A Reason To Stay by Julieann Dove

way,” he stated firmly.
    The waitress dropped by at that moment to see if everything was all right. “Amanda, could you sit with Mason while I take Faith to the bathroom?”
    “Honey, I have tables to serve. I’ll go get Ben for you.”
    Before she could stop her, Amanda was at Ben’s table pointing back at her, explaining something. He walked over to them. Shit, shit, shit .
    “I can sit with Mason. Go ahead.”
    “I can’t believe Amanda asked you.” Elise looked at Mason with an evil eye. “He could have come with us.”
    “Not likely,” Ben said. “He isn’t a girl.”
    “I know that,” she said, taking Faith’s hand. “It wouldn’t have killed him just this once. It’s not like there will be anything more inappropriate than a toilet in there!”
    Elise stood at the sink, waiting for Faith to finish washing her hands. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Why hadn’t she straightened her hair that morning? The heat seemed to be counteracting with her natural curl and was frizzing up the ends. Scarecrows looked better. She splashed some water on the ends and tried to smooth them out. When Faith was finished wiping her hands, dread swept over Elise about returning to the table. She hoped Ben was gone. But he wasn’t. He had cut up Faith’s food and was talking with Mason when they returned.
    “Thanks. I hope I didn’t ruin your lunch with your date.” She had to hit the ‘date’ button one more time. Was she jealous? Not on your life. That time of her life was over. That opportunity lost by hers truly.
    “You didn’t. It’s just lunch.”
    He stood up from the table, and their eyes became level with one another. The smog of tension was making it hard for her to breathe naturally. Was she hitting him with the forced air from her fighting lungs? Easy yoga breaths. Count.
    “Thanks, again.” She took a seat and tried her best not to watch his back as he walked away. His butt was one of her guilty pleasures. The thought of it naked made her cheeks heat.
    For the next ten or so minutes, she rushed the children through lunch. Watching him glance over at her made little of her appetite. The coconut meringue pie would have to wait until she could fully enjoy it with rolled-back eyes and moans. She paid the check and tried to make it out without an additional scene. The kids ran over to him before a successful getaway. Elise waited at the door for them to finish and flashed a smile without true eye contact before leaving.
    Luckily the car started and she headed for the park. This called for a lengthy telephone call to her friend and sponsor, Kelly. She needed outside reinforcement to stop her craving for a piece of her past. She had been doing so well with Darren. Well sort of. Letting her visit back home destroy the mountain climb of an ‘I love you’ to her boyfriend was not advisable. She just needed a voice other than the one in her head to say so.
    She parked in the open lot and opened the back door. The children took off like flies from a mason jar. “You better be careful, and no dare deviling,” she yelled as they clearly were ignoring her.
    She sat down in the grass under a huge oak tree and took out her phone. After she read a text message from Darren wishing her success in her day, she dialed Kelly’s number. While she waited for her to answer, she stroked the green grass, its softness bending with her touch. Nothing like the sharp blades of California.
    “Hello?”
    “Thank God. Are you busy? I have a crisis.” Elise took note where the kids were playing. They were crossing back and forth over a kiddie bridge, playing imaginary sword fighting.
    “That’s what I’m here for. Please tell me you’re still potentially engaged.”
    “Engaged? What the hell have you been smoking? I told him I loved him. Kill me now.” Elise screamed toward the sky. “But I spent the whole plane ride analyzing it and getting over the fact that I didn’t suddenly melt into a puddle because