AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded. “Oh, it was the talk of the town. Lucy was the innocent, heartbroken sweetheart, and I was the snake who stole her man. My parents were enraged about my destroyed reputation and how I was choosing a coal miner over a doctor. But it didn’t matter. We fell in love that summer, we got married that fall, and the rest is history.”
“That’s beautiful,” I said, thinking how different it could’ve been if she hadn’t been brave enough to just risk it all.
“Love is always a risk, Tillie. And I know it’s not the same. Leo isn’t a coal miner, for sure. But what I’m saying, Tillie, is that things work out if your heart is in it. Period. So, I fully believe if he makes you happy and treats you right, no matter how impossible it feels, you two will work it out.”
“Maybe,” I concurred, mostly to change the subject. Leo and I weren’t Dorothy and Harry—were we? It seemed impossible.
I let Dorothy sit in the past for a long moment, her face softened from the memories.
“Anyway, Dear. I’m just saying things work out. When you’re passionate about what you want, when you really believe it’s meant to be yours, it will happen. Our book club has been reading his book called The Alchemist, and that’s what it’s all about,” she said. “That if you really want something, the universe conspires to help you get it.”
“That’s sort of beautiful,” I said, thinking about the coffee shop and what I really wanted.
“That goes for career goals, too. I know you’re feeling lost, Darling. But I see in you that something big is coming. You just must believe in it.”
I felt tears coming to my eyes, but good tears for a change. I was glad I stopped to see Dorothy. It turned out to be the inspirational boost I needed. We both took a long sip from our mimosas, and then I decided to turn the conversation.
“While we’re on the subject of going after what you want,” I began. “How are things with you and Fred?”
Dorothy’s cheeks flushed at the mention. “Really good. We’ve been out three times already. And we have a breakfast date tomorrow. We have a lot in common. He even has a black cat,” she said. I could hear the levity in her voice when she spoke about him, and it made me happy to know she was rediscovering her own version of happiness.
I hesitated but then decided Dorothy was always an open book.
“Does it scare you? To give your heart over again?” I asked, genuinely curious. We were in two distinct stages of life in two very different circumstances, yet there we were, united by the risk of giving our hearts over for a second time.
She looked out the window, thinking for a moment. “Love is always a little scary, Tillie. But I’ve come to believe it’s worth it. There’s always a chance you’ll lose out. But there’s also a chance you’ll win. And that chance makes it worthwhile.”
I absorbed her advice, thinking about the risk I’d taken with Brad and thinking now about the risk it was falling for Leo. And, as if the universe was in fact conspiring, my phone started to buzz.
“Is that your young man?” Dorothy asked, clapping a little. “Answer it. Go on, Dear.”
And so I did, all the while wondering if someday, I would have a love story to tell like Dorothy—and wondering if it would be worth the risk for me.
Chapter Twenty
It was Leo on the phone, and he apologized right away for not calling or texting sooner. And then he asked if he could pick me up. Of course, I said yes. I hightailed it out of there to go upstairs, Dorothy cheering. I hurriedly looked for a cuter outfit and found a hot pink lipstick in the bottom of my makeup bag. An hour later, I was downstairs waiting out front when he screeched into the parking lot. He helped me into the yellow bug after telling me how beautiful I looked, and we promptly sped off; the lipstick and outfit change were decidedly worth it.
