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“Aren’t you doing the show to prove something to your dad about yourself? About your maturity? What would you call that then?” Sadie asked me with her eyebrow raised, crossing her arms stubbornly.
“That’s different and you can’t use that against me. You don’t even understand. He wants me to continue our line and our family name. It all boils down to me,” I replied, feeling uncommonly frustrated.
Sadie wrinkled her nose at my words, and then let out a short laugh. “What Victorian novel are you guys living in? Continue our line? He’s not Henry VIII.”
“Yeah, well, try telling him that,” I said, rolling my eyes. If there was anyone who thought of himself as a king of sorts, it was my father. For years, his success brought everyone else to kneel at his feet, figuratively, and his ego had swelled beyond the point of no return.
A tall, round woman with pink cheeks, pale blonde hair, and a thin-lipped bright-lipstick smile came bounding up to our table in her squeaking sneakers and her apron. Sadie grinned widely and the woman, whose name tag read, Maureen, reached out to grasp her hand with a warm smile. I looked at them, watching the encounter with mild interest as they seemed to embrace with their eyes alone.
“Hey, Maureen,” Sadie smiled at the woman, letting her fingers go and reaching for her coffee cup before taking a sip. “You dyed your hair. It looks good.”
“I did. The dark blonde was getting old,” Maureen nodded smiling and dimpling her plump, pink cheeks. “How is your brother doing, my little love? How’s Rose faring with our little bundle of joy, and the shop?”
“Rose is just about ready to pop, I think,” Sadie told her with a huff of laughter and Maureen gave a great, hearty laugh. “They’re all doing great, yeah. You should go by the coffee shop; they have a new butterscotch latte that’s to die for. You’d love it.”
“Alrighty then, I might just drop by there tomorrow morning on my way to work,” Maureen nodded, smiling happily at the suggestion. She seemed to notice that I was sitting across from Sadie and she shot me a wide grin, reaching out a warm hand for me to shake. “And who is this handsome young man? I’m Maureen Barnes, this is my diner—my pride and joy.”
“I’m Connor Lennox,” I nodded at her, shaking her hand quickly and then letting it go. “It’s really nice to meet you. Your diner looks great.”
“Well then, thank you very much,” she replied warmly, looking between us with pink cheeks and glittering brown eyes. “I don’t want to intrude on your little date, my love. Connor, my dear, it was so very nice to meet you. I hope that you both just have the best night. Enjoy your food, both of you, and Sadie—don’t forget the coffee for your brother on the way out.” Maureen turned with one more jolly smile and headed back toward the kitchen, waving at us as she went.
I looked at Sadie then, who sipped at her coffee, watching Maureen’s retreating back with a warm expression on her face. She turned to me, the soft look still on her face.
“Maureen supplied my brother’s coffee for his shop years ago when he was low on funds, and before he started making his own. They still offer her house blend as an original menu item. It’s one of my favorites. Really smooth and rich.”
“So, you have a brother who apparently owns a coffee shop, and also his wife is pregnant,” I said lightly, ticking them off my fingers one by one. “Good to know the inside details.”
“What about you then?” Sadie asked me politely, watching my mouth as I talked. “Is it just you and your dad, or what?”
“It’s just the two of us, yeah,” I nodded, the familiar, watered-down hurt welling in my chest. “My mom left us high and dry when I was a kid. I never saw her again.”
“I’m sorry, Connor,” Sadie let out a long breath, glancing out of the window to watch the cars pass by as she talked. “My mom passed away a couple of years ago, and my dad still lives in our hometown in West Virginia. He has a farm and everything.”
“So, you’re not from New York, then?” I said in question, trying not to stare at her after I had just bared my soul to what amounted to a stranger. She didn’t seem to mind. Our waitress brought out the steaming food on two plates, and I took a bite of the juiciest, most amazing burger I had ever tasted. Sadie snorted at my noise of approval and she popped one of her peppered wedges into her mouth with a satisfying smack.
“I definitely wouldn’t say that, no,” she laughed in answer. I was glad the subject had changed from my personal life. “My brother moved here a while ago to start his business closer to Rose’s family and I wanted to go to Cornell, so that’s where I am right now.”
