The Second Chance

by Morgan Utley

  “Oh, really? Well, I’m here now. Will you let your uncle know?” The question stumbled out of her mouth quickly, and she hoped he had understood what she had asked him.

  “Yeah, I’ll let him know.” He bent over the computer and started typing, which Peyton assumed meant he was messaging him. While he was typing she walked over to the lobby area and sat down in her favorite chair. She wanted to appear busy to try and ward him off, so she pulled out her phone and started playing Mario Kart.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Noah stand back up from typing on the computer and noticed that he looked confused when he saw that she wasn’t in front of him anymore. He did a quick scan of the room and found her sitting on the chair.

  “How was your weekend?” he asked with curiosity.

  “It was good. My dad needed my help with the cows. It got pretty hectic for a little bit.” This guy just didn’t see the “don’t talk to me” sign on her forehead.

  “Did that cow end up having her calf?” Noah wondered and slowly walked around the desk so that he was standing in front of her. He leaned up against the desk and crossed his arms, waiting for her to respond to his question. Peyton herself wondered why he had to look like a supermodel all the time. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him no matter how irritated she was.

  Peyton nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, she did. It didn’t make it though.”

  “Oh, man, I’m so sorry, Peyton. That had to have been hard. What do you think happened?” Noah asked.

  “It was breech. And as it was trying to come out, the cord wrapped around his neck and strangled him,” Peyton sighed, feeling the sadness wash over her again thinking about the poor helpless calf.

  “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?” he offered, but Peyton shook her head.

  “Nope, we're all good now. We found out that two of our other cows were pregnant, so we should be just fine. Hopefully, the same thing won’t happen to their calves,” Peyton lamented.

  “I sure hope so. Maybe since it sounds like you guys have everything figured out, we could try again for our date this week?” Noah asked. Peyton was taken aback at how persistent he still was about taking her on this date. Didn’t he have a boisterous blonde to go back to?

  Before Peyton could answer his question, Dr. Schoenborn opened his door and walked out. “Hello, Miss Peyton, are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said sarcastically.

  “I’ll see you when you come out,” Noah said and walked back over to the computer.

  “Great,” Peyton muttered and followed Dr. Schoenborn back to his office.

  Chapter 14

  “How’ve you been, Miss Peyton?” Dr. Schoenborn asked cheerfully. Peyton quickly looked over at him and noticed that he was wearing a light blue pinstripe shirt, which was not the most flattering shirt on him, with a pair of khaki pants. The weird brown stain down his shirt especially didn’t help his full ensemble. It just encouraged the stereotype.

  “I’m just dandy. How are you, doc?” Peyton questioned and sat back waiting for his response.

  “I’ve been good. Thank you for asking. I have some family visiting, I got to go fishing, and I tried out the new restaurant in town. Have you been yet?” he asked and got his notepad and pen ready to go.

  “No, not yet, but my mom is going today, so we’ll see how she likes it,” Peyton told him and twirled her thumbs in her lap.

  “I heard you were supposed to go on a date this weekend, but it didn’t end up happening. Can you tell me what happened with that?” Dr. Schoenborn inquired. Peyton really didn’t like the fact that not only did she have to spill her guts out to him once a week, but that he was getting a behind-the-scenes earful outside of their sessions.

  “Um, well, my dad had some problems with the cows this weekend and needed me to stay home,” Peyton informed him.

  “Oh! What happened?” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and adjusted the earpieces while waiting for her to answer.

  “We had a calf die,” she stated.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. That could not have been easy for you. How did you feel about that?”

  “Well,” Peyton put her head down. “I was really upset. It’s hard seeing something so innocent and helpless die like that when there’s nothing you can do about it. It was completely out of my control. We had called the vet and gave her a heads up when my dad noticed that the calf was breech, but there was nothing she could do. It had strangled to death while struggling to come out.”

  “Did that remind you of anything in particular?” Peyton could tell he was hinting at something, so she went ahead and took the bait.

  “Yeah, it reminded me of losing the baby after the car accident,” Peyton said in a monotone voice.

  “Yeah, I can see why you would feel that way. Your poor baby died of circumstances that were unknown and out of your control!” he sympathized. “What helped you recover after having these feelings dug back up?”

  “Pride and Prejudice.”

  “Excuse me?” Dr. Schoenborn questioned.

  “Pride and Prejudice,” Peyton verified. “The book? I read all weekend, and it helped me move past it. I simply read, so I didn’t have to think about it.”

  “Peyton, if you're struggling with something, I would strongly encourage you to be open about it and talk to someone. Don’t bottle up your feelings, otherwise, you're going to blow up,” he theorized.

  “Blow up?”

  Dr. Schoenborn nodded, “Like a volcano.” He went on, “When you bottle up your feelings, it's inevitable that something is going to set you off, and you're going to end up spewing out all your thoughts and feelings.”

  “That’s quite a visual,” muttered Peyton.

  “What?” He turned his head in an attempt to listen harder.

