Where Love Finds You (The Unspoken Series) (19 page)

“Maybe she’s not as into him as you think.”

I shrugged, looked around at the art on the walls, the books on the shelves in the corner, the cute tables and chairs I picked out, the sign on the door. “I had so much hope when I started this place.”

“You don’t have hope anymore?”

“I do. It’s just different. My hope is to truly live one day at a time. To enjoy life regardless of whether I’m single or married. The hope of him died.”

“Yes, but I guess this is the closure you needed to move on with your life.”

I lifted my body on to the counter and pulled my feet up. “Closure. Yes. This chapter has finally ended, but it wasn’t the ending I was hoping for.”

“Well, like I said before, sometimes you have to stop being so idealistic and realize that love doesn’t always end up like the movies.”

“It doesn’t always, but it does sometimes. Tylissa and Mwenye have a beautiful movie-like romance. And the most beautiful thing is that it gets more beautiful every day. They are the most devoted people I’ve ever met. Devoted to love, to each other, to others.”

“Let me help you keep things in perspective here. The guy you spotted across the coffee shop years ago. He is getting married to someone else. It was a strange and odd dream you had. To really believe you would find this guy and fall in love. It could happen, I guess, but what are the chances? I know, I know, that’s why you named this place
Chances
. That’s why you stopped taking chances and lived within these walls waiting for him. But the reality is he is in love with someone else. It doesn’t end there, though. The other piece of this reality is that you are free to fall in love with someone else now, and there’s no reason you can’t walk out this door right now, trip over the curb, and land in Prince Charming’s arms.”

I laughed. “Wow. What a speech. The ending is definitely Ella-esque.”

“There’s always Patrick.”

“No, no, no. Absolutely not Patrick.”

“He is so charming. And depressed. And lonely. Cheer him up and live happily ever after.”

“That’s, um, quite the romance if you ask me.” I hopped off the counter and took the coffee she handed me. “It’s not Patrick. No idea who, if anyone, the man for me will be. But I have to say I kind of like the mystery in this.”

My phone beeped. When would his name stop making me feel like I lost a part of myself?

“Who’s that? You look like you saw an apparition float out of your phone.”

I showed her the screen.

“Wow,” she said. “That has to be the most over the top proposal I have ever seen in my life.”

“Yes. He played one of her favorite songs for her with all those petals around.”

  The phone beeped and she handed it to me
.

I turned my phone off and sighed. “He wants to invite me to their wedding.”

“Sounds delightful.” She sipped her coffee and looked around the room. “So what do we do first? Take down the pictures? What are you taking? And what are you going to do next?”

I stood in front of the painting of Matt and Lydia. “Well, I’ll start here. Keep these as we take them down. I want to give them back to the artists.”

“Okay.” Dee started at the other end of the shop. “So, what are you doing next?”

“You know what, Dee? I have no idea. I’m letting this place go. Letting my past go. And I’m just going to wake up tomorrow and see what the day has for me.”

“That sounds nice, but you need another job.”

“I know. I am considering moving away from Philly, using the money I’ve saved to start another company. Not sure what. Something different. Something opposite of running a coffee shop.”

“Understandable.”

Together we lifted all of the art work off the walls until we reached each other. The bare walls spoke of a newness I couldn’t describe. Thoughts warred against each other in my mind though. Constant tug-of-war between excitement and sadness. I spent the last decade standing in front of a door, admiring the beauty of what I believed I’d see if I walked inside. Finally my moment came. The door creaked and a slight breeze blew it open. The inside didn’t look as beautiful as I imagined, but before I could really see inside the door slammed in my face. Locked. Never to be opened again.

There’s an excitement when you walk away from such doors. You know they’re closed forever and you walk away looking up again. You spent so long staring at the door, wondering what lived inside, that you forgot about the trees, the clouds, the sunlight casting shadows on the earth. And a new excitement birthed inside of me. An excitement as I walked from the door and saw the beauty I missed for so long.

But with that came a heaviness. A deep ache. Lost in a swirling mix of emotions, I knew the truth as much as I didn’t want to. Dreams die, yes, I saw that now. But it took all I had to not allow hope to die along with them.

Dee and I spent the entire day closing down the shop. A few people knocked on the door, asked what happened. We explained and they went on their merry way. Seconds after we flipped the light switch to call it a night we heard another knock at the window. A sleek woman and a cameraman stood outside, waving, smiling. 

“Oh, great,” I said, not budging.

Dee opened the door. “Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, we’d like to interview Ella about the shop and what she plans to do next.”

I inched toward the door. “Why not broadcast the losing hand to the entire casino?”

Dee laughed. “Go for it.”

I walked outside and introduced myself.

“This is going to be live,” she said. “So try to speak quick and to the point. We don’t have much time.”

“Remind me why this is interesting enough for the news?” I said as she flipped my hair in front of my shoulder.

“Anything is. It’s a story. Stories are always interesting.”

I’ll give her something really interesting, I thought. “Here’s to you, Patrick.”

“Ready?” she said, cuing the camera guy and holding the speaker in her ear.

Lydia wanted to spend the next few days enjoying each other and not rushing into wedding plans, but I couldn’t help it. We sat on my couch, her body tucked under my arm and her legs wrapped around my legs. 

“Let’s get married in the spring. It’s only a few months from now. Gives us enough time to plan.”

“Okay.” She waved her finger at me. “But nothing extravagant. I don’t want a ton of people and a big party. This is our love we’re celebrating and only people who have been supportive and part of our story should be there.”

“I agree. A small, intimate wedding sounds better anyway. I don’t want to walk away feeling exhausted that night.”

Gavin walked in the door, suit and tie and everything. “Look at you two love birdies, chirping away.”

