Chapter 36

Shane drove around Holly Ridge that morning, looking around, reminiscing and thinking how very little has changed – in the way the town looked, that is. Shane had driven off to Mitchie's apartment first but there was no one home. So there he was driving around and then he saw the coffee shop. "Maybe Mitchie's in there." he thought to himself. He parked just outside the coffee shop and got out. A cool breeze swept past him. It was a good day. He could feel it.

Shane walked in, the aroma of coffee sweeping over him as soon as he opened the door, overwhelming him, reminding him of the days he used to spend there. Nothing much changed except for the new espresso machine. It still had that vintage floral décor which they all thought was too tacky. But they loved the place anyway. Not only because of the lattes but because it was a homey place.

Walking closer to the counter, he could almost imagine Mitchie's smiling face welcoming him, just like in high school. But of course, she wasn't there – just teenagers he didn't know fussing around behind the counter, an elderly woman waiting for her coffee, a couple laughing together on the other side and a lady dressed in slacks and a white shirt hunched over the counter, standing just in front of him.

"One hot chocolate, please." Shane said, standing just next to the lady.

She looked up at him.

"Mitchie?"

"Hi!" Mitchie replied, obviously surprised too.

"Hi…" he said, smiling at her.

"Your coffee?" one of the waitresses said handing out a cup to Mitchie.

"Thank you." Mitchie said, taking the cup then taking a sip.

"I'm guessing you don't work here anymore." Shane said.

"Nope." Mitchie replied, smiling.

"You look...very proper." Shane said, inspecting her from head to toe.

Mitchie smiled, her little nose crinkling. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is." Shane said, not realizing that his comment didn't come out the way he wanted. "You look great."

"Thanks…It's sort of compulsory."

"Really?" Shane asked, confused. "Why?"

"Code of dress at the library slash art gallery across the street." she explained, somewhat whispering.

"Oh…" Shane said distantly, looking at the old building across the street.

Mitchie nodded her head slowly.

"I…I came over to your house this morning." Shane finally said.

"Really?" Mitchie said, before taking another sip.

"Yeah…about the diary…"

"Oh…" Mitchie said taken aback. "Okay…" she said, nervously smiling.

Shane just looked at her.

"Uhhhh…Do you want to sit?" she asked Shane. She definitely needed to sit down because her knees were getting weaker by the second.

"Sure." Shane replied leading her to a nearby table, pulling out a chair for her.

"Is there anything else I haven't filled you in?" she asked, taking the seat.

Shane looked at her confused. The last entry was so vague. He didn't understand. "No." he just said, not wanting to confront Mitchie. Once again, he felt that this moment was too precious to spoil. "No. But I finished reading them and now I want to talk to you."

"Oh…" Mitchie felt her throat closing up. "Sure. But I have to get back to work."

"Oh…You're busy?" Shane asked. "Sorry."

"Well, not really…" Mitchie said.

"Not many people go to libraries slash art galleries these days, huh?"

Mitchie shook her head and laughed. "No."

"I guess I'll pioneer in doing so." Shane said, standing up.

"You manage this whole thing?" Shane asked in amazement, looking around Mitchie's workplace.

"Yep." Mitchie said, pursing her lips and nodding her head.

"Wow…This is overwhelming." Shane said. "Library slash art gallery?"

"Yeah…But it's not like I'm tired to the bone when I'm in here. As you can see, no one really comes here." Mitchie explained.

"No one as in…no one?" Shane asked.

"Well except for openings and when some good author actually stops by for a book signing…"

"And that happens how often?"

"Once…twice a year?"

"Wow…"

"And some people come in for research too…every now and then."

"Not bad." Shane teased. "Why do you even bother coming here?" he asked, seriously speaking.

Mitchie smiled. "This is important to Nell. Just trying to return a favor by looking after it." she explained.

Shane nodded in agreement.

"And I have nothing to do in the mornings…while Sasha's at school…"

"Right."

"And I like it here."

"Yeah…with all these books around, I'm sure this is like heaven to you." Shane teased.

