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“You think?”
“Yes,” she laughs, “I do. And for your information, I wasn’t going to answer you with something as simplistic as ‘I love him.’ Although the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.What you really want to know is why I love him. Well, I’ve spent very little time dreaming about my future. I like the moment. So when Koen told me where he sees his future going, I paused momentarily. It’s like someone asking what I want for dinner at one in the afternoon, and I haven’t needed to think that far ahead. I might not know the answer right away, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want dinner.”
“What does Koen want for dinner?”
Scottie blushes while shifting her gaze to me. She looks so innocent, so happy. “He wants a family and a wife who stays home with the kids. And maybe that would be offensive to some women, but not me. Not once did my mind go to my mom, who I love and admire, but she was never home. Steph and I had a nanny, and our dad was home with us on the weekends. We never felt neglected or abandoned. Our parents had big career dreams, and they followed those dreamsandmade a family life work.”
I slowly nod. “There’s no one size fits all.”
“Exactly. So after Koen told me about his dreams, I started to imagine a life where I was holding a baby in my arms, and I imagined watching that life change a little every day. I thought about first smiles, trips to the park, nature walks on the trails, and teaching small hands to make jewelry with me. I thought of the sound of a child laughing. And the heartbreak of their cries. I thought of the times I wanted my mom, and she wasn’t there.”
Scottie holds up her hands. “And that was okay that she wasn’t there.Someonewas there. But what if I choose to be there, and Icanbe there?” She shrugs, giving me a teary-eyed smile. “I want that life. I want to be the mom who’s there. I want it more than anything. And I want it with Koen.”
I grin. “Then I think that’s the perfect life for you.”
Scottie narrows her eyes. “A-are you serious?” she fumbles her words.
“Scottie, you excel at life. You’re gentle and patient with a soothing soul. I think you’ll be a wonderful mother. I’ve always known that.”
Tears fill her eyes—a lot of tears—more than mere happy emotions. This is not the reaction I expected after paying her such a high compliment. She covers her mouth and runs out the back door.
“What the hell?” I mumble.
I can’t leave the store unattended, so I call her, but her cell phone rings from behind the counter.
Never mind.
Nobody’s in the store, so I write on a sheet of paper and tape it to the front door before locking it.
Be back in 5 minutes
When I step out back, she’s hunched over in a lawn chair under her trailer’s retractable awning, head in her hands.
“What happened, Scottie?” I squat in front of her, resting my hands on her legs. “What happened to make you react like this?”
She sniffles, lifting her head and wiping her eyes. A sad smile bends her lips as she rests her hands on my cheeks. “You happened.” She kisses my forehead and slides past me to stand. “Go back to work, Price. I need some space.”
At eight,Scottie comes in the back door to close up shop, but she’s not alone. Koen is right behind her, holding her hand.
“Everything go okay?” she asks without making eye contact. Instead, she leans past me for the front door key.
I silently plead for help from Koen. He presses his lips together, eyes wide, while he shrugs.
She didn’t tell him what I did? Whatever that was.
“Everything went fine. You know, I’ve watched you clean, take out the register drawer, shut off lights, and set the alarm dozens of times. Don’t you think it’s time you let me actually close on the nights I’m closing?”
“I live ten feet away. It’s no big deal.” She breezes past Koen to the back room.
Again, I look to him for help.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know, man,” he murmurs.
Weeks earlier, I would have marched into the back room, pinned her in a corner, and demanded she tell me everything. That was when I lived under the illusion of control.
I go to the back room, but no marching is involved. And I don’t pin her in a corner, but I hug her when she tries to slide past me with the mop.
She stiffens, arms at her side while the mop falls from her hand.
