by Kait Nolan
Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw someone walk up to the hostess station. She looked that way, and she felt like all the blood had drained from her face. She could only stare in disbelief.
~*~
Luke was so nervous as he entered the restaurant that he almost turned around and walked back out. He couldn’t ever remember feeling this way. But the need to see her, hear her voice, touch her hand, was overwhelming. He could do this.
He went to the hostess stand and gave his name. His fake name. He turned to survey the room to see if he could spot her. Sitting there in a red lace blouse was…Anna Palmer. And she was staring at him in horror.
“Right this way, sir,” said the hostess.
His feet were frozen to the floor. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t speak. His ears were filled with a roaring sound, and he was afraid his legs wouldn’t hold him up. This couldn’t be happening!
“Sir?”
Not wanting to make a scene, Luke followed the hostess on legs that were so wobbly, he was sure everyone would think something was wrong with him. Well, there was something wrong, wasn’t there?
He took the seat indicated by the hostess, across from Anna. He was somehow able to tell the hostess he wanted a glass of tea.
“What are you doing here?” Anna’s eyes were wide with surprise.
“I think that’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?”
“This can’t be real,” she moaned, covering her eyes with her hand.
“My thoughts exactly,” he said, trying to control his dismay.
They sat in silence until the server brought him some tea. When she asked what they would like to order, he waved her off.
Anna said, “So…you’re Bill, then.”
“And you’re Mandy.”
More silence.
She asked, “What are we going to do about this?”
“What do you mean? Surely you can see we can’t stay here. I think the best thing is to go home and forget this ever happened. I’ll tell the company that we aren’t compatible, and they’ll get you a new match.”
Anna studied his face so intently, he had to look away. “Why can’t we just go ahead and have a meal together? It won’t hurt for us to be civil to each other for a little while.”
“Are you serious? Why would I want to do that? Look, it was nice of you to come to the hospital and the funeral, but we aren’t friends, and frankly, this is just too overwhelming.”
“But I want to talk to you! You can’t deny there’s been something between us during all those texts and emails. We connected in a big way, Luke. No matter what’s happened in the past, we still had something real these past few weeks. You know that’s true.”
He felt sick, and he knew part of the feeling was loss. He knew he’d lost something he wanted so badly. But he also felt sick because he knew he had feelings for Anna that he’d tried to suppress. Hadn’t he thought of her every time he thought of “Mandy”? Didn’t Anna’s face come to mind every time he pictured her? He couldn’t let this happen. Anna wasn’t the kind of woman he needed in his life. She was a selfish snob, and he would never fit in her world, nor her in his. And he couldn’t forget what she’d done to him in high school.
“Anna, I can’t stay. I’m sorry, but this has all been like a sick joke.”
“Luke, please don’t go.” She put her hand on his, but he pulled away. “I don’t know what happened all those years ago to make you hate me, but I promise, I didn’t do anything. And getting to know you when I thought you were Bill was one of the best things that’s happened to me in a long time. My marriage was a lie. I was hoping this wouldn’t be.”
He stared at her. “You honestly don’t know why I’ve disliked you since high school? Seriously? Did you think your best friend, Shea, wouldn’t tell me? Maybe she wasn’t as good a friend as you thought.”
He stood up so fast the chair flew backwards and toppled over. The other diners looked at him in alarm, and he smiled sheepishly and apologized. Then he hurried out of the restaurant as fast as he could.
Back in his truck, Luke sat with his forehead resting against the steering wheel, trying to control his shaking before he drove off. He felt so sick he thought he would throw up. All the dreams he’d had of Mandy were shattered. He still couldn’t believe this had happened.
He finally got control of his emotions enough to drive, so he peeled out of the parking lot, leaving black marks on the pavement. Tears ran down his face as he drove toward home. He would never let another woman in his heart. Never.
~*~
Anna stared after Luke as he walked away. He was walking away both literally and figuratively. She felt like her world had been shattered once again. But, this time, she wouldn’t let it make her feel small. She would be strong. Always strong.
She drove home, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. How could she have been talking to Luke all this time? She didn’t believe in coincidences, so she was convinced there was some Divine intervention at work. If that was the case, maybe all wasn’t lost. Maybe she and Luke were meant to be together.
Anna thought back to everything Luke had said. He had mentioned Shea had told him something. What was it? There was only one way to find out. When she got back to Palmer, instead of heading home, she went straight to Shea’s house. She would get to the bottom of this.
She rang the doorbell and was ushered in by a woman in black. The woman showed her to a room filled with silly, expensive knickknacks and pretentious furniture. Anna, although she had grown up in a similar, yet more tasteful, manner, felt out of place in this room. Finally, Shea made an appearance.
“Well, what a nice surprise,” said Shea. “To what do I owe this honor? I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with me after your little puritanical speech about the joint.”
“I have to talk to you about something.”
Shea pushed a button on the wall, and the woman in black appeared at the doorway. “Please bring us some tea.”
