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My first thought is about prom. Stupid, huh?
“But he was supposed to come back and take me to the senior prom! I bought my dress already!” I know, shallow of me, but hell, I’m a teenage girl and right now, I can’t process the bigger ramifications of what he’s told me.
Jared clears his throat and gently touches my arm. “Cass, I’d be honored to take you to the prom.” While he’s a year older than me, because of how our birthdays fall, we’re both seniors this year.
“I can’t ask you to do that, Jared,” I mumble.
I was so excited to be going to the prom; Mom, Mags, and I had shopped until we found the perfect dress. Looks like it’ll just hang in my closet. I’m completely unaware of the tears that are streaming down my face until I feel Jared pull me close and wrap his arms around me.
“Go ahead and cry, Cass. I’m sorry, so fucking sorry, that he did this to you.” I can hear the remorse in his voice, and I glance up to see a mixture of emotions cross his face. Anger, regret, sorrow — all because of how his brother treated me. He gently wipes my face off with a handkerchief that he pulls from his pocket, and I hide a grin. All of the Knox boys seem to carry them, a byproduct of their upbringing, I suppose.
“Thanks, Jared,” I murmur. My voice is husky from crying and right now, I can’t fathom going back to class. Somehow, I know that everyone knows what I’ve just found out.
“You want to get out of here?” he asks. When I nod, he stands and helps me up, then we bypass going back inside and head to the parking lot where he helps me into his truck to take me home.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear one of my favorite customers ask, “You okay, Cassidy?” Glancing up, I see Mrs. Walsh standing there, holding out her stack of coupons.
“I am, yes. How are you today, Mrs. Walsh?” I question, putting her coupons next to the register as I begin ringing up her purchases. She comes in every Wednesday, like clockwork, and takes advantage of our weekly sales, as well as the fact that senior citizens get an additional ten percent off of their total bill. I love seeing how much she manages to save each week. She apparently donates a lot of what she gets to the local food pantry since she’s a widow now. I find that admirable and wonder if she buys so much because she knows my mom and I have been going there to supplement what I’m able to buy grocery-wise.
“Oh, I can’t complain, dear,” she replies, before handing the bag boy her recyclable bags. “Did you hear the news?” She’s not what I would call a busybody, but she does somehow manage to know all that’s going on in our small town.
“I’m not sure,” I reply. It could be anything from the fact that a new store is going in, to an outsider moving into town. With her, it’s a crapshoot, but I love her to pieces, so whatever she has to tell me, I’ll listen.
“Cade Knox has apparently moved back home,” she says.
“Ah yeah, I heard that,” I reply.
Trust me, I would move, but where? Besides, this is more my home now than his since he’s been gone longer than ten years. Still, his family is embedded in this community.
But so is ours! My inner self is screaming at me to remember that fact and I find myself nodding. Shit, now I’m going crazy!
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, dear, but I always felt he was the wrong Knox boy for you,” Mrs. Walsh leans in and whispers.
I know I look shocked as I ask, “W-what do you mean?”
“He always had aspirations that went far beyond this little town. You’re a sweet girl, well, actually, you’re a woman now, and I think if you and he had stayed the course, he would have chewed you up and spit you out. Stay strong, Cassidy, and know that there’s someone out there who deserves you.”
“Mrs. Walsh, I don’t exactly have men lining up, but trust me, he’s the last person I’d go out with again. Ever.” I know my reply is a bit vehement, but I mean every single word. Cade Knox destroyed me, and it took a lot of soul-searching before I realized that it was him, not me.
“You don’t need a whole lot of them lining up, Cassidy. Just one and I think I know who that’s going to be,” she responds, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Oh really?” I finish with the last of her items then start taking off her coupons. Wednesdays are also triple coupon days and any coupon up to fifty cents is automatically tripled.
“That young man who took you to the prom has been making no secret that he’s interested,” she says.
“Jared?” Her response is so shocking that I momentarily stop what I’m doing and stare at her. “Surely you’re mistaken. We were good friends a long time ago and that’s why he took me to the prom.”
She shakes her head and smiles at me. “I’ve always known, Cassidy. You mark my words, young lady, I believe that he’s going to make his intentions known.”
I laugh at her words because they’re so out of character for the young man I remember that there’s no way she’s right about Jared.
“Well, Mrs. Walsh, are you ready for your total this week?” I ask, finally getting through the mountain of coupons and then taking off the ten percent.
“Yes, dear,” she sweetly replies, giving me a little wink. I grin and hit the total button then gasp.
“M-Mrs. Walsh, I think this is the best you’ve ever done on a Wednesday,” I announce. “Your total today is fourteen dollars and sixteen cents.”
I stare in amazement at the bags that are piled high in her cart. She took advantage of a lot of our buy one, get one free deals, plus the manager’s meat specials that our store manager does every week for our senior citizens.
