Lainey orders soup and a sandwich, with a side of fries, and I give in to the rumbling in my stomach and get a burger and onion rings. Dolly scribbles the orders down on her notepad and then taps her little stub of a pencil on the polished surface of the tabletop.
“It’s funny, Everett couldn’t be more different from his father, that no good bastard.”
So much for moving on, but now my interest is piqued.
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
Dolly makes a face. “His father used to be the sheriff of Silver Falls.”
“Not a good one, I’m guessing?”
“Not even close.”
There’s definitely more to the story, but Cora comes back over just then, and Dolly is distracted by cooing over her andasking her what she wants to eat. Cora points to a picture of a hot dog on the menu, and Dolly beams.
“Coming right up, sweetheart. I’ll have everything out for you all in just a bit.” She dashes off to put our orders in, and Cora climbs back into the booth next to me. She entertains herself scribbling on the back of the coloring page with the crayons at the table for kids to amuse themselves with, and I feel that warmth that’s getting to be familiar now. Every time Cora gets to do something that a normal kid would do, a kid not bogged down by trauma and loss, something unclenches inside me. And then clenches back up because I remember this can’t last.
Maybe one day we can find a place that’s safe where she can just be a kid and not have to be on the run with me, but right now…
I’m shaken out of my thoughts by the server coming over with the food, and I thank him softly as we settle in to eat.
Lainey crumbles oyster crackers into her potato soup and then smiles at me as she stirs it around. “So…” she says.
“So?”
“How’s living with my brother going for you? I know he’s enjoying having you guys there, but I can imagine it’s been an adjustment for you.”
I dump some ketchup on my plate and dip an onion ring into it, keeping one eye on Cora as she squirts mustard onto her hot dog.
“It’s been… good,” I admit. “Cora’s settled in and comfortable, which is the most important thing.”
“That is important,” Lainey agrees. “But are you settled in and comfortable?”
I don’t know how to answer that really. I can’t remember the last time I was settled or comfortable. But I’m not about to give Lainey the whole sob story in the middle of this diner, so I just force a smile.
“It’s definitely better than the motel,” I say.
She laughs at that. “Low bar. I’ll tell Lincoln he needs to start doing room service or something.”
“I doubt he has the time.”
“True. For such a small town, sometimes things are busy, busy, busy. Speaking of, have you heard about the Summer Festival?”
“Vaguely? I’ve seen flyers for it at the bar and around town.”
“It’s your usual small town celebration,” Lainey says. “But it’s always a good time. You guys should come. I bet Cora would love it.”
Cora is currently distracted, putting fries onto her hot dog and trying to fit it into her mouth. I grab a napkin and wipe mustard off her little fingers. “Smaller bites, baby,” I tell her softly, and she turns those big brown eyes onto me, but stops trying to eat her whole meal in one go.
“Maybe,” I tell Lainey. “There’s a lot to do.”
She pops a fry into her mouth and smiles. “Well, your three housemates are definitely going. Cash wouldn’t let them miss it. He loves this kind of stuff.”
“Festivals?”
“Yup. Festivals, barbeques, any excuse to celebrate and enjoy himself. And he likes to see other people enjoying themselves too.”
“I have noticed that.”