Chapter 7 - The Place Where Everything Began AgainRebuilding June's Table took six months.
We kept the old oak counter.
We restored the brick.
We rebuilt the kitchen.
We installed new electrical lines while preserving the original light fixtures.
Leah hired six young adults from the foster care program.
She paid them all properly.
She trained them.
She gave them responsibility.
And every morning at 6:00, the smell of biscuits once again filled Hawthorne Street.
I handled the construction.
She handled everything else.
We argued.
A lot.
She wanted yellow walls.
I wanted cream.
She won.
She always won.
One morning, she caught me staring at her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“You're supposed to be working.”
“I am.”
“Looking at me isn't work.”
“It is for me.”
She laughed.
My life had become unrecognizable.
I had once considered solitude peace.
Now I couldn't imagine eating Tuesday breakfast without someone across from me.
One year after the reopening, June's Table became the busiest breakfast restaurant in Bellweather.
The training program expanded.
The foundation grew.
Carter Restoration recovered.
I never became rich.
But I was no longer afraid of not being.
One Saturday morning, Emily returned.
She stood outside the restaurant.
I recognized her instantly.
Leah saw me.
“Who is that?”
“My past.”
Emily approached.
“I heard you rebuilt everything.”
“We did.”
She looked at Leah.
“This must be her.”
“Yes.”
Emily smiled.
“I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“Why you were alone.”
Leah raised an eyebrow.
Emily shook her head.
“He never told me anything.”
“That was the problem.”
She hugged me.
Not romantically.
Just goodbye.
Then she left.
Leah watched her go.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Were you in love with her?”
“Once.”
“And now?”
I looked at her.
“Now I'm home.”
She smiled.
Then she kissed me in front of half the restaurant.
The staff cheered.
May you like
I pretended to hate it.
I didn't.
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