Teresa was a woman in her early sixties who owned the place with her sister. The two of them moved to Golden Falls about a decade ago with their husbands after retiring from their corporate jobs. Within a few years of moving to Golden Falls, they opened a restaurant that pulled on their Italian roots and served delicious and authentic pasta and pizza in a cozy and intimate setting. Their lunch specials were among my favorites,because instead of ordering one dish, you could mix and match half portions.
“I’ll be over to take your order as soon as Marnie gets here.” Teresa unstacked the glasses, and we both thanked her as she filled them with water. “Glad to have you in for an early dinner, although if I were you, I’d be over at Lake Ridge trying to sneak a peek at the new chef.” Teresa wiggled her brows.
“And miss seeing your beautiful smile?” Cooper chimed in without missing a beat. “No way.” He winked, and I swore there was a faint blush on Teresa’s cheeks as she shook her head with a laugh.
“Ever the flirt, Cooper.” Teresa set the bottle down in the center of the table and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know, one of my nieces might be in town for a weekend soon. I could introduce you? She’s a great girl. Beautiful, kind, successful. I think you two would get along.”
“If she’s related to you, I’m sure she’s wonderful,” my brother responded, and I had to hold back an eye roll. “But I’ve been pretty busy at work. Haven’t really had much time to date, and I wouldn’t be able to give her my full attention. I hope she has a wonderful time visiting you, though.”
Teresa nodded with a smile, completely enamored by my brother—like most women in town. “I appreciate the honesty, Cooper. Well, when you’re ready to date, I’m sure it won’t take long for you to find someone.” She gave us both a smile before walking away.
I lowered my voice and did the best impression of my brother I could when I repeated his words. “Haven’t really had much time to date, and I wouldn’t be able to give her my full attention.”
“What?” He huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and bringing the glass of water up to his lips. “It’s true,” he added before taking a sip.
“Do you want to tell that to the women who call Lake Ridge asking for your number or should I? Wait—” I leaned in closer over the table. “Itisme who has to tell them.”
“Now you knowwhatto tell them,” Cooper responded. He shifted to slide his phone out of his pocket, changing the subject. “Anyways, I think I’m finally gonna adopt a dog.”
I raised my brows and took a sip from my water glass.
“Actually this time.” He paused. “Probably.”
For the last few years, Cooper had expressed wanting to adopt, but there was always something that prevented him from fully taking the leap. Usually it was his long, unpredictable hours at work, but I wondered if there was more to it.
“So, you don’t have time to date, but you have time to get a dog…” I tilted my head to the side. “Is this your annual mid-life crisis?”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Annual mid—” He scoffed. “No way. That would mean…well, I hope I live beyond sixty-four. It’s basically my quarter-life crisis.”
“Right, because you’ll live until you’re one hundred and twenty eight,” I teased, but the joke fell flat between us. It was harmless, but it was little moments like this that could trigger our minds going to the same place. Our parents. How Cooper was nearing our mom’s age when she died.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” His voice was low, and his gaze had shifted down to the table. It was more common for us to joke around than be vulnerable.
He bunched up the straw wrapper into a tight ball. Oddly enough, another reminder of how much time had passed. Growing up, he’d bunch up the wrapper and shoot it at me with his straw. Now, he was bunching it up so small that I thought he was going to will it to disappear.
“Yeah.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s weird. Some days it’s fine. Others it’s…”
“All you can think about?”
“Exactly,” I sighed. “Not that I should be saying anything. It must be harder for you and Gran. Speaking of Gran…” I looked down at my phone, noticing it’d been close to fifteen minutes since we sat down.
“She’s just running late,” Cooper assured me. “She’s fine.”
I blinked and nodded, leaning back in my seat and willing my heart rate to slow down. I knew Gran was usually late, but it didn’t mean my mind didn’t go places when she was more late than normal.
“What did you mean?” he asked. “About it being harder for me and Gran.”
“Uh, well, I don’t remember them.” I shrugged. “Not like you two do.”
Cooper’s eyes narrowed, and he sat up, learning his forearms on the table. “So? You still lost them. You still had to put one foot in front of the other and wake up every morning dealing with the same grief we did.”
“Yeah,” I acknowledged. “But I had you to help me with it.”
While I didn’t remember much of my parents, I knew that my childhood had been different. Most kids had their parents at school events or picking them up. For me, it was a mix of Gran, Cooper, and Lily’s mom Laura. When I started high school, Cooper, who was a senior in college, came back home for my first day. When I learned to drive, it was Cooper and Wes who taught me. When Lily and I graduated high school, it felt like the whole town had shown up.
My brother and I teased and bickered, but he had done so much for me to make things feel as normal as they could. Everyone in town had reminded us and Gran that we weren’t alone.
“You did.” He nodded. “And I had you, too. You helped me through that time just as much as I helped you.”
