Friends and Lovers

The next morning, Dani found herself waking up worried that she had overslept for school before her brain righted itself. Living in her old bedroom in the house in Gladewater was like being in a time capsule. Her aunt hadn’t changed a thing. Pink painted walls, Luke Perry and John Stamos posters, and her purple beaded curtains on the big windows were just as they had been when she left.

She supposed she hadn’t been back enough to worry about trying to modernize it and make it more grown up. She lazily wondered if she should try to do a little updating now. After grabbing a quick shower, she pulled her red curls out of her face with a headband and put on her hospital ‘uniform’ of yoga pants, a T-shirt and Toms. She grabbed her small wristlet and headed to the hospital to meet Zane.

At 11 o’clock on the dot, Zane came breezing into the hospital lobby. He managed to look casual and professional at the same time. Today he wore a tan blazer over dark jeans and a navy T-shirt. His sun-kissed, light brown hair touched his collar and with his beat-up leather messenger bag, he gave off a professorial vibe. Dani had always thought his whiskey-colored eyes made whoever he was talking to feel they were his only priority. Just seeing him always brought a smile to her lips and decreased her blood pressure a few degrees. Too bad she’d never been able to see him as more than a friend. They’d had one almost chaste kiss at a Christmas party several years ago, but both agreed afterwards it was like kissing a sibling. No chemistry at all but she was so thankful to have him as a good friend.

“Hey, you!” She gave him a quick hug. “You don’t know how grateful I am that you could come down.”

“Anything for you, Dani.” He grabbed her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. “Now let’s go see Lu and alleviate your concerns.” She gave his arm a squeeze and led him to her aunt’s room.

Forty-five minutes later, after an exam, a review of records and lots of conversation with Lu and Eustace, Zane pronounced her aunt to be doing as well as she seemed to be.

“Really, Dani,” he promised. “She looks great! A real testament to the power of positive thinking, hard work, and a lot of prayer. I don’t see any random shoes dropping anywhere in the vicinity!”

Dani fought back the sudden moisture that gathered in her eyes. “You just don’t know what a relief it is to hear you say that, Zane.”

Zane put his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, none of that. She’s fantastic! How could it be any different with you fighting for her?” After a quick squeeze, he turned her to face him. “So where is this amazing food you promised me? My brain needs fuel!”

Dani laughed, scrubbing the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “Alright, let’s go feed that giant brain of yours!”

She took Zane on the quick tour through town and ended on Main Street. Johnson’s Feed & Seed, Ingram’s General Store, The Stitch Witch yarn shop and Betty Jo’s Bakery were still there just like she remembered. Their goal today, however, was the newest business on the street. Common Grounds was a café owned and operated by her oldest friend, Maggie, and her brother, JT.

“This is the place,” she told Zane as she parked and they climbed out of Pearl. “I have it on good authority that we can’t miss the chocolate croissants.”

“Mmmmm…Sounds good to me!” Zane licked his lips appreciatively. “You know I can never turn down a good pastry.”

“I know! And I don’t know how you stay in such good shape eating like you do.” She playfully poked his rock-hard abs as they walked toward the door.

“Don’t be a hater, Dani.” He rubbed his stomach where she poked him and grinned rakishly. “I’m blessed with a good metabolism and a workplace with an onsite gym!”

The bell tinkled over the door as they entered the café. A waitress, who introduced herself as Sofia, showed them to a table next to the big picture windows and gave them brown, kraft paper menus.

“The quiche lorraine is on special today and it’s to die for,” Sofia gushed. “The chocolate croissants are also amazing. They are made in-house by our chef!”

“We’ve heard we can’t miss the croissants,” Dani began, “but I’d like to start with….”

Just as she was about to order the quiche and a Diet Dr. Pepper, she heard an excited scream from across the room.

“Dani!” A small woman with chestnut hair and a pink, cotton shirtwaist dress barreled across the room toward Dani with her arms outstretched.

As she was engulfed in a hug, a huge smile overtook Dani’s face. “Hey Maggie! I finally made it in.”

