Page 4 of Resurrection
"Too cold," I admit. But that’s not the only reason I left a Michelin star restaurant catering to celebs of all sorts, from politicians to actors and models. Only, I don’t go around telling people about my disillusionment with life in the big city. Or about my giving up. I don’t want to look like a failure in their eyes. "How come I never see you here?"
"Oh, honey." Mrs. Kovacs sighs. "I’m old." She gestures at a young guy helping another customer. "My nephew is the one handling the business. I just come on my good days."
"Nonsense. You’re not old. You look great." It’s a lie. It’s been seventeen years since I last saw the woman. She’s aged. She must be in her sixties now.
"Ah, don’t flatter me, girl." Mrs. Kovacs laughs.
"You know me. I’m pretty straightforward," I reply with a smile, then add, "It’s good to see you."
"Ah. Same here."
She drops a small bag of dried plums into my pile on the cart. "On the house."
"You don’t have to."
"My treat. For old time’s sake."
"Thanks."
She presses her lips together, the smile lingering in her eyes. "We sure missed you around here."
"I missed it too." And this time, it’s the truth. I loved traveling, but being back in Sageview Ridge is like putting on an old sweater I forgot how much I loved.
"How’s your father doing?" she asks, her voice dropping as she reads the answer on my face.
I exhale slowly, glancing at the horizon. "Not much has changed. He’s…not getting any better."
She reaches out and squeezes my arm. "I heard. I’m so sorry, Naomi. Two years is a long time to wait."
"It is." I try to swallow the knot in my throat. "But we’ll have to let him go. It’s what he would want." We’ve been living in this limbo for too long, watching my father fade away.
"I can’t imagine," she says softly. "Jose’s such a good man."
"Thank you."
She lets go of me, and there’s a moment where the world is just the sound of voices and rustling bags. Then she looks at me as if she’s deciding something.
"That Brady kid’s back in town too."
My pulse stutters. "Oh." I try to mask my surprise. "I didn’t know."
"How’s that? I figured you would with how close you two were in high school." She raises her eyebrows like she knows everything I’ve tried to forget. "You and Ty were always the talk of the town. Everyone thought you’d get married."
"Well…" My hands are shaking all of a sudden, and I have to grab on to my cart to make sure no one sees it. "Things didn’t work out."
Mrs. Kovacs studies me like she’s not buying it. "You two don’t keep in touch?"
"No. Not really." Unless those two drunk dials in the past seventeen years count.
"Ah, what a shame."
"Life happens," I say more flippantly than I mean to. The laugh I tack on feels thin and fake.
"It’s never too late, you know," she adds too casually.
"Sometimes it is too late." I don’t wait for her reply. "I have to run, Mrs. Kovacs. Before all this"—I gesture at my cart—"turns into compost."
"Oh, sure thing. Tell your mom I said hello."
