Always Love

Chapter 7: Pumpkin Shoes and Turkey Dress

Emma

"Lucy .. Can you bring me another cup of coffee please? And please tell Lenard a massive thanks for fixing my washing machine. I owe him big time." Lenard is Lucy's husband and is the town's janitor. He is working 24/7 and does everything for Moon Haven and its inhabitants. Lucy and Lenard are the best couple ever. They have been going through a lot, however, they didn't give up on their love for each other, and they have been happily married for over 10 years now. I love everything about Lucy's diner. The tables are closely spaced and you rub elbows (quite literally) with people from the adjoining table. Lucy decorated everything in very warm colors. She chose yellow tablecloths and sunflowers are emphasizing the autumn season. It's the perfect neighborhood joint and the inhabitants certainly catch up with news here. I am always here. This town has become my second family.

"Are you stalking me?" Noah says.

"Noah..." What the hell is he doing here?

"Emma ... What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?" he asks. He looks absolutely stunning. Noah is tanned, wears a white shirt which points out his muscular physique and blue jeans. Say something Emma and don't look like Brad Pitt is standing in front of you.

"Actually I live here .. I bought a house just around the corner. So what are you doing here?" I haven't seen him in 2 and a half years and now I run into him twice within a month?

"You live here? I am impressed. I thought that you will always be a big city girl and not someone who wears ...... pumpkin shoes." Oh my god ...I am really wearing the shoes Mindy, my 6 year old neighbor, made me.

"Ahm .. It's the 26th of September, which means the town is preparing itself for Thanksgiving for the next two months. You should have seen my turkey dress yesterday." I shouldn't have said that.

"Wow. That sounds like fun. And to come back to your question. I gave a seminar in Richfield, which isn't that far away from here and I was in desperate need for a coffee. So I was driving and driving and finally arrived at a town called Moon Haven."

"So welcome to my hood. And I can ensure you, Lucy's coffee is the best coffee you have ever had. If you aren't in a hurry, you can take a seat and keep mocking me about my new small town image." Stop Emma. Mock me about my small town image? Who says that? Am I 14? Can I be any more awkward? Who asks his ex to have coffee with her in a diner in which every single person is observing us right now. Well done. I hope that he is on a run. Ron look away and tell your wife, she shouldn't stare at Noah with an open mouth.

"I'd love to," he says without hesitating. Bravo Emma. Say something. "So tell me about Paris, Sydney or Oxford?" That's the first thing that came to my mind. Actually I don't have a clue what we should talk about. I mean I guess we will run out of small talk very soon .. and then? Gosh, Emma FOCUS! Noah is talking about all the great experiences from the past years and you can't stop talking with yourself in your head. Focus!!!!!

"Mhm ... cool.. Wow." These are the only things that I can utter right now. He looks so good. Does he have a girlfriend? Amelia mentioned someone called Marissa the other day. Was Marissa the good looking woman he was with in the club? Wow that still makes me feel sick. " .. and now I am back. So what about you? I heard you are interested in health care?" WHAT??? No he didn't say that. Does he know about Christian? Well everyone knows, because whenever we spent time together, we were in the news.

"What?" I say very quietly.

"I saw some pictures of you and Christian Abbott." Wow I guess our small talk is over. He keeps staring at me and I really don't know what he is thinking right now. So I start laughing. "Oh please stop. Ever since this photo got published, people have acted like he proposed or something. I am being followed by paparazzis and everyone keeps asking me about him. That is exhausting. But yeah. We went out a couple of times. He is really nice, I guess I like him." Awkward. Say something .. anything. " ... but he is a Dean." Nooooo.... not something like this.

"A Dean?" Noah seems confused, which I really understand.

"Oh come on Noah. Didn't you learn anything from our Gilmore Girls marathons?"

"I guess not." He laughs. It really feels so good to see him laughing. "So it's nothing serious?" Okay it can't get any worse than this. This conversation is definitely not normal. Who talks with his ex about his current lovers? "Nope. And what about the lady form the club?" If he can interrogate me about my love life, so can I. Pff. "It was just a date. Since I don't stay in a country for more than a few months, it's hard to build something with someone. I am also not really interested in anything to be honest .. Maybe this will change when I go to Brazil next year." He leaves again. He seems very busy with running away from his life.

"Well I don't know if it's cool that we can talk about new people in our lives or incredibly awkward."

"I guess both," he says casually. We look at each other and burst into laughter, which certainly raises the attention of all my nosy friends in Moon Haven.

"So Brazil huh?" I ask and take a sip of my coffee.

"Yep. As soon as I am done with this semester, I am gone."

Wow he has changed a lot. I have always believed that (even when I knew his past) he would love to settle down and have a family. I have always had the impression that he longed for a stable family life since he didn't have one in his early childhood.

"What?" he asks me. He must have noticed that I was doubting his words.

"I don't know. I thought teaching at Yale made you happy."

"It did .. and still does. But I just like traveling around, getting to know new cultures, teaching at different universities and being free from any responsibilities."

I don't buy that.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Hmmm?"

"All of this has nothing to do with .. he who must not be named."

"Lord Voldemort?" I ask with the biggest smile on my face. Noah tries very hard to stay serious, but he ends up laughing anyways. "Funny. Well, I can tell you that I don't have the permanent need to punch Andy into his face anymore, but I am not interested in this father/son thing. Even when he still tries very hard to bond with me. He invites me to every holiday and I even met my little half sister. Lilly is really cool .. I mean it's not her fault that she has such an asshole father. But anyways, I am not losing my shit anymore when I am around him. I had a great father and I don't need him in my life. So everything is fine. I am fine."

Bullshit. I know you Noah. I know that you are running away from your feelings. I know that even when you don't admit it, you like having some stability in your life. This globetrotter life might have been exciting at first, but I can see in your eyes that you aren't happy. I would love to help you, but being there for you and helping you through this, isn't my job anymore.

"Okay. Sounds fine then." I shrug my shoulders.

"Well it was nice seeing you again, but I am afraid I have to go. I have a meeting in 20 minutes. I guess I'll see you at Amelia's birthday party at the weekend?" Noah asks, puts some money on the table and stands up.

"Yeah, we definitely will. Have a great day, Noah." He smiles at me and leaves the diner. It is completely silent in the diner and everyone pretends to not look at me. "Come one, stop it," I say and then everyone starts questioning me about this mysteriously good looking man.