AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I watch as Andrew pulls the trap from the back of his truck and opens the door. Fernandez comes trotting out with his head held high, like he owns the place. Typical. Within seconds, he joins the crowd of hens, almost as though he’s been here all along.
“I think he’s going to be just fine.” Megan says with a smile. “Feel free to come back and visit him anytime.”
* * *
“I have to admit, it really is quite quiet around here.” I say, before commanding Alexa to play my red dirt playlist.
“You’re missing Fernandez, aren’t you?” Andrew teases. “Are you going to go steal him back from Rob and Megan?”
“No.” I say with a chuckle. “He’s right where he belongs.”
It’s been two weeks since Fernandez went to his home and one month since Andrew moved back to Fawn Creek. The days have been busy. He hit the ground running with his contracting business and has stayed consistently busy all throughout the week. His brother, Cody, has even started to work with him part-time on his days off from the local oil refinery. I’m so proud of him for all of his success, even though it means that the two of us haven’t had much time together. We are simply just trying to enjoy the time that we have together.
Andrew sits across from me with his plate of enchiladas. “This looks amazing.” He says, eyeballing his food.
“I hope it tastes as good as it smells.” I say with a groan. “That’s the good and bad side of working from home. I’m able to cook in between helping customers, which is great, because dinner is already done when I clock out. However, on the flip side, I spend all day today smelling the chicken while it cooked in the crock-pot before I put the enchiladas together. It’s a strange kind of torture.”
Andrew shakes his head. “Sign me up for that kind of torture, any day. Speaking of, how’s work going?”
“Eh. Same old same.” I say with a shrug.
He pauses thoughtfully. “Do you like what you do?” He asks, cutting into his food.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t hate it. It’s not my dream job, but it pays the bills.”
“What is your dream job?” He pries, but when I don’t answer, he continues. “Your bookstore?”
I grimace and stare down at my plate for a second before moving my eyes to his. “That’s not an actual job. It’s a silly little dream of a ten year old girl.”
He scoffs. “Being a business owner is a real job. I should know.” He says, before shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.
I roll my eyes. “Sure, what you do definitely qualifies as a real job. You’re providing a service that there was an obvious need for in Fawn Creek, otherwise you wouldn’t be as busy as you are now.”
“So what’s the difference? Fawn Creek doesn’t have a bookstore.”
“No, but Fawn Creek has access to the internet. People don’t buy from bookstores anymore, they buy from Amazon and take advantage of two-day shipping.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Fawn Creek has a thriving downtown business district. If you open a store, people are going to support it.”
I take a bite of my food and ponder what he says. “There’s a difference between people buying things here and there, and it being a sustainable business that will support me. I’ll still need an income coming in to pay my bills.”
“You don’t need much.” He argues. “Your mortgage is paid off, you don’t have a car payment. It’s doable.”
I frown. “Maybe…. I don’t know Andrew. I’ve thought about it on and off for my entire life, but it’s just feels irresponsible to dump money into a business that may or may not work out. Doesn’t it make more sense to save it, and just work somewhere where I can bring in a reliable income?”
“At the end of your life, are you going to look back and think, ‘Man, I am so glad I worked in customer service for forty years to bring in a steady paycheck?’ Or are you going to wish you had followed your dreams?”
I wordlessly continue to pick at my food.
“You never know if you don’t try.” He says with a wink. “Hurry up and finish your food. I want to go for a walk.”
I raise a brow. “Exercise? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”
* * *
After dinner, Andrew and I make our way downtown, hand in hand, towards Drip. Suddenly, we find ourselves stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, right in front of my little brick building. I look up and see a new sign displayed in the window proclaiming that the building has been SOLD.
I stare at the sign and can’t fight the slight frown on my face. Andrew turns towards me.
