Back and Forward. Back and Forward. Back and Forward. Minnie folded her napkin over and over again into small squares. Once she couldn’t fold it any smaller, she unfolded the napkin and repeated the motion. It was a habit she developed as a child in the very same diner, except, back then, she hadn’t been waiting for somebody to come.
Minnie glanced at the red clock hanging in the corner of the diner. She had arrived two minutes early, but by the time the clock hit twelve, Vanessa’s shadow still wasn’t anywhere to be seen. As she began to crease the poor paper napkin at an even quicker pace, Minnie wondered to herself, What if she forgot? What if she’s bailing on me? What if she’s checking out of the motel right now and asked me to come to this diner so she could sneak away with me knowing? What if—
A tap on her shoulder jolted Minnie out of her thoughts, causing her to nearly jump out of shock. Laughing, Vanessa slid into the seat in front of Minnie. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. You looked like you were really deep in thought.”
“What? I did? Sorry, I wasn’t- um, hello!” Minnie stuttered, dropping the wrinkly napkin and hastily shoving it aside.
“Hi,” Vanessa smiled, and Minnie became acutely aware of the small dimple that appeared in the corner of her left cheek. She picked up the menu and casually said, “So, do you wanna tell me your whole life story or should I start with mine?”
“Wow, starting strong, huh? How about we order something first before we get into all that?” Minnie chuckled, a little hesitant. “But I’d like to know more about you. Why don’t you start first?”
Once the two of them placed their orders (Minnie ordered a hamburger like always, and Vanessa asked to try the chicken sandwich with, if the waiter would be so kind as to add ketchup on the side, the golden crispy fries front and center on the menu), Vanessa cleared her throat. “Okay then, I guess we can start with me. So, I grew up on the East Coast, kind of around the New York area, and I went to Columbia for college and majored in computer science.”
“Columbia? Wow, impressive,” Minnie acknowledged, even though she could feel her nerves coiling around her heart like a vicious python, slowly trying to squeeze the life out of its prey. She reached for the napkin, grounding herself with the feeling of the rough material. There was no way Vanessa would stay here. She seemed to love the city, and she would return to the city. Now, Minnie was certain she had to shoot down her hopes before she could entertain them as possibilities.
“Thank you! I’m just taking a gap year between college and grad school.” Her voice became a little quieter as she admitted, “I spent most of my high school years studying, and I didn’t really know what else to do with the free time I had in college or how to really enjoy myself outside of academics. Now, I’m trying to learn how to do that. I just really wanted to stop being miserable and finally live life, you know?”
“Sort of,” Minnie answered, bobbing from side to side anxiously. “I mean, I’ve lived here all my life, but I don’t really have any other choice. I can’t really get out or explore or ‘live my life,’ like what you’re trying to do. I was planning on going to community college, but then I had my daughter, Jo. I had to drop out and keep working at my job so I could take good care of her, even though I really wanted to find another job and get out of this town. At least the healthcare plan is pretty good. It’s the best I can do here.”
Once Minnie finished, she felt the nerves dissolve. She didn’t have to share her entire story and she wasn’t sure how Vanessa was going to react. Quite honestly, she hadn’t been sure how much she was going to share; it had been a while since she told her story to someone since everyone in the town already knew what happened. However, there was something cathartic about simply admitting her life hadn’t gone the way she planned it to go.
Vanessa parted her lips, clearly trying to gather her words, and Minnie squeezed the napkin between her hands together even more tightly, quickly growing nervous again. Is she going to ask about the dad? Everybody wants to know about the dad. Everybody always wants to know how that handsome, charming man had swooped in and stolen my heart, only to leave and break it and—
A steady hand gently covered Minnie’s shaking ones. Minnie gathered the nerve to look up, her eyes meeting Vanessa’s. “Min, thank you for telling me. I’m really proud of you for getting through all that. It must have been tougher than I could ever imagine.”
