“It is a gift.”
A small laugh escapes me. “Well then, I guess that officially makes us friends, Dr. Loving. I can’t say I’ve had too many of those in my life.”
He nudges my arm with his elbow, the bare skin of his arm brushing against mine and making me shiver. “Happy to be your first,sweetheart.”
7
I creep into Mimi’s coffee shop the next morning, not knowing quite what to expect. Will she be mad at me for totally screwing up career number two? Do I actually care if she is? Is she going to pull the not-mad-just-disappointed card my grandmother is so fond of? Because I can handle a lot, but that’s the one thing that kills me every time.
Of course, I needn’t have worried. Mimi greets me with a smile and immediately pulls me a shot of espresso, not even trying to force a flavored latte with foamy flowers on me.
I accept the tiny cup gratefully. “To be fair, I did warn you that none of your proffered careers were going to work for me.”
Mimi tilts her head and smiles at me like I’m a petulant child she’s choosing to indulge. “Part of the goal is for you to try something new, dear. For you to push outside of your norm.”
“But why should I do that?” I swig my espresso and handback the mug in a silent plea for another. “My life back home is perfectly fine. I’m good at my job. I’m successful and fulfilled. Maybe my life doesn’t look exactly like everyone else’s, but who wants that?”
Mimi putters around behind the counter for a minute before handing me a second shot. “But are you happy?”
“Is anyone really happy these days?”
She plates a muffin and slides it across the counter. “I am.”
“No offense, Meem, but you live in literal fantasy world. Of course you’re happy.” I consider leaving the muffin behind, but it smells too damn good to let it go to waste. Taking the plate, I head over to what’s become my table and wait for Mimi to join me as she always does.
For the first time I notice I seem to always be Mimi’s only customer. Despite now knowing at least a hundred people live in the town of Heart Springs—based on the guest count of the wedding that almost wasn’t—I still seem to only regularly encounter Mimi and Ben. Which is odd.
But my attention quickly slides back to Mimi herself, when she slips into the seat across from me and gives me a leveling look. I shove a bite of blueberry muffin in my mouth to avoid her gaze. The top is all crumbly and crusted with sugar and it’s fucking perfect.
“Look, Cam. There’s a lot of things you’re going to have to figure out for yourself.”
“What does that even mean?” I ask around a mouthful of delicious pastry. “What kind of things? Like what’s the meaning of life? Why are we here? Is anything even real?”
“Perhaps we should start with some questions that are a little more grounded.”
“It’s all bullshit if you ask me.” I take a tiny sip of espresso, figuring I should probably pace myself with this one.
“What I will tell you is this.” Mimi reaches across the table and gently pats my arm. It’s such a foreign move of pure comfort that it makes my breath stick in my chest. “If you’re here, it’s for a reason.”
“Yeah, I already knew that. I just need to know the reason so I can figure out how to benothere.” I wave my hand, gesturing to the cheery colors of the café.
Mimi shakes her head with a sad smile. “That’s not what I mean, Cam. I mean, you wouldn’t have ended up here if you were truly happy back at home, if there wasn’t something missing from your life. I’ve never had anyone blow through two careers in two days and not make any sort of progress.”
“I think that says more about the careers than it does about me,” I mumble, shoveling in more bites of muffin.
“Does it though?” She raises her eyebrows in a way that is somehow not judgmental, which is really quite impressive.
“Well, I’ll have you know I’m going to switch gears for a bit. Put the career thing on hold and focus on the other tasks.”
Her eyes light up. “Does that mean you’re ready to move on to the love portion of the program? Because I have your suitors all ready.” She claps her hands in excitement.
“I’m going to be volunteering for the dumb kids’ hospital carnival thing.” I rush the words out and it takes a second for Mimi’s declaration to process. “Wait a minute. Did you say you have my suitors ready? Is this going to be like the job thing? I have a set number of dudes to pick from?” The muffin turns sour in my stomach.
“Well, yes, that’s how it works. I pick the men for you—your file said men, that’s what you prefer, yes?”
I nod, too stunned to do much else.
“Great. I set you up on dates and you figure out which one is going to be the one for you.”