Shea turned to Anna. “Have a seat. We’ll talk after our tea comes.”
Soon, a tray of tea and shortbread was sitting in front of them. Anna took a sip of tea and nibbled on the cookies. She had always been one to eat when she was nervous.
Shea said, “So what did you want to talk to me about.”
“Something that happened in high school.”
Shea laughed. “Seriously? How could something that happened that long ago matter now?”
“It might not. It depends on what really happened.”
“Then get on with it,” Shea said in a bored voice.
“What did you say to Luke Talbot to make him hate me?”
Shea looked at Anna in surprise. “What makes you think I said anything to him?”
“He told me.”
“Just recently? You mean, all these years, he didn’t say a word, and now he’s telling you this?”
“Telling me what, Shea? What did you say to him? Everything was fine, and it seemed like he was looking forward to the barbeque. I waited for him to pick me up, and he never showed. And after that, he wouldn’t speak to me or even look at me. Why?”
Shea sighed. “Really, Anna, I don’t see why it matters. What difference could it possibly make now?”
“Because I want to know. Tell me.”
“Okay, if you have to know. I knew you had a thing for him. But I couldn’t let you hook up with somebody from the south side. It just wasn’t done.” She twirled her hair between her fingers. “I also knew you wouldn’t listen to me because you had such a huge crush on him. So I went to his house and told him the reason you invited him to the barbeque was so you could humiliate him there. I didn’t say anything specific, just that it was a big joke to you. I knew he would believe me.”
“You really did that?” Anna asked in a whisper.
“It wasn’t a big deal. I saved you from being made fun of at school. Our crowd would have never accepted him.”
“Then I would have chosen him
over the crowd. I can’t believe you did that to me! I really liked him, and you ruined it for me!”
“Please, Anna. I did you a favor.”
Anna walked toward Shea until her face was inches from the other woman’s face. “Let me tell you something. You’re a mean, selfish witch, and you don’t care whose life you ruin. You were mean to the kids at school, and you’re still the selfish snob you were.” She narrowed her eyes. “You haven’t grown up a bit since high school. I don’t ever want to talk to you again. So don’t talk to me, don’t talk about me, don’t even look my way. I want nothing to do with someone like you.”
As Anna turned around and started walking off, Shea called after her, “You’re so crude! You belong with people like Luke! You don’t belong with my circle!”
Anna turned back around and smiled. “Thanks for the compliment.”
When Anna was back in her car, heading home, she realized she was shaking. She didn’t know if it was from nerves or anger, but she would do it all again given the chance. She smiled. That had felt so good.
By the time she got home, she was no longer smiling, but crying. She tried to make it up the stairs without being seen, but her mother stepped out of the parlor and looked at her in shock.
“Anna, what’s wrong? Why are you back so early? What happened?”
Anna threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing. It all crashed down on her at once, her failed marriage, her feelings for both Luke and Bill, who happened to be the same person, her anger at what Shea had done, the loss of what could have been if Shea hadn’t done it.
“Mom….” That’s all she could get out. She’d never called her mother “Mom” before, but it felt right at this moment.
Her mother held her as she cried, coaxing her into the parlor, and pulling her down on the sofa. Constance continued to hold her daughter as Anna let everything out, all that had built up. The lilac scent her mother had worn since her childhood comforted her as she dampened the silk blouse. When the tears finally dried up, Anna pulled away and looked at her mother.
“I’m sorry I broke down like that. But I think it was a long time coming,” she said with a shaky smile.
“Will you tell me what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Mom….” Then she told her everything. She left nothing out, and when she was done, she was surprised to see a smile on her mother’s face.
“Anna, that’s the first time you’ve really talked to me in so long.” Then her face grew thoughtful. “I’m sorry you went through all of that. Do you really have strong feelings for Luke Talbot?”
“Yes, I do. I know you don’t approve, but I don’t care. I’m tired of pretending to fit in with your friends and their families. I’m just me. It doesn’t matter who I’m around as long as they’re good people. You know? Status means nothing to me.”
Her mother said, “Anna, I think you’ve ended up being wiser than me. I know you always thought I was a snob, and I guess I used to be. Even now, I think it’s hard for two people from different backgrounds to have something together. But maybe that saying is right, “love conquers all”. If you think you’re in love with Luke, then I say go for it.”
Anna looked at her mother in surprise. “Really? Did I actually hear you say that?”
Constance laughed. “I did say that. I just want you to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted. I just went about things the wrong way. But I raised a smart girl, no, woman, with a good head on her shoulders. Don’t let this setback stop you. Make your own happiness.”
Anna smiled. “I think that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
Chapter Eleven
Luke finished up the last of his work and stashed his tools in his truck. He’d planned on taking the day off, but since that was a bust, he had decided to do some work. He waved at the little boy who’d been watching him for the last couple of hours, asking constant questions. It had actually been kind of nice to have something to keep his mind off Anna, because if he’d been alone the whole time, he might have driven himself crazy thinking about her.
