Remembering You by Sandi Lynn

Chapter 2

Iawoke a couple of hours later to someone banging on my door.

“Claire, it’s dinner time,” Zoey yelled.

Another wonderful family dinner; the four of us sitting around the table talking about our day. Oh wait, the conversation would be between Corinne and Zoey about the engagement party, wedding, or a new clothing designer they just discovered. I rolled my eyes and headed down the stairs. I walked over to Harry, who was already seated in the dining room and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hi, Dad.” I smiled.

“Hi, Claire. How was your day? Sorry I couldn’t answer your call, but I was in surgery all day.”

“It’s fine, Dad. No worries.”

“I didn’t think you were home. I didn’t see your car in the driveway,” he said.

“It broke down today. I had it towed, and it’s being fixed.”

“Broke down? See, Claire, that’s why I wanted to buy you a new car and not have you drive that old one.”

“Dad, the car is only six years old, and I like my Volkswagen Bug.”

Harry rolled his eyes as Corinne and Zoey walked in and set dinner on the table. I glanced at Zoey and turned away. I had nothing to say to her ever again for leaving me stranded, not that I minded, because Sam wouldn’t have driven me home and we probably wouldn’t be going on a date tomorrow night. But it was an excuse for me to be mad at her.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Claire. If you would have let Daddy buy you a new car, you wouldn’t have been in that predicament.”

“Shut up, Zoey. You sound stupid,” I snapped.

“Mom, are you going to let her call me that?” she whined.

Corinne sighed. “Claire, what is the matter with you? Why can’t you get along with your sister? I’m sorry your car broke down, but she has a point. If you had a new car that wouldn’t have happened.”

I looked down and didn’t say another word. I learned that it wasn’t worth it when it came to Zoey.

Harry spoke up. “The point is, Claire made it home alright and she’s safe.” He winked at me.

“How did you get home?” Corinne asked.

“The man from the garage overheard my bitchy sister refusing to come get me and offered me a ride home.” I smiled because I knew that would get under Corinne’s and Zoey’s skin.

“Well,” she mumbled. “I’ll have to thank that man for seeing you got home safely. But he could have been a murderer, Claire.”

Okay, ready? Here’s where Corinne’s going to flip.

“You can thank him tomorrow. He asked me to go out to dinner with him.” I smiled.

Corinne put down her fork and glared at me across the table.

“Did you put a spell on him or something?” Zoey laughed.

“Zoey, shut up!” I yelled.

“Claire, I don’t think it’s a good idea. How old is this man?”

“He’s nineteen, Mom, and before you ask, he did graduate high school.”

“Does he work at that garage for a living?”

I could see the disgust in her face as she asked me.

“Yes. He’s a mechanic, and he’s going to fix my car.”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “Ew, a grease monkey.”

I balled my left fist because I was going to jump across the table and deck her right in her pretty little face. Harry looked at me and saw what was going on. He yelled at her to be quiet. Corinne looked down and didn’t say another word. I quietly got up, grabbed my plate, and put it in the kitchen sink.

“Look what the two of you have done. You both should be ashamed of yourselves,” Harry said.

I quietly took the back stairs to my room. Picking up my phone from the bed, I saw that I had a text message from a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hi, Claire, it’s Sam. I hope you don’t mind, but I took your number from the repair slip at the shop. I just wanted to tell you that I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow night.”

I smiled like a kid on Christmas morning as I replied back.

“Hi, Sam. I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m glad you did. I look forward to having dinner with you too.”

A few seconds later, another text from Sam came through.

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night, Claire.”

My heart fluttered and excitement tore through my body. After a long hot shower, I climbed into bed, looking out the window at the sky that was lit up from the stars and thought about Sam.

* * *

The next morning, my alarm went off at six for school. Since my car was being repaired, my best friends, Rachel and Ally, were picking me up. I put on a pair of skinny jeans, my Coldplay t-shirt, and threw my long, light brown hair into a ponytail. This was usually my everyday school look.

The smell of pancakes soared throughout the house, and since I didn’t eat dinner last night, I was starving. I walked down the back stairs into the kitchen to find Harry flipping my favorite banana pancakes.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” He smiled.

“Morning, Dad,” I spoke as I gently placed my hand on his shoulder. “Smells good in here. You’re making my favorite pancakes.”

“I am, and I made them just for you.” He winked.

I poured a cup of coffee and perched myself on a stool at the island. Harry put two large pancakes on my plate and as he set them down in front of me, Corinne and Zoey walked in.

“Oh, Harry, these smell wonderful.” She smiled as she kissed him on the cheek.

Zoey looked at me and snarled, “You’re going to get fat.”

I cut a large piece of my pancake, picked it up with my hand, shoved it in my mouth, and looked at her while I slowly chewed it.

“Claire, that’s enough!” Corinne snapped.

“Good morning to you too, Mom,” I said with a mouthful.

Harry looked at Zoey. “Claire weighs about ninety pounds. She could stand to put on a little weight. Leave her alone.”

There was one thing I could always count on and that was Harry to be on my side. He sat down next to me at the island.

“I was thinking, why don’t you ask this new friend of yours to come to the house for dinner tonight?”

I started choking on my pancakes. “Dad, no offense, but I just met him. I’m not ready to have him dragged through the mud from the likes of this family.”

“Claire, we wouldn’t do that,” he said.

“Oh, the hell you wouldn’t. I have to go to school. I’ll see you later, Dad.” I got up, kissed him on the cheek, glared at Zoey, and said goodbye to Corinne.

* * *

Rachel and Ally were waiting for me outside. As soon as I climbed in the back seat, Ally turned around and looked at me for she knew something was wrong by the look on my face.

“Another Montgomery family breakfast?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, the usual bullshit.”

“So what happened to the Bug?” Rachel asked.

“It broke down, and I’m going on a date tonight.” I smiled.

Rachel whipped her head around to face me. “What? Claire Montgomery doesn’t date.”

“I know, I know. Keep your panties on,” I said as I bit down on my lip.

“Come on, Claire, we haven’t got all day. Spill,” Ally snapped.

“His name is Sam, and he was driving his tow truck yesterday and saw me standing on the side of the road next to my car. He pulled over and offered to help me. He took my car to his garage, drove me home, and asked me to go to dinner with him.”

Ally pounded her fists on her knees. “OMG, OMG, I can’t believe it. He’s like Prince Charming coming to your rescue.”

I smiled. “He’s really nice. He’s such a gentleman, and we both love Coldplay.”

“Well, right there is a match made in Heaven.” Rachel laughed.

We pulled into the parking lot at school and Ally grabbed my arm. “What’s Corinne going to say, Claire? He works in a garage. He’s not a millionaire.”

“She already knows and is totally pissed. But I don’t care, because when I was with him, I felt alive for the first time in my life.”

Rachel stopped and looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“All I know is when I was with him, I felt something I never felt before. I was so happy, and I felt safe. We had this instant connection and it felt like as if I’d known him forever.”

Ally rolled her eyes. “Stop being dramatic and let’s get to class.”

It was the truth, and I knew nobody could relate to what I was feeling. I just hoped I wasn’t headed for heartbreak.