"Hey, you're back! Was breakfast that good?"

Tabitha grinned at her server from the previous day and nodded. "It was! And I have a few more adventures planned for today, so didn't want to take the time to make breakfast."

"Well, let's get you seated and I'll head over with orange juice and coffee. Unless you were planning on having the same thing as yesterday?"

"You remember my order from yesterday?" she asked incredulously as she was led over to a table by the windows.

"There aren't that many people who aren't regulars that come through here, despite it being the summer season. So yes, I remember your order. Is that what you'd like?

"Yes! Those pancakes were so good, I was wishing that I could get the recipe, even if I wouldn't be able to totally replicate it at home."

"I'll talk to the cook, and see if he even has it written down somewhere, since he'd been making them for so long." Tabitha grinned and nodded as she made herself comfortable in her chair before pulling out her phone and looking at the different routes available for her to take. The three options that were available to her each had their pull, but from the butterflies in her stomach, Tabitha knew that she would be better off taking the longer route, since it would give her more time to center herself and prepare for meeting Alex. "Here's your drinks, hun. Oh, you are headed a bit out of town today, aren't you?"

Tabitha looked up and gave the server a small nod. "I'm going to visit a family friend, as I finally got her address. Is there anything I should know about this route?" she asked as she highlighted the one she wanted to take.

"That's a bit out of the way of your destination, but it's a good road, and there's plenty of scenery to look at along the way. Do you mind if it takes a little longer?"

She shook her head as she set the phone aside. "I haven't seen this friend in ages, so it will be nice to have extra time to prepare. Thank you." She smiled sunnily at the server, who gave her a small nod before moving on to her next table. Breakfast arrived ten minutes later, and Tabitha dug in with relish, finding it as delicious as the previous day. She demolished it much too soon, and then sat back in her chair to sip at her coffee as she thought about what her first question to Alex would be. There were so many, but a small part of her wanted to know if she would have gotten back together with her mother, if she hadn't been with James. She knew that it was a bit of an intrusive question, but it was the one that felt most right to her.

"All right, here's your check, and the recipe for the pancakes, as best as Phil can remember. He said that he got the recipe from his wife's mom, so it might not be exactly right."

"Well, I suppose it will do until the next time I'm here. Because I am definitely coming here again. Even though it's only been a few days, I've fallen in love."

"Lutsen has that pull for some people. I'm glad that you've found it." The server smiled kindly at her and Tabitha nodded as she rummaged through her purse, following the woman over to the register so that she could check out. "Here, take the phone number of the restaurant, please. I'll be here until six, so if you run into trouble, I'll know where you are, if you call for help. Please."

Tabitha nodded as she took the business card from the woman's hand and slipped it into her purse. "Thank you, again. It is so nice to find a place where people are genuinely kind and helpful. But hopefully, I won't run into any trouble?"

"That is the hope, yes, but it's nice to have a safety net," the woman said as she gave Tabitha her change. "Enjoy your visit with your friend!"

"I hope to!" she called out as she made her way out to her car. After getting behind the wheel, she plugged her phone onto the charger and then created a new contact for the restaurant before calling up her map app and selecting the longer route. After hearing the familiar voice of Siri, she smiled and started her vehicle, pulling out on the road and heading in the direction she had been told. The server had been right, it was a gorgeous stretch of road to go down, and she felt a familiar melancholy tug at her heartstrings. She would have loved to travel this path with her mother, because she knew that places like this were magical.

Tabitha was grateful that the road she was on was nearly empty, as the closer she came to Alex's address, the slower she was driving, nerves starting to take more and more control over her reactions. She knew that this moment had been a long time coming, ever since she had read the diaries, but now that she was so close to her goal, she was starting to have second thoughts about how she would be received.

The last half mile was done at a crawl, since she didn't want to miss the driveway, and then she turned down a long, gravel, drive, surrounded by trees, until it opened up on a small cottage. It was the very stuff of her witch girl dreams, and she let out a little sigh as she exited the map app and took a picture of the place before stuffing the phone into her pocket along with her keys and headed for the door. There weren't any other cars than hers, which unsettled Tabitha a little, as she wondered if that meant Alex wasn't home, after all. Still, she knew that she'd have to knock to get that answer, so she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and brought up her hand to knock.

Time came to a standstill as she waited, and then she could hear the approach of footsteps. There was something vaguely familiar about the gait, that she couldn't quite place, and she frowned a little as the person came to a stop in front of her. Realizing that this was now the moment she had been waiting for, her stomach flipped a few times, and Tabitha had to take a few deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. And then the door was slowly opening, and she opened her mouth to introduce herself to Alex, only to feel her jaw drop in shock as she stared into an all too familiar face. "Mum?" she whispered as she took a step backwards, feeling close to hyperventilating. "Mum?" she echoed, trying to comprehend something that should be impossible.

"Tabby-cat?" her mother said, and she nodded before bursting into tears. "You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you," she retorted as she took another step backwards. Her mother still hadn't left the doorway, and that bothered her more than it should. "I, I need to go." Tabitha turned on her heel and fled to her rental car, slamming the door as she thrust the key into the ignition and turned it on, peeling out of the drive as fast as she could and navigating her way back to the hotel. She hoped that she was driving safely, because she wasn't certain that she had a clear view of the road through her tears.

Somehow, Tabitha made it back to her cabin, and she parked her car in her spot before racing inside and throwing the lock. She knew that she wasn't being followed, since her mother hadn't had a car, but her mind was still reeling over the indisputable fact that her mother was alive, and living with Alex. She had no idea what their relationship was, just that they were together, and living a lie. That thought turned her tears into sobs, and she threw herself down onto her bed as she cried out all her emotions over not seeing Alex, not being able to ask her about her mother, and finding out her mother was still alive.

"I can't believe she would fucking do this to us," she wailed as she curled up into a tight ball on the mattress, her sobs shaking her body. "We had a funeral for her, and everything."

The force of her cries soon had her gagging, and she pushed herself up from the bed and raced into the bathroom, hoping that she could reach the toilet before she threw up. Tabitha winced a little as she landed on her knees, the hard tile causing them to ache, but then she was bending over the bowl and throwing up her breakfast, the orange juice making the taste of sick in her mouth that much worse for it's acidity. After too long a time retching, she finally seemed able to get control over her body and she shakily rose to her feet before stumbling to the sink and turning it on. She then reached out for a washcloth and ran it beneath the water before washing her face clean of puke.

"This cannot be happening," she whispered as she stared at her reflection, wondering about what she would do now with the information she had at hand.