Love Conquers All

by Lorana Hoopes

  Another few large gulps of coffee sent enough caffeine through her system she assumed she could make it until she found more. Max served coffee at The Diner, and she had seen a new bakery on her drive in which might have an even better option. She rinsed the cup in the sink and placed it in the dish rack.

  “Tell Mom I’ll be back later,” Lanie called as she headed for the front door, grabbing a light jacket on the way. Without even bothering to pull it on, she opened the door and stepped outside.

  Though nearing summer, an unusual chill nipped at her light jacket, sending a shiver down her spine as she closed the door behind her. She jammed her hands in the sleeves and snuggled down into the jacket as she zipped it up. The keys jingled in her right pocket, and she retrieved them as she walked to the car. It wasn’t a long walk into town, but it was a little too cold for the jaunt today, especially since she had left without her scarf and gloves.

  The cold leather seats had barely warmed up when she parked the car in front of the Star Lake Inn.

  “Lanie,” Layla shrieked as she entered the foyer. Lanie smiled as her high school friend came around the desk and enveloped her in a hug. “Hey, Layla. You look great.” Layla always looked good. With her long dark hair and blue eyes, she had been the focus of the boys in high school, though her eyes had only been on Max and the rumor was they had finally gotten together.

  “You do too,” Layla said, stepping back to inspect Lanie.

  “I’m okay,” Lanie said, rolling her eyes. "I need to increase my gym time."

  “Oh pooh, you look amazing. Now you need a man.”

  Lanie shook her head, remembering the last night before she left. It wasn't an awful experience, but it was a mistake that should never have happened. “I’m in no hurry to jump back into a relationship, but it looks great on you. When did you and Max get together?”

  “A few months ago,” Layla said, returning to the desk. “He finally gathered the nerve to tell me how he felt. Of course, true to Max form, it wasn’t the most romantic revealing. He blurted it out one evening as he was closing, and all I could say was ‘what took you so long?’” Layla chuckled as she arranged things on the desk.

  “Well, better late than never,” Lanie said. “I’m glad you two got it together. Will there be a wedding soon?”

  “I don’t know,” Layla said with a shake of her head. “Maybe after another decade, but a wedding is happening soon.”

  “Oh yeah? Who’s getting married?” Lanie wasn’t a fan of gossip, but in a small town where everyone knew everybody, it was hard not to be curious. “Presley Hays and Brandon Scott. Remember them?”

  Lanie searched her memory. “Behind us in school, right?”

  “Yep. Presley moved back about nine months ago, and Brandon came home early December to help his father out. I guess sparks rekindled, and the rest is history as they say.”

  Lanie longed for a love story like that. Having always been a hopeless romantic growing up, she had pined for her wedding day, probably so much that she had put expectations on her relationship with Denny that he would never have been able to fulfill. “Well, that’s great,” she said, swallowing her own disappointment and faking happiness for the couple. “I should run to the realtor soon, but I wanted to ask, is The Diner the best place for coffee or have we gotten anything better?”

  Layla chuckled. “I’m a bit biased, but I think Max’s coffee is fine. However, if you’re looking for something other than black, Presley opened Sweet Treats across the way and makes a decent cup too.”

  “Thanks, I’ll try it. I’m working for my father until something better comes along, but we should get together soon.”

  “You bet,” Layla said, as the phone rang. She waved goodbye as she picked up the receiver. “Thank you for calling The Star Lake Inn, how can I help you?”

  Lanie exited the way she had come and climbed back in her car. Though she desperately wanted a cup of coffee, with no idea how long the house search would take, she figured she should hit the realtor first.

  A petite blond woman was opening the office as Lanie pulled in. Since she didn’t recognize the woman and the name of the building wasn’t what she remembered, Lanie assumed she was newer to town.

  After locking the car doors, Lanie dropped her keys in her pocket and pushed open the door to the realtor office.