“Um, thanks. I… yeah, it was a little hard,” Minnie admitted as tears welled up in her eyes. She’d never really been treated so kindly for sharing what happened. Most of the time, she was met with judgment or sneering looks that wordlessly berated her for not knowing better or accused her of being the one to blame for her situation. Sniffling, Minnie tried to brush off her burdensome sentiments. “But it’s not that bad, even if living like this is not ideal. I love Jo a lot. She’s the light of my life. I just feel stuck sometimes.”
Vanessa shrugged, running her thumb over Minnie’s knuckles soothingly. “We’re still young. We’re not in our thirties yet. We have so much of our lives left to live.”
“I guess you’re right. But I feel like I’m getting so old already,” Minnie laughed. The tension she felt at the beginning of lunch had almost completely faded as she loosened her death grip on the napkin.
With a devious smile, Vanessa playfully responded, “You certainly don’t look it.”
The waiter placed the food down on the table, briefly interrupting the moment. Though it was a little strange for the food to arrive in the middle of the tender conversation, it provided a welcome break from the heavy emotions that Minnie had conjured.
Like the meal before them, the rest of the conversation was much lighter. Vanessa and Minnie exchanged their favorite hilarious childhood stories, fondly reflecting on their strange childhood shenanigans and weird, minor injuries that resulted in embarrassing hospital visits. Their conversation flowed so naturally that anybody observing them would assume they were two long-time friends, catching up after being reunited for the first time in years.
As Minnie left the diner after she and Vanessa split the bill and parted ways, she realized that for the first time since her teenage years, she was finally creating new memories with someone new in the town she had so desperately tried to bury her recollections into.
Although Minnie had enjoyed going to the diner with Vanessa, she wasn’t sure if she would get the opportunity to spend time with her again. The end of Vanessa’s first week was approaching — she could easily choose to leave on Sunday. Minnie tried not to fret about it too much, knowing it was much easier to tell herself she’d deal with it when the time came. It would be better than letting anticipation create turmoil. She would manage and adapt. She always did.
But, on Friday morning, Vanessa stopped by the check-in counter bright and early in the morning and, with her signature bright grin, greeted, “Hey, Min! Are you free this weekend? I was thinking we could hang out in Denver together if you had time.”
Wringing her hands together, Minnie said, “Well, I usually try to take Sundays off if I can… but I have to take care of Jo.”
Vanessa considered this for a second, drumming her fingers against the wooden counter. Then, she proposed, “You could bring her along.”
“Really?” Minnie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I mean, I could drop her off at my parents’ house if needed. I know that having a child around can be a lot and—”
“No worries! Bring her with us. I’d love to meet Jo! I can come by your house to pick you guys up on Sunday morning around 10.”
“That would be perfect! Thank you so much,” Minnie gushed, grinning so wide her cheeks hurt for hours afterward. Vanessa simply gave her a wave to indicate it was really nothing at all. But to Minnie, it meant the entire world.
~
“Who’s coming? Where are we going?” Jo asked, peering around the street to see if any cars were approaching as she and her mother stood outside the apartment complex.
“A nice lady named Vanessa is taking us to Denver! It’s going to be fun.” Minnie squeezed Jo’s hand in hers, hoping it would help calm her nerves. Her free hand flew up to touch her necklace, feeling the soothing coolness of metal against her fingertips.
Sometimes, Minnie had visitors around the apartment or visited others, but they were mostly family members or people Jo had known her entire life. This was the first time in a while that Jo was meeting a new person through Minnie, which meant there was a chance she would be quick to judge Vanessa.
As if on cue, a car pulled up to the sidewalk, and its windows rolled down. Vanessa stuck her head out, cheerfully announcing, “Ride for Ms. Minnie and her lovely daughter Jo?”
“That’s us!” Minnie replied, guiding Jo towards the car. She let her daughter sit in the backseat while she sat next to Vanessa in the front.
