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I couldn’t get Andy out of my head.
He had called me before work, much to Bobby’s discomfort, and we had agreed to meet after I was done with my shift at Jane’s. I had been thinking about him all morning, seeing him everywhere I looked. It was distracting at first, and I’d catch myself smiling just at the thought of meeting him later. I felt like I was back in high school waiting for the final bell to ring so I could hook up with the star quarterback behind the bleachers. I was happy, and it was strange to be feeling this way, as if somewhere across the years I had somehow convinced myself that I didn’t deserve to be.
Jane’s back room storage was a mess. She hadn’t been joking when she had warned me of how much work needed to be done, and it took me almost three hours just to orient myself with everything. Afterwards, I buried myself into the task of cataloging and organizing, using my years of secretarial experience just to make some sense of the haphazardness that existed around me. I knew that whatever I did would probably have to be tweaked over and over again until it ran smoothly, but for now I was just content with having a preliminary system in place. Something other than the chaos that had been festering here for decades.
And through it all, I thought about Andy. His eyes, his smile, the way he looked at me, the awkward dance and the even more awkward silence when he drove me home. There was definitely something there, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself right away. The question, though, was what.
Bobby’s warning came rushing to the forefront of my mind, and I quickly brushed it away. Yes, it had only been three days since I ran away from Dennis, and yes, I was probably in some sort of denial. But it felt good. And I wanted to feel good. I needed to. It had been so long since the last time I actually looked forward to something other than a night alone without a beating. Was it so wrong that I enjoy it while it lasted?
I looked up at the time, the clock on the wall letting me know that my shift was over, and I could finally stop thinking and have a little fun. I stretched, organized my desk into something that looked a little presentable, and made my way into the front store. Jane was waiting by the cash register, the morning remarkably slow for a weekday. She looked up and smiled as I approached her.
“Done already?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Not even close,” I said. “You were right, that place is like a cave of bad dreams.”
“Told ya it was going to be hard work.”
“And I’m all for it,” I said. “Don’t worry about that. At least I know I’ll be around for a while to see it through ‘til the very end.”
Jane smiled. “Glad to hear it. Gonna call Bobby to pick you up?”
I looked past her and caught sight of Andy’s Nissan parked outside. He was sitting in the driver’s seat talking to someone through the open window.
“Nope,” I smiled. “My ride’s already here.”
Jane looked over her shoulder and then back at me and winked. “Fine young man, that Stetson boy. Just remember the ring on your finger’s still there.”
I laughed, feeling like my mother was giving me a pep talk before sending me off to the prom. “I remember,” I said. “He’s just a friend, Jane.”
“And I’m the Queen of England, sweetheart,” Jane grinned. “Now, go before I find something else for you to do.”
“Already gone,” I called back as I raced out the supermarket.
Andy smiled when he saw me, and I felt my knees buckle just a little. I was beginning to remember what it felt like to have someone actually be happy to see me. He got out of the car, took me in for a quick hug and then gestured to the passenger side.
“Come on, I have somewhere I want to take you,” he said.
&n
bsp; “Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Another drinking hole?”
“Do you think that’s all I do?” he chuckled.
“So where are we going?”
“A surprise.”
I smiled, climbed into the passenger side, and we pulled away.
***
We ended up driving all the way to Eagleville Preserve. Andy parked the car in the closest spot to the whitewater falls that emptied into Eagleville Lake, and opened the door for me to join him. The weather was beautiful, the soft breeze giving the air a soft chill that made me wrap my arms around my shoulders, despite the heat of the sun. I gazed out across the pond, taking in the mesmerizing view as I stood next to Andy.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “But you do know I’ve been here a few times before, right?”
Andy chuckled and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I felt my body melt into his as he pulled me close and pointed to the small island in the middle of the pond. “I bet you’ve never been there, though.”
I frowned, looking up at him in wonder. “Eagleville Manor, really?”
