“I take it you know why I’m here?”
“I think I can take a guess.”
“Good, so then let’s cut to the chase. I’ve done everything asked of me. I’m a part of this community, I found a career that helps people and that I’m truly passionate about. And I’m in love with Ben.” I can’t utter that last sentence without smiling, but I quickly wipe the smile from my face so Mimi knows I mean business. “I want to go home, Mimi.”
“What changed your mind?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I’m not mistaken, you were seriously thinking about making a life for yourself here in Heart Springs. So what changed your mind?”
I don’t even bother asking how she knows because of course she knows. For a minute I think about lying, or brushing her off, but instead I decide to try just being honest. “Ben needs to see his family. As happy as we are here, I know he’ll never truly be happy without them in his life.”
“So this is about Ben, then?” She watches me over the rim of her mug.
“Yes.” I take a deep breath. “But I think it’s also about me. I can’t hide from my own family forever, even if it would be easier. I have some things I need to say to them. So will you please help me figure out what I’m doing wrong so we can go home?”
Mimi flashes me a knowing smile. “Do you remember the exact words I said to you on your first day here?”
I roll my eyes. “You said a lot of words, Meem, and to be totally honest, I probably wasn’t listening to at least half of them.”
“You heard these ones. When I told you your third task.”
I can’t roll my eyes again or they might get stuck, so instead I open them very wide to help convey my annoyance. “You mean how you told me I needed to find a partner and fall in love, and I’ve absolutely done that?”
“I didn’t tell you you needed to find a partner and fall in love.”
I chug the rest of my coffee so that my mouth stays busy for a minute and can’t scream at her. Slamming my empty mug down on the table, I do my best to stay calm.“If you didn’t tell me I needed to fall in love, then what did you tell me?”
“I told you you needed to experience true love, Campbell.”
“Oh my god, what is the difference, Meem? Fall in love, experience true love, those are literally the exact same thing.”
She shrugs. “Are they?”
I shove my chair back. “Here I am trying to be nice and selfless, and you are giving me nothing. Thank you, as usual, for being zero help.”
“Just think about it, Cam.” She sips calmly from her mug. “And if I don’t see you again, it’s been a real pleasure getting to know you. Mostly.” She winks at me.
I glare at her, stomping out of the café and heading right for the one place that will make me feel better.
The bakery is warm and welcoming and smells like heaven, and by some miracle of miracles, the front door is unlocked but no customers wait inside. Instead, Emma sits at a table, a croissant and a peppermint mocha waiting for me.
I slip into the seat across from her and start to get a really weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Did you talk to Mimi?”
Her lips purse, and I watch her lie to me. “No, not today.”
Whatever. I’m not going to let it stop me from enjoying the deliciousness in front of me. I chomp into the croissant. “I need to move back to New York.” I don’t wait until I’ve fully chewed and swallowed, so the declaration comes out muffled.
Emma ignores my terrible manners. “You have the tools to go home whenever you want, Cam.”
“Oh my god, you totally did talk to Mimi!”
“I might have,” she admits with a sheepish grin.
“Rude.” I take a sip of the warm chocolatey coffee to make myself feel better.
“Look, Cam, if you really want to leave Heart Springs and move back to the city, you can. No one is keeping you here but you.”