Maggie held her at arms’ length and looked her up and down. “You haven’t changed a bit! I can’t believe you’re finally here in my place! It’s been killing me to know you were in town and not seeing you but I know how busy you’ve been with Miss Lu. Did Eustace get the King Ranch casserole we sent?”

“He did and I’m lucky I got a bite! And I’m sorry about not getting in here sooner, Maggie, truly. I’ve wanted to get by but once I’m out of the hospital for the day, I’ve only had enough energy to go fall into bed.” Dani hugged her friend again. “Now that Aunt Lu is getting close to being released, I hope we can get together for a girls’ night soon.”

“Anytime, Dani, anytime.” Maggie turned her beaming smile toward Zane. “And who do we have here?”

“Maggie, I’d like you to meet one of my very best friends from Dallas, Dr. Zane Savage. “Zane, this is Maggie, my best friend from, well, forever!”

“Very nice to meet you, Maggie. Dani’s told me so much about you,” Zane said as he stood and held out his hand.

Maggie took the large, proffered hand with her own petite one. “Well, charmed I’m sure.”

Dani studied the tableau for a moment. Wait, did Maggie actually blush? But before she could lock down the look, it was gone.

“Where is JT?” Dani asked. “I was hoping to see him today as well.” Dani turned to Zane, who may or may not have had a small frown on his face. “JT is the chef. He was also the chief instigator of mischief when we were kids.”

“Oh, so you and JT run this place together,” Zane said, the wattage on his smile dimming a bit.

“We do, we opened it right after I got home from college and he finished culinary school.” Maggie beamed proudly. “JT, come see who it is!”

A man with tousled blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes popped his head out of the kitchen door. His face lit up with a 1000-watt smile as he shot across the café, a large spatula still in his hand.

“Dani!” He hollered and grabbed her up in his arms, swinging her around and barely missing the people at the next table. “You’re here!”

“Good to see you, too, JT!” Dani laughed as he dropped her back to her feet.

They stood there smiling stupidly at each other until Zane cleared his throat and stuck out a hand in JT’s direction. “Zane Savage. I’m a friend of Dani’s.”

JT raised his eyebrows at Dani as he switched the spatula to his left hand and shook with Zane. “JT. Maggie’s brother. Nice to meet you! Any friend of Dani’s is a friend of ours.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Zane parroted as his boyish grin returned full force on learning JT was Maggie’s brother.

“Uh, sorry! You had me in the air so fast I didn’t get to introduce you,” Dani said, smiling, and giving JT a small punch in the arm. “Zane is a neurologist from my hospital in Dallas. I asked him to come check out Aunt Lu and make sure she was really ready to transition home.”

“Ahh, it’s good Miss Lu has all these people looking out for her! You let me know when she’s getting out and I’ll have some meals made up for the freezer.” JT winked at Dani. “Or did they teach you to cook in that nursing school of yours? If I remember correctly, there was that little incident with the actual boiling of water…”

“I was nine,” Dani said with exasperation. “You are never going to let me live that down are you? I can remember plenty of times….”

Before they could continue to rehash embarrassing stories, Maggie remembered she had interrupted their order. “Oh my goodness, I ran over here and took over before you even got food! What kind of hostess am I?”

She motioned everyone back to the table and turned to Sofia who had been waiting patiently during the reunion. “Bring us some of that quiche, Sofia, please, and a couple of JT’s croissants before they’re all gone. Oh, and a coffee carafe and a large Diet Dr. Pepper.” She raised her eyebrow at Dani inquiringly.

“Yep, still an addict.” Dani laughed.

“You do know about her addiction and her blatant refusal to drink the elixir of life and are still her friend, right?” Maggie stage whispered to Zane playfully.

Zane pulled a mockingly heartbroken face. “Yes, it’s a tragic flaw but I give her the benefit of my friendship anyway.” He shook his head lamentably but then his eyes flashed with humor and his lips quirked into a smile.