“By the way, this is a rental car, so if you could be so kind as to not make a mess, that would be much appreciated,” Vanessa remarked as she rolled up her window and started driving.
“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that. Jo’s not a big troublemaker.”
“Well, we’ll see about that.” Vanessa winked jokingly at Jo in the mirror, earning a delighted giggle from the child.
Soft jazz streamed through the speakers of the car, mixed in with the sounds of Jo fidgeting with her Rubik’s Cube, as the familiar houses in Minnie’s neighborhood sped by. It was strange to think about how, to Vanessa, this neighborhood was uncharted territory, when Minnie had memorized the ins and outs of this place since she was old enough to spell “important.”
“So, have you been to Denver before?” Vanessa inquired, glancing over at Minnie.
“Once or twice, maybe. I definitely don’t know it as well as I should,” Minnie confessed as she tried to recall the last time she visited the city. God, had it been that long since she’d left the town, even just for a day? “Have you?”
Vanessa shook her head, tapping her fingers absentmindedly against the steering wheel. “Nope, but my college roommate is from Denver. She texted me some places around there to visit. That’s actually partly why I decided to stay in Fort Lupton — I wanted to visit Denver, a decent-sized city I’ve never been to, but also stay somewhere kind of remote.”
“I didn’t know Fort Lupton could be considered remote. It’s only half an hour away from Denver. But I guess you New Yorkers consider places without skyscrapers everywhere remote,” Minnie teased as Vanessa turned onto the highway.
The two made small talk during the car ride, and occasionally, Vanessa would include Jo in the conversation, asking her questions about school and whether she agreed with her mother that apples are the best fruit or if she agreed with Vanessa that oranges are the best fruit. (She said neither; strawberries are, and neither of the adults could argue with that.)
Once they arrived in downtown Denver, Vanessa squeezed her car into a parking spot and slid a few coins into the parking meter to keep it satisfied. In the meantime, Minnie held onto Jo’s hand, scared that she would lose her daughter in the streets even though there weren’t many people crowding the sidewalk.
“Let’s go to Bella’s Bakery!” Vanessa suggested, gesturing to the shop down the street. “My friend told me that it has the best pastries in the entire state.”
Vanessa’s friend certainly has good taste, Minnie noted as they walked into the cozy bakery to see an assortment of colorful, creative baked goods in the beautifully decorated glass display case. Upon closer inspection, she grimaced at the high prices, but she figured she could afford to splurge a little, considering how infrequently she visited Denver.
So, per Jo’s excited squealing and insistent pointing at the cinnamon roll decorated like a snail shell, Minnie bought the pastry for her daughter. Vanessa purchased a cake pop decorated with shining edible pearls, while Minnie settled for plain coffee, figuring it might keep her energetic after a long week.
As they ate their pastries together in the bakery, they watched people hurriedly file in and out of the bakery in an almost hypnotic yet oddly calming manner, reinforced by the consistent background chatter of customers having breakfast and brunch in the store. Minnie wished there were more places like this in Fort Lupton, places full of people with a purpose, full of life.
After taking the last bite of her cinnamon roll, Jo happily asked Vanessa, “Where are we going to next?”
“I think there’s a toy shop down the block,” Vanessa grinned as Jo’s eyes lit up. So, of course, the toy shop was the next store on the list.
On the way to the store, Jo held onto Minnie’s hand tightly as she gleefully rambled, “I hope the store has a Lego set! I want a fire station one. Or a library one. Or a city one!”
With a fond look, Vanessa recalled, “I had an apartment Lego set when I was a kid.”
“Really?” Jo gasped in awe.
“I got it for Christmas. It’s one of my favorite Lego sets ever. I still have it in my room at my parents’ house, I think,” Vanessa confirmed. “Maybe one day I can show it to you!”
As they approached the store, Minnie noticed a small bookstore squeezed right next to the toy shop, marveling at the gorgeous books in the display window. Vanessa, noticing Minnie’s longing stare, recommended, “You should go take a look. I can take care of Jo.”
