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“He, Mrs. Kuami, and the others are all still scattered up there. Some like coming down, but we realized how many of them just prefer to have their food delivered. It’s real nice though; Mr. Ford has a whole station set up by his mailbox for the delivery, so you just push a button when you drop it, and then he zips down on his four-wheeler and picks it up.”
Mr. Ford had a driveway over a mile long, up a steep embankment, so it was kind that the delivery person wouldn’t have to drive it.
“That’s nice,” I mused, checking the fridge for creamer, coming up empty. “You don’t have any hazelnut creamer?”
My dad moved to the cupboard. “Your mom finally quit it. Only does half and half with a little bit of sugar.”
“Wow, Mom, that’s”—new, different, I hated that I had missed it—“awesome that you finally were able to finally quit.” It squeezed my heart a bit that she’d never mentioned it in any of our many phone conversations, but that was just how my mom was…never thinking to talk about the tiny changes in her life, just the major things.
Mom smiled, crinkling her nose. “It took a while, but now I can’t stand the taste of it.”
“Well, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to go catch up with Nora and look around the town.” I shut the fridge and gave up on the idea of coffee.
“Of course, honey. If you get hungry, come see us down at the diner.” My mom walked over, kissed my cheek, and then headed toward the door.
“Save some time in your schedule tomorrow so I can check the oil on that car that’s still sitting beside the garage,” my dad said, trailing Mom.
“You guys kept my car?” I asked, feeling hopeful.
They both looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Of course we did.”
Because they loved me. I should have come back months ago.
I was going to make this work.
* * *
Red brick buildingslined the street as we walked along the main strip of Macon. Hanging flower baskets that should have been exploding with color were instead still filled with last year’s dead vegetation. The street was still attractive, with the massive mountain as a backdrop to the small town, but no expense used to be spared in maintaining the beauty of Macon, especially during tourist season.
“It’s so weird being back,” I mused to my best friend as we walked shoulder to shoulder.
Nora let out a sigh, taking a long sip from her iced coffee. “It feels good, though, like a piece to my puzzle has clicked into place.”
Looking over at her, I smiled. “Your puzzle?”
“Yeah…like my life puzzle. You know”—she moved her free hand in the air—“life is like a puzzle.”
Sipping from my own coffee, I added, “Yeah, one without the box, so you have zero indication what the picture is supposed to look like.” I looked ahead, recognizing a few faces here and there, but was relieved when they didn’t seem to notice or recognize me.
“What if my puzzle doesn’t have a corner piece, and the whole integrity of my life is screwed?”
I laughed, nearly spitting my coffee. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“With my luck that’s exactly how this whole thing would work.”
We ventured closer to the edge of Main Street, bypassing the bookstore and the hair salon. A few shops had “for sale” signs in their windows, and others just had a slew of thin boards covering the storefront. It made my heart sink, because four years ago these businesses were thriving.
“Maybe the pieces we need belong to the people we’re going to end up with?”
Finally, we stopped in front of a shop window boasting all things Mount Macon, including homemade jam and locally sourced honey.
“Your parents still saying that berry jam is made here?” I quipped, slurping my coffee until it rattled with an annoying empty sound.
Nora let out a heavy sigh, turning with me to face the storefront. “First of all, I think you might be on to something about our puzzle-piece keepers.”
“Is that what we’re calling them?” I turned my head, raising a brow.
Nora kept her face forward, toward the store. “Yes. Also, if you tell a soul that the jam is from the valley, and not up on that mountain”—she pointed toward the snow-capped peak with her finger—“my mom will totally end you.”
