AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turn to go back to my car when Rebecca calls out to me. “You’re different.”
“Good. Isn’t that the point of life? To change? To grow?”
“I just didn’t think you’d do it without me,” she responds, vulnerability coloring her words.
“We spent almost our entire relationship doing things without each other. We just never noticed.”
Rebecca nods. “Bye, Ben. I hope you’re happy.”
Surprisingly, I think she means that. “I hope you can be, too, Becks.” I get into my car and head home. As much as I didn’t want to have that conversation, it was necessary. Now we can both move on with our lives without feeling like we left our relationship unfinished.
Hopefully, Sara isn’t too mad at me for ditching her at lunch. If I were in her shoes, I’d be pissed, though, so I’ll have to make it up to her somehow. Ideas flash in my mind as I drive home. They all involve sexual favors, but I don’t think she’ll mind too much. Especially now that we no longer have to worry about Rebecca making any more scenes.
She’s out of our lives, and we can all finally move on.
37
BEN
Pulling into the driveway, I’m surprised Sara isn’t home yet. I wouldn’t have thought it would take an hour to get our food to go, but the café can get really busy. There’s also a good chance she ran into one of the millions of people who love to chat and got stuck talking to one of the gossiping hens.
Walking into the house, the dogs rush toward me as if I were gone all day. I give them all pats before plopping down on the couch to call Sara. I’ve got some making up to do, and I need her home to get started.
The phone rings once, then kicks over to her voicemail. Resigned to waiting, I chuck it onto the couch. The world is getting me back for ditching her. I flip on an episode ofThe Office, my mind playing over the exchange with Rebecca.
Ihavechanged since I moved to Sonoma. Having such a rocky start clouded the differences I’ve felt since I made the decision to stay. I no longer feel the pull to keep pushing myself harder, striving for some unknown goal I’ll never reach. For a long time, I thought my ambition was going to get me somewhere. It was what drove me to constantly do better, reach higher. Now, I know it was my way of filling a void inside me.
Dad was right. I wasn’t happy in Greensboro. I kept striving for more in the hopes it would make me happy, but it didn’t. Not until I surrounded myself with people who made happiness the goal instead of status. Hanging out with Sara’s friends, analyzing Mom and Dad’s relationship, even seeing the dynamic between Sara and her brothers, I realized being with people who genuinely care about me is more important than a fancy job in a fancy city.
Adjusting to small-town life still isn’t easy, especially when I need something I could easily get in Greensboro that I can’t here, but this feeling of contentment makes up for the annoyances. Plus, having Sara by my side makes all the difference in the world.
I glance at my phone as the episode ends; a blank screen tells me there’s nothing new from Sara. I can’t help the niggle of worry that forms in my gut. Even on the busiest days at the café, it wouldn’t take almost two hours to get our food and then come home. We live five minutes from town.
Grabbing my keys and slipping on my shoes, I head out of the house. I know this is probably an overreaction. I can imagine her sitting at a table, talking with someone, and just losing track of time. But I can’t let go of this feeling of something not being right. She was coming home to me. We were going to have lunch. She wouldn’t have chatted with someone for an hour when we had plans, even if she was mad at me. If anything, her anger would’ve pushed her to come home sooner.
When I get to Main Street, I find her car parked a few spots from Paint and Paper. Nothing seems off about her car, so after parking next to her, I head to the café to see if she’s there. When I step inside, the noise of the crowd feels overwhelming as I try to curb my panic.
I scan the room, looking for the chocolate-colored hair I’ve come to love. I would think she’d be by the take-out counter, but I don’t see her.
Spotting Levi and Hope, I head toward their table. “Hey, guys. Sorry to interrupt.”
They both look up at me, smiles on their faces. “Hey, Ben. Pull up a chair. Is Sara here? You guys can sit with us.” Levi moves to grab a fourth chair, but I stop him.
“You haven’t seen Sara? She was coming by to get us lunch. I thought you might’ve seen her.”
“We’ve been in our own world over here, so we haven’t been paying much attention.” Levi’s brows furrow as he takes in my harried state. “Is everything okay?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. She was going to put in a to-go order, and that was a couple of hours ago. Her phone goes to voicemail when I call, and her car is still parked on the street.”
“Okay, we’ll go check the shops and see if she had to stop somewhere before heading home.” Levi stands, grabbing his crutches, and Hope follows behind him. I’m grateful they didn’t immediately call me crazy for panicking.
“I’m going to go talk to Chelsea and see if she knows anything.” With more people helping me find her, a little bit of my worry starts to ease. I’m praying she’s just shopping and I’m completely overreacting.
I get up to the counter, grateful Sara and Michelle pushed me to improve my tableside manner, otherwise, I’d never have remembered who Chelsea was.
“Hey, Dr. Crawford. Sara was just in here.” In this small town, there was no hiding our relationship from anyone. We weren’t trying to hide it either, so word spread like wildfire. The new vet and his tech getting busy has been a hot topic in town.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering about. Did she get her food?”
