Chapter 184

Russford was smaller than I’d been expecting. The downtown consisted mainly of three buildings: a town hall, a bank office, and the Hatfield Supply branch office where I now found myself working.

My new apartment was one of three above a local grocery store with an outside stairwell entrance.

Most of the restaurants and stores closed at 7pm every night. There were no bars, but it wasn’t a dry town. I could still buy wine at the grocery store beneath my place. Well, as long as it wasn’t Sunday.

Work was also an adjustment. They didn’t expect as much from me here as they had at the previous location. Even with my insisting I could take on more roles, they kept me at the same task level as a traditional assistant.

I didn’t want to complain. It was nice to not have to work so hard all the time. Yet with how much free time I know found myself with, I desperately wanted more to do. I was ready to put in overtime, but they weren’t ready to give it.

Unsure what to do with myself, I often wandered the city, looking for new places and experiences. I found a coffee shop that was nice. The barista remembered my name and my order, but made no efforts to return my small talk. I couldn’t blame her and stopped trying pretty quickly.

Eventually, I stopped wandering and spent most of my free time like a zombie in the aisles of the grocery store. I’d spend time reading the labels – I’d never compared the brand cereal ingredients to the generic’s before.

It wasn’t terribly interesting, but it was something to do, I guess.

God, when did I let my life become so pathetic?

“Excuse me, Miss?” said an older man with thinning white hair and a kind smile. He wore a blue vest, the apparel of a grocery store employee as well as a name tag, Frank.

“Yes?” I asked. I was still holding both boxes of cereal, the brand name and the generic.

“Is there anything you need help with?” he asked. He glanced at the boxes in my hands.

The rest of the grocery store was empty, which is why I assumed he had time for such personal offers of assistance.

I recognized him from the many times I’d been in here. I didn’t think he was an owner; he was sometimes bossed around by a man much younger. Was this a part time gig he did to get out of the house? I hoped he had a retirement saved up.

None of this was my business, of course. The solitude was starting to get to me.

“Thank you, but I’m okay,” I said and returned the boxes to the shelf.

Frank continued looking at me with that same kind smile. “Well, if you need anything, even if it’s someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to approach my wife or I. We both spend a lot of time here.”

“Your wife?”

“Surely you’ve seen her? 70. White hair. Absolutely gorgeous.”

His praise of his wife endeared me entirely. I could only hope Logan would think of me this way when we were both older.

“Her name is Tammy. She’s a chatterbox once she gets started, so be warned,” Frank continued.

I laughed a little.

“We see you in here a lot,” Frank said. “We don’t mind the company.”

Embarrassment rushed through me as I realized they must have seen me wandering these aisles lost and lonely. Suddenly, I feel something like a feral cat being brought in from the rain.

“Thank you,” I said. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

“Glad to hear,” Frank said. “Come to the front of the store. Tammy’s at the register. I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

The moment I followed him to the front and introduced myself to Tammy, she opened her heart to me like I imagined a mother would. A true, kind-hearted mother. Not like the one who had raised me back home.

“What brings you to this little city, Hazel?” Frank asked.

“Don’t pry,” Tammy scolded him.

“It’s alright,” I said. “I’m here for work.”

“You ever been to Russford before?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Tammy said. “This isn’t a city for young people. There’s hardly anything for single young people to do.”

I’d already discovered that. I didn’t want to be rude by agreeing with her, so I said, “I’m sure the city has it’s charms.”

“It does,” Tammy said.

“It’s quiet,” Frank said.

“Too quiet for young people,” Tammy added. “But don’t you worry now. We’re going to look out for you. There are a few places worth seeing, even for someone not yet eligible for the senior discount…”

Logan hired two more people, in addition to the assistant Hazel had helped train, and the combined three still couldn’t match Hazel’s diligence and work quality. They needed time to learn, but the mismatch in what Logan was used to, to what he had now was jarring.

He really had taken Hazel for granted at the office.

Out of it too, he was quickly realizing. Sometimes he found himself driving his car in the direction of her old apartment, only to turn around at the last moment.

They continued to talk in text and phone conversations, and while he valued every moment of hearing her voice, he missed having her near him. Her warmth, her body, the sight of her laugh… He had no idea how integral these things had become in his day to day until he was denied them.

The days were growing longer. The nights, colder.

Even Dylan had noticed the change in him, when he visited for lunch one afternoon.

“Why not take a trip and go see her?” Dylan asked. “It could revive you from your slump.”

“I’m not in a slump,” Logan had tried to argue, but Dylan ignored him.

“A weekend together might do you both a world of good,” Dylan continued on as if Logan hadn’t said anything. “You haven’t seen each other since she left…”

“It’s only been two weeks,” Logan said. Two of the longest, most torturous weeks of his life.

“Too long,” Dylan said.

“Yeah,” Logan agreed, unable to fight it anymore. He wanted to see Hazel so badly his hands itched for the feel of her skin. “Maybe this weekend.”

“There you go.”

Plans in mind, Logan was able to finish the rest of his day with a lighter heart. He couldn’t wait to tell Hazel his plans later that evening, when they met for their nightly phone call.

With a spring in his step, he drove himself home and entered his house.

He was so distracted with his weekend plans – and how he was going to hold and kiss Hazel – that he didn’t realize something was amiss in his house until he was standing in his living room looking at the little black dress draped over the back of the couch.

Maybe Hazel had beat him to the punch? Was she hear?

Excitement sent his heart hammering in his chest. He rushed up the stairs, threw open the bedroom door, and saw…

Tina naked, stretched seductively over his bedspread.

“Welcome home, lover,” she purred.