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Roxie Roberts.Of course, I know who she is. Everyone has a movie star they’re head over heels in love with. Mine is Roxie Roberts. Every guy wants to date her. Every girl wants to be her best friend. They wait in line to see every one of her movies. They cry with her when she wins her awards because she’s just so darn relatable, it makes them believe that one day they could be in her shoes. She’s the perfect role model for young girls, a walking billboard of body positivity and confidence. The perfect storm of talent and beauty.
I knew her before the fashion and fame.
Before all that crap, she was Dani.
Beautiful, off-limits Dani Roberts. The girl down the hall.
It’s been five years since I’ve seen her. I’d love to go home and see her face again, but that situation is about as complicated as it can get. Some light conversation with a look-a-like once a week was my attempt at dealing with it.
In retrospect, not my greatest idea.
I climb into my car and drive away from the bar, leaving Iowa City behind me. I rarely enter the city at all anymore. I travel in about once a week for groceries or to run an errand for Mrs. Clark on the days when her hip is acting up on her. I suppose I’ll have to limit my trips in to see Darla now, too. It’s not personal. I do actually enjoy our conversations, but she’s getting too attached.
I turn off onto a dirt road and flick my brights on. Mrs. Clark has lived on this land for nearly fifty years. I know this because it’s always the first thing she mentions at the start of every story involving her and her late husband, Larry. He died in his sleep early last year. That’s how I met her. She wanted to upgrade the guest cabin and rent it out to help pay taxes on the land. I offered to do both, along with help her with maintenance on the main house, and I’ve lived out here ever since. It’s quiet, secluded, and completely off-the-grid, which is exactly what I was desperate for about six months ago.
The farmhouse comes into view along with Mrs. Barbara Clark herself. She glides back and forth in the rocking chair Larry built for her with his bare hands. She raises a pale salute and waves at me while I park near the cabin across the driveway.
Her husky dog, Sammy, stands up as I approach. The ever-watchful protector. His lips part and he growls at me.
“Sammy, down!” Mrs. Clark tells him. She rests her hand on his head and gestures him back to the porch. “It’s just Fox.”
“Bit late to still be up, isn’t it?” I ask, eying the dog. He keeps his snout trained on me, as he always does around those he senses could be a danger to her. I’d be offended, but honestly, he’s not wrong.
“Well…” Her little nose crinkles up, accentuating the wrinkles on her aged face. “I saw you sneaking out a few hours ago. Figured I’d wait up for you.”
“You know you don’t have to do that,” I say, smiling at her.
“I know I don’t have to, but I wanted to. An old lady like me doesn’t have much else going on. I was about twenty minutes away from packing it in…” she raises a silver eyebrow, “but now that you’re here, you might as well tell me all about her.”
“All about who?”
“Whatever hot, young thing you went out with this evening.”
I shake my head. “There was no hot, young thing, Mrs. Clark.”
“Well, why the hell not?” she says, her fingers wrapping around the dog tags hanging from her neck. Another proud reminder of Larry she always keeps with her. “You’re too good-looking to sit around out in the middle of nowhere with me all day and night.”
“If I don’t, then who will keep your spunky ass company?”
“I’ve got Harvey here,” she says. Her hand taps against the shotgun leaning against the wall next to her chair. “And Sammy, of course.”
I laugh and scratch an itch on my chin through my beard. “You’re right. Who can compete with that?”
“Seriously, kiddo,” she says. “Don’t let me and my bum hip hold you back. There’s a world full of good pussy out there and you’re the best brand of catnip money can buy.”
“And with that, I’m going to call it a night,” I say, barely able to speak through my laughter. “Goodnight, Mrs. Clark.”
“Goodnight, Fox.”
I look at the dog. “Goodnight, Sammy.”
He stands to attention with twitching lips, ready to bark if I make any sudden movements.
Mrs. Clark grabs his collar to hold him in place. “Chill out, Sammy. He’s not an actual fox…”
I keep my hands exposed at my sides and walk slowly away to keep him calm until I reach the cabin door.
It’s a small, one-room cabin, but I don’t need much more space than that. My life is far simpler now than it used to be. I just need a few pairs of clothes and a place to sleep. It’s not much, but it’s enough, and it’s far more than I had on the bad days during my deployment overseas.
