Page 34 of Where Roads Lead

“Sure.” She shrugged. “I mean, unless you need both of us here?”

We all started at the distinct lack of a line, everyone already seated and enjoying their morning coffee. Will scratched his head, as if debating how to respond. Before he could say anything, I turned toward her with a smile.

“That would be great, Ava. Thank you.”

Besides not knowing where the hardware store was, the truth was, I was lonely. It would be nice to have at least one friend in town. Maybe my relationship with Ava could still be salvaged if I put in the work.

Will, looking anything but pleased at the prospect of the two of us going off together, turned his attention toward Ava.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Of course.” She sounded offended.

“Are you doubting both of our intelligence?” I tilted my head at him. “Is it because we’re women?”

“No,” he said slowly. “It’s because of the specific women in question who don’t seem particularly suited for the task.”

“I’m going to pretend not to be insulted by that,” I told him.

Will was silent another minute, looking between the two of us as if trying to size until he finally exhaled and resigned in defeat.

“Suit yourselves.” He shrugged.

I grinned at him while Ava reached underneath the counter and pulled out a purse. Pulling her apron off and slinging the purse over her shoulder, she stepped around the counter to stand beside me.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” she told him, and he waved us off with an apprehension I found laughable.

I pushed the door open, letting Ava pass through first as he yelled out one more instruction to us.

“And don’t forget batteries!”

I leaned over close to Ava and whispered, “I definitely would’ve forgotten the batteries.”

She let out a laugh, almost reluctantly, and I beamed. It was progress.

Chapter Ten

Elsie

Somehow, even under the fluorescent lights of the hardware store, Ava Hughes looked flawless.

But despite agreeing to accompany me on the extremely crucial mission of (checks notes) buying a carbon monoxide detector, there was a decidedly icy air filling the space between us.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I existed solely in faded jeans and oversized sweaters. I could see my fashion sense being offensive to a woman who looked as if she belonged on a New York City runway. Or maybe she just didn’t like me, which I also decided to be fine with.

I wasn’t what you would call a people pleaser, exactly. I was social, sure. But I realized from an early age that my personality was not for everyone.

After a few too many teachers pinned me with the ‘talks too much in class’ line in the comments on my report cards, I discovered something crucial about myself and the world around me.

Just because I had the urge to utter every possible thought occurring in my brain didn’t mean anyone wanted to hear it.

And sometimes, my energy was just too much for some people, which is what I deduced must be the case with Ava.

So, for the sake of getting through the shopping trip in one piece, I resigned myself to try to behave like a normal, adult woman would when walking through a hardware store.

Which meant stifling down a verse of the Bob the Builder theme when we passed the tool section, ignoring the urge to admit I never learned the difference between a Phillip’s head and an Allen wrench and not blurting out my crush on the Brawny paper towel guy who I could totally imagine shopping at a store like this.

Suffice to say, it was an outing of immense self-restraint.