“Hey, Gavin,” Lydia said. 

“How was your day?” I chimed in. “Did you get the job for the theatre?”

“Don’t know yet.” He slumped into the couch across from us, loosened his tie, and flicked on the television. “Long day. Wondering with you two lovebirds leaving the nest soon if I should find a new tree to live in.”

“Where would you go?” Lydia said.

“No idea. I guess I’d be like Gump. Just start running.”

“That would be interesting.” I said, then noticed a familiar face on the television screen. “Hey, look.”

“We’re here tonight with Ella Rhodes from
Chances
. This is her last night at the cafe. And not too long ago it was her first. This entire block will soon be bought out and turned into yet another parking garage. Ella, do you plan on relocating?”

“I don’t have any plans.”

“What made you start this place? Is it sad to see it turned into a parking garage so soon?”

“A little. Years ago I came to this cafe as a customer. I sat down by the window right here.” She pointed behind her. “And I saw a young man at the time who caught my eye and had kept my heart since. I fell in love with him without ever speaking to him. When I started
Chances
I did so in hopes of seeing him walk in the door one day and into my life.”

“Did he?”

“Yes.”

“And what happened?”

“He walked back out. I escorted him to the door and back to the woman he’s meant to be with, which isn’t me. We were set up on a blind date after he became a familiar customer here and after seeing how much he loved this girl and didn’t remember me, I had to let him go. Just like I have to let
Chances
go, too.”

I looked at Gavin. Lydia looked at me. Standing up, I covered my mouth with my hands. I knew Ella looked familiar. My heart flopped around my chest like a fish out of water.

“Lydia,” I said. “It’s not what you think.”

I looked at Gavin. His eyes were glued to the screen. Glued to the story unfolding in front of us. We waited the last ten years to turn the page.

The news segment ended. Ella’s face disappeared. Replaced by two make-upped faces sitting at a desk, mesmerized with the story Ella told. The story that seemed too unreal to be real.

But it was real.

“Gavin?”

Eyes still on the screen, he wiped a single tear from his cheek. 

“I’ve been waiting ten years for this moment,” he said, then ran right out the front door and out of view.

I looked at Lydia. “We have to follow him. Ella is the girl he’s been waiting for. They saw each other across the coffee shop years ago. I mean, years ago. He hasn’t talked about her much. Didn’t want to get his hopes up. That’s definitely her. And the fact that she started Chances just to see him again. I can’t believe this.”

“Let’s go.” Lydia stood. “I can’t miss this. I think I’m going to cry, too.”

We made our way out of the apartment building and to the busy city street. The evening sun painted the buildings gold. A perfect night.

We jogged to catch up to Gavin, but didn’t see him. Finally, out of breath, Lydia and I stopped in front of
Chances
. I tugged the door. Nothing. Lights out. A cafe once filled with the aroma of coffee and signs of life, now vacant.

“There he is,” Lydia said, pointing across the street.

Leaned up against a building, Gavin shook his head. We waited for cars to clear and crossed the street.

“Hey, don’t look so down,” I said. “You forgot she still has your artwork and probably plans to return it to you.”

“How? She doesn’t have my address.”

“Good point.”

Lydia tapped my shoulder. “Can’t you call Dee? Or Sarah?”

Gavin grabbed Lydia’s arms and kissed her cheek. “Brilliant. Why didn’t we think of that?”

“I really have no idea.” She smiled and linked her fingers with mine. “Silly men.”

Gavin searched his phone for Sarah’s number and called five times in a row. No answer. I tried Dee. Five times. No answer.

“Wait a second. I have Ella’s number.” I looked at Gavin’s bright face. “But she thinks I’m you. No wonder she hasn’t responded to my texts since we met.”

“Give me your phone,” he said. “I want to call her myself.”

I handed it to him, but Lydia swiped it. “That is not the way you want to go about this. Trust me. We have her number. We can get in touch with her. Let’s make this more romantic than an awkward phone call.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Just as long as it doesn’t beat my proposal.”

“It’s a good idea, but I can’t wait that long. I’ve waited years for this. Kept everything bottled inside like a shaken soda can about to pop. It’s killing me. I have to see her right now.”

Lydia gave the phone to Gavin. We looked at each other as he dialed the number. The setting sun reflected in her eyes. 

I kissed her eyelids. “I love you, Lydia Rae.”

“I love you too, Matthew.”

She snuggled into my chest as I ran my fingers down her arm and stopped at her hand.

Gavin gave me the phone. “Her phone is turned off.”

“Now what?” I said.

“I have to find her. Keep your phone on. I’m going this way. Seriously, I’m going to search this city until I find her. If you see her, call me right away. Don’t tell her about me though. I want to be the one to say it. Just keep her there until I come.”

“And if you find her?”

“I’ll be back from Vegas by Thursday. Don’t wait up for me.”

Lydia laughed. “I hope you’re not serious.”

Gavin jogged out of sight. I’ve never seen such joy in his face as I did that night.

“We have to find her first,” Lydia said.

“Why?”

“Because I have to see this. It’s too good to be true.”

I touched her cheek and pushed her hair behind her ear, then leaned in and whispered, “This is too good to be true, too.”

She never stopped smiling as we walked Philadelphia streets until our feet practically fell off our ankles. The sun set on us as it rose on another love story. The streets, now lit artificially, guided us back to my apartment.

I pulled the front door open for Lydia and the phone rang. We stopped. My hand fell from the door and reached in my pocket.

“Hey, Dee,” I said. “You’ll never believe this.”

“This better be good. You called five times in a row.”

“It is good. Very good. Listen, do you know about the guy Ella created
Chances
for?”

“Yes. I believe you may not remember, but it just so hap—“