When he got home, Lucy had supper waiting for him. She frowned when he excused himself as soon as he’d eaten and took off up the stairs. He went to his room and sat down at his computer, intending to contact Virtual Match to let them know they needed to assign a different match to Anna. Well, Mandy.
He hesitated a moment, a part of him not wanting to do it. It made him feel sick to think of someone else pretending to be Anna’s boyfriend.
Before he had a chance to send the email, a chat window opened and he saw, Hey.
Hey, he typed.
ANNA: Can we talk?
LUKE: I don’t see that there’s anything to talk about. We both know what happened today and what happened in high school.
ANNA: But that’s just it. You don’t know what happened in high school.
LUKE: I know what Shea told me. That’s all I need to know.
A slight hesitation. Shea was lying.
LUKE: Why would she lie about something like that?
ANNA: Please, let’s just talk in person. I can’t do it like this. I need to explain. Give me half an hour. That’s all I’m asking.
He didn’t know what to do. There was a flicker of hope at her words that maybe there had been a misunderstanding. But if that were the case, why didn’t she try to explain back then? Had he even given her a chance to explain? Maybe he should this time.
LUKE: Ok, 30 minutes. Meet me at the diner. You don’t mind coming to this side of town and being seen with me, do you?
ANNA: Of course not. I’ll be there in 10.
She’d passed the first test. See you there.
Luke took a deep breath and started down the stairs. He told Lucy he was going out for about an hour. Then he got into his truck and started to the diner.
When he walked in, Anna was already seated at the back of the room. Good, they would have some privacy since no one was sitting in the booth in front of hers. He sat down across from her.
“Well, I guess we’ll get to eat together after all.” She motioned the waitress over. “We’ll both have chocolate malts, please.”
“How did you know what I wanted?”
“You used to like chocolate malts. I remembered.”
“I still do.”
The waitress brought their malts over, and Anna took a big sip of hers. “Mm, still good.”
“I remember you came here a time or two. I always wondered why you would come here instead of going somewhere on your side of town.”
“Simple. The diner has the best malts.” She smiled at him.
He sighed. “Let’s get on with this, okay? We can’t just sit here and pretend we’re friends.”
He saw a tear spring to her eye, but she quickly blinked it away. “Okay, it’s time to talk. I need to tell you what really happened.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
She took a deep breath. “Apparently, Shea thought I shouldn’t be hanging out with someone from this side of town. So she went to you and told you my invitation was a big joke and that I was going to humiliate you at the barbeque. Does that sound familiar?”
He looked at her in surprise. “Very familiar. But if it wasn’t true, why didn’t you tell me it wasn’t?”
“For one thing, you wouldn’t even talk to me. But, for another, I didn’t know what she’d done. All those years, I never knew why you hated me.”
“So how do you know this now?”
“After you mentioned Shea and walked out of the restaurant, I knew she’d done something. I went straight to her house and confronted her. I made her tell me what she’d said to you. I couldn’t believe it!”
“So all those years, you really didn’t know?” She shook her head. “And all those years, I’ve been mad at you for something you didn’t do?” She nodded, and he ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe this.”
“Luke, I would never have done anything to hurt you.”
“You really wanted to go to the barbeque with
me?”
“Of course I did. That’s why I asked you.”
Luke felt like he’d been punched. All those years wasted, and it was his fault for being so stubborn and not talking to her. He hadn’t even asked her if Shea had been telling the truth. Now he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to move on from here. The two of them were from opposite sides of town, and it might as well have been opposite ends of the world.
“Anna, I don’t know what to say. After all this time of believing one thing, and now finding out it wasn’t true…I’m not sure how to handle that.”
“All I’m asking right now is for you not to hate me. To give me a chance, to be my friend. After that, who knows?”
Luke studied her face and saw she was sincere. He felt his heart open up a tiny bit. “Give me time, okay? This has all been crazy. First I found out you were Mandy, and now I’m finding out something I believed for years isn’t true. It’s too much to handle right now.”
Anna took a big sip of her malt. “I guess that’s all I can ask for. I wish finding out the truth could just make up for everything, but it’s been so long. I want you to know that I looked forward so much to our date for the barbeque. I spent a long time getting ready because I wanted to look good for you.”
“You always looked good, Anna,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said, blushing. “Luke, I never cared about north side or south side. Everyone was always the same to me. I wish you’d realized it back then. If only I had picked better friends to hang out with, maybe things would have been different.”
Luke watched as she put her hand on top of his. He let her leave it there for just a moment, part of him loving the touch, and part of him wanting to pull away. She moved her hand before he had to make the decision.
“You know where I am. You know how to contact me. I hope I hear from you soon.”
He watched as she rose and moved away from the table. He had to admire how she held her head high as everyone in the diner watched her, wondering why she was here with him. He put some money on the table and left five minutes behind her, getting the same stares. He couldn’t blame them. What good could come from two people from opposite ends of the universe getting together?
