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I pull into the parking lot for The Stop ‘N Go, and lo and behold, it’s not very big. Being a woman in love with big box stores like Costco, I can’t imagine this tiny store will have much variety.
But it’s my only option, so I park the SUV and head inside.
Once there, I realize I’m right. It’s not very big at all. I grab a shopping cart and begin to make my way through the aisles. I head straight for the personal care section, tossing a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and some body wash into the cart. I glance around for my usual shampoo, but they don’t seem to have it. Luckily, I have a little left in the bottles I brought with me. Those were one thing I happened to stow in my duffel bag.
Aimlessly, I walk through the aisles for a bit, not looking for anything in particular. I’m not paying attention when someone stops my cart. When I look up, I see a woman with auburn hair styled in what looks like a modern-day beehive. She has on mascara that is clumped on her lashes and dark red lipstick.
“Hello dear, I don’t think we’ve met,” she says, holding out her hand. “I’m Brenda Jenkins.”
I shake her hand and reply, “I’m Andi Nicholson. Nice to meet you.”
“Where are you from, dear? No one around here talks like that.” Her smile is one that a snake would give to a mouse right before it devoured it.
“California,” I say, letting go of her hand.
Her lips purse together as though she isn’t a fan of my answer. “What brings you to Grady?”
“Just needed a fresh start,” I say, trying to muster up as much cheerfulness as I can.
“Hmm. And you’re staying over at the Mitchell Ranch?”
I simply nod.
“I bet he just loves the likes of you,” she says, her eyes darting to my larger-than-average chest. “But Jonas isn’t really the settling down type, so if you’re looking to rope in that horse, I’d look elsewhere.”
“I…” I begin.
“Save it, dear. No one comes to a small town like this without reason. And most people who have less than noble reasons don’t seem to stick around long.” Condescension and disdain drip from her words.
I have no idea what I’ve done to garner this woman’s hatred of me before I’ve uttered more than ten words to her. I’m tempted to tell her exactly what’s on my mind, but she’s walking away from me before I get the chance.
What the hell was that?
Once she is away from me, I decide to head toward the checkout lanes. I suddenly feel the need to get out of the store as quickly as possible. As I’m setting my items on the belt, a teenage girl whose nametag reads HEIDI stands behind the register, scrolling through her phone and popping her gum. When she sees me standing there, she rolls her eyes and sets her phone down.
I say hi to her but get no answer. She scans my items as slowly as humanly possible, which I find surprising since I figured she’d want to get back to all of the excitement on her phone. When she finishes, I pull out my debit card to hand to her.
“We don’t take those,” she says with another loud pop of her gum.
“Excuse me?”
“Cash only,” she replies, pointing to a sign in the front window that displays the same words she just uttered.
“Ooookay,” I say, astonished that the town market doesn’t take plastic.
Thankfully, I took out cash before leaving California. I pull out a few bills and hand them to Heidi and watch her slowly make the change.
Grabbing my two bags of new items, I walk out of the store. Taking a deep breath in of the fresh air, I try to collect my thoughts. Living in this small town is turning out to be a whole hell of a lot different than what I imagined.
I thought the small-town life might bring me some peace and serenity. So far, my only peace had come when I was at Jonas’ house. As for the rest of the town, not so much.
I consider skipping over my attempt to find some new clothes, but I need something else to wear besides the three outfits I have with me. I don’t feel like doing laundry every single day, and glancing around, I see that Daisy’s Boutique is right across the street.
I put my bags in the back of the SUV and decide just to walk over there. When I am inside, the environment is fun and vibrant. The walls are lined with shiny purple fabric, and in the front, there is a small table with some purses that look custom-made.
“Hi there!” A sweet voice calls out. Seconds later, I see a petite woman with brown hair that is cut into a pixie style. She has big green eyes that are wide and bright.
“Hi,” I say with a weary smile.
