18
1015 Words
As I pull away from him, I smile—a real, genuine smile that spreads across my face so widely, my cheeks hurt. I haven't smiled like this in a long time, and it feels good to finally feel truly happy again.
"Let's go." Charlie says softly, after a moment, reaching over me and unbuckling my seatbelt before quickly popping free his own. I nod, gulping, my heart still racing and my cheeks still flushed.
We walk into Conway Diner together, the cool air conditioning enticing us inside, as well as the strumming of guitars as a live band performs on stage.
We move towards a booth, and a waitress places our drink orders—a Diet Coke for me, water with lemon for him.
"Diet Coke, huh?" Charlie asks with a smirk, looking across at me with a curious look in his eyes.
"I'm an addict," I admit, shaking my head. "I honestly can't get enough of the stuff. Seriously. Mary Anne had to establish a no-soda rule in the house after she and Matt introduced me to it. I'd never had soda before, so it was a huge discovery—and they let me have some when it's finals week, just because."
Charlie laughs out loud at this, a smile liberating his features.
"Your parents sound incredible." He says, grinning. "I'll have to meet them soon."
"Oh, they'll love you." I say, without missing a beat, and he looks pleasantly surprised at my response. "Really, Charlie, they'll absolutely adore you."
"Well, don't set any standards that I can't reach." He jokes.
"You're right, I might be pushing it." I reply sarcastically, pausing a moment before saying, "They'll tolerate you, at the very least."
"That's all I ask for."
The waitress comes back with our drinks, setting them on the table and giving us time to go over the menu. Charlie picks up his, scanning the items quickly. I, however, turn my attention to the band.
"Thank you for having us tonight, Conway!" Says the lead singer, a little too enthusiastically—after all, he is addressing a fairly small crowd. Nevertheless, a smattering of applause rings throughout the diner. "We have a few more songs for you all, and then we're calling it a night, but for now—we invite you to sing and dance your heart out while the night is still young!"
Some cheers and whoops sound at this, and I notice that a large space has been cleared out in the middle of a diner. Furrowing my brow, I glance back up at the band, who are beginning to strum the opening chords of a song I don't quite recognize.
Smile, the worst is yet to come
We'll be lucky if we ever see the sun
Got nowhere to go, we could be here for a while
But the future is forgiven, so smile
I redirect my gaze to Charlie, who is chuckling to himself.
"Of all the songs they could have played." he murmurs, and I arch a brow.
"What's so special about this one?"
"My mom used to sing it all the time, especially when it first came out. Said it made her happy."
I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, taking a long sip of Diet Coke before glancing back up at him.
"Your mom. Is she—"
"She's alive," he says quickly, and I can feel myself flush in embarrassment. "She's alive, Hailey. She just—she doesn't sing anymore."
"Why not?" I ask softly, and he offers up a sad smile.
"She doesn't have a reason to." Charlie murmurs, sucking in his cheek for a moment before conceding with, "It doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that we're missing out on a great song."
I frown, slowly adjusting to the direct change in conversation, but he is already on his feet, his hand outstretched over the table.
"Dance with me?"
I break out into another smile, taking his hand in mine as he leads me out onto the floor to join the others.
We're trying so hard to get it all right
But only feel lonely at the end of the night
I wanna be somewhere away from this place
Yeah, somewhere just a little closer to grace
Charlie moves me into him, his arm locking around my waist, the other raised in the air as we move—slowly at first, but gradually getting the hang of it, to the point where we are both able to sway to the beat of the song.
I'll smile, the worst is yet to come
We'll be lucky if we ever see the sun
Got nowhere to go, we could be here for a while
But the future is forgiven, so smile
________
I could stay like this forever.
Her head on my shoulder, my arm around her waist, everything fitting and locking into place as we dance. It's like time slows down, like there is nothing in this moment apart from me and her and the music—the entire world could be falling apart and I wouldn't care, I wouldn't care at all, because I am exactly where I want to be.
Well, call me loser, call me thief
Tell me I'm special when you spit at me
'Cause I don't wanna be lonely, I wanna be loved
And I want you to hold me like I'm the only one
I've always listened the lyrics of this song, especially when Mom would go around the house humming and singing along to it, all day long, but things are different this time. Now, I am not only listening to the words, but I am hearing them. For the first time in my life, I am understanding why this made my mother so happy.
And why it doesn't anymore.
But here I am—dancing along to a song from my past with Hailey Richards, a girl I never dreamed I would even come close to having a shot with. Here I am, reminiscing and living and loving, all at once.
The past and the present have collided once more.
- Writer
