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I feel the “but” coming. For the most part, I stopped thinking of my alternate life a long time ago. There was another plane in the multiverse where I never met Max, never got pregnant. Maybe I would be in that big city, working and going to happy hours. Maybe I would learn to love martinis. But one day, I looked at Olive playing with dolls and trucks, and looked around at the home I bought with my own money and the stacks of orders I needed to run to the post office. That was the moment I accepted my life, as it was, and from that moment I stopped missing a life I never got.
“What’s the point of this, Miriam?”
“The point is…I was shocked, is all. You see girls in this town get pregnant young all the time, and it’s not shocking. But you, Emily, were too special—”
“I’m done with this conversation,” I say, turning to the door.
“I talked to that boy for you.”
My hand freezes on the handle. When I turn, my hair swings into my face. “What?”
“I talked to him. After you stood up to his poor excuse for a stepfather.”
Did she tell Max to run? That I’m a case of wasted potential?
“What did you say to him, Miriam?”
The older woman is flustered, vibrating as she sticks her hands out to set the scene. “I heard you talk to that man, right after you found out you were pregnant. What I should’ve done all those years ago was find that boy and tell him about it, because I knew what that man was feeding you was malarky. You were so trusting, and I was so proud of you for negotiating. I told my friends about it, and your predicament got out, unfortunately. That’s why we don’t talk to Rue anymore. She has a huge mouth.”
Rue does have a huge mouth, bigger than Miriam’s. She once spread around town that she saw my brother and Shiloh looking cozy at the lake on New Year’s, and we didn’t believe it until it came out later that they were involved.
Miriam is burying the lede, but I let her talk.
“I told your man everything. That his stepfather strong-armed you into giving up. That you took the money and didn’t waste it. You built a beautiful life for you and your daughter, Emily. I always hoped—” Miriam grabs her chest and looks up at me. There’s tears filling her eyes. “As I saw each of your brothers fall in love, I hoped your time was coming. I watched you with Burke, and while he’s very good-looking, I knew he wasn’t right for you. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it until I saw you with that handsome man who Olive looks so much like.”
I raise my chin so I don’t cry. “What did he say back?”
“Not much. Just nodded.” Miriam reaches out and grabs my hands so quickly it startles me. She grips them, looking up at me. “He will come back to you. I just know it.”
“How do you know?” I ask. “How?”
“I kinda picked him up from the airport. Well, I picked him up, and then he asked to switch in Natomas so he technically drove us home. That car came out of nowhere.”
My eyes widen at this news. “What?”
“He’s here.” She points down the road to a bench, where a blond-haired man sits. I would know him anywhere. He looks and stands immediately, shifting from one foot to another.
“My sweet girl,” Miriam says, pulling me down so she can kiss my cheek. “I’ve never wanted anything more than the Finches to be happy. Most of all you, my dear. I’m so sorry for everything that happened. I hope this makes up for it.”
Then, she disappears, and I have to face Max.
He came back.
“Hey,” he says, walking towards me.
“Hey.” Crossing my arms feels the most comfortable, creating a barrier.
“You look pretty,” he says.
All I’m wearing is a white flowy T-shirt and blue shorts, but I nod. “Thanks.”
Max walks closer. He could reach out and touch me, but his arms lay flat at his sides.
“How did the party go?” I ask.
“Well, I turned down the practice. Publicly. In front of his friends.”
My heart flutters. “Did that feel good?”