As they all took a seat and her friends continued to banter at her expense, Dani couldn’t believe the joy bubbling up from her in seeing her old friends. She and Maggie had been joined at the hip from the time she moved to Gladewater until they left for college. JT was always around teasing them or leading them into childish troubles. She still vividly remembered the first time she met Maggie.

The doorbell had rung when Dani had been in Gladewater for about a week. When Dani’s aunt answered the door, another little girl, about her same age, with chestnut braids and big brown eyes stood on the front porch in front of them. Dani’s green ones peeked out from behind her aunt’s skirts in curiosity.

“I lost my front tooth and got a whole $1 from the tooth fairy!” the little bundle of energy in pink said, zoning in on Dani as soon as the door opened. She smiled widely to show off the hole where the tooth had been. “Do you like pink? I love pink!” She did a twirl showing off her pink tutu skirt. “And unicorns! I love them too! My name’s Maggie! What’s your name?” She completed the introduction in what seemed like a single breath before the grown-ups could even say their hellos.

“Good grief, Margaret Elizabeth, mouth!” her mama, Mrs. Wade, had said with an exasperated breath, rolling her eyes heavenward and handing Lu a buttermilk pie. Mrs. Wade was known in town as the “Martha Stewart of the South” and trying to rein in the natural exuberance of her little daughter with the over the top personality was a constant struggle for her. Dani, however, was immediately caught in Maggie’s spell.

“Dani,” she had responded quietly, the word pulled out of her by the sheer force of the big personality in front of her. Her aunt threw a surprised hand to her mouth, astonished to finally hear the little voice.

“I know we’re going to be best friends!” the gap-toothed little girl exclaimed….and they were.

Now, here they were, back together again, eating and talking as fast as they could, trying to catch up and Zane was doing his best to keep up. God, how I’ve missed this. These people know the real me. I shouldn’t have stayed away so long.

“I’m so glad to hear Miss Lu is doing better,” Maggie said with a smile.

“She’s still a pistol!” Dani smiled with pride in her aunt. “She’s proven all those doctors wrong. She’s almost ready to come home. That’s why Zane is here. I wanted to make sure she is as good as she seems to be before they release her. I’ve moved back into my old room for a while to help them out and make sure her rehab is moving along like it should.”

“I hate that a stroke was what it took to get you back to Gladewater,” Maggie said, wringing her hands a little. She looked back up at her friend with true happiness shining from her eyes. “But I’m surely glad to see you again.”

Before they knew it, lunch was finished and two hours had elapsed.

“Oh, Zane, I’m so sorry,” Dani said, looking at her watch. “You should have said something! I didn’t mean to keep you here all afternoon.”

Zane just smiled his long, lazy smile. “Now what do reports have over an afternoon with two beautiful, charming ladies? I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” And because it was Zane saying it, she knew he meant it.

“Oh, I hate you have to leave,” Maggie said, standing up from the table and calling to the kitchen where JT had returned to cooking for the lunch rush, “Say bye, JT!”

“Bye, JT!” He called and they laughed and rolled their eyes at his old joke. Maggie hugged Dani then stood smoothing her dress, turning to Zane “I’m so glad to have met you, Zane. I hope you enjoyed your lunch.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Tell your brother I really enjoyed his food.” He reached for her hand, enveloping it in both of his, to shake again. “I’ll be sure to come by the next time I’m in town.”

Maggie’s smile widened and she glanced at him under her eyelashes. “I certainly will tell him and it’s been a pleasure having you.”

Dani studied them again. Hmmmm….this was turning into a very interesting day.

The old friends hugged again. “I’ll call you and I’ll definitely come by later in the week!”

Maggie watched Dani and Zane leave the café and climb into a pearl white Mercedes convertible. She hoped that Dani would stay long enough for that Dr. Savage to come back to visit again. More though, she hoped Gladewater could keep her friend here now that she was back. She’d missed her terribly and though they kept up over the phone, it wasn’t the same as getting together in person. She had never really understood why Dani had stayed away. She could understand not wanting to run into Levi but he’d been gone for years, until recently. A frown creased her forehead. She wasn’t sure how she should break the news that Levi was back in town, too.