She took the next exit from the interstate and zipped into the first supermarket she found.
With her key still in hand, she headed inside on a mission to snag every free home magazine and brochure from the racks that were always right there by the door.
A plan was brewing. Natalie wasn’t exactly sure what her next step was yet, but she was taking back control starting right now.
She grabbed a shopping cart then wheeled it over to the wire frame display that held the freebies. Homes, houses, estates, even the ones with apartments.
One by one she tossed them into the cart. Feeling more confident as each one hit the bottom.
Off to the coffee aisle, she stocked up on her favorite light-roast toasted-coconut blend, then reached for a box of sugar dots.
As she held the box of sugar cubes, she heard Jeremy’s voice as plain as if he were standing there with her.Have you ever tried to chop up one of those dots in a bowl of Wheaties? Doesn’t happen. You’re left with nothing but soggy flakes by the time that thing dissolves.
She pulled the sugar to her chest. They’d had that conversation a hundred times. She’d kept a big bag of sugar right next to his cereal box from that day forward.
She lingered there, glowing in that sweet memory for a moment, then whipped her cart around and grabbed a box of Wheaties. “For old times’ sake,” she whispered, feeling closer to Jeremy than she had in a long time. A longing for him filled her heart.
At that moment, his voice echoed in the back of her mind.The mountain cabin. Babe, it’s a place of peace. I know you always thought of it as mine, but you need that right now.
She clutched the box of Wheaties, almost afraid to look to see who was on the front. Was it Jeremy? Talking to her from this box? Her hands clamped tighter, then she relaxed.
“The cabin? Yes, the cabin. You’re right.” The words poured out. She turned, half expecting him to be there. “It’s furnished. Simple.” She turned to see if anyone had heard her talking to herself. Thank goodness she was alone in the cereal aisle. “Oh my gosh. Jeremy, you always take care of me.” Her nose tickled. She sniffled, trying to maintain control.
She resisted the urge to start apologizing to Jeremy right here in the store, because that would certainly leave her in a sobbing heap on the cereal aisle floor. Maybe even get her a ticket to the loony bin.
“I’m going to the cabin in the mountains,” she whispered.
Jeremy’s family had lived in Chestnut Ridge for generations. The cabin on No Business Mountain had been there for longer than that.
She remembered his enthusiasm as he told her how the cabin had been built from a single chestnut tree. The ridge had once been covered in the giant trees. Now, they were all but extinct from blight brought in from some imported tree long before anyone realized the damage about to ensue.
He’d taken her fishing there a couple of times. She’d caught her first fish on the stream in front of the cabin, and he’d cooked it over an open fire in a cast-iron skillet. Jeremy came alive in the mountains, like there was something in the air that he couldn’t get enough of.
It didn’t take long for her to understand why the cabin was his sanctuary, a man cave of the very best kind. After that trip,she’d politely rejected future offers, to allow him to get together with old friends there.
She turned her cart to the cracker aisle and tossed in a box of Triscuits. They’d always been Jeremy’s favorites. She snagged the reduced-fat version, always trying to eliminate unnecessary calories since it was a battle to keep weight down on her short frame.
Reliving moments when she’d shopped in preparation for Jeremy’s hunting trips with the guys, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Crackers already in the cart, she snagged peanut butter, turkey jerky, and marshmallows, then over to the deli to get cheddar hoop cheese. More cheese than any man should ever consume in a short time. More than she would, for sure, but hoop cheese meant cabin to Jeremy, and if she was going to head that way, why not carry on the tradition? Protein bars and a case of water rounded out her provisions.
When she got back to Sheila’s house, she packed her suitcase. She didn’t have much since she’d only bought what was absolutely necessary since she got back from Cancún, thinking and hoping maybe the police would track down Marc and all of her belongings.
It was time to shift out of neutral and get back to living. Thank goodness she’d refused to commingle all of her money with Marc’s.
I have enough, and I’ll make more. I’m capable.For the first time in a long time, she believed the words.
As long as she could get a decent internet connection, she could work on her note cards and fill orders from the cabin. She could go back to eldercare too. Gerontological nursing was challenging, but also meaningful, and she loved being a part ofher patients’ lives. Her visits were a guaranteed happy moment in their days.
If Jeremy were still alive, she had no doubt she’d still be doing that work. It had just been too hard to face more death after losing him. It had been self-preservation that had led her to the leave of absence and accidentally falling into making hand-painted note cards and selling them online.
Everything happens for a reason.
It was so clear she had no idea how she hadn’t thought of it before.
“Oh my gosh. I think I know what I’m going to do.”
Unsure if the butterflies in her stomach were dancing in excitement for the new direction or fleeing for freedom, she vowed to move forward and never look back.
Jeremy’s hunting cabin was paid for, and it was hers now. Taxes and insurance would be due in December, but they weren’t much. There was absolutely no reason she couldn’t live there. It was modestly furnished, but that was fine. It was more than she had now, and no one would ever takethisfrom her.