  “Nothing,” she waved off. “Besides, isn’t that why I’m here? To tell you these things and get them off my chest so that I feel better?” She did air quotes and continued, “I don’t like talking about my feelings, Dr. Schoenborn. I never have. Especially when it comes to sadness or, in this particular case, death, which I’ve had a lot of in my short twenty-four years of life. You know as well as I do that I have no desire to be here. None. It’s not like I look forward to coming here every Thursday and think, ‘Gee, I wonder what I’m going to talk to Dr. Schoenborn about today?’ No! I would rather be at home by myself reading or helping my parents around the house or be working. But I’m trying to do the right thing here and come to my appointments, so I can get them over with and finish up. So forgive me if I always don’t go around day by day telling people how I feel or what I’m thinking. I feel like my life has already been out in the open much more than I ever wanted it to be, and there are some parts like my brain that I would like to be kept private.” Peyton took a deep breath and covered her mouth after her little speech. She couldn’t believe that she had just ranted to the doctor like that. What had gotten into her? First, she gave a big speech to Chris and Gloria about wedding plans then she completely opened up to Noah about the accident and now to Dr. Schoenborn.

  Dr. Schoenborn leaned back in his seat and stared at her, processing everything she had just said. He hadn’t even written anything down during her rant.

  “Dr. Schoenborn, I’m so sorry. I…” she stopped when she saw a smile spread across his face, and he started clapping.

  “Miss Peyton, I cannot believe it! That’s the most you have ever said in a session! You were so expressive and raw and open about your feelings. I think you're feeling and cracking out of your beautiful shell!” He started scribbling away on his notepad, and Peyton sat in her chair staring at the overly excited man. He had completely caught her off guard, and she had no idea what to say. In her opinion, this man was by far the oddest person she had ever met. She felt like he got excited and happy at all the wrong times, and it left her just wanting to give him the slip and run out of his office.

  “I think,”
he began, “that you only have a couple more sessions left with me. That is unless you want to keep going past the suggested time frame your family doctor and I have prescribed. But from what you’ve told me, it doesn’t sound like you’ll want to do that.”

  “Really?” Peyton breathed. “I only have a couple left?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed. “The last couple weeks you have been showing improvement. You’ve been happier, alert, and willing to make little changes in your life. Like reaching out to Derek’s parents, making friends with Noah, and going on a date with him. And you’ve been opening up to people more than you have in months.”

  Peyton smiled and nodded her head, “Well, that’s great news. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to work with, but I really do appreciate you and how patient you’ve been.”

  “Thank you, Miss Peyton. I think we're done for today, and I’ll send a message to your regular doctor letting him know your diagnosis. As always, thanks for coming in.” They stood up and shook hands.

  “You’re welcome, and see you next Thursday,” she called as she walked out the door.

  Peyton didn’t realize she still had a smile on her face, but Noah had noticed and chuckled. “Well, you look happy,” he pointed out.

  Peyton was caught off guard and stammered out the next sentence, “Uh, yeah, I guess I am.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Did you need me to set up another appointment for you?” he questioned.

  “Yeah,” she said, slowly walking away from the desk. “Next Thursday, same time, please.”

  Noah hadn’t noticed that she was backing away from him because he was so focused on the computer and scheduling her appointment. By the time he straightened up and wasn’t staring at the computer, Peyton was already by the door.

  “Alright, you’re all set,” he looked up and slightly frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I just need to get back home to get some work done,” Peyton said, trying to come up with the best excuse possible so that he didn’t see past her.

  “Oh, okay. I thought you might want to reschedule our date,” admitted Noah. The sad thing was that he honestly looked disappointed, which made her heart leap a little bit. She didn’t like to see him sad.

  “Well, I… Whoa!” Peyton almost fell straight back when the door all of the sudden opened.

  “Excuse me!” said a lady behind her, and Peyton did her best to maneuver out of the way without falling on her behind. She somehow grabbed the door frame and held herself up. The lady walked around her, and Peyton recognized the bouncing blonde curls and realized it was the same girl from the grocery store.

  “Hey, sweetie,” the blonde chirped. She was wearing a dark green rain jacket with the tightest skinny jeans Peyton had ever seen and knee-high, high-heeled boots. She looked like she had just walked off the runway, and Peyton then realized he was the Ken to her Barbie. “I was wondering if you wanted to come and grab a bite to eat with me.” She leaned over the desk and twirled one of her curls around her finger. “There’s a new restaurant in town that all my friends seem to be raving about, and I thought we should both check it out. I know you’ve got to be hungry since it's lunchtime after all!” Peyton thought she was going to break out her pom-poms and start cheering.

  Poor Noah looked completely caught off guard. He was staring at the blonde, who was trying to capture his full attention, but then he would look at Peyton in bewilderment. He seemed to not know how to handle the situation because he kept looking back and forth between the two women.

  When Miss Cheerleader realized he was distracted, she turned to find the culprit who was distracting him and locked eyes with Peyton. Was it possible for someone to become even more beautiful in such a short period of time? Her make-up looked even more perfect than before. Her light blue eyes with perfectly done eyeliner and mascara were now staring at Peyton as if to say, “Who’s this loser.” Her eyebrows had a great arch and looked as if they had just been filled in. Her cheeks were rosy, her nose had the perfect slope, and her lips were ruby red. When she lost interest in glancing at boring old Peyton, she turned back to Noah and smiled to show her pearly white teeth.

