Cole’s phone dinged as he and Laura said goodbye to Betty and climbed into his truck. He glanced at the text message, which was from Chelsea.

“Don’t wait for me for dinner. Working late tonight. Not sure what time I’ll be home.”

It was the second time that week she’d worked late. As he and Laura pulled out of the trailer park, a thought came to him since he was on his own now for the evening.

“That was Chelsea. She’s working late tonight and I’m not much of a cook. Want to join me for dinner?” He wasn’t ready to drop Laura off yet and he was a little worried about her.

“I’d love that. I was probably just going to have soup again and hibernate in my room. Dinner with you sounds much better.” She was smiling again and seemed back to normal, so maybe he’d imagined that she was sad or upset before. Laura always had been on the reserved side. She kept things to herself and wasn’t always easy to read.

“Great! You like barbecue right?”

“Love it. Nashville has the best.”

Cole grinned. “Well, you haven’t had Smoky Pete’s yet. It’s kind of a dive, an out of the way place, but it’s the best I’ve ever had. The margaritas are good too.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Smoky Pete’s and Laura laughed as she followed Cole down into the basement of a brick building in what looked like a sketchy part of town.

“I told you it was a dive,” Cole said before a hostess came over to seat them and handed them menus. When the waitress came, they both ordered margaritas which were delivered a few minutes later in salt-rimmed mason jars. She also set down a bowl of hot roasted peanuts to snack on.

“I think it’s charming,” Laura said as she looked around the room. Cole followed her gaze, seeing the restaurant through her eyes. It had cement floors with crushed peanut shells littered here and there. Small windows with faded black shutters let in a hint of light, but otherwise the room was dark and dimly lit except for colored lights strung along the walls and wrapped around tall beams. Booths with brown faux leather seats lined the walls and there were a few cocktail tables in the middle. There was usually live music most nights. Later in the evening, the restaurant turned into more of a bar and the tables would be pushed to one side to make room for dancing.

From where they sat they could see the open kitchen where workers were slicing meat and cooking their meals. It was a good place to go if you didn’t want to be bothered. When he and Chelsea were first dating they used to go often and hide out in a booth for hours, laughing and drinking margaritas, happy in their own little world. They hadn’t been there in a long time, almost a year now.

“So, what’s good here? What should I get?” Laura asked as she reached for a peanut and cracked open the shell. 

“Everything’s good. I usually get either the pulled pork or the brisket with mac and cheese on the side.”

When their waitress came over, Cole ordered the brisket and Laura got the pulled pork. Their food came out quickly, and they chatted easily as they ate. But Laura didn’t say anything about how she was feeling or what if anything she’d remembered that day. Cole was pretty sure she remembered something because she seemed not quite herself when they were at the trailer and even before when they drove by the high school she looked miles away. His mind went back to her new song, which spoke to him. It was how he’d always viewed their relationship, when they were together. She said it was inspired by the older couple she’d met at breakfast, but he couldn’t help wondering if somewhere deep inside her subconscious she was starting to remember and it was coming out in her music.

“Penny for your thoughts? You look a million miles away.” Laura smiled at him as she reached for a French fry and dunked it in the tangy barbeque sauce.

He laughed. “They’re not worth that much. Just enjoying the food. What do you think of it?”

“It’s as good as you said. I can see why you like it here.”

“Are you doing any more sight-seeing tomorrow? I can suggest a few places.”

“No, I have to head back early tomorrow. We actually have a gig tomorrow night. I was hoping to move the date, but it didn’t work out.”

Cole was disappointed that she was leaving so soon and she didn’t look happy about it either.

“That’s going to be a long day. What time is your gig?”

“We’re not going on until nine. If I get an early start, I should be fine.”

“I’ll be heading back myself in a few weeks. I still need to line up a place to stay. Let me know if you hear of any short-term rentals?”

“I will. How is Chelsea feeling about everything? Do you think she’ll come visit you in Nashville?”

Cole wasn’t sure if Chelsea had ever actually been to Nashville, but he knew she had no desire to go there anytime soon—even if he was there.

“No, I don’t think so. She’s busy with work.”

“Maybe for a long weekend even?” Laura sounded hopeful and Cole guessed that she couldn’t imagine not wanting to see her husband on the weekend. At first, it had bothered him that she didn’t seem to care about seeing him. Now he just shrugged it off to Chelsea being Chelsea.

“It’s not really her thing, the whole music scene. She tolerates it, barely.”

“I’m sorry. She doesn’t know what she’s missing!” Cole saw the sympathy in her eyes and appreciated it. Their waitress came by to clear their plates and they decided to have another round of margaritas for dessert.

“How’s Dylan? I wasn’t sure if he might come to Charleston with you.” He was surprised actually that Dylan had let Laura go without him.

Laura took a slow sip of her drink as a cloud darkened her eyes.

“We broke up actually. I gave him his ring back. It was the night I saw you at the pub.”

Cole was shocked and glanced at her ring finger, which was bare. He hadn’t even noticed it before.

“I’m sorry to hear it. I hope I didn’t make things difficult for you?” It was obvious that Dylan didn’t like him.

“No, not at all. This was a long time coming. I should never have accepted his proposal. It was too soon and ultimately, it just became apparent that he wasn’t the one for me. He was too controlling, too jealous. It was exhausting.”

Cole nodded. “Well, I’m glad you ended it before things got too ugly.”

Laura smiled and looked relieved. “I am too. I’m content to be very single for a while.”

“Well, cheers to that.” Cole tapped his glass against hers. A few minutes later, two guys in the corner of the room started playing some blues music. They were really good, and they enjoyed listening to a few songs while they finished their drinks. Cole paid the check and saw that there was a line of people waiting for tables. The restaurant and bar area were both packed.

As they walked out, he saw a familiar face out of the corner of his eye and took a step back for a better look. Laura didn’t see him stop and kept walking while Cole stood for a moment, watching his wife sitting in a booth, drinking a glass of wine and laughing at something her co-worker, Austin was saying. It was just the two of them.

Cole pulled his phone out and checked it. There was no new message from Chelsea. Just the earlier one about working late. He started to take a step in their direction to say hello. Maybe they’d just finished earlier than expected and went for a bite to eat. But, then he saw Chelsea rest her hand on Austin’s wrist and something about their body language made him hesitate. He decided to wait until later and see if she mentioned it herself.

* * *

Laura stepped outside and was surprised that Cole wasn’t right behind her. She stepped to the side of the door and waited for him to come out. A few minutes later, he joined her and looked liked he’d seen a ghost.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He paused for a moment and it seemed like he was about to tell her, but instead, he ran a hand distractedly through his hair as he led the way to his truck.

“Nothing. Sorry I kept you waiting. I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong.”

Laura still sensed that something was on his mind as he was quieter than he’d been all day during the drive back to her bed-and-breakfast. When they reached it, he parked and walked her to the door.

“Thank you so much for showing me around. It was a wonderful day, and it helped, so much!” Laura hugged Cole hard and after a moment, he hugged her back and she could feel his energy, his need to be comforted. She didn’t want the hug to end, but when it did, she was happy to see that he looked himself again.

“It was a great day. I’m glad it was helpful too,” Cole said. There was something so warm and caring in his eyes that it touched her and she felt a sudden rush of sadness. She couldn’t help but wonder, if Chelsea wasn’t in the picture, if they might have found their way back to each other. She felt a bit guilty for the thought though because he was very much married. She and Cole could be friends, good friends even, but nothing more.

“Good night, Cole. See you soon in Nashville.”