So Long

Edna looks up from where she’s counting out change for a customer. Claire bites on the inside of her cheek to stop her smile at the shocked expression on the other woman’s face. The surprise melts away, replaced with an hopeful sort of excitement. Claire rolls her eyes affectionately and heads toward the booth she usually occupies with her brother. Niall slides onto the bench across from her; he isn’t paying attention to her, too busy taking in their surroundings and all the photographs on the walls. She can pinpoint the exact second he sees the photo of her in her prom dress.

“You looked beautiful,” he says quietly, and Claire’s cheeks heat up with the compliment. “So you’ve been coming here for a while, I see.”

“Yeah, since I was thirteen.”

His smile is soft and sweet at the edges, but then his brows furrow. He leans closer and whispers, “That guy is staring at us.”

Claire looks around to see who he’s talking about, stifling a giggle when it turns out to be Gerald. She waves, and the old man raises his coffee cup before turning back to his meal. “That’s just Gerald. He’s harmless… I think.”

Before Niall can respond, Edna approaches the table. Claire is pretty sure that if the woman was in a cartoon, she would be visibly vibrating in place with those wiggle-motion lines around her. As it is, Edna can’t contain the grin; she doesn’t bother asking what Claire wants to eat, turning immediately to Niall. He startles, and Claire belatedly remembers that he hasn’t been here before. She grabs the menu from his hand and takes the initiative to order for him. Having been in close contact with him for so long means that she has a slight inkling as to what he might enjoy here. He gives her a confused look, and she smiles as reassuringly as she can.

“You trusted me about coming here, so trust me now when I say you will not regret eating anything that Charlie makes.”

Claire jerks in surprise at the choked-off squeal that comes from Edna, but the woman waves her off and disappears into the back. Claire is almost a hundred percent sure that she’s currently exploding on Charlie, letting him know every single detail. Claire’s just sad that Edna has probably forgotten to bring their drinks. Thankfully, the company she is with is enough to distract her, even though he is distracted by the photos on the wall. His gaze keeps going back to the one of Tim and Claire on the night of her prom.

She hates that picture, really - her makeup is messed up from crying, her face splotchy, and it brings back the phantom pains of discovering her date hooking up with the cheerleading captain. She hadn’t ever been head-over-heels for Devin, but still, a boy shouldn’t be going around having sex with another girl when he has a date. It’s just common courtesy. She has to admit that she misses that dress. Pale gold and shimmering under the lights, it had made her feel like an actual, bona fide princess. She wonders idly if her mom still has it.

“Is that man harmless, too?”

Claire drags her gaze away from Niall’s face, her face splitting with a grin when she sees the burly, scowling man walking their way. She stands and wraps her arms around his neck, murmuring that she’s missed his handsome face; grumpy expression aside, Charlie is a softie, as evidenced by the way he hugs her back just as tightly. He nods succinctly when they part.

“How ya been, kid?”

“Honestly? I really have not ever been better. Oh! Charlie, this is Niall, my former boss. Niall, this is Charlie.”

Charlie and Niall shake hands, and Claire watches as Charlie sizes up her boyfriend. “Nice to meet ya. Belle drive you insane to the point of firin’ her, then?”

“What?” Niall gapes for a second then rushes to assure them, “No! She’s, she’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, we know this.” He gives Claire one of his rare smiles and gestures toward the kitchen. “Better get back there, or you’re liable to get burnt bricks ’stead of burgers.”

“Thanks, Charlie. Can you please tell Ma we’re still waiting for our drinks? This is just awful service, and she might not get a tip at this rate.”

Charlie’s chuckle is gravelly, familiar, and Claire takes her seat again, heart clenching in her chest. Niall gives her a questioning look.

“Ma?”

Claire settles back in her seat and sighs heavily, wonders where to begin. “So when I was thirteen, I was super into this guy. Jess. He was so cool - or so I thought. Anyway, he broke my heart, and Tim was an awesome big brother and wanted to cheer me up. So we drove around for a bit until he spotted this place. It became our tradition. Anytime something good happened? We’d come here. Anytime something bad happened? Here. After a couple months, we just started coming every weekend. Then prom happened.”

He reaches across the table, his fingers wrapping around her hand, as she tells him about the debacle that occurred when she was eighteen. It’s easier than anticipated to talk about it; she has avoided dredging up those memories for years, examining them with the experience and maturity she’s gained over the years, but Niall listens intently and offers only the strong, silent comfort that reminds her it is all in the past. That she has something much better to look forward to.

Her words cut off abruptly as two glasses are placed on the table, and Claire smiles up at Edna. The woman gives their entwined hands an approving look, though she doesn’t say anything about it. Claire pulls her hand back when the woman sets the plates down. Niall stares at his burger with an awestruck expression on his face. She stifles a giggle and reaches for the ketchup. Charlie certainly has outdone himself, the sandwiches picturesque and perfect and larger than usual.

Edna moves away once the couple has taken their first bites. Claire knows she is going to inform Charlie that his food was well-received - and that Claire and Niall were holding hands. Claire is honestly a bit struck dumb at how composed Edna was, but she shrugs it off. The composure isn’t going to last, so she might as well enjoy it. She is proven right by the heavy weight of Edna watching them closely throughout the meal. She loves Edna, has since the Belle of the Bowl was conceived, but the woman can be a little much if one is unaccustomed to her personality.

Plates cleared, Claire watches Niall settle back on the bench, his hand resting on his stomach. She sucks her lower lip between her teeth and shrugs.

“Want dessert?”

He huffs out a laugh, shakes his head. “I really don’t think I could eat any more. That was…”

“Yeah, Charlie kinda hates the idea of anybody leaving here still hungry.”

“Don’t you dare say no,” Edna orders as she slides a small plate onto the table between them. Claire would think the slice of pie was fake if she didn’t know how obsessive Charlie is about his food; the crust is perfectly golden and flaky, cherries cascading from the middle in a syrupy puddle. “That old man would be devastated if you two didn’t at least enjoy some dessert before running off.”

Claire snorts - she can recognise the guilt-trip from an ocean away, but she exchanges a glance with Niall, says, “Well, we don’t wanna disappoint Charlie, do we?”

“Of course not.”

Niall is smiling even as he picks up his fork. With a quick thanks to Edna, Claire follows suit. The first bite is the amazing blend of sweet and tart, her tongue coated in an explosion of sour-sugar. She manages to quell the moan that threatens to burst from her, instead focusing on the microexpressions on her boyfriend’s face as he eats. She knows by the slight widening of his eyes, the hesitation before he chews, that the pie is just as delicious to him as it is to her.

Claire waits until Edna’s too engrossed in talking to Gerald before dropping a fifty-dollar bill on the table. She grabs Niall’s hand and tugs him quickly toward the door. He follows after her without question, but she doesn’t miss the confusion in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything as they cross the car park to slide into the car, though she isn’t surprised that the enquiries start while he pulls out of the lot.

“So, er, what was that all about?”

Her shoulders rise and fall in a jerky motion. “Ma keeps trying to give me free food. I keep trying to make her take my money. It’s a tradition.”

“I’m really glad we went. Thanks.”

“Thanks for trusting me about it.” She pauses, stares out the window. “It means a lot that you would.”

“Have you taken anyone else there?” he asks hesitantly, and his shoulders lose the tension when she tells him no.

“Not even Dee, even though she’s begged me to. So you should feel special.”

Niall’s eyes sparkle in the sunshine when he looks across the car at her, and there’s an emotion in them that she can’t quite read. His lips quirk up at the corners, soft and tender and saying more than words. “I do.”