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Seventeen minutes. This meant forever right now. If Blake came out, she would hide around the corner. Though Fred’s was at the side of the road that led from Wayford to the highway, people here weren’t creeps and no one approached the woman who stood alone, waiting for long minutes in the early dusk.
“Hope.”
She spun around to the sound of the woman’s voice. Avery and Jordan were strutting toward her.
“Avery.”
“Your friend is still inside. Do you need a ride?” Avery seemed to recite the words.
“I don’t—”
“Come on; my car is over there,” Jordan said while passing by her, heading toward the parking area without stopping.
Avery followed him and signaled Hope to join them.
She hesitated for a second then followed, mumbling, “Thanks.” She could imagine the awkward conversation that would follow the next day at school.
Buckling up in the back seat, Hope’s stomach was like dead weight. “Thanks,” she mumbled again, knowing that, like her seven-year-old daughter, her wish to be invisible would never be granted.
Neither of the front-seat passengers spoke as Jordan turned on the ignition, shifted into gear, and the wheels scraped the asphalt as they drove out of the lot.
Would this heavy silence continue the entire ride?
Hope glanced through the window, but in her periphery, she could see them. Avery was looking through the window, and Jordan was focused on the road ahead, his shoulders wide enough to stretch above and across the driver’s seat of the sedan.
Withering with shame in the back seat, she found herself speaking before she realized it. “I was in a pottery class earlier. I joined several months ago, but my car broke down this morning, so I got a ride with Lydia Cortez. You know her, Avery, right? She’s in my pottery class.” Now’s the time to shut up. You’ve explained enough.The stifling silence of before was much better than this. Shut up!
But her mouth disobeyed.
“Blake is in my pottery class, too. I wouldn’t say I really know him. I’m working on a cake stand for my mother. The girls and I spent a few days with her a few weeks back, and Naomi broke her cake stand, so I promised I’d make her a new one.” Her voice came out hoarse, her throat croaked, and her cheeks almost hurt with the red glow that spread on them. “I wish I took it with me today and didn’t leave it in the studio, because I don’t think I’ll …” Oh, great. Her self-operating mouth trailed off just at the most awkward part, where it was obvious she was referring to why she couldn’t go back to class now. “I could probably go get it when—”
“I love that they opened this new exit between Wayford and Riviera View,” Jordan suddenly cut in, bending his head slightly as he gazed through his side window at the exit they were passing, as if it were riveting. He then moved his eyes to the rearview mirror, and his gaze met hers.
“Yes, that was, like, three years ago. You must have seen it before,” Avery took it up.
A combination of relief and deeper agitation raced over Hope. It was apparent that he was trying to save her from herself.
She peered out the window to her left and bit her bottom lip, something she should have done when silly, unwarranted explanations had rolled off her tongue.
“I saw it but never really paid attention,” Jordan said. “It’s interesting, the things you notice when you really look.”
Hope’s glance flickered back to his in the rearview mirror.
“Now that you’re back, maybe you’ll pay more attention to Riviera View,” Avery said, and Hope was sure that even Naomi could decode that meaning.
“Given that this is my mother’s car and that I’m temporarily living at my brother’s, I’m not sure I’m really back or how long I’ll stay.”
Avery didn’t reply. Her gaze was fixed on Jordan’s profile. Not a muscle moved in his face that Hope sneaked a peek at. Avery then moved to gaze again through the side window, and Hope did the same.
The houses of Riviera View came into view as Jordan entered the town.
Finally. Hope took a deep breath. She was almost home. Ocean Avenue, the town’s main street, stretched toward the beach. Ever since she had moved here, getting quickly used to the mild California weather, this street had signified home. Its beautiful, colorful façades containing locally-owned shops that were now brightly lit brought memories of the town parades and weekend ice cream jaunts with her daughters at Cone Inside. Libby’s apartment was also there, a bit farther toward the beach.
Thinking of her best friend and feeling alone in this car, despite the presence of her colleague-turned-sort-of-boss, as well as Libby’s fiancé’s brother, Hope yearned to see her now.
“You’re on Maple, right?” Avery asked.
“Yes, but you don’t have to go all the way in. You can drop me off at—”
