Part 33 - Chapter 6 - The People You Miss

"Aren't you going to ask where we're going?" Lawrence asked Eileen who was staring out the passenger window.

"Oh, where are we going?"

"There's something I want to show you. It's a surprise."

"Really? In that case, I shouldn't ask. I don't want to ruin it."

"Ok. So how was your day?"

"Busy," Eileen replied. "I didn't get as much done for the wedding as I would have liked though. I talked to Chloe and she said she would be in the wedding. Then I went to talk to Lucy."

"How did that go?"

Eileen hesitated, not sure how to answer that. "Better than I thought, and worse . . . She invited me in, we talked, and patched things up between us, but it sounds like she's going through a really tough time right now. She and Craig are getting a divorce and she's having another baby. She seemed so lonely and depressed. I ended up staying there and talking with her for a long time."

"That's too bad about Lucy and Craig. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. I'm glad I stopped by though, so I could be there for her." When Eileen looked outside, she suddenly realized where they were headed. "Are we going to Arrendale Heights? Are we going to see the house?"

"Yes, we're going home."

Eileen gasped as Lawrence pulled the car into the driveway. As soon as it stopped she jumped out to get a better view of the house.

"It's beautiful. I know we talked about what it was going to be like, but I could never picture it. Now, here it is, right in front of me."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. I wish I could move in right now."

"So do I, but you will soon enough." After his conversation with Arthur at the office and hearing the way his future father-in-law talked about 'the time he had left,' Lawrence was starting to think that it might be a good thing that they were waiting to have a wedding to start living as husband and wife, that way Eileen and Arthur could spend a little extra time together while they had the chance. "Come on, let's take a look at the inside."

"This place is amazing, James," Zara remarked as she looked around the club. "I could definitely see myself hanging out here. I'm sure it's going to be a huge success."

"Thanks. I hope it is. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this place, that's for sure," James replied. "And hey, if you need an excuse to hang out here, I could use some extra help at the bar or with the bands. I've put an ad out, but I'd rather hire someone I know instead of someone I don't know."

"Sounds cool, but I don't think I have the time for it."

"I'm interested," Cassie spoke up. "Working at the diner is getting old and I could use some extra money."

"Alright, we'll talk about it. In the meantime, you want to check out the rest of the place?"

"You go on ahead," Blaine said as the group stood up and headed towards the back of the room. "I'd like to talk to Cassie a minute, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Cassie replied eagerly. "We'll catch up."

"So, how have you been?" Blaine asked as James and Zara walked away.

"Great. And you?"

"Alright, I guess. I've been thinking a lot about the last time we talked. I'm sorry things got so awkward."

"I'm not. I mean, I was at first, but I was thinking it's better to have everything out in the open."

"Yeah, me too. I was thinking that maybe I should keep my distance for awhile, so you wouldn't get the wrong idea, but I've really missed hanging out with you. I was hoping we could be friends again."

"I don't think that's possible, Blaine," Cassie said with a shrug. "I think there's already too much between us, under the surface. Already we can't keep away from each other. When we try, we just end up meeting, like today. It's Fate. The Universe is just going to throwing us together until we can both see what's right in front of us. I know that it isn't just friendship. So why try to keep it from being what it really is?"

Blaine looked confused. "So you don't want to be friends anymore?"

"Not if you think that's all we ever can be. Not if you aren't at least open to the possibility of being something more, someday. I'm sorry, but I can't be just friends. I wish I could, but I just can't do it."