The Way Back to You

by Sharon Sala

  “Just look at us! Have you ever seen such a crowd?” Lovey said. She pointed at Mercy. “Child, get something cold to drink and step outside in the alley a minute and cool yourself off. Elvis, for the good Lord’s sake, put on a clean apron.” Then she eyed Chet and grinned. “What happened to you?”

  “I fell. I don’t wanna talk about it,” he muttered.

  Her expression was instantly replaced with concern. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “Nothin’ but my pride, Miss Lovey. I’m fine.”

  “Do you have any dry clothes here?” she asked.

  “I have a T-shirt with a bad word on it, and some shorts, but—”

  Lovey blinked. Mercy giggled, and Elvis snorted beneath his breath.

  “Exactly what word is on that shirt?” Lovey asked.

  Chet looked nervous. “You want me to actually say it? Like, aloud?”

  Lovey glared. “Son, if you’re gonna walk around wearing a socially unacceptable shirt, you gotta have the balls to pull it off. What’s the damn word?”

  Chet’s face turned a very girlie shade of pink.

  “It says I GIVE A FUCK.”

  Lovey rolled her eyes. “Turn it wrong-side out, make sure you have one of your rubber aprons over it when you go bus tables in the dining room, and don’t let this happen again.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma’am,” Chet said, and then took off to the employee lounge as if he was being chased.

  Lovey looked at Mercy, and Mercy looked at Elvis.

  Chet was stripping off his clothes when he heard them laugh. He groaned. They were never going to let him live this down.

  * * *

  While laughter ensued at Granny’s, the people rapidly filling the pews at the Baptist church were respectfully quiet. From the first ones seated to those still coming in, it was impossible for them not to notice how many pews up front had been saved for the family.

  Curiosity made tongues wag, and the room was fairly humming from the energy of the whispers among those gathered.

  At straight-up 2:00 p.m., the pianist struck a chord.

  “Please rise,” the pastor said, and much rustling of clothes and scooting of feet ensued before a sudden silence blanketed the room.

  Barb Holland entered wearing a stark-black dress without a single piece of jewelry save her wedding ring. She was escorted by her father, Jake Austin, and then the family behind her.

  The people who’d been at the visitation the night before recognized the family who’d been with her then, but today there were more…so many more. All in black. In designer clothes. And more diamonds than you could shake a stick at. And they just kept coming.

  By the time the last one was seated, ten whole pews on the left-hand side of the church were full. It was the largest gathering of any one family the town of Blessings had ever seen at a funeral. Their estimation of Niles and Barbara Holland was forever changed. And for the time it took to witness the service honoring the man in the casket, no one thought of how he’d gotten there. Just that there were so many people united in grief who’d come to honor the man they knew and loved.

  Chapter 10

  During the ensuing week, Melissa Dean bought a new car—a blue Chevrolet Equinox—and the people of Blessings became more and more preoccupied with the fact that their supermarket no longer had a name.

  For as long as anyone could remember, when they needed groceries they would say “going to the Piggly Wiggly.” But that store was gone now. Now pig logo was missing, as was the big sign across the front. It didn’t seem logical to them to just say “going to the store,” because there were all kinds of stores in town.

  They just wanted to know who owned it now. They needed a name on that store to replace that big ugly unpainted space where the Piggly Wiggly name used to be.

  The clerks at the store didn’t know, either. The first time a stranger showed up with their paychecks, they thought he must be the new owner, but he quickly assured them he was only the accountant delivering payroll.

  Then a painting company showed up and spray-painted the entire exterior of the store a robin’s-egg blue. The color alone caused a bit of a ruckus. They’d never seen a grocery store painted a color like that. Not that it mattered, they would add. But in a small town, people like familiarity. Change was a hard thing to accept, but after a couple of days, the color began to grow on them.

  Since the season was going into late fall, the first employees showing up to work at the store were now arriving in the dark. Then one morning a few days later, they were driving to work and coming up Main when they saw an enormous image of a royal crown lit against the night in white and red neon. And when they realized it was at the store, they got excited.

  As they drove up and began parking, they could now see the name CROWN GROCERS in giant orange 3-D letters on the front of the building. And the big yellow crown outlined in neon had been mounted between the two words.

  The supermarket finally had a name.

  The employees decided it had a nice ring to it, and they liked the logo. It would all look good during the day, and at night the neon lights illuminating the crown would make it impossible to miss.

  Before the day was over, nearly everyone in Blessings had made a point to drive by and check out the new sign. But it was the notice posted on the entrance doors, announcing an official lighting of the crown tonight after dark, that caught their fancy. The fact that refreshments would also be furnished turned it into an event. The people in Blessings liked events, and this one sounded like fun.

  As the day was coming to an end and the sun began sinking below the hills around them, people began to arrive. They brought their folding chairs and began gathering into little groups, already in the party spirit. It wasn’t long afterward that employees from the store came out and set up three long tables end to end, then began carrying out tray after tray of crown-shaped sugar cookies with yellow icing. Then they added another couple of tables a short distance away with hot coffee and cold pop.

  The closer it came to sundown, the more people arrived, until the parking lot was full and people were walking in from the streets. Between the party-like atmosphere and the kids running about, the place was a minefield of energy.

  Sully and Melissa were sitting on one of the exterior benches outside the supermarket, drinking coffee and eating cookies when Elliot Graham walked up with a cookie in his hand.

  “May I join you?” he asked.

  “We’d love it!” Melissa said, and scooted down a bit so Elliot had plenty of room to sit.

  Pleased with his venture out into a public forum, Elliot sat down beside Sully and took a bite of the cookie.

  “Mmmm,” he said. “I taste a hint of citrus in the cookie. Lemon, I believe.”

