Page 126 of Revival

“Oh my.” She fans her hand in front of her face.

The smirk I wear remains permanent for the entirety of our short drive.

“You’re taking me to The Rocks.”

I unclick my belt. The nylon retracts into the holder with a whirl. “Told you I was taking you out Fairview Valley style.”

“I can’t wait for a Rueben special.”

“He’s still here?”

“Still here and still cooking up the best burgers in this county.”

I scrub my palm over the back of my head, suddenly feeling nervous. Brushing against my scars sends a pulse of unease through me. The thought of so many people seeing my appearance at once isn’t the only thing to blame. I also planned to talk with Cortney and air out a few long overdue skeletons.

“I haven’t been here since I’ve been back. Thought it’d be the perfect way to revisit some old memories.”

“I love this idea. We used to come here all the time.”

“I remember.”

I hop out and round the engine to open her door.

“We sure ate here a lot for not having a lot of cash.” As she talks, she slips her hand in mine as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Maybe it is.

Maybe being together is just this simple.

We might be in our forties, but at the heart of us, we’re still just two kids crazy about one another.

“Don’t you remember? We’d buy the lunch special and ask Rueben to cut it in half.”

“Yes! I always made sure you got the bigger half.”

“You did eat most of the fries, Kitten.”

Her elbow nudges my ribs. “Only because you let me.”

Stepping into the old bar is like walking back into some of my oldest memories. The air still smells like crisp fried food and stale beer. The same regalia hangs on the walls. I feel as if I look in the back corner, I’ll see a group of my friends playing pool. Sometime over the last few decades, the stools were replaced and the lighting over the bar swapped out, but it mostly looks the same.

Even the people.

The lights above the bar feel like a spotlight. We place a drink order with the guy wearing a bandanna. He knows his way around the rails and slides our glasses over faster than I can dig out a crisp bill.

I duck my head and squeeze Cortney’s hand, pulling her toward a table near the back. Dark and quiet. Somewhere I can blend in. The faces blur together as we stroll past, nameless people studying the scars on my skin.

“On a good day, Rueben wouldaccidentallymess up someone’s order and let us have it.” Reminding her of the past works as a distraction to my present discomfort.

She nods along. “And somehow, that extra meal always turned out to be something we liked.”

“Funny how that worked out.” Our eyes meet across the table.

She sighs and drops her chin into her hand. “I missed you, Spence.”

Reaching across the dinged wooden surface, I stroke my finger along the soft skin of her arm. “Missed you too, Kitten.”

“Life is funny. You waltzed out of my life, and twenty years later, you waltzed back into it, and somehow, we’re able to pick up right where we left off.”

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