Chapter 10

       Cleo really wanted to get out of the house and go anywhere except for the 50's diner. All she had been doing was staying at home, or working at the diner. Since we pretty much ran out of food because my brothers liked coming here after school instead of their home, I suggested that we go to The Gold Mine for dinner.

       I needed to get out of the house too. All I have been doing was working, staying at home, and acting as my family's personal therapist because my mom kept ignoring my advice, even when she came to me for it.

       Mom was still not happy with Holden working at The Gold Mine, but he was actually doing a really great job there, according to Shaw. He was only tasked with waiting and cleaning tables, and that was perfect for Holden.

       Too bad Mom didn't understand. I knew she wanted what was best for us, but she was going about it the wrong way.

       I was watching Celeste while Cleo was getting ready, and she wouldn't stop laughing at the smallest things. Celeste had such an adorable laugh, and I couldn't stop smiling every time a laugh emerged.

       "You are still the most adorable baby ever," I said, lifting her up and she placed her hands on my face before laughing again. I laughed as well before kissing her cheek, then sitting her on my lap.

       Cleo soon came down the stairs, all ready to go out. One look at her, and I could already feel my heart beating out of my chest.

       I couldn't deny that I liked Cleo. She was amazing, sweet, beautiful, kind.

       I just didn't know if I was ready to move on, no matter how many times I said I was over Cassidy. I didn't even know if I would ever really be over Cassidy. I liked her since we were in high school, and I finally got the chance to be with her, only to have her ripped away from me.

       I kept telling myself I should move on. It had been five years, and there could be someone else out there for me. I didn't even think I would ever find someone until I came across Cleo.

       Celeste was the one who attracted me to Cleo, admittedly. I was a sucker for babies, but there was just something special about Celeste that made me love her like she was my own daughter. 

       I gave Cleo a smile. "Ready to go?"

       "Yeah," Cleo said, smiling back. "Thanks again for suggesting we go to The Gold Mine for dinner. I really need to get out of the house, and I know you do too."

       "It's true, I do," I said. "I just hope my family won't find me there and give me more of their problems to fix. My mom and Holden actually came to the hospital last week so they could get my opinion on something."

       "They couldn't wait for you to get home?" Cleo asked.

       "Obviously not," I said.

       I got Celeste ready before placing her in the stroller. There three of us then headed out to The Gold Mine, which wasn't that far of a walk from our house. It was really nice being able to walk everywhere.

       When we got to The Gold Mine, we were seated at a table and it wasn't long before a waiter came, also known as Holden. "I have never thought I'd ever have to serve one of my siblings," Holden said as he handed us the menus. "Well, better you than the twins. They'd probably come in here just to give me a hard time."

       "Noah might, I don't think Julian would," I said. "So, how's it been going here since I last talked to you about it?"

       "I think it's been going great," Holden said. "I can't really judge for myself, but I haven't gotten fired yet, and I haven't gotten any complaints so that's a good sign."

       "You like working here?" I asked.

       "Oh, definitely," Holden said. "I'm making money, interacting with people, helping my memory improve, and the eye candy isn't so bad either." As he said that, he slightly glanced into the kitchen, and I couldn't help but look over to see Shaw working there.

       "Uh, what?" I asked.

       "Can I get you two anything to drink?" Holden asked, completely ignoring me.

       After we both told Holden what we wanted to drink, I said, "So, about that eye candy thing...."

       "I'll be right back with your drinks," Holden said before walking off to the kitchen.

       "Well, at least my mom isn't the only one ignoring me," I said.

       "How has your Mom been ignoring you?" Cleo asked.

       "I told her that Holden working here will be a good thing, and she won't listen," I said. "You know, even though I'm the doctor and would know if this would be a good thing or bad thing for Holden's brain."

       "She just wants what's best," Cleo said.

       "Yeah, I know," I said. "I completely understand. It just gets annoying when she actually gets mad at me for encouraging Holden."

       Cleo was about to respond, but she caught a glimpse of something out the window and looked very shocked. "I-I don't believe it," she said.

       "What's wrong?" I asked, looking out the window as well, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. All I saw were a few people either standing by each other talking, or passing by.

       "See the guy talking on the phone?" Cleo asked. "Wearing the suit?" I nodded. "That's my ex-husband."

       I looked back at Cleo. "The ex-husband who took all your money out of the bank account?"

      "Yes, that one," Cleo said. "Even that's the only one....Oh no, it looks like he's going to come in here. Look, I'm going to go hide in the washroom with my phone. Text me when he's gone."

