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“I’m here, Mom. I’ll need to talk to Katelyn and see if she can work two full days before I can commit to anything.” Hallie was stalling and she knew it.
“Then you’ll come?” Her mom’s excited voice always went up at least half an octave higher than her usual tone when she was excited.
“After I talk to Katelyn. I can’t just close the store down. I’d lose too much money.”
“I understand. But you work so hard, just like your father. Anyway, I love you, Baby. It’s getting late and I should get ready for bed.”
“Goodnight, Mom, I love you, too.” Hallie ended the call and collapsed onto her bed. The week had dragged on. Sales at The Mystic Cow were steadily decreasing and Hallie didn’t know why or what she could do about it. There was no way she could afford expensive advertising, and while she did have a website, she had not yet set up an online store.
Her phone buzzed again, and Hallie groaned. It was probably her mom reminding her to talk to Katelyn, like she’d forget in the last thirty seconds. She glanced at her phone and was surprised to see a message from Finn. They hadn’t talked since he last messaged her and she never answered. It was rude, but Hallie didn’t know what to say.
Finn: Did you lose your phone or something?
Hallie answered on instinct, since that was an easy enough question.
Hallie: No. Why?
Finn: You never answered me before.
Hallie: Sorry
Finn: How was your week?
Hallie: Same as usual. Yours?
Finn: I had a job interview. It went well.
Hallie: That’s great. I hope you get it.
Finn: I think I’ll find out Monday.
Hallie: Good luck.
Finn: If I say goodnight to you, will you answer this time?
Hallie: Good night.
She tossed her phone aside, then picked it back up. Deciding she needed to get out of her small apartment after all, she messaged Katelyn. Hallie loved her little place, but right now, it was suffocating her. She needed space. And time. And maybe some retail therapy with her mom.
Hallie: Can you work full days tomorrow and Sunday?
Katelyn: Sure thing.
Hallie: Great, thanks. See you Monday.
Her parents would’ve already gone to bed, but Hallie still had a key to their house. If she left now, it would take her just over an hour to get there. She could wake up to her mom’s Saturday morning pancakes and her father’s laughter as he read the comics section in the newspaper. The idea appealed to her so much, she went to her closet, got out her overnight bag and started filling it.
Within minutes, she was on the road, and already feeling better. The further away she got from Dallas and Caden, the easier she seemed to breathe. It made no sense why she was still thinking about him. Maybe it was that earth shattering kiss they shared or maybe it was just because he’d made her feel wanted and cherished. She hadn’t forgotten how he’d run to Orly, but Hallie doubted there was anything going on between them besides a solid friendship. She sighed, and turned up the volume on the radio. She hadn’t heard from him and probably never would. It was time to move on.
Hallie listened to the radio until she hit her small hometown where most radio stations didn’t work. Then she just drove in silence, passing familiar hang out places lit up by street lamps. The clocktower in Town’s Square. The Soda Shop on the corner. The little movie theater that only showed two pictures at a time. It was like the place was embracing her in a warm hug as she drove through town.
She turned down a narrow road until she pulled off onto a partially paved driveway. Her parents’ house sat in the middle of a ten-acre property surrounded by lush forest, and had a stream that often dried out during the hot summers and overflowed during the rainy season. It was predictable in its unpredictability and that was one of the things she absolutely loved about it.
Hallie slung her bag over her shoulder and quietly walked up the driveway. She let herself in the back door and tiptoed up the stairs to her old room. It was still painted a light shade of pink, and the bed had a matching bedspread and lace trimmed pillows.
As a teenager, she’d hated it and thought it was too childish, but now she was so grateful her mom hadn’t allowed her to change it. This room had become a kind of sanctuary for her the older she got. It was a place she could escape to when life got too hard, when sales at her store slumped, or when a stupid man broke her heart.
Dang, she hadn’t meant to bring her thoughts of Caden here. This was officially a Caden-free zone, and it was going to stay that way. She pulled off her jeans and sweater, donned a matching pajama set her parents had gotten her for Christmas, brushed her teeth in the ensuite bathroom, and climbed into bed.