  “Hello,” the woman said, greeting her as she walked in. “I just opened, but I’ll be happy to help you in a minute. Would you like coffee?” She pointed to a Keurig and Lanie smiled, nodded, and walked to the table.

  A silver metal tree-like apparatus sat next to the dispenser holding a variety of pods. Lanie grabbed a caramel mocha one and popped it in the coffee maker. When the coffee had filled, she held it to her nose, sniffing in the wonderful aroma before taking a sip. The warm beverage flowed down her throat, warming her from the inside out.

  “Okay, I’m ready now," the woman said. "Have a seat.” She pointed to the chairs across from the desk, and Lanie sat down in the one closest to her. “I’m Annie Goodman,” she said, reaching her hand across the desk for a shake. “What can I do for you today?”

  “I’m looking to rent a house. One or two bedrooms. Something in town if possible.”

  Annie’s pink lips pursed as she turned to the computer on the right side of her desk. “Hmm, I rented the last two-bedroom house in town a few weeks ago, but let me see if there is a one bedroom available.”

  Lanie wasn't surprised at the lack of real estate. Few people moved to Star Lake unless they were moving back to be near family, like she was.

  “Well, I have two. I’m sorry that’s not much selection, but would you like to see them?

  “Yes, please.” Large selection or not, Lanie needed a place that wasn’t her old room in her parent’s house.

  Annie led the way, flipping the open sign over so it now read ‘be back soon.’

  “Aren’t you going to lock the front door?” Lanie asked.

  “No need,” Annie said. “There’s nothing here to steal and besides, it’s warmer in here than waiting outside if someone else comes by. Shall we take my car?”

  Lanie nodded and climbed in the passenger side, curious how Annie could stay warm in her knee-length pencil skirt and heels. Though she wore a long-sleeved shirt, she hadn’t even grabbed a coat.

  The first stop was a small brown and tan cottage on Earl street. It appeared in good shape from the outside with a little garden area and a single car garage. The inside was also in decent shape. A beige carpet lined the floors, and the kitchen and bathroom boasted a neutral color scheme. Though the bedroom was a little smaller than she was looking for, Lanie liked that the house was close to work, which meant she could walk and save on gas. The second house was a little bigger, but farther on the outskirts of town, and though it was a little cheaper, it didn’t have the homey feel the first house had presented.

  “Well, have you decided?” Annie asked as Lanie finished the tour of the second house.

  “Yes, I like the first place. I’ll be working at my dad’s ice cream shop, and I like that I could walk to work.”

  Annie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Mr. Perkins? I love his triple chocolate brownie sundae.”

  Lanie smirked as she remembered the day she created that dessert. Donald Preston, a boy from a neighboring town, had decided she was too mousy and ordinary to continue dating. Crushed, she’d wandered into the shop, looking for something chocolatey to drown her sorrows in. She’d dumped in brownies, Oreos, and chocolate chips. Then she’d topped it with chocolate ice cream, whip cream, chocolate sauce, and a cherry on the top for good measure. The dessert hadn’t healed her broken heart, but it had tasted delicious, and she’d named it the Triple Chocolate Brownie Sundae and added it to the menu. “Yep, that’s my favorite dessert too. I named it when I was sixteen.”

  “That’s so sweet that your father kept it all these years. I shouldn’t frequent the shop as much as I do,” Annie said, leaning in as if sharing a juicy secret, “but
with no real night life and few men around, a girl’s gotta do something for fun, you know?”

  “What brought you out here then?” Lanie asked. She knew how boring her town could be.

  “My uncle owned the realtor office before me, but he retired to Florida. Having no kids of his own, he called me up to see if I was interested. I was working in a competitive agency in Atlanta, so I thought owning an office might be a good change of pace, but I failed to realize just how small this town is.”

  “It grows on you though,” Lanie said, “and the town puts on great festivals near the holidays.”

  “I’ll look forward to that then,” Annie said with a laugh. “Well, shall we head back and get your paperwork in order?”

  Lanie nodded and a few minutes later they were pulling into the office parking lot again.

