"Welcome home!" The screams from my best friends and my sister were high enough to cause the neighborhood dogs to start to howl. The three of them descended upon my car the second I pulled into the driveway of my parents two story house. If I hadn't slammed on my breaks, I'm sure I would've flattened them. Once I turned off my car, they ripped open my door and pulled me out the car, wrapping me into a tight three way hug. I knew better than to resist. It had been years since we had seen each other, let alone live in the same town and now that I had accepted the offer to be the general manager of the historical Wisteria Inn, we would be back together.
"You three are killing me," I said only half joking since they were crushing my lungs.
"Our love will sustain you," Lola replied, squeezing harder. She was my oldest friend, our relationship cemented by the fact that our mothers were also best friends. Born within months of each, I didn't know a time without her in my life. She was my exact opposite, blonde with legs for days, and a body that I'd watched multiple men throw punches over. She was sassy and flirty and loved being the center of attention. No one told Lola no, not even her parents, so I ended up usually being the one to rein her in.
"Seriously, I'm super happy to see you, but I've been driving for six hours and I have to pee." The thought of me relieving myself on them finally made the girls let go and I sprinted into the house to the bathroom. When I was finished, I exited to find all three of them plus my mother standing outside the door.
"One at a time," I said, going to my mom first. She pulled me in tightly, kissing my cheeks.
"Oh my darling girl, I'm so glad you're here," she gushed. I squeezed her back wondering when she got so small. Not that I was a giant, barely 5'4" but somehow I was towering over my momma. The last time I saw her in person was my college graduation party. After that, I flew to California begin my career in hospitality. Even though I knew it broke her heart, I had zero intention of ever returning here to Cadence, Michigan. Now that fate was playing a nasty joke on me, it was all she ever talked about in our weekly conversations.
"I'm happy to be here too, momma," I said. Which was true. I was happy to be in this house where I grew up at this moment. Here in Cadence, though? Less than thrilled. Why the opportunity of a lifetime had to pop up here was proof that I was cursed.
"My turn!" my sister, Hannah, sang out and we threw our arms around each other. There were four Diaz siblings and Hannah was the youngest. I couldn't wait to see my two older brothers, Jake and Chris. Chris and I were the middle children and looked so much alike, everyone thought we were twins. There were two years between us and another two years between Hannah and myself. She looked like my mother, with long straight black hair and hazel eyes. We were the same height but where I bought my jeans to fit over my butt and then bought shirts to cover said butt, Hannah wore whatever she wanted and looked stunning. She had been dating the same guy since high school and during our last conversation hinted that an engagement was expected. I was excited to be able to pick up our weekly lunch dates again and watch Lifetime movies on Saturday's while we ate junk food.
"Sear bear?" I pulled away from Hannah to see my dad walking into the room.
"Hi dad, I'm home," I said with a smile. He gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead. Not one for affection, he had a big grin on his face, letting me know he was happy to see me.
"We have your room all ready for you baby," my mom said, "and I made a pot roast for dinner. We can eat whenever you like." At the mention of one my favorite meals my stomach let out an enormous growl.
"Yeah, I kinda skipped lunch and am running on peanut M&M's. Let me get my bag out of the car and then I'm totally ready to eat," I told her. Lola and Hannah went with my mom to help her, while Courtney followed me to my car.
"I can't believe you're really here," she said, grinning from ear to ear, grabbing my hand.
"You and me both," I laughed. Courtney had moved to Cadence in the seventh grade, the worst time for anyone to switch schools. The assistant principal (aka my dad) had asked me to show her around and when she made a joke referencing The Princess Bride, I knew we were going to be friends. Her sweet quiet presence often tempered Lola's fiery nature and reassured my reserved self that things were going to be fine. While Lola had sobbed when I made the decision to go to a different college than them, Courtney was not surprised at all. She knew I wanted to pursue a career in hospitality and Warner University had the best program in the state. She pointed out that it was literally in the same city as Carson College, where they would be attending and created a detailed schedule of when we could meet up. Courtney made sure we were at all of each other's important events, all while maintaining a 4.0, playing on the tennis team, and being an RA. Her perfection both exhausted and inspired me.
"So, twenty-four million dollar question: you thought about what you'll say if you see Kade?" she asked as I pulled my duffel bag from my trunk.
"Nope," I lied.