The Promise of Paradise - By Allie Boniface Page 0,64

into the lot behind the restaurant. That thought felt right. That thought, she could believe and find comfort in.

When she got home from her shift, she’d go see him. Maybe they could talk rationally. Maybe she could convince him that whatever he’d seen on the porch wasn’t the whole truth. Maybe, with tiny steps, they could sift through their feelings and the lies that she’d told. Maybe, just looking up at him, feeling his hands on hers again, would help her make a decision.

Baby steps. Just get yourself through the next few hours. You’ll be fine. He'll be fine.

She skipped over a puddle, not knowing that this time, she was wrong.

* * *

Near the end of the lunch shift, the crowd at Blues and Booze finally trickled to a stop. With a single family in a booth and a couple of guys at the bar, the two waitresses headed into the kitchen. Ash leaned against the stainless steel counter, exhausted and starving. She grabbed a packet of soup crackers and realized she hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast. Since before she’d gotten the phone call from Marty. Since before she’d walked her way through town only to return home and find Colin waiting for her, with an engagement ring and a promise of forever. Crackers fell from her hand and made a yellow crumb pile on the counter. Without the distraction of taking orders and running food, the memories returned, painfully sharp. Had all that happened just today? It seemed as though a thousand hours had passed since she woke up.

“Everything okay?” Lacey began refilling ketchup bottles.

“Fine.”

“I heard Marty asked you to take over full-time.”

Ash didn’t answer. News traveled fast. Too fast, sometimes.

“So are you thinking about it?”

“I don't know. I never really planned on staying in town.” She grabbed a pile of napkins, fresh from the dry cleaner. “I only sublet my apartment for the summer.” Edge to edge, fold once and then twice. Her fingers followed the rhythm that had become second nature that summer.

Lacey chuckled. “Yeah. Funny how plans change, huh?”

Ash finished folding and carried an armful of napkins to the closet. On her way back, she took a detour to the ladies’ room. She didn’t feel like making conversation, even with Lacey. How was she supposed to answer Marty’s question with Colin’s hanging over her? Sinking onto the toilet seat, she sighed and rubbed her legs. The ring, still in her pocket, dug into her thigh. She pulled it out. Look at it fifty different ways, think about all the things it meant she had to choose, it still was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she’d ever seen.

“Marry me…make me the happiest guy in the world…”

The door banged open, and a pair of feet appeared in the stall beside her. “Ash? J.T. said Marty called, wants us to close up early today.”

“Why?” She glanced at her watch. Almost four. She wasn’t ready to go home. She wasn’t ready to see Eddie, to call Colin, to make any kind of decision. She wanted to wait until the wee hours, tomorrow’s dawn maybe. Not mid-afternoon of a gray, lifeless day. She flushed and headed for the sinks, avoiding her reflection in the mirror.

“Guess the storm’s pretty bad,” Lacey said. “Shoot. I could have used the dinner shift. Lunch tips weren’t so good.”

Ash lathered up and watched the soap swirl into the drain. I wish I could do that. I wish I could just vanish in a whirlpool until I sort out my life. Hide in a dark hole until things on the outside made sense again. She frowned. Except she’d come to Paradise with the intention of doing just that, and look where it had gotten her. Her shoulders hunched up. Maybe you couldn’t ever run away from your life. Maybe the big choices did follow you no matter where you went.

Back in the bar, J.T. nodded over his toothpick when she asked about the weather.

“Yep. Marty said the bridge to Forestburg’s under water. He’s stuck down in Salem overnight. Plus the news said there are a couple of accidents on the other side of town. He said to forget it, go on home.”

Outside, lightning sliced the street into jagged white pieces, and the rain poured down, heavier than ever. Ash nodded. If she were calling the shots, she'd say the same thing. No use staying open. The way this weather looked, she couldn’t imagine anyone in Paradise leaving the comfort of their couches.

The telephone rang.

“Blues and