After thirty-five minutes and one muddied shoe later, I made it into the town square. I had passed it when I had taken the cab from the small Riverroad airport, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now that I was on foot, I could take in all my surroundings.
For the most part, it looked the same. A few of the boutique stores were renovated but Pop Pop’s diner still had its large neon sign over the entrance. A few blocks down, I could see Grayson’s dad’s shop. Then if I remembered correctly there was Sally’s Salon just down the road, and then a few doors down, there was the Baked Goods Bakery which was Grayson’s mom's store.
It felt so surreal to be back here again. I had thought I had left this all behind but here I was. It even smelled the same.
I walked down the pavement and headed straight to Pop Pop’s. I always ordered this one drink, strawberry burst, after school. My mouth watered just thinking about it.
I got to the door and saw that it wasn’t all that busy. Good. I didn’t need to bump into familiar faces while I was here. I just wanted to be in and out.
When I stepped into the diner, I went for the table that was the most secluded from everyone else. I grabbed a menu on my way to my table and settled in.
I looked over the menu, and I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my face. They hadn’t changed a thing on the menu. It was exactly how I remembered it.
A waitress came up to my table.
“Hey honey, what can I get for you?” She was a young woman, but I could tell that she was much older than me. Probably in her mid-thirties to early forties. She had that rehearsed hostess smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“May I please have the beef burger banger and the strawberry burst milkshake with extra mini marshmallows please?”
“Coming right up.” She smiled and took my menu.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Damien’s name flash across the screen. I rolled my eyes and answered the phone.
“So we go on one date, and you just move states. You are bruising my heart here, babe.”
I laughed lightly. “Hello to you, too, Damien.”
“Why did I have to hear from Josh, who heard from Martha, who heard from Emily, who heard from Jaz that your mother died last night?”
My back went rigid. “It wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.”
“I understand, but I just wanted to check in if you were doing okay.”
“I’m fine,” I said a little too quickly
“Mhmm.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Do you need anything? I can be on the next flight out if you need me to be.”
“No, don’t bother. I will be back by Monday anyway. We still need to work on the court case. How was the deposition, by the way?”
“It was good. We are building a solid case. I went and spoke to one of the witness’ nieces, and it turns out our little wronged patient is in some serious financial debt and also happens to be dating one of the nurses who was working the day of the incident.”
“So you think they were in on it together?”
“Who knows. But I will send you my notes, and you can add them to yours, so you aren’t lost when you come back.”
“Okay sounds good. Talk to you later.”
“Wait!” He breathed. “Sorry for your loss, Jade. I can only imagine the kind of pain you are going through right now.”
“Thank you,” I said out of politeness.
Three people had offered me their condolences, and each time, I had felt nothing. I knew what I was meant to feel but I just didn’t.
I hung up the phone and waited for my food to arrive.
After I was full, I was ready to pay the bill. I was handing the waitress the bill back when she looked at me strangely.
“Are you new in town?”