The text was broken into two messages. I devoured the message as if I were starving.

In many respects, I was.

Scott, this is Jessica. I don’t know if you remember me or not, but we used to hang out a lot. If you’re up for it, I’d like to get a cup of coffee. I think about you a lot.

My heart palpitated.

I fumbled to type a response.

I’d love to get a cup of coffee. How have you been? I think about you quite

I paused, read the unfinished message, and backspaced until it was gone.

When are you thinking? I’ve been pretty busy lately, and getting away from here is difficult, at best

Once again, I deleted the message before finishing it. Then, I typed another.

Jess, I’d love to meet you for coffee. I’m guessing you’re out of that relationship. Otherwise you’d

I highlighted the message and deleted it. Then, I typed a simple response.

Sure

I read it, grinned, and pressed send.

Her response was immediate.

What time works for you?

I looked at my watch. It was fifteen minutes past noon.

12:30?

Again, her response was instantaneous.

Okay

To get there in fifteen minutes, I needed to pick a spot at a halfway point between us. It didn’t take much time for me to decide.

Donut Whole? I asked.

She sent me a smiley face in response.

I jumped in the shower, shaved my head, and got dressed. After hopping into my jalopy, I sped down the street and screeched into the parking lot with two minutes to spare.

Jess was standing outside of her Mazda Protégé.

It was late fall, but the weather was warm that day. She was wearing fun pants, heels, and a sleeveless top. Seeing her caused me to choke on my breath. Whatever weight she felt she needed to lose when we’d first met was long gone.

Her cheeks were gaunt, her skin was tan, and her hair was bigger than ever. I parked my car, took a long admiring look at her, and reached for the door handle. I had no idea what her intentions were, but I hoped we could reconcile a relationship of some sort.

I got out of the car and opened my arms.

She rushed to me, all but knocking me down in the process. When we hugged, I lifted her from the ground and turned in a circle. After lowering her to her feet, I took a step back and looked her over.

“You look great,” I said.

“So do you.” She gestured toward my Craigslist SUV. “I like your new car.”

“First things first,” I said. “Are you single?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry about that text I sent you,” I said. “I was excited about the book and I wasn’t thinking. It was selfish of me.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “Things between us ended right after that, anyway.”

“Not because of that text?”

“No. It just. I thought things might work out with him, but they didn’t.” She looked away, shook her head, and then met my gaze. “He wasn’t you. You were all I ever thought about.”

“I thought about you a couple of times,” I said, stretching the rubber band of truth to the point of failure.

She looked remarkable. Finding it difficult not to stare, I gestured to the entrance. “Should we?”

She smiled and turned toward the building. I wanted her to take her usual position at my left side, but she didn’t. Wearing a smile she couldn’t see, I followed her inside and to the counter. After ordering, we took a seat at the very same table where we met for the first time.

“How have you been?” she asked.

I inhaled a long breath. “I’ve been better. You?”

“I’ve got a new job. I’m doing hair close to where you live, I think.”

“Downtown?”

“In Old Town,” she said. “In between First and Second.”

“You’re a block from me.”

She smiled. “I thought I was.” She sipped her coffee for a moment, and then looked beyond me. “I like the salon. It pays good. I’m pretty happy with everything. I’ve been working out and stuff, too. I feel really good.”

“You look great.”

“So, what about you?” She looked right at me. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

“I’ve been through quite a bit since we saw each other last.”

She looked me over and smiled. “Like what?”

I didn’t want to tell her of my struggles with everything, but I felt I needed to. “The bank repossessed my car and my motorcycles, including my chopper.”

Her smile vanished. “I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve been writing books, but it’s not what you’d think. I’m making enough to pay my rent, but not enough to buy groceries. Right now, I’ve got a hundred bucks, and I got paid two days ago. It’s got to last me a month.”

She smiled. “How about you let me buy lunch?”

I shook my head. “I’ll buy.”

She laughed. “I know better than to argue with you.”

We walked across the street to a sandwich shop. When we stepped inside, I noticed Teddy sitting in the center of the restaurant with a female friend of his. Upon seeing Jess, he jumped up and ran to her.

Teddy was dressed in his typical flannel shirt and was wearing his winter beard. Sprinkled with gray and nearly to his chest, the mass of hair growing from his face was a tangled mess.

“I was afraid I’d never see you again,” he said.

“Same here,” she responded.

“What are you two doing?”

She looked him over and smiled. “Eating lunch.”

“Will I see you again?” he asked. “Are you sticking around?”

She looked at me.

I glared at Teddy. “Go get some business of your own, you nosey prick.”

He flipped me the bird and went back to his table.

After sharing a great lunch of soup and sandwiches, we walked across the street. As soon as we reached our cars, she checked her watch, and then gasped.

“I’ve got to get to work.”

I looked her up and down, and then gave a nod. “It was nice seeing you.”

“I read that book after you sent me that text.” She smiled a guilty smile. “Broken People. Sasha read it, too. It was really good.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, I better get going,” she said.

I opened my arms. She took a step toward me, and I took one toward her. We held each other for some time before breaking the embrace. I’d hugged her hundreds of times, but that time it felt different.

Reluctantly, I released her.

She gave a finger wave and turned toward her car. It was the same vehicle she’d driven in high school, a Mazda Protégé with three hundred thousand miles on it. Jess may have been beautiful, but she was humble while being so.

I got into my SUV and stared at the brick wall of the building. I had mixed feelings about our meeting. My heart was filled with emotion but acting on it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped it might be.

Thirty minutes later, I was sitting in front of my computer. Uncertain of what I truly wanted, I began to type.

The paragraphs turned into chapters, and the chapters formed into a story. As it unfolded, my heart filled with even more emotion. That night I wrote nearly fourteen thousand words while listening to my playlist on loop.

When I stopped, I realized I wanted what Kelli and Erik had.

A fairy tale.

I Googled the definition of the word.

fair·y tale ˈferē tāl/ noun - a fabricated story, especially one intended to deceive.

I laughed to myself, saved my day’s work, and went to bed.