensed, and after gently pulling her hand away from mine, she played with the top of her coffee cup. It was easy to see she didn’t want me to notice, but I knew what it felt like when someone blew me off, which was exactly what she was doing.