I was sick of driving.
I had driven for seven hours, give or take, for the second day in a row—only stopping for bathroom breaks, food, and a little sightseeing—and I was spent. My back hurt, my butt hurt, and my left arm was sunburned from sitting by the window for two days. I needed a cool drink and a soft bed.
I was somewhere in Vermont when I saw a sign that listed food and lodging at the next exit. It looked like I might have to drive a bit to get into the town Colebury, but I didn’t care. The sign was all the convincing I needed to pull off the interstate and head toward food.
Once there, I stopped at the first place that called my name.
Some people thought it was strange that I always liked to feel a connection to something, but I liked to think it made my life a whole lot easier. I didn’t have to make as many decisions if I let the universe do it for me.
I ended up at a cool-looking coffee shop called The Busy Bean Café. I loved coffee—hot or cold—and could drink it until bedtime without it affecting my sleep. Some said I had a gift. I figured I was just lucky.
The outside looked like a lodge with big windows to let in the sun. When I walked into the café, the ambience immediately gave me the warm fuzzies. It was eclectic and my kind of place with mismatched tables and chairs, brick walls, and a wood floor. The beams on the ceiling, covered in chalkboard paint, had drawings and quotes on them.
I was in love.
I stepped in line behind two teenage girls and looked around while I waited, wanting to take in every little detail.
The first thing that caught my eye was a Help Wanted sign. The second was a quote written across one of the building’s beams.
“Sometimes, not knowing where you’re going will lead you to where you need to be.”
“Huh?” one of the teenagers in front of me asked.
I smiled at her. “Oh, sorry. I guess I was reading out loud.”
She gave me an adults are weird look and turned back to her friend.
I looked back at the quote.
After the last few days, I felt this particular string of words in my soul.
I had left Richmond, Virginia, two days ago with everything I could shove in my car, hopped on the interstate, and driven. Three days ago, I had been let go from my assistant job because my position had been eliminated when my boss left the company. They weren’t filling his spot, so there was no one for me to assist any longer.
This was after I’d come home from work a few weeks earlier to have my boyfriend tell me that he wasn’t in love with me anymore and no longer wanted to be together.
Since neither of us had found a new place to live and I was now without a job, I’d set out the next morning to find a new place to call home.
And until this moment, I hadn’t found anyplace close to what I was looking for.
There was no author listed with the quote, but I felt like it was meant just for me, and I needed to know who had said it.
I reached for my phone as I heard, “Miss? Miss.”
I realized the person behind the counter was speaking to me and that the two girls who had been in front of me were now sitting over in the corner.
I gave the woman an awkward smile and stepped forward. “Sorry about that.”
She smiled reassuringly at me. “What can I get you?” the blonde woman asked me.
“I need a large iced vanilla latte and a scone.”
“What flavor?”
“You pick,” I said. I wasn’t feeling a particular one.
“Okay, that’s one large iced vanilla latte and a lemon scone.” The woman grabbed a plastic cup. “Anything else?”
Chewing on my lip, I again looked at the Help Wanted sign, the quote, and then back at the woman helping me. “Yes, I’d like an application and the name of someone who can help me find a place to live.”
I had found where I wanted to stay.