  Azarius lay in the middle of his bed watching the black netting sway back and forth from the gentle breeze blowing in the window. There was a chill in the air, but he didn’t feel it. He was too numb. The smell of her shampoo, some strawberry vanilla concoction, still lingered on his pillow, and when he closed his eyes, he could see her auburn hair splayed across his pillow. It had only been one night, but it was a night burned in his memory.

  When she had finally responded to his text that she thought their night together had been a mistake, he had understood. After all, he knew her religion was important to her, and she had reacted emotionally to her divorce finalization - his own had been finalized for over a year - but when a second message had come in that she was leaving town, he’d retired to his room. Though he knew he cared for Lanie, he hadn’t expected her leaving to hit him so hard.

  A knock sounded at his door, but he chose to ignore it, hoping his roommate would go away. Normally, Greg would never enter his room, but he hadn’t spoken to him all day. Azarius had barely left his room for work, and as soon as he’d gotten home, he had retired up the stairs, not even flashing a wave or granting a mumble as he passed Greg.

  “Az, you okay man?” The door swung in a few inches, and Greg’s bearded face appeared in the small crack. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

  “I’m fine,” Azarius said. He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. Real Life’s “Send Me An Angel” blared out of the big screen TV, reminding him of the first day he met her.

  Azarius opened the glass door and stepped into the foyer of the radio station. A woman’s voice echoed over the loudspeaker.

  “That was Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel,” which was made famous by the movie The Wizard.”

  He looked around for the voice. An older woman manned a large desk in the middle of the room, but a phone was to her ear, so it wasn’t her voice he had heard. To his left was a glass window, but an older gentleman stood in front of a mic. Azarius turned to his right, and his lips parted. Behind a similar glass window, a beautiful woman stood speaking into a mic.

  “I always loved the beat in the middle. I know you can’t see me jamming, but I have an air drum solo every time I play this song. Now I know why my mother never let take drum lessons.”

  The smile that stretched across her mouth lit up her whole face. She looked up, catching his eyes, and flashed another smile.

  “I’m Lanie Wolffe, and you’re listening to Mixx 98.6. Be sure to give me a call if there’s something you want to hear. Duran Duran’s “Come Undone” is coming up next, so don’t go far.”

  The voice was replaced by the sound of commercials, and Azarius shook his head. He missed the angelic melody of the woman. She glanced his direction again, and seeing him still watching her, she raised her hand in a small wave. A playful smile resided on her lips, and she flashed a wink with her left eye.

  Azarius returned the wave and then continued on to the desk. Whoever the redheaded beauty was, she was not the one he was supposed to be meeting, at least he didn’t think she was.

  The woman behind the desk hung up the phone and glanced up at him. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m Azarius Jacobson, and I’m here about the engineer position.” He pulled his resume out of the satchel he was carrying and slid it across the counter to her.

  “Ah, yes. Wait here, and I’ll call Mr. Johnson.”

  “You are not fine. What is going on? Talk to me man.” Greg still didn’t dare to enter fully into the room. Thankfully, he’d known Azarius long enough to know that his room was his sacred space.

  “I don’t feel like talking right now.”

  “Alright, brother, but I’m here if you need me.” Greg wasn’t his brother, but they had been friends for the last few years and Greg had helped Azarius through some very tough times.

  Azarius mumbled and rolled his face into the pillow that still held her smell. A minute later, the door clicked closed, and the darkness descended once more. Closing his eyes, Azarius replayed the last few months with her in his mind, ending with the night that ended it all.

  The raucous night had been at her prompting. Perhaps he should have tried harder to tell her no; maybe he should have demanded they wait, or maybe it wasn’t even the night itself. Maybe it was his evasiveness. He thought back to the many times she asked him to open up and mentally kicked himself. Would he ever get the chance to show her his true feelings?