  “So, what do you think, you want to go?” She flirted and reached across the desk in an attempt to touch his hand.

  At this point, Peyton had seen enough and walked out the door. Thankfully, her mom was waiting for her out front, and Peyton bolted for the car.

  “Mom, go!” Peyton yelled.

  “Are you serious? Again?” her mom screeched.

  “Yes! Just drive, Mom. Go, go, go!” Peyton pleaded and buckled her seatbelt.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this again. I feel like we're trying to get away from some type of bad guy. We have the treasure, and we’re running from pirates.”

  “Well, if that helps you to drive then, by all means, Mom. Blackbeard is right behind us, and he will do anything to get the treasure, so you need to drive like you’ve never driven before! I’m not walking the plank today!” Peyton beseeched, and her mother did as she was told. Her mom weaved in and out of traffic and went as fast as she could for Peyton’s benefit. Whenever her mom drove like this, Peyton automatically knew she was on cop duty and scanned the streets for any black and whites waiting around to ticket someone.

  Once they were out of the city limits, her mom slowed her speed and calmed down her driving.

  “Okay, I want an explanation,” she ordered, and Peyton did as she was told.

  “Remember the stupid blonde? Well, she showed up right as I was about to walk out the door. She practically ran me over, and I almost fell,” complained Peyton.

  “Is that what I saw?” her mom interjected.

  “If you mean me almost eating the pavement? Yes. She basically cat-walked right up to the front desk where Noah was sitting, and being her flirtatious, flamboyant self, she asked Noah out to lunch. You should have seen Noah. He was so caught off guard when he saw her walk in. And then when he noticed me still standing there by the door, his face just fell. He looked so embarrassed to know that I had figured out he was two-timing me and dating Miss Runway. And then, when she noticed Noah looking away from her, she turned around and saw me, made this face like I was the scum of the earth, and asked him out again. At that point, I left. I had heard and seen enough, and well, you know the rest of the story,” grunted Peyton and she stared out the window. The trees were all blooming with beautiful pink and white blossoms. It reminded Peyton of popcorn.

  “You didn’t say anything? You just ran out like a chicken?” her mom called out.

  “I am not a chicken!” Peyton argued.

  “Well, it sure sounds like you were. You didn’t even give him a chance or wait to see what he was going to tell Blondie.”

  “Honestly, Mom, I didn’t want to hear it. I’ve had enough. If he wants to be with someone like that, then I certainly don’t want to get in the way. I am definitely not Project Runway,” admitted Peyton. She looked down at herself and frowned when she noticed grass stains on the jeans she was wearing. She really didn’t look great. She was wearing an old high school sweatshirt, and her hair was wrapped up into a bun. When she had woken up earlier that morning, she had some deep purple bags underneath her eyes and had applied a lot of concealer to try and hide them. She pulled down the car roof mirror to check her makeup and was disappointed to see that most of it was gone. She put her hand to her forehead and remembered she had forgotten to spray primer on her face to help the makeup stick and stay. If she didn’t do this, her makeup always had a hard time being applied and staying on. Today was not the day for her to forget an important step like that, but she had felt completely sleep-deprived when she was putting on her makeup, so she wasn’t surprised she’d forgotten the primer.

  “I don’t blame you, sweetheart. And that’s very big of you to say even though I personally want to run him over with your dad’s truck. I won’t, but I will admit the thought has crossed my mind
a couple of times. He was just so nice and easy-going, and he seemed to like you. I just feel like we missed something, but from what you just told me, it sounds like he was just taking advantage of you. I’m so sorry, Peyton. I feel like I pushed you into this, and now your heart is being broken all over again,” her mom sniffed. “I just wanted to see you happy again.”

  “It's okay, Mom. I’ll be happy like that again. Someday. It’s just obviously not the time quite yet. It will come though,” Peyton assured her mother, who looked just as confused as ever.

  “Wait, now you're consoling me? Peyton, are you okay?” she asked with concern in her voice.

  “You know, Mom, I’m not doing that bad.”

  They drove down the driveway, and Peyton noticed Chris’s car in the driveway.

  Peyton groaned. “Okay, I don’t know if I can handle those two right now.”

  “I don’t think I can handle those two either. Maybe we should just let your dad take care of them,” her mom suggested. She parked the car next to Chris’s and stepped out. “They probably have wedding stuff to go over though.” She sighed and walked up the steps of the porch. She turned around and noticed Peyton still standing by the car.

  “Are you coming?”

  “You know, I think I’m going to go for a walk. I need to get some things sorted in my brain before I face the happiest couple on the planet,” Peyton decided and started walking towards the trail.

  “Alright. Well, be careful. Are you going to the river?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I haven’t been there for a while, and I need some privacy. Please don’t tell Chris where I am. I don’t need him to come looking for me and hounding me with questions about Noah. I’m not even sure how I completely feel about the situation.”

  “Okay, see you later,” waved her mom as she entered the house.