Page 50 of Picking Pismo

His gut clenched tight. “Why not?” David pressed.

Gripping the keys in one hand, Claire tapped it against her other hand. “You know why.” She tilted her head to the side.

Her words gutted him. He had foolishly played with her heart. Why did he think none of his actions mattered? David lost the claim to be anything to her, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t try to right the course.

“Please,” David pleaded. “I like talking to you. I like being your friend.”

Claire scoffed, “Friend.” She shook her head, taking a step toward her car. “I— I?—”

“You’re the one who said earlier we should be friends,” said David.

Claire halted, shifting back toward him. “True.” Gnawing on her bottom lip, Claire exhaled. Slowly, she said, “I did say that.”

And David knew he still had a chance. The thought made him smile. “Then I’ll call you,” he said.

Reaching for her car door, Claire opened it and tossed her purse onto the passenger seat. “And maybe…” she planted a single finger into the middle of his chest, “I’ll pick up.”

Then Claire climbed into her car and drove away.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Are you sure about this?” Alexis gripped onto the door, shifting to face Claire. “I know it was my idea, but I’m beginning to regret suggesting it.”

Hands clammy, Claire rubbed them over the top of her thighs. “We can do it.” Her voice contained a tad too much enthusiasm. “We’ll go in, look around, buy some snacks like we always did with Mom.”

Alexis interrupted her, “But Mom isn’t here.” Exhaling, Alexis stared at the convenience store.

Parked in the gas station parking lot, they spent the last ten minutes getting up the courage to go inside. Anxious energy pumped nonstop through her being. Swiping at the slick layer of sweat on her brow, she willed herself to be strong. What was she trying to prove? Her strength? Because she felt nothing but small.

Claire peered through the windshield. A flood of memories came back, ones which made her ache and miss Mom all over again. She blinked rapidly, pushing the tears away. “Do you remember how Mom always bought Pringles to take to the beach?” asked Claire.

Alexis’s lips twitched with the forming of a smile. “She claimed it was the perfect beach food.”

“Because it came in its own protective can,” replied Claire.

“You could toss it into a beach bag, and it didn’t get destroyed or crushed like a normal bag of chips.” Alexis swiped at her misty eyes. Then she ran a single finger across the passenger window. “She always had an answer for everything,” said Alexis softly.

“She was the smartest person I ever knew,” added Claire.

“I agree,” said Alexis with a slow nod. “She was like a walking encyclopedia. Anything I asked her; she’d spew out random facts about it like an expert.”

“She made everything seem easy.” Feeling brave, Claire opened her car door. “We can do this. Let’s go in, buy the snacks Mom always bought. Then we can eat them on our drive back to Los Angeles.”

Alexis peered at her. “Are we still stopping by Mom’s grave on the way out of Pismo?”

“Yep,” Claire climbed out. “I’ve already bought the flowers. It’s our next stop before driving home.”

“Home,” Alexis scoffed. She climbed out too, shutting the door behind her. “This is home, not Los Angeles.”

Claire slouched, but she quickly tried to straighten her back. “But perhaps someday Los Angeles can feel like a second home.”

“Unlikely,” muttered Alexis.

Claire didn’t know what else to say, so she said nothing. They walked in without stopping. While wandering the aisles looking for what they needed, Claire tried her hardest to keep telling Alexis stories she remembered about Mom to distract Alexis and herself. Claire didn’t want to ruminate over how Mom died or the why, but instead fill the space in her mind with the beautiful memories they shared together.

After purchasing the snacks, stopping at Mom’s grave, and then the long drive home back to Los Angeles, Claire was emotionally depleted. As the view of their apartment appeared in the windshield, Claire wanted nothing more than to crash face forward on her bed and sleep until morning.

Once parked, Claire and Alexis climbed out.

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