coming back to their small hometown had been a struggle for connie. over the past year, after dani had stopped surprising her, connie had offered to pay for her tickets. in seattle, they could go out to inventive, exciting restaurants and see all the city sights but everything in this town looked exactly the same. but the visits to seattle had dwindled. connie had been busy but messages went unanswered from dani for days at a time. sometimes they could go days without any communication.
so how convenient it was that she’d come back for a bridesmaid dress fitting for her aunt. how convenient it was that she’d flown from coast to coast to be poked by someone with pins, only for the information to slip from loose tongues over complimentary glasses of cheap bubbly. how great that she’d planned to surprise dani the next morning with her presence only for her to now be stood outside the diner past closing time in the pissing rain. most of the lights were turned off but inside she could see the familiar figure moving around.
brazenly, fuelled mostly by the ache in her chest, she pushed open the door. the smell hit her instantly. the stench that had clung to her own clothes after every shift before she’d escaped this shitty little town. she’d already been crying but the sight of dani made tears rise up all over again. “surprise...” she said loudly, leaning against the aged jukebox in the corner. pointedly, she looked straight at the other. oh how her friend’s face had fallen when she’d realised connie had no idea of the information she’d let slip. her fist clenched atop the glass of the jukebox. “didn’t want to invite me to the baby shower then?” @ncrthernlights