Setting Up the Clinic

| September 30, 2023 – 11:30 AM

Lin pulled onto the highway, the city skyline shrinking in the rearview mirror. Beside her, Helen sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed, eyes scanning the road ahead.

"Two hours?" Helen asked, sipping her coffee.

Lin smirked, keeping one hand on the wheel. "Give or take. One stop for gas."

Helen sighed. "I still can't believe you convinced me to move to the middle of nowhere."

Lin shot her a glance. "You'll survive."

Helen hummed, unconvinced, as she stared out the window at the rolling fields replacing concrete. "I feel like we're driving straight into a retirement brochure."

Lin chuckled. "Welcome to Maep."

Helen gave her a look. "You know, I looked it up. You didn't tell me the full name was Manalepan."

Lin grinned. "Because no one calls it that. Even the sign just says 'Maep's.'"

Helen sighed dramatically. "So, I'm really doing this. Leaving everything behind for… a farm."

Lin shrugged. "Not just a farm. Your own clinic. Your own schedule. Your own rules."

Helen tapped her fingers against the cup, thoughtful. "When you say it like that, it doesn't sound so bad."

Lin smirked. "Exactly."

| September 30, 2023 – 12:15 PM

Lin pulled into a small, old-fashioned gas station off the highway. The kind with a single pump, a dusty convenience store, and an old man sitting outside reading a newspaper.

She stepped out, stretching her arms as she grabbed the pump. Helen stayed in the truck, watching the surroundings with thinly veiled skepticism.

Lin smirked through the window. "You look like you're about to start a Yelp review."

Helen made a face. "I'm just wondering if this place has been updated since the 90s."

Lin laughed, turning back to the pump as a beat-up pickup truck pulled in on the other side. A man in work boots and an oil-stained flannel stepped out, tossing her a nod as he started filling his own tank.

"You new through here?" he asked casually.

Lin kept her tone light. "Something like that."

The man gave her truck a once-over, then glanced at Helen through the windshield. "You're heading to Maep, aren't you?"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "That obvious?"

The man chuckled. "A city truck, an unfamiliar face, and a passenger looking like she's questioning her life choices? Yeah, pretty obvious."

Lin grinned. "Fair."

Helen rolled down the window. "Does everyone here just analyze strangers for fun?"

The man smirked. "It's a small town. We notice things."

Lin capped the tank, climbing back into the truck. "Good to know."

The man tipped his chin. "Welcome to the middle of nowhere."

Lin smirked as she pulled back onto the road, Helen shaking her head beside her.

"I can already tell this place is going to be… an experience."

Lin just grinned. "Oh, you have no idea."

| September 30, 2023 – 1:00 PM

Lin slowed the truck as they crossed into Maep's—a town so small that one road led in, one road led out, and the main street doubled as both a shopping district and a gossip hub.

Helen stared out the window, eyes sweeping the town like she was trying to process how she ended up here.

"I see a post office, a hardware store… is that the only grocery store?"

Lin smirked. "Yup. Hastings Market. If you want anything fancy, you have to drive to Riverton."

Helen exhaled, clearly reevaluating her life choices. "Unbelievable."

Lin chuckled, then pointed ahead. "Alright, before we go to the farm, food first."

Helen followed her gaze and immediately looked doubtful.

The Maep's Diner was a squat, brick building with a faded blue sign that simply read: 'DINER.' The windows were lined with faded patriotic stickers, and the parking lot had exactly three cars, all pickups.

"That's our lunch spot?" Helen asked flatly.

Lin grinned. "Best food in town."

Helen muttered something in Mandarin under her breath but unbuckled her seatbelt anyway.

| September 30, 2023 – 1:05 PM

The moment they stepped inside, the scent of grilled meat, fried potatoes, and strong coffee hit them. The place was small but packed with character—checkered floors, walls covered in military memorabilia, and a counter lined with old-fashioned barstools.

And behind that counter?

A bear of a man, wide as a truck, wearing a grease-stained apron over a stretched-out Marine Corps t-shirt. Sergeant Benjamin "Benny" Carter (Retired).

His thick arms were folded over his chest, his belly pressing against the counter as he surveyed the room like he was still running drills.

At the sound of the door chime, he looked up—gruff, unimpressed.

"Well, well. If it isn't a new face in my goddamn diner."

Helen blinked. "Did he just swear at me?"

Lin grinned. "Sort of. Benny means well. This is just how he talks."

Benny grunted, grabbing two menus and slapping them onto the counter with a heavy hand.

"You eat, you order fast, and you don't ask for substitutions. I run a kitchen, not a five-star resort."

Helen stared. "Do people actually eat here?"

"The whole town eats here," Lin said, already leading her to a booth. "He just likes pretending he hates customers."

Benny barked out a laugh as he walked over. "Damn right I do. And if you two are gonna sit in my booth, you better order right."

Helen slowly set down her menu. "And what's 'right'?"

Benny cracked a grizzled smirk. "House special's a double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake."

Helen hesitated. "What if I want a salad?"

Benny narrowed his eyes. "Then I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

Lin bit back a laugh. "Two specials. Chocolate shake for me, black coffee for her."

Benny grunted in approval. "Now that's how you order." He turned, already shouting toward the kitchen. "TWO HOUSE SPECIALS! SHAKE AND A COFFEE!"

Helen sighed, leaning back against the booth. "I think I've just been drafted."

Lin smirked, stirring the sugar in her coffee. "Welcome to Maep's."

Chapter 48 – Welcome Home

| September 30, 2023 – 2:30 PM

Lin turned onto the long gravel driveway, the familiar crunch of tires against stone filling the quiet space between her and Helen. The moment the truck crested the last hill, the farmhouse came into view—and so did the surprise waiting for them.

Helen stared. "Is that—?"

Lin smirked. "Yep."

The clinic was set up.

Richard had worked fast.

Where there had been empty space, now stood a fully organized medical station. The exam tables were lined up neatly, supply cabinets already filled, diagnostic machines plugged in and positioned against the walls. Even the pharmacy shelving had been assembled and stocked with labeled containers.

Helen's fingers tightened around her coffee cup. "You set all this up in one day?"

Lin shook her head. "Nope. Dad did."

As if on cue, Richard stepped out of the barn, wiping his hands on an old rag, looking far too satisfied with himself.

"Took you long enough," he called.

Lin parked the truck, stepping out with a smirk. "Didn't know you were a medical equipment specialist now."

Richard grinned, gesturing toward the setup. "Turns out, plugging in machines isn't that different from wiring up cars."

Helen climbed out slowly, eyes still scanning the clinic setup, like she wasn't sure if it was real.

"This…" She ran a hand over the nearest exam table, her voice softer now. "This looks like a real clinic."

Richard snorted. "That's because it is."

Helen exhaled, her fingers brushing over the neatly stacked supplies. "I haven't even processed that I quit my job, and now I'm standing in my own clinic."

Lin leaned against the truck, arms crossed. "You still worried about leaving the city?"

Helen let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "I don't know what I'm feeling."

Richard grinned, tossing the rag over his shoulder. "How about grateful?"

Helen rolled her eyes but didn't argue. Instead, she turned to Lin, eyes narrowing slightly. "You really planned all of this?"

Lin smirked. "Mom, I don't make reckless decisions. This is an investment."

Helen exhaled again, pressing her palm against the exam table.

Lin could see it happening in real time. That moment when her mother stopped thinking of this as some wild plan and started seeing it for what it really was.

A new start.

A clinic of her own.

And this time?

She was in control.