Lacuna (Book two to Attraction)

18.

My car pulls into the parking space of the little diner in Forks, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't incredibly nervous to officially meet Paul's mom, Nelly again. He's my first boyfriend ever aside from when I dated Dylan for two weeks. So I've never met a boyfriends parents before, this is just kind of nerve wracking... I don't want to say the wrong thing or come off as ridiculous.

My eyes flicker to the rear view mirror as I do one more check on my makeup before getting out of the car and enter the restaurant. I look around the room until I see Nelly sitting down at a booth near a window, she grins happily when she spots me.
I give her a shy smile before going over to her table and taking a seat.

"Hi! It's so lovely to see you again. It's Willow, right?" She asks eagerly.

"That's me, and it's really good to see you again too." I reply softly.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you are... Paul really got lucky when he met you." She compliments.

"Thank you so much," I bashfully reply. "You're really beautiful, too."

Nelly is beautiful. Her eyebrows are neatly shaped, and she her dark hair has grown since I last saw her, it's much longer now. She has a small forehead, a nose that looks similar to Paul's, and pretty straight white teeth. She looks so young, on top of it all. If I had to guess I'd say maybe in her thirties. But what age did she have Paul then? If she's this pretty, I wonder what his dad must look like, they created the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

A tall waiter comes over our table, he gives Nelly and I two menus to look through.

"What can I get you started off with to drink?" He asks as he pulls out a notepad and a pen.

"I'll have a chai tea latte, please." I tell him, he writes it down.

"And for you?" He asks Nelly.

"I'll have the caramel macchiato." She responds, he nods his head before writing her drink down.

"I'll have those right out." He tells us leaving us to talk at the booth.

Nelly turns to face me now, her pretty brown eyes peering curiously into my own. She gives me a friendly smile before glancing down at the table and looking back up at me again.

"So, how did you and Paul meet?" She asks inquisitively.

"It's kind of a funny story, actually." I tell her, "When I was working at a diner in Forks, we quite literally bumped into each other."

"Oh my goodness, how sweet. Did he give you his number?" She continues.

"One of his friends left it for me on the table after they left, I called it and we began talking. The rest is history." I explain as I smile at the sweet memory.

"That is such a sweet story. How long have you guys been together?" She puzzles.

"We have been together for about a year. Well, it will be a year this coming August." I reply.

Our waiter comes back with our drinks in his hands as he sets them down on the table.

"And did you guys want to order anything to eat or are you good on the coffee right now?" He asks looking between us.

"Can I get a blueberry muffin?" Nelly replies.

"Sure, I'll have that right out for you." He tells her.

"I'm good for now, thanks." I respond calmly.

Our waiter leaves the table leaving Nelly and I alone again.

"Wow... So almost a year. That's great. Congratulations on the engagement by the way, I was so happy when I heard the news." She smiles at me.

"Thank you so much, we're really happy." I tell her cheerfully.