Bittersweet Moments


 
 
 
 
 Bittersweet Memories
 An Oak Harbor Series
 
 
 
 Kimberly Thomas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Prologue
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Chapter 28
 
 
 Epilogue
 
 
 
 
 Coming Next in the Oak Harbor Series
 
 
 Other Books by Kimberly
 
 
 Connect with Kimberly Thomas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Prologue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Five months ago
 
 
 
 “Oh thank God.” Jules hurriedly pushed open the glass door of the restaurant and stepped inside. She peeled the coat from her body while resisting the urge to shake her head like a dog to get rid of the water dripping from her hair. The perfectly formed blond ringlets were completely gone, and her hair clumped to the sides of her head like a wet newspaper. If only she’d paid better attention to the icons the small Asian woman on the television had been pointing to during the weather news back at the apartment, she wouldn’t have left without an umbrella. However, she was happy to be inside, where it was warm and dry while the rain continued to beat menacingly against the pavement, the roofs, and the awnings of the buildings.
 After hanging her coat by the rack at the door, she kicked off her Chucks and placed them on the shoe rack. Spotting her friends at the far corner of the restaurant, she made a beeline for them.
 “There she is. The woman of the hour,” her best friend Katie greeted with a wide grin. All eyes were turned to her.
 Jules gave her friends an apologetic smile as she sat on the floor and folded her legs. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
 “We were beginning to think you’d never show,” Kylie, who was more Katie’s friend than Jules’s, said with what Jules could only describe as feigned concern.
 “I got caught in the rain,” she explained, averting her gaze to look at the various dishes lining the circumference of the table. It all looked very appetizing and smelled even better from the aromas hitting her nose. Her belly grumbled with need. But, just as quickly as the desire came to sample the food, it went with the feeling of wanting to vomit.
 “You should try the Galbitang. It’s really good,” Stephen, another one of her friends, suggested, distracting her from her troublesome feelings.
 “Okay, I’ll go with that first, then,” Jules agreed, accepting the bowl of beef soup he offered to her. She quickly took a few sips and mewled in satisfaction at the warmth filling her empty stomach as the rich, hearty soup made its way down her throat.
 “I still can’t believe we’re almost done with our degrees,” Samantha, the final person at their table, beamed.
 “Yeah,” Katie agreed. “Just think about it. Next February, we will be holders of bachelor’s in international relations going on to do great things at the UN as ambassadors and making this world a better place,” she finished in a diplomatic tone.
 The group of friends looked at each other knowingly before bursting into laughter. 
 “We’d be lucky to fill the volunteer positions, let alone become ambassadors,” Samantha chimed in with a shake of her head. The others nodded in agreement.
 “Oh come on, guys. I know that we’re more than capable of doing exactly what we set out to do. There’s no way we’re going to allow anything to get in our way of achieving our goal,” Jules countered. “Look at where we are now,” she continued, arms wide open.
 “A restaurant?” Katie asked, her brows scrunched up in confusion.
 “No, silly. I was talking about the fact that we are here in Seoul because we believed we could study anywhere to be great. Even when they said there would be too much of a language barrier, we didn’t listen. We came, and we conquered, and we loved it. For that reason, the future is definitely looking bright.”
 “Here, here—”
 “Here.”
 Jules’s group of friends all agreed in unison as they raised the small glasses of yakju to their lips and finished it off in one go.
 “Cheers to an August of fun,” Katie added while the others grinned and nodded in agreement.
 Jules’s smile turned into a grimace as the uneasy feeling resurfaced with a vengeance. She put her hand over her mouth as she hurriedly rose from the table and headed for the bathroom. The moment she entered the stall, she fell to the floor as the contents of the meal forcibly exited her mouth into the toilet bowl. She spent the next two minutes retching, waiting for the urge to vomit and the feeling of dizziness to subside. When she was sure that it was over, she slowly got to her feet and made her way to the sink to rinse her mouth. She took in her appearance in the mirror and cringed. 
 Her face looked pallid and clammy all at once, and her bedraggled hair made it even worse. Sighing tiredly, she turned on the tap and ran water into her cupped palms before splashing the cool liquid over her feverish skin. After a few more splashes, she patted her face dry with the hand