Mitchie laughed. "Sort of." she said, walking around with Shane following her in silence.

"Who are these people?" Shane asked puzzled, reading the names under each painting in Nell's little art gallery.

"Holly Ridge artists." Mitchie replied. "I know they're not renowned artists but they've done pretty good jobs."

"Yeah." Shane said, gazing at a painting of a field and blue skies, reminding him if his childhood.

"You want to see my favorite?" Mitchie said, grinning.

"Sure."

Mitchie grabbed Shane's hand and ran towards a small painting. Shane looked at it baffled. It was anything but good – a red, abstract sun, stick people…

"Sarah Torres, 3½." Shane read the name underneath. "Oh…"

Mitchie laughed. "I know it's not a picture fit for an art gallery but Sasha gave it to Nell and she put it up here."

"I see." Shane said smiling. "I bet she doesn't shut up about this one now." he teased.

"True." Mitchie said laughing, lightly slapping Shane's arm which made him feel tense… but good. Mitchie's smile slowly faded as she stared blankly at the picture. "Why is he being so nice?" she thought to herself. "After everything I've done, won't he be at least disappointed? There's got to be a catch…"

"Mitchie?" Shane asked, worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Mitchie replied, waking from her stupor. "No, everything's fine. This is just…weird. A little."

"I know." Shane said, blushing. "I mean, I haven't seen you in a long time and I kind of forgot what it's like being around you."

"Yeah…"

"And I really missed you."

Mitchie met Shane's eyes. "Me too."

They stayed that way, suspended in silence, probably searching for something in each other's eyes.

"Mitchie?" someone called out, as they entered.

"Nell!" Mitchie said surprised, moving away from Shane.

"My my! Someone's in here for a change." Nell cried happily.

"Yeah…" Mitchie said, smiling nervously. "Nell this is Shane. Shane this is Nell." she introduced the two.

"Oh yes, I remember you." Nell, said, shaking Shane's hand. "You used to bother Mitchie at the coffee shop back when you were younger." she added, studying Shane's face.

"Uhhhh…yeah…that was me." Shane said nervously.

"You have a striking resemblance to Sasha." Nell stated, nonchalantly.

Mitchie's eyes widened. "Well…he is her father." she said, good-naturedly but deep inside she was slightly embarrassed. "I better go." Mitchie said grabbing her things and running out, leaving Nell and Shane behind.

"You spent the whole morning with Shane?!" Caitlyn yelled excitedly over the phone.

"Yes." Mitchie replied, wincing. "And thanks for breaking my eardrums."

"Sorry. I'm just so excited. So, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"We talked…a lot."

"So things are getting better, huh?"

"I guess…" Mitchie replied, listlessly.

"What's wrong? You and Shane are finally talking!" Caitlyn said, trying to cheer her up.

"I know…" Mitchie said. "But he's being so nice and friendly and all that and it's so uncomfortable with him around."

"Well of course!" Caitlyn stated. "But you'll get used to it."

"Fine…But I still feel guilty."

"Guilty? Why?"

"About the whole Shane and Sasha thing."

"Hey, they're both okay. I think they already understand." Caitlyn assured her. "Everything's going to be fine."

"I tried calling Donny." Mitchie said. "But all I got was his voice mail."

"Okay, why bring him up when we were talking about Shane?" Caitlyn asked, annoyed.

"I was going to tell him everything." Mitchie said sounding frustrated.

"Everything…everything?"

"Yes. But then I think it's better I didn't get to talk to him yet." Mitchie said. "I'll talk to him when he gets back."

"Yeah…I think that's a better idea." Caitlyn said. "So what are you planning to do before that?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"You spent the day with Mitchie?!" Brandon asked, implying on something.

"Not that way, Brandon." Shane said at once, knowing what Brandon was thinking. "Not that way."

"I know! So what happened?"

"We talked…a lot."

"I see…and?"

"I don't know. There's still so much I need to tell her…ask her."

"So what are you planning to do?"

"Take things slow, I guess." Shane replied. "But I think we're off to a great start…another great start."