       "Uh, okay," I said.

       Cleo got up to leave, but then she turned to face me. "Oh, and if he by chance decides to talk to you, can you pretend Celeste is your daughter? And that her name isn't Celeste?"

       "Of course, but that just made me really confused," I said.

       "I promise I'll explain later," Cleo said before hurrying off to hide in the washroom.

       Her ex-husband did in fact come into the restaurant, and he did decide to talk to me. I was really hoping he wouldn't, be when he approached my table, I knew I was screwed.

       Not really. I could be a really good liar if I needed to.

       "Hi," he said. "Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you might be able to help me find my ex-wife. Her name is Cleo Walters, and I believe she moved here not too long ago. Have you heard of her, or met her? Anything?"

       "Cleo Walters?" I repeated. "Sorry, I've never heard that name before."

       He stared at me for a bit before finally raising an eyebrow. "Really? You know, I'm a lawyer. I can tell when someone's lying, or at least hiding something from me."

       "Oh, you're a lawyer, are you?" I asked. "I didn't know that qualified you to be a lie detector. You may choose to believe it or not, but I don't know any Cleo Waters."

       "Walters," he repeated. "It's Walters."

       "Whatever it is, I don't know her," I said. "I either haven't crossed paths with her yet, or she didn't really move to Spruceworth. I suggest the latter because it's quite easy for me to know a lot of people here."

       "If I find out you're lying...."

       "What's there to lie about? Can't you check if her name's on a lease of any building or something? You dodgy lawyers seem to be able to do anything you want."

       He chuckled. "Oh, I see what this is. Poor you, just barely passing school and not being able to get the job of your dreams."

       Well, I know see why the marriage between him and Cleo didn't last long.

       "Poor you, judging a book by its cover," I said. "Must be a side effect of your ever-so obvious narcissistic personality disorder."

       He glared at me. "I'm not narcissistic."

       "Really? Could have fooled me. So, Mr. Lawyer, why don't you do yourself the favour and Google Josh Eaton for me? You may come across articles such as 'The youngest doctor in Canada'. And you might see a picture of some guy that looks remotely similar to me."

       "You? A doctor? That, I don't see."

       "Then let's hope you don't need medical attention any time soon."

       That, thankfully, got him to leave and shortly after, Holden walked up to the table with my and Cleo's drinks. "Who was that?" he asked.

       "Cleo's ex-husband," I said. "And I can really see why they split up. Or at least part of the reason."

       I made sure he was out of view before texting Cleo to tell her he was gone. When she returned, she sighed and sat back at the table. "I'm guessing he came in here judging by how long it took?" she asked.

       "Yeah," I said.

       Holden said he would give us more time to decide what to eat and when he walked away, Cleo asked, "Did he say anything to you?"

       "Oh, a whole lot," I said. "He's very....interesting."

       "Egotistical is the word you're probably looking for," Cleo said. "Wait, no, that's too nice of a word to describe him."

       "Agree," I said. "He thought just because he was some hot shot lawyer, he could talk down to me. So, I did what any normal person would do. Told him to Google Josh Eaton, and find out I'm Canada's youngest doctor."

       "Wait, seriously?" Cleo asked.

       "Yeah, I was twenty when I became a doctor," I said. "I really hope he actually Googles me and comes across that. It would put him in his place. Anyway, I can see why you two didn't work out. You're sweet and kind, and he's...words can't even describe him."

       Cleo sighed. "His egotistical attitude wasn't the only reason we split up. It was mainly because when I found out I was pregnant with Celeste, he was not happy about it. We just got married and he wanted to focus on us before starting a family. So, he told me to get an abortion."

       "Wait, really?" I asked. "Why? He was your husband. Even if he wanted to wait before starting a family, he should have welcomed the idea anyway."

       "Well, he didn't," Cleo said. "Anyway, I refused, obviously, so he told me to choose between him and our unborn child. Let's just say four months later, the divorce was finalized and I was out of his life for good."

        "Not for good," I said. "He went to talk to me asking if I knew a Cleo Walters. I lied, of course, but something tells me he's going to be staying in Spruceworth for a while."

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:O Drama drama, it's so fun. YAY.

It's so stuffy in my room help. I'D LIKE THE WEATHER TO BE COLD, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SUMMER IS GONE. IT'S AUTUMN'S TIME NOW. LET THE RAAAAAAAIN COME.

lol

So, I write seasonal short stories and guess which series gets winter's short story? I'll give you a hint: There's no point writing this in any other author's note lol.

I was debating doing another crossover, but I'm going to hold off on that.