Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Queenie hums in agreement. Then she swallows her bite and asks, “Will you pass the sweet tea, George?”
“Sure thing.”
Later, I ask Queenie and Marge if they knew George before today: “No, total stranger. Hope he gets his marriage sorted out though.”
This is the epitome of living in the south. You’ll meet someone and five minutes later know their whole life story.
“Yeah, and maybe tomorrow he’ll have time to fix the internet,” Queenie adds, completely unbothered by our lack of productivity.
By quitting time, I need to blow off steam. Between the messy office, my fight with Sawyer, and my issues with Charlotte, I have a lot on my plate. Back at Queenie’s, I slip on my running shoes and head through the neighborhood, following the same route I used to take when I was training in high school. I like the familiarity and comfort of seeing the same houses from my childhood, totally unchanged. I pass Kendra’s parents’ place—a ranch-style with red brick—and turn left at Waylon’s diner. I’m about to double back before I hit the dead end at the creek when I hear someone shouting my name from the side of Doc’s deck.
I love Doc’s, and it’s a shame I haven’t been back since I returned to town. Situated right on the creek, it was made for lazy summer afternoons, the wide deck shaded by a cluster of oak trees. On the hottest day, it’s an alluring oasis.
Doc, aka Doctor Ben McGee, is a legend in Oak Hill. He was valedictorian of his class back when Queenie was in high school and went on to Harvard for his undergraduate degree and for medical school, but when it was all said and done, he quit the profession and walked away, said he wanted a simpler life. It’s why occasionally you’ll hear people at the bar asking Doc if he’ll take a look at “this weird mole” or confirm whether a swollen ankle needs an X-ray or just an icepack. It’s also why there’s a big ol’ tip jar sitting near the cash register because Doc likes to joke that even well into his 50s, he’s still paying off his school loans. His medical degree hangs in a fancy gold frame behind the bar, right beside a Miller Lite neon sign.
David is hanging over the wooden rail of the deck, waving me over.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, still breathing heavy from my run.
He nods toward the bar. “Helped Doc with his A/C, ’bout to have a drink on the house as payment. You want to join?”
A cold beer sounds like heaven, actually.
“I’m not really dressed for it,” I comment, and we both laugh.
Doc’s is an anything-goes kind of establishment. David’s wearing his stained work clothes, and he’s clearly been toiling away outside because he’s as sweaty as I am.
“Come around.” He taps his knuckles twice on the wooden railing. “I’ll get our drinks.”
It’s still a little crazy to me that I can see my brother any ol’ day of the week. For years, we’ve had to plan months ahead to get together, and now here we are on a Tuesday afternoon, clinking Coronas.
“Cheers.”
I squeeze a lime wedge into the neck of the beer bottle and we drink in silence for a bit, listening to the trickle of the creek down below. It’s the same creek that feeds into Queenie’s backyard, and seeing it makes me think of Sawyer. Thinking of Sawyer makes me take another sip of my beer.
“Where are Lindsey and Cruz?”
“Swimming at Lindsey’s parents’ house. I’ll be heading over there in a little bit. You want to join?”
“Nah, it’s okay. Been a long day.”
He squints one eye at me curiously. “Things not quite workin’ out for you here the way you thought they would?”
I laugh at the question. “I’m living in my old bedroom at Mom’s house, trying to sort out her disaster of an office, and dealing with my personal life falling to pieces. So no.”
“Eh, minor problems.” He laughs, but when I don’t join in, he reaches over to jostle my arm. “Come on, don’t look so glum. Things will smooth out. You might have thought your life in Montgomery was picture perfect, but it clearly wasn’t. Maybe a good shake-up is just what you needed.”
I don’t agree. I know I’m better off now and obviously I should have never been with Matthew, but a part of me misses the ease of being in that carefree naive existence. It felt like I had life’s equation figured out. Be the blonde Auburn girl, secure a marriage to a nice great-looking guy from a good family, and happiness would await me at every turn.
“Have you heard from his parents or anything? Matthew’s?”
I almost shiver. “His mom called me the day after we broke up.”
His brows shoot up in surprise. “No shit? What’d she say?”