Minnie shook her head, peeling her gaze away from the bookstore. “It’s okay. I’ll come with you guys. I don’t mind.”
“No, really, you should go. Jo will be good, right?” Vanessa offered out a hand to Jo, who clasped her hand around it and nodded vigorously.
Minnie hesitated, but when she couldn’t detect any worry or fear in Jo’s eyes at the prospect of visiting a new place with Vanessa, someone she had just met, she yielded. “Okay then. Jo, be good. I’ll see you soon.”
Jo giddily squealed as she headed towards the toy shop. “I will! Bye, Mom!”
Minnie waved back as her daughter and Vanessa disappeared into the toy store. She stared at its closing door for a moment, wondering if she should have gone with them in case of an emergency before resolutely deciding to be grateful for the time alone Vanessa had just bought her.
As she pushed open the bookstore door, the bell on the handle rang, and the wooden floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she stepped into the shop. Glancing around, she noticed the bookshelves were arranged neatly in rows with minimal space between them, creating a snug ambiance.
From behind the front counter, the shopkeeper, an old lady with a kind smile, addressed Minnie. “Welcome in!”
Minnie acknowledged her with a pleasant smile in return. She wandered through the store, running her fingers along the worn spine of the used books and inhaling the sweet scent of old paper. When she closed her eyes, she almost felt like she was in the only bookstore in her town, which she walked to after school every day and spent hours reading as she waited for her mother to pick her up after work. Her favorite books were bigger than her head, but she still would burn through the pages, absorbing all the information and stories like an eager sponge.
Her mother always told her that she would one day impress the world with her big ideas and her even bigger heart. Now, at the age of 24, as Minnie reached to grab a book off the shelf and slowly flip through the pages, she felt like her mother’s dream for her — as well as her own dream of pursuing education — was fading with every day that passed.
Sighing, Minnie placed the book back on the shelf. Between taking care of Jo and working to cover all the expenses for herself and her daughter, Minnie didn’t have the luxury of immersing herself in the stories she once buried herself deeply in. She yearned for the days when she was just a child finding comfort in words like seeking warmth in a heap of blankets on a cold winter’s morning.
“Find anything you like?” the shopkeeper inquired, folding her hands behind her back gently as her eyes followed Minnie’s hand, which traced the title etched in a book’s hardback spine.
“Oh, um, not really. But thank you,” Minnie informed politely. The shopkeeper looked a little guilty for asking, but it wasn’t her fault that Minnie didn’t know what she was looking for.
After that hasty and slightly humbling exchange, Minnie hurried out of the store, worried she would be overstaying her visit if she continued to browse books without any intention of buying. It was a shame that her brief moments of joy felt overshadowed by her looming worries about her life.
“Mom! Mom! Look what Vanessa bought me!” Jo chirped, running out of the toy store with Vanessa following closely behind. She had wrapped her arms around a large Lego fire station set that emitted rattling sounds as she bounced up and down excitedly.
“Vanessa, did you really buy this? You shouldn’t have,” Minnie gasped, shocked at the size of the toy.
“It’s a thank you gift for letting me spend time with you guys. Especially this little one.” Vanessa patted Jo on the shoulder with a grin.
“Thank you,” Minnie beamed, watching her daughter’s smile grow brighter by the minute as Jo pressed her ear to the box, drinking in the sound of the clattering Legos. She wanted to say more, emphasize how thankful she was for Vanessa’s generosity, but she could see from Vanessa’s dimples that she already knew.
Considering that Jo had an inconveniently sizable Lego box in her arms, the two adults resolved that their brief visit to downtown Denver should conclude. While they headed back to the car, Minnie leaned down closer to Jo. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yeah! Can Vanessa stay with us so we can do this every day?” Jo questioned, the hope in her eyes burning brighter than a newly lit candle.
Although Vanessa was answering Jo’s question, she glanced over at Minnie with a sly smile as she replied, “We’ll see.”
