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I looked down and saw the guy I’d kissed standing at the base of the stage. At first, I thought this was truly the worst moment ever for him to attempt to hit on me, but then I realized he was extending a hand toward Viv. She put her hand in his, and he guided her down. He carefully held her at arm's length, and they danced for a few seconds before he gave her a spin into my grasp.
"Say good night," I said.
"Good night," Viv said, waving at him.
I had a feeling the rest of the evening was going to be cut very short. I managed to get her out to the limo, gave the driver instructions to keep her inside, and went back in to collect the rest of the girls. When I'd finally gotten them all out, I glanced around to try to see the man and thank him, but I couldn't find him. Not willing to risk the bachelorette party escaping the limo and running wild on the streets, I left.
3
CAMDEN
The alarm went off like it always did at four-thirty, and I sat up to turn it off.
It was ancient, a relic from the nineties, but a treasured possession of mine. A rounded cube shape, the speaker was incredibly powerful, and I often used the built-in CD player and radio to blast music while I did household chores since I could hear it all through the house even playing from my nightstand. But it was the alarm that was the most useful. Starting low and increasing in volume and urgency, it got me moving every morning before sun-up, and today was going to be no different.
Today was the first day of classes.
Sliding out of bed, I shook my head and yawned. Sleep did not come easy last night. Usually, by the time evening rolled around, I was already feeling tired from a hard day’s work and by ten would be sound asleep. Going to the bar the other night had thrown the entire sleep schedule off, and now I was stuck in the nebulous gray area where I was tired all the time but didn’t necessarily want to go to bed either.
I tried to get the cobwebs out by heading directly to the kitchen and starting the coffee pot. Usually, I had a whole routine that I generally went through, only slightly modified now that I was always alone at home. I would wake up and wander into the restroom, turn on the shower and then head to the kitchen, start the pot and then take my shower. By the time the shower was over, the coffee was ready, and I could start my day at the desk reading the paper.
Today would be different. I plopped down at the kitchen table, pushing my palm into my eye and trying to wake up as the coffee brewed, opening my phone to scroll to my schedule and make sure I had all the times right. Eight a.m. was my first class. Building two. First floor, room 103.
I repeated it under my breath for the millionth time and glanced over to the door to check and make sure I had my things ready. My new backpack, a jacket with my keys and wallet sitting on top of them, and my school planner were sitting out, ready to go. I had prepared that little stack at six in the evening the night before.
Why in the world was I so nervous? I was a grown man, and this was community college. The excitement I understood, but this nervousness was new. I hadn’t felt this way since I’d first started the ranch.
I got my first cup of black coffee in me to start the day and felt the nerves loosen up a little. I knew most people got wound up by the caffeine, but for me, it had the opposite effect. The warm, almost bitter drink grounded me and made me feel calm and collected. After drinking it, I was more focused and ready to do what I needed. A shower only added to that confidence, and by the time I was dressed and grabbing my things by the door, I felt much better about the whole situation.
It was still only six in the morning. The campus was roughly forty minutes away from the ranch, with traffic, and it could take ten or so minutes to find my class from the parking lot. That meant I had an hour to kill. I wanted at least ten or so minutes just to acclimate myself to the surroundings, but an hour was a long time. I needed to do something to pass it.
Heading outside, I threw the backpack in the truck and headed out to the horses. I didn’t want to get all dirty before my first day, but being around them made me feel calmer, and checking in on everyone would be a good way of passing the time.
A couple of workers had taken over the feedings and morning routines at my behest on school days. It had been a major shift for me to not do it all myself, or to do it with a volunteer or someone coming for ranch therapy. I was so used to it that the first thing I did when I walked into the stable was reach for the rake. But when I realized it was missing, it dawned on me that, for today, that wasn’t my job.
I could hear someone raking a stall out a couple down and went to see who it was. A man with a ballcap pulled down almost to his eyebrows was diligently working and looked up to me with a nod. I nodded back, not engaging any further after he returned to his work.
It was one of the biggest things I’d learned about the ranch therapy. A lot of these guys were just so damned used to having a routine, a schedule, that all they wanted was to have something useful to do in the mornings. This particular fellow had a deep scar going up his neck from the collared flannel shirt he wore tight to his chest. I never asked what injuries people had, often because the injuries weren’t physical at all, but his were pretty obvious.
He just wanted to get on with the work. I respected that. Walking on, I moved out to the chicken coop and saw that they had already been taken care of and a fresh crate of eggs was sitting on a bucket, presumably about to go inside the fridge in the stable soon.
I wandered around for a bit, killing time and watching as the sun rose in the east over the trees that lined my property. I had a great life. I needed to keep that in mind. For as much as I wanted to complete this mission of going back to school, for as lonely as I got sometimes being the only one of my friends without a partner, I had to stop at moments like this and realize how lucky I actually was.
By the time I made it back to my truck, it was more or less time to go, and I headed out of town. Slater was a smaller town, mostly just farmland and the community college, and relied heavily on the surrounding towns near it including Murdock. It only had a few shops and was a good distance away from the big box stores in the town north.
Still, it was pretty out there with a big lake and well-maintained gardens, and when I pulled in to a parking space, I didn’t have the cold, depressing feeling some universities gave off.
I climbed out of the truck, pulling my backpack over my shoulder, and walked slowly to the main building that led to the others either across a courtyard behind it or connected through a series of open air and closed breezeways.
As soon as I was inside, I was hit by a variety of smells that brought back memories of when I was there before. New books, perfume, and the smell of the food coming from the commons just a hallway away all mixed together. I glanced around at the packed main hall, knowing that it wouldn’t be like this all the time. It was the beginning of a semester. It was busier than it would be during the regular school year.
I made my way down toward my first class. Building two. First floor. Room 103.
As I rounded the area where the commons were, snaking my way through heavy foot traffic to get to the door leading to the courtyard, my heart leapt into my throat when I recognized a pair of eyes glancing at me across the sea of people. Instinctively, I raised my hand to wave, and the girl from the bar raised hers as well.
There were too many people for us to cross over, and we were heading in opposite directions, so we didn’t stop. I wanted to, but frankly, I was a little afraid of trying. I was physically larger than most of the students between us and considerably older. I had the image of a linebacker plowing through a hallway of children in my head and how that would work out for me on my first day of classes, much less the horror this girl might feel at seeing me come at her.
Instead, our wave was the entirety of our interaction and I kept moving, out the door and into the sun of the courtyard. Just knowing she was there was still a win, though. She was insanely pretty, and the way she reacted to seeing me was positive. If I could run into her again, maybe I could chat her up. If I didn’t see her for the rest of the day, I could always wait until next Monday and try to time it just like today.