  “I think I chewed and swallowed mine too fast to get anything but sweet,” Sully said. “But they sure are good.”

  “Agreed,” Elliot said, but his eyes were sparkling as he looked around at all the people. “I am amazed at such a crowd. I don’t think I knew there were this many people in Blessings.”

  “Some of them are rural customers,” Melissa said, then pointed to a couple near the cookie table. “There’s Jake and Laurel Lorde. They don’t live in Blessings. And that’s their daughter, Bonnie, between them.”

  “Amazing,” Elliot said. “My hesitation to mingle has only exacerbated the isolation I’d put myself in. I need to do better. I think I have been missing out.”

  “And I’m just learning what Blessings is all about,” Sully said. “All I know is I like it.”

  “Of course you do,” Elliot said. “It’s where you’re supposed to be now.”

  Then he dusted the cookie crumbs from his fingers and stood. “Thank you for the company,” he said, and disappeared in the crowd.

  “He seems like a really sweet little man,” Melissa said.

>   Sully grinned. “According to him, he and I will be great friends.”

  Melissa smiled. “Really? I love that!”

  Sully leaned over and kissed her. “And I love you.”

  She blinked. “We’ve never said that before.”

  Melissa’s features were blurring in the growing dusk, but she was already imprinted on his heart.

  “Don’t you think it was about time?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I think it’s past time.” She threaded her fingers through his. “Johnny Raines was my first love, and Sully Raines will be my last. I can’t see my future without you in it. Love you forever.”

  He grinned. “My bed or yours?”

  “What’s wrong with both?” Melissa asked.

  “Hot damn,” Sully said. “They need to get this show on the road so we can go home.”

  “I’m good with now,” Melissa said. “Good thing we parked on the street.”

  “Definitely a good thing,” Sully said.

  They walked out of the parking lot hand in hand.

  * * *

  On the other side of the crowd, Peanut and Ruby were visiting with Lovey. She’d closed Granny’s up early so all her employees could attend.

  “How are the repairs going on your house?” Ruby asked.

  “I’d say they’re more than two-thirds of the way finished. I love staying in your house, Sister, but it will be good to get home,” Lovey said.

  “Something to look forward to,” Peanut added, and then sidestepped around two little boys who were running amok. “I’ll bet their parents have no idea where they are.”

  Ruby pointed. “There comes a couple with worried looks on their faces.”

  “They went thataway!” Peanut yelled.

  The man gave him a grateful glance and took off running.

  A young woman passed between Peanut and his line of sight—a red-haired stranger in hiking gear, with a large backpack on her back. She was eating one cookie and carrying another, likely thinking how she’d lucked into some free food, and he didn’t give her another thought.

  * * *

  Vesta and Vera Conklin were at the back of the parking lot, hanging out with Mabel Jean, who was the nail tech at the salon. The air was beginning to feel cooler, which spurred a discussion of the annual Fall Festival at the school gymnasium.

  “Are you girls going in costume?” Mabel Jean asked.

  “Of course. That’s part of the fun,” Vera said. “Are you?”

  “If I can figure out how to make it, I want to go as a big bottle of red sparkle nail polish.”

  “How fun!” Vesta said.

  “What are you two going to be this year?” Mabel Jean asked.

  “Sherlock Holmes and Watson,” Vesta said.

  Mabel Jean laughed. “I can’t wait to see.”

  And then on cue, someone inside the store turned on the lights, and both the store and the crown lit up.

  The crowd oohed and ahhed in unison, not unlike the gasps of delight when the Fourth of July fireworks at the park began. Cell phones came out and began flashing all over the parking lot as people began taking pictures before beginning to disperse.

  The checkers were getting overtime pay for staying past the normal closing time, and when the crowd began to disperse, quite a few turned into customers and went inside. It was almost 11:00 p.m. when the last customer left.

  Wilson Turner, who’d been the manager for the Piggly Wiggly, was still the manager but with a raise in pay.

  As soon as the last till was turned in for the night and the night deposit was ready to go, he turned off all but the night-lights inside the Crown and locked up on his way out.

  On Chief Pittman’s orders, the deputy on night duty was waiting for Wilson in the parking lot and escorted him to the night deposit drop-off at the bank.

  Wilson waved his thanks and drove off. The grand opening of the Crown had been a huge success. But like everyone else in town, he was curious about the identity of the new owner.

  * * *

  The drive home was comfortably silent for Sully and Melissa. She was wondering if she even remembered how this went, and Sully was wondering how he would stack up beside the husband she’d lost.

  Once inside the house, Sully set the security alarm while Melissa went upstairs. She stepped into her darkened room to leave her purse and jacket, and was kicking off her shoes when there was a sound behind her.

  Sully was standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the hall light behind him.

  “The house is secure,” he said.

  Seeing him there and hearing his voice made her ache.

  “You do realize I have no freaking idea how to be seductive,” she said.

  He walked to her, then took her in his arms.

  “You still don’t get it, do you? You turn me on with little more than a look. Your laugh makes my pulse kick, and your tears destroy me. I don’t want a striptease. I just want you.”

  Melissa put her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

  “I’m already yours,” she said.

  When Sully began unbuttoning her blouse, Melissa unfastened her jeans and let them fall to the floor. Her blouse landed on top of the jeans, followed by her bra. She stood before him wearing nothing but a lacy pair of black hipster briefs, and watched as he came out of his clothes until he stood naked before her.

  For a few moments, neither moved. Then Sully pushed the briefs down her hips. She stepped out of them and walked straight into his arms.

  “So damn beautiful,” he whispered, and then took her to bed.

  She stretched out beneath him, welcoming the warmth of his mouth on her lips. She locked her hands at the back of his neck and pulled him closer as their kisses grew longer, the intensity deepening by the moment.

  When he shