by Terra Kelly
“Cleaning up my mess,” Jackson teased.
“Again.”
I knew I had to be careful and not scare the woman as I approached. I stood about a foot away from the bench where she was sitting. “Are you okay?”
The woman looked startled again and stood. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” I said and put my hands above my head in a surrender. She was obviously frightened. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Jackson is a decent guy, direct, but still decent.”
“Oh, I’m…fine.” She sat back down.
It was weird, she was biting her nails like it was her last supper. “Are you new here?”
“Um, I need to go.” She grabbed her bag sitting on the bench and quickly disappeared.
“Sure, nice talking to you.” I was now having a conversation with myself. The guys were doing a dive bomb whistle as I walked back inside. “Shut up.” I sat back down in the booth. “Wow, someone damaged that woman.”
“We were watching; she seemed freaked out,” AJ said and took a drink.
Just then Angie walked up holding a notepad ready to take our order. “Hey Angie, do you know who that woman was that sat there?” I pointed to the booth in front of me.
“Who, Sarah? She moved into town a few days ago.”
I repeated her name a few times silently.
The table went quiet at the mention of her name.
My wife’s name was, Sara.
“Uh oh.” I raised my hands and wiggled my fingers. “Tickle hands have been engaged.” I arrived home and noticed my daughter on the couch with our dog, Tucker. Her head was resting on his side and she was tapping the remote against her foot.
The moment I mentioned tickle hands she leapt up. “What? No,” Kelsey said trying to act scared.
“Hey, you know I can’t control them. Tickle hands have a mind of their own.” I shrugged and continued to advance on her.
Kelsey squealed and ran behind the couch. Tucker barked and stood in front of my daughter. The great protector.
“You think Tucker can stop these hands,” I teased and reached over the seventy-five-pound dog. Tucker pushed me away from Kelsey and barked louder. I lost my balance and fell backwards. “Okay, okay, you both win.”
Kelsey stood over me in fits of giggles. “Daddy, you fell.”
I reached up and grabbed her around her waist to pull her down with me. “And oh no, so did you.”
Tucker was not happy and lunged forward to lick my face.
We were still on the floor giggling. “So, what should we have for dinner?”
Kelsey yelled, “Steak!”
“What? You are not a normal four-year-old at all. What about mac n’cheese or chicken nuggets?”
“Nope, I want steak.”
“Okay, that means we have to go shopping.”
She hopped up and reached for my hand to help me up. “Let’s go.”
I was still chuckling to myself as we headed to the truck. My daughter liked steak, who would have thought. Now I needed to prevent her from falling in love with lobster or even caviar.
The store was about five miles from our house. When we arrived, I noticed the woman from the diner, Sarah walking inside. There was this pull to want to talk to her, but I knew anything I said would probably scare her.
Since Kelsey was born. I had always whistled songs and even show tunes. Before she started talking she was able to mimic everything I did, even when I whistled. As we walked into the store hand in hand, she kicked off the whistling with one of our favorite songs. I’m sure the store was used to us by now with our loud entrance.
Frank was behind the customer service counter with his pen behind his ear. “Kelsey,” he smiled and walked around to squat down in front of my daughter. “How are you today?” He handed her a lollipop.
“Good. We’re getting steak.”
Frank looked up at me. “She eats steak already.”
“Hey, I’m just as surprised as you are.”
Kelsey hopped around and touched each hard surface. She never wandered far, so I wasn’t worried.
“Frank, do you have any extra boxes?”
“Let me check with Susie in the back. Before you leave stop back over here.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I turned to go meet up with Kelsey and stopped in my tracks. She was talking to Sarah. What was different this time, Sarah had a smile on her face and was holding Kelsey’s hand.
Interesting.
Chapter Four
Sarah
As I went to log out of my register someone whistling caught my attention. I glanced over and noticed the same little girl from the other day. She was hopping around and holding a lollipop in one hand.
She hopped next to me and stopped. “Hi.”
I bent down to be eye level with her. “Hi there.”
“Look, I got a lolli.”
“Yum. What flavor did you get?”
She eyed it and then handed it to me. “You check.”
“Okay,” I laughed and read the lettering on the side of the stick. “Hmmmm, yum, strawberry.”
“I love strawberries,” she said excitedly. “I’m Kelsey, what’s your name?”
I had to laugh at how forward she was. “Hi, Kelsey. My name is Sarah.” Kelsey stopped bouncing around and I noticed her smile fall. “Are you okay?”
Before she had the chance to answer a familiar voice called for her. I looked up to find the guy from the diner standing about two feet away. My mind always went to fear, something I knew needed to change. I stood and stepped away from the little girl. “It was nice meeting you, Kelsey.”
“Nice meeting you,” she said so low it was hard to hear.
The guy was definitely handsome, but any male caused a warning buzzer to flash loudly in my head. A part of me wanted to avoid talking to him. Yet the other part of me was begging for him to start a conversation. Instead, he only nodded, grabbed his daughter’s hand and headed in the opposite direction.
Jackie, the cashier working next to me stepped up beside me. “He’s so dreamy."
“I guess.”
“Oh please, I saw you watching him.” She waved to the next customer in line. “We all love when they come in because they give us the best whistling show.”
“Where is the mom?” I asked and was met with sad eyes. “What did I say?”
“His wife died several months ago.” She turned to help the customer.
I wanted to hit myself. Seriously, I let myself get scared of a man who was dealing with his own struggles.
My bike was only a few years old. I bought it and then let it sit in my closet for two years. Today, as I rode to work there was an unusual shake with each push on the peddles. Now it was time to head home and I noticed the shake was worse. Suddenly, my bike stopped and I almost tumbled over the handlebars. The wheel in the front looked low, and the chain was positioned incorrectly.
Great.
My bike was obviously better as a decoration. So much for getting home before sunset, I still had five miles until I would reach my place.
After a few minutes, I heard a honk behind me. I turned and noticed a truck slow down. The guy from the diner rolled his window down. “You need a ride?”
“Um…”
“We won’t bite.”
The little girl, Kelsey yelled from the backseat. “Snuffles might.”
I scowled. “Snuffles?”
“That’s her stuffed elephant,” he chuckled. “She’s right, he might. We’ll try to control him.”
Kelsey was in the back giggling; she had the most beautiful laugh. “Come on, Sarah.”
I noticed the guy glance back at his daughter. “You know this nice lady’s name?”
“Yeah, it’s just like momma’s name.”
This was getting awkward, and I didn’t want to make him more uncomfortable. “Listen, I’m fine.”
The guy opened his door and put his hands up in surrender. “I’m just going to get out and put
your bike in the back. Okay?”
“Why do you have your hands up?”
“You seem scared every time I get close to you.”
Well, so much for blending in. I wanted to hit myself. “Oh, um, no, here.” I handed him my bike and walked around to the passenger side.
When the guy hopped back up into the truck, he turned in his seat. “I’m Eddie and I know you’ve already met that little rascal.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to bother you.”
Sitting this close was harder than I expected. I let myself soak up every inch of the handsome man. He had dark mysterious eyes, short dark brown hair, and well, let’s be honest…he made my girl parts come back alive. It had been a long time since I felt my insides swirl around with excitement.
“You’re not bothering us. Right, Kelsey?”
“Nope. We going to eat steak.”
“Steak, huh,” I teased. “You like a fancy pants dinner already at your age?”
Something felt weird. I was in Eddie’s truck with his daughter. Clearly, I knew neither of them. Yet, for the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable. My go-to emotion had always been fear, but at the moment all I could feel was…happiness.
Which confused me.
Chapter Five
Eddie
“Tell me. How do you spell your name?” I’m not sure why I asked the question. It just sort of slipped out.
“I add the h at the end.” She brushed her hand through her hair and glanced out the window.
An h. I was still trying to absorb how I managed to meet another woman named Sarah. Not that I was planning to date her any time soon. “You’re not from around here, right?” I thought about how in the past, the name, Sarah would just roll off my tongue. Today, it felt like it was stuck in the back of my throat.
“No, I’m just here temporarily.”
That took me by surprise. “Oh, are you here for work or something?” She didn’t answer. “I’m sorry, that was none of my business. Where should I drop you off?” Again, she stayed silent. “You do have a place you’re staying at, right?”
“Um, yes…I’m about five miles that way.” She pointed forward and in the same direction as my house.
I tried to think about the homes for rent or sale in my neighborhood. The only house that came to mind was that dump about a mile from me. Did she buy that place? No. She didn’t, did she?
When we were about sixteen yards from the driveway. “That’s me.”
“Wow, you live here?”
“Yeah. It’s not glamorous, but it works for now.”
“You may need to do some serious work on the place. If you need to borrow any tools, let me know,” I pulled into the driveway and put the truck in park.
She let out this quiet laugh. “Yeah, the railing on the porch already gave out on me.”
“Oh sh–” I looked back at my daughter and caught myself before continuing. “Are you okay?”
“What? Oh, for sure.” She opened the door and hopped out.
I made sure to put her bike on the porch and then stepped away. She still seemed uncomfortable in my presence. “We live about a mile apart, if you need anything we would be happy to help.”
“I’m okay. I appreciate that though.” She waved to Kelsey and opened her front door. My cue to exit.
“Bye, Sarah,” I softly said the words as I walked back to my truck.
This time bye was not forever.
About two weeks later…
“Need a ride?” I was heading home and noticed Sarah walking her bike, again.
She bent her head and laughed. “I think I need a new bike.”
“Or a car.”
“Maybe.” Her smile fell and she rubbed her hands back and forth on the handles.
“Kelsey’s home waiting for her lobster. Do you need a change of scenery?” I figured I’d ask if she wanted to have dinner with us. A few weeks ago when we helped her, Kelsey said I should’ve asked her over for steak. My child, the matchmaker.
“Lobster, huh?”
“Yeah, I may have teased her when she was enjoying her steak that night and said, now I bet you want lobster,” I shook my head and hopped out to put her bike in the bed of my truck.
“Well, just don’t mention caviar during this meal and you should be safe.”
“That’s exactly what I thought, too.”
“You’re in the clear since Marv’s doesn’t carry caviar.”
“And even better, there are no other specialty stores in town.”
She pointed at me and winked. “Bonus.”
The drive to my house took about two minutes. Sarah was facing the passenger window but she seemed less agitated today. Her hands were crossed on her lap instead of moving back and forth continuously. “How’s the fixer-upper coming along?”
“Okay I guess. I fixed the railing the other day.” She turned to face me and actually smiled. “Thank goodness for YouTube videos.”
“Yeah, they have everything you need there. Do you need any help?”
“Um, not right now, but thank you.”
I pulled into my place. Jan was on the porch with Kelsey. The moment my daughter saw my truck she jumped up and down. As I parked in my normal spot, she ran over yelling, “Daddy!”
“Hi Sweetie. I have a surprise.”
She clapped her hands together and hopped up and down in place. “Oh, I love surprises. Tell me.”
I jumped down out of the truck and lifted her up in my arms. “Sarah wanted to join the special dinner tonight.”
Kelsey dropped onto my seat. “Sarah!” She climbed over the center console and sat down on her lap. “You’re going to have lobster, too?”
My sister, Jan walked up beside me and wrapped her arm around my waist. “New friend?” She rested her head on my shoulder.
“Hey sis, yeah, Kelsey met Sarah at Marv’s.” I kissed the top of my sister’s head. “She lives in that old run-down house about a mile away.”
“What? I thought that place was condemned?”
“It probably should be, but I think I’m giving it life again.” Sarah opened the door to get out. Kelsey climbed down first and then held her hand out to help Sarah. “Wow, thank you.”
Jan leaned in closer and whispered, “Um, Sarah, huh?”
“Yeah, small world, right?”
“Kelsey seems to have attached herself to her. You okay with that?”
I squeezed my sister closer to my side and lowered my voice. “All I know is, I felt a connection. It can’t be because of her name, right?”
“It could, or it could just be the woman.” My sister kissed my cheek. “Okay, where’s my niece?”
Kelsey was hopping from foot to foot. “Here, Aunt Jan.”
Jan shook Sarah’s hand. “Hi Sarah, I’m Eddie’s sister, Jan.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Did I interrupt family time?”
Jan was quick to answer. “Not at all, Sweetie. I watch Kelsey for Eddie. Now I need to head home and make dinner for my other half.” She blew a kiss to Kelsey. “See you later alligator.”
Kelsey giggled and mirrored what Jan had just done. “Be sweet parakeet.”
Chapter Six
Sarah
“Would you like another beer?”
“Sure.” I followed him up the steps.
We had just finished dinner and Kelsey was now inside playing dollies in her room. I knew that because when I excused myself and headed down the hall to the bathroom, I heard voices. I popped my head into the last room on the left where Kelsey was talking in different voices to six stuffed animals lined up on the windowsill. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I stepped away and opened the bathroom door.
Eddie handed me a bottle. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. Kelsey seems happy playing by herself?”
“Oh yeah, but that’s all she knows.”
“Did you plan to have more kids?”
“We did. When my wife died–” he paused for a beat�
�� “I guess I figured it would just be the two of us.” He sat down on a wooden bench attached to the porch and took a swig of his beer.
A part of me wanted to sit down beside him and the other part of me was still too afraid. Then he mentioned his wife dying. I realized at that moment I was being silly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It gets a little easier every day.”
“How long ago was it?” I found myself walking toward him.
“Over ten months ago.”
I sat down beside him but left a few feet between us. “So Kelsey has fond memories of her to cherish forever.”
“She does but we miss her so much.”
There was an awkward silence between us. I held my beer in both my hands and glanced around the backyard. There was a big oak tree in the center of the yard and a tree house nestled inside. The yard was enclosed with a five-foot metal fence. A swing set was off to the side close to the porch.
I stood, walked down the steps and made my way over to the one swing. Before sitting down I brushed it off. There was no place to sit my beer, so I just dragged my feet back and forth while holding the bottle on my lap.
My head was bent looking at the ground. I felt Eddie approach even before I saw his feet come into view. “What made you pick Crystal Shores?” he asked and sat down on the swing next to me.
“It was far enough away from home and the beach looked amazing in all the pictures I googled online.”
“Where is home if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“Wow, really? I lived in Wilmington for about four years. That’s where I met Kelsey’s mom.”
“Why did you move to Michigan?”
“My sister. Both of our families are small and I wanted to be closer to Jan.”
“Your sister seems lovely.”
“She is. I don’t know what I would do without her honestly.”