9. Erica

nine

Erica

Eighteen Months Later

" C ome on, Erica. Just because you're the new girl in town doesn't mean you can stay home and be bored." my co-worker Natalie's voice replayed in my head.

I love my new job and my new co-workers, but they've been trying to get me to go out with them since I started here two months ago.

When I got my first nursing job at a hospital an hour away from Pine Grove, I thought it was far enough to forget Mike, but I was wrong.

That morning, when he told me he'd be back, I believed him. I waited three weeks for him to return, putting off moving to Glendale until I couldn't put it off any longer.

Glendale Memorial Hospital was a good place to gain experience. But, I became bored. I needed something different to keep my wandering mind busy since dating was out of the question.

Believe me, I tried to date, but I couldn't bring myself to go through it—canceling each date before it started. Knowing no one could compare to Mike, that sneaky jerk.

So, instead of turning my co-workers down again, I told them I'd meet them at the new bar in town. I even changed into a cute little slip dress—but I couldn't bring myself to leave my hair down. Whenever I need to feel closer to Mike, I French braid my hair like I did on our one and only night together.

I walk through the crowded bar, noticing the elegant layout and semi-private seating areas as I search for my friends when the sound of someone playing the piano reaches my ears. Which makes sense since I'm in a piano bar, but it's the song the pianist is playing, Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman.

A part of me wants to run through the exit and never look back—not ready to move on from my past. But the other part of me wants to hear more of the song if only to feel the way I felt that night at the concert, wrapped in Mike's arms.

The closer I get to the stage, the more nervous I get until I'm standing frozen in front of the piano and the man expertly running his fingers on the keys—a man I thought I'd never see again.