Ginny Carney has been running since she was 17; running from the small town that stifled her, from her 'wild child' reputation, and from the boy she left behind. Now 25 Ginny finds herself a college dropout with no job, no boyfriend and forced to m...
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June put up the new menu with the espresso drinks listed on it that day she was so excited to start serving "all those fancy big city coffee drinks." People had different reactions to seeing that I was back in town. A lot of the people I had hung around in high school had never managed to get out of the town and because they'd never left a lot of the guys I saw had never had to grow up and seemed excited I was back assuming I was still the wild crazy Ginny I had always been. The girls, who were now my old friends' wives were less excited to see me. I'd only had one girlfriend throughout my teenage years, the other girls had been all about the church and doing what was polite and proper and I'd isolated myself from most of them with the choices I'd made.
When the girl who I had considered my best friend until I'd left her behind too walked into the bakery I almost didn't recognize her. Her hair was darker and piled on the top of her head, she was wearing significantly less makeup than had been normal for her in high school and she was softer around the middle and lugging around a stroller from which a small baby was crying. She didn't notice me right away, she was busy parking the stroller by a corner table and picking up her fussing baby. She looked up and caught my eye as she walked towards the counter and stopped in her tracks. I couldn't tell if she was just surprised or if she was about to get angry with me.
"Ginny?" she finally choked out and resumed bouncing the baby in her arms, "What are you doing here?" She asked and completed her approach to the counter. June was baking in the back so I had been left to man the front of the store by myself.
"Hey Beth. I'm, um, working here now. The city didn't really work out in the end." I said lamely.
"Wow, so you're back for good then" she said still being a little cold.
"At least until I get back on my feet" I said, it was still embarrassing for me to admit I was struggling. "Can I, um, get you something?" I gestured awkwardly to the case of baked goods.
"Right, yeah, just a tea and an apple turnover, just needed to get out of the house" she smiled apprehensively just slightly opening up. Maybe she didn't hate me after all. I started preparing her tea and warming up her pastry.
"And who's this?" I asked smiling at her now happily babbling baby.
"Oh, this is Cindy" she said her face immediately lighting up,
"She's gorgeous" I said, "Want me to bring this over to your table?" I asked and she nodded.
"Thank you" she smiled at me and I thought that maybe we'd be ok. "You want to hold her?" She said catching me smiling at Cindy again.
"Oh, sure" I said, "I don't have to" I quickly added. I don't think anyone would have trusted the Ginny she would remember with their baby.
"Here, go ahead, it will give me a chance to eat with both hands for once. She handed me the baby and I perched her on my hip and she promptly grabbed a fistful of my hair. "You're a natural" Beth smiled at me. There was no one else in the bakery so I sat down across from Beth, I'd feel weird about walking away with her child.
