“Everybody has baggage,” Mary said, sliding into a chair across the table from her. “Especially you guys. It would be unnerving if you didn’t.”
Kacey rolled her head around on her shoulders, attempting to release some of the tension that had gradually been working its way up her neck.
“You two are cute together. No, wait – ‘cute’ is the wrong word. You two are attractive together. In fact, I think you guys might pass up Bradgelina as the most attractive couple on the planet.” She tipped her head down and fixed Kacey with a look. “Just don’t go adopting poor children from Africa. You have enough on your plate.”
Kacey snorted and lifted her coffee cup. “As if,” she answered, taking a sip.
Mary mimicked her, and for a couple moments the girls sat in silence, listening to the hum of conversation around them, broken sporadically by the coffee machines behind the counter.
“So why bring it up? Are things not going well at home?”
Kacey pressed her lips together and sighed heavily through her nose. “You could say that.”
“What’s going on?” Mary leaned forward, tucking her auburn bangs behind her ear.
“We fight,” Kacey admitted. “A lot. And not just bickering, but full-fledged, knock-down-drag-out fights.”
Mary’s forehead creased in concern and she broke eye contact to cast her gaze down at the table. “He doesn’t, you know…”
“Hit me?”
Her blue eyes were worried when she met Kacey’s again. “Yeah.”
“No. Believe me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if he had. Jack and I would be out burying his body and scrubbing down the crime scene after I killed him.”
The expression on her friend’s face was suddenly unreadable. Mary looked like she was contemplating something, weighing her options, or maybe deciding how to approach something without offending her or making her angry.
“Just say it.”
“I don’t know… I don’t want to –“
“Have you met me? I don’t offend easily. In fact, I’m offended less if people will just speak their minds instead of sugarcoating everything.”
Mary’s head nodded slowly. “Well, I was just thinking that if things are that bad, then maybe it’s time to end it.” She paused. “Not that I’m saying you should, just that maybe –“
“Maybe you’re right.”
Kacey’s agreement seemed to catch her friend off-guard.
“What?”
“Maybe you’re right,” Kacey repeated. “Maybe it’s time to end things. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
“Would it be weird working with him if you did end it?”
Kacey’s face pulled downward and she looked over Mary’s shoulder to something along the back wall of the coffee shop. “I don’t think I’d stay here if I broke up with Andrew.”
Mary let out a surprised noise and set her cup on the table. “What? Where would you go?”
Kacey shrugged, taking a sip of her lukewarm coffee. “I don’t know. Anywhere. But I think the best thing for me might be to get away from everything; all of it.”
“Cut ties? With everything? Everyone?”
Again, she shrugged. “Yeah, why not? I’ve got such a screwy past that’s done nothing but cause problems in the present. Maybe I just need to get away and start completely fresh somewhere else.”
Mary wanted to say something, Kacey could tell from her expression.
“Come on, Mary. You’re my friend. Just say what you want to say, it won’t upset me.”
“I can’t speak from personal experience, but…” She looked up to meet Kacey’s eyes. “You can’t run from your past. It’s a part of who you are, for better or for worse, and it’s going to follow you no matter how far you run.” Mary suddenly looked sheepish, but she continued to speak. “You’ve seen ‘The Lion King’ haven’t you?”
Kacey gave Mary an odd look, but nodded her head in agreement.
“Then you have to remember the part where Simba’s talking to Rafiki and Rafiki smacks Simba with his stick, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, and Simba asks why he did it and Rafiki says that it doesn’t matter, it’s in the past.”
“And Simba says that it still hurts.”
“Right, and Rafiki tells him that he can either run from it or –“
“ – learn from it.”
“Right.”
Mary didn’t continue, she just took a long drink from her cup and watched as Kacey contemplated what Mary had brought up.
Kacey knew inherently that Mary was right. She knew there was no way that she could outrun her past, but not running meant that she would have to deal with Andrew. And Alex. And the fact that she hadn’t seen her sister in over a year… And what about Jack? Jack had a life in DC. She couldn’t ask Jack to give that up… but Kacey couldn’t stay here. She knew that too.
“Life is messy, isn’t it?”
“If by messy you mean a shithole, then yeah.”
Mary gave a small grin.
“I don’t know,” Kacey admitted finally. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She checked her watch. “Actually, I know what I’m doing now. I’m heading into work because I’ve got a meeting with the director in a half-hour.”
“Good luck with that,” Mary chuckled. “I’m off today, thank God.”
“Enjoy it,” Kacey said, standing up. “Doesn’t happen too often.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“I guess I’ll see you around.”
“I’m sure you will. And Kacey?”
“Yeah?”
“If you decide to leave, make sure you at least swing by to say goodbye, alright?”
Kacey smiled. “I promise.”
Mary smiled in return and Kacey buttoned up her coat, picked up her coffee, and then headed back out into the snow.
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