Steam was rising from the fresh pot of coffee, lingering over the counter at Charlie’s Cafe. A quaint little place just outside of town as a chill in the air brought people inside. Samantha was sitting by the tall front windows, reading the news on her phone as she lifted her mug and took a long sip. The warmth of the brew made her feel warm, away from the rain that had been pouring down. A slight reminder that winter was near, a few months away from snow falling down deeper than the river just down from her house.

And as she sipped and closed her eyes, she remembered the day her grandfather died. Her grandmother fixed scrambled eggs and toast as he grandfather sat and watched the news. When breakfast was ready, grandmother called them both to come eat, and Samantha came running down the long winding steps. Not paying attention, she almost ran into her grandfather Bill. “Slow down, Sammy” he said, patting her head with the palm of his hand.

“No running Sammy” her grandmother retorted, “this is not the place for running like a Mustang” she finished as she sat plates on the table and began to pour coffee.

Just as she did, Sammy could tell something was wrong. Her grandfather sat down and picked up his napkin when his face looked pale and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

“Papaw?” Sammy said, as she watched him fumble to reach for his fork. “Grandma, something is wrong” Sammy said, and then he fell onto the floor.

“Grandma!” she cried, as her grandmother hurried to kneel on the floor.

“Call 911!” her grandmother snapped, as coffee spilled over from bumping the table.

That’s the last she remembered as her grandmother screamed, snow and ice covering the roads.

Putting her mug back on the table, she tried to refrain from tears falling down. The memories of a soul so gentle and true, some days she felt he was still somewhere near, a hope that maybe that day was a dream. But she continued to read as she turned the page, ignoring the rain hitting the window.

The rain was pouring as she then looked up and saw an older woman coming inside. They’re eyes both met as though she knew, as though she had seen her somewhere before. “Sammy?” She said, and chills ran down Samantha’s spine as though a ghost just came to life. Who was this woman who knew her childhood name? Nobody knew except her grandmother, not even her mother had a nick name.

Samantha just froze and put the news down. “Linda?” she asked, and the lady then smiled as she walked over to see the “Sammy” she knew.

Her face lit up with a smile as warm as the sun in June.

“How are you, darling?” Linda asked with a hug. It brought all the memories flooding back with the smell of sweet perfume like a lilac flower. And the sweater she wore, a cream colored tone brought out her dark eyes like she just didn’t age. Sammy admired how the woman was beauty, even at seventy two years of age.

“God, I’m great. How are you? Where have you been?” Sammy asked, as she took a step back and looked in awe.

Linda’s eyes then changed, a little more somber than what she had planned. “Twenty years, and I still miss your grandfather like two peas in a pod” she grinned, sitting down across from Sammy as the waiter came by.

“Coffee?” she asked, and Linda said “Yes, black please”, and the waiter did, then left to give them time to adjust.

A few seconds passed as Sammy waited. Then Linda spoke up. “Your grandmother knew” she said, “But I didn’t care. Should I really feel bad for the woman he hated?” she asked, bowing her head as though years of shame just came to light.

“He loved her, Linda… just not the way you think” Sammy finished, knowing exactly how Linda felt. Sammy had seen a few things in her life, no stranger to pain or late night tears. Men seemed to be a dime a dozen in her twenties and thirties. It was only when she turned thirty eight, she realized how one man made her a fool. It was then she swore to cut all ties from love inside that she burried for good.

“He did” Linda said softly, but I just couldn’t stomach the pain he had seen. And no offense, but your grandmother was no angel. She hated the fact that he had an affair”

“With you?” Sammy said, in a way of guilt, guilty for knowing after he passed. Her grandmother vowed to never marry again. She swore men were scum, and sold the house for nothing to never look back.

“Yes” Linda whispered and then took a sip of her coffee, watching the rain pour down like a storm. Both women were silent for just a few seconds, content without hate as though they knew. The late night texts, the secret hotel where they met every week… for work is what he said. And the car that Sammy saw parked in the driveway when her grandmother was sick. All the things she knew, but didn’t know who until her grandmother found a necklace that wasn’t her own. Hell broke loose and grandpa left to never come back. At least not until Linda left for school. He knew Gina hated him, but hated him more for leaving her soul like a piece of nothing for people to step on.

It was then Sammy knew that Linda was right. Nothing else mattered but the coffee they drank, alone but together away from the storm.

That deceit was all her grandfather did to balance the beam she never did see.