  Chapter 6

  Lanie sighed as she donned the pink apron with a smiling ice cream cone on it a few days later. This certainly wasn’t how she had seen her life going, but it was a minor setback. Once she figured out what she wanted to do next, she could start saving and move on from here. At least she had managed to find a small house to rent, so she no longer had to live with her parents, even if she did have to work for them.

  She pulled out her phone and checked the screen for the umpteenth time. Even though she had been the one who said they shouldn’t see each other again, she had expected he would reach out to her, but her phone remained silent. Perhaps Greg had been wrong about his feelings for her.

  The bell above the door jingled, and Lanie pocketed the phone, hoping her visitor hadn’t caught her slacking off.

  “Whatever you’re hiding, you don’t have to hide it from me,” Layla said with a laugh.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “I came for the ice cream of course,” Layla said, swinging her slim hips onto the barstool across from Lanie. “I took a dinner break with Max and thought I’d stop in to see you. You all settled in?”

  “Mostly, I still have a few boxes to unpack. I know coming home was the right thing to do, but I have to admit it’s kind of quiet and lonely in the evenings.”

  Layla’s lips pulled into a knowing smile. “I understand that. Even when Max and I hang out, he isn’t the biggest conversationalist.”

  Lanie smirked, remembering many of her evenings with Azarius. He wasn’t much for conversing either, preferring to watch videos and engage in small talk when necessary. Still, there had been a comfort with him, an ease she hadn’t felt with Denny in a long time, and somehow being near him had been enough, until she ruined it.

  “What are you thinking about?” Layla asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning across the counter.

  “Nothing. What do you mean?” Lanie grabbed a rag and began wiping the counter, keeping her eyes away from Layla’s penetrating gaze.

  “You know what I mean. You were just thinking about something or should I say someone,” Layla said with emphasis. “You got all moony faced.”

  Lanie sighed and stopped pretending to clean. “I was thinking about this man I left in Dallas.

  “Denny?”

  “No, not Denny.” Layla’s brow arched and Lanie knew there was no way she would drop the subject now.

  “When Denny and I separated, I ran into an old friend I used to work with. We met years ago at the radio station - he was an engineer, though I don’t remember him much from back then. He disappeared about the time I married Denny, but the day Denny left, I went to the old bar hangout and he was there. We started talking, realized we had a lot in c
ommon, and began hanging out.”

  Layla folded her hands and placed her chin on the top of them. “And?”

  Lanie rolled her eyes. “It’s not what you think. We watched eighties videos and made fun of them, but it was comfortable. Anyway, we began hanging out more often, once or twice a week.”

  “Don’t you mean dating?” Layla asked.

  A small snort escaped Lanie’s lips. “I don’t think you could call it dating. We didn’t go anywhere together, just hung out at his house.”

  “That doesn’t sound fun,” Layla said slowly.

  Lanie sighed. “It wasn’t about what we did. It was just being together. We’d dance to old songs or watch old videos and sing. When he looked at me, I felt like he was seeing me, like he cared about my interests.”

  “Is he a good kisser?”

  “What?” A blush spread across Lanie’s cheeks, and she averted her eyes.

  “You heard me. I refuse to believe you only watched old videos on television, so spill it.”

  Lanie bit the inside of her cheek, remembering the first time she and Azarius had kissed. While this kiss itself had been okay, it was the look in his eyes before their lips touched that had seared itself in her memory and kept her coming back for more. “Fine, yes, he’s a good kisser, but he doesn’t kiss much.”

  “What do you mean?” Layla leaned back and folded her arms across her chest.

  “I don’t know; it’s weird. I love kissing, but he didn’t initiate it much.”

  “Was that why it didn’t last?”

  Lanie shook her head. “No, while I would have preferred more, there was something about the way he looked at me that made the kissing or lack thereof not as important.”

  Layla leaned forward and splayed her hands across the counter. “Okay, what happened then?”

  “It just didn’t work out,” Lanie said, skirting the question. “I think I was looking for more than he was, and I realized it would never work in the long run.”

  “Well, it’s good you found out now,” Layla said. “You know what you want now, so why mess around?”