THE LIFE ETHAN COLE NEVER EXPECTED
Chapter 2
It took Ethan several weeks to admit what was happening.
He wasn’t falling for June.
He had already fallen.
The realization didn’t arrive like thunder.
There was no dramatic music.
No sudden revelation beneath a perfect sunset.
It came in pieces.
He noticed it when he repaired a loose cabinet at the diner and June stood beside him holding the flashlight.
He noticed it when she laughed at something Walter said and Ethan found himself smiling before he even understood why.
He noticed it when June caught a cold and didn’t come to work for three days.
The diner felt wrong without her.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
On the third morning, Ethan brought soup to her house.
June opened the door wearing an oversized sweater.
She looked surprised.
“What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t at work.”
“I’m sick.”
“I know.”
“So?”
Ethan held up the container.
“Soup.”
She stared at it.
Then at him.
“You made this?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Me.”
June smiled.
“You can’t cook.”
“I can make soup.”
“You once burned toast.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“It was aggressive toast.”
She laughed.
Ethan smiled.
For a few seconds, they stood in the doorway.
Then June stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Ethan entered.
The house was quiet.
A blanket lay over the couch.
A book rested open on the coffee table.
June took the soup.
“Thank you.”
Ethan nodded.
He started toward the door.
June watched him.
“You can stay.”
He stopped.
“You’re sick.”
“I know.”
“You should rest.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“But you can stay.”
Ethan looked at her.
Then sat down.
They spent the afternoon talking.
Nothing important.
Nothing dramatic.
Old stories.
Greyhaven gossip.
Walter’s terrible driving.
The weather.
The diner.
Lily.
Their lives.
At some point, June fell asleep on the couch.
Ethan sat quietly nearby.
He watched the rain outside.
And something inside him settled.
He didn’t need to run.
He didn’t need to move.
He didn’t need another beginning.
He wanted this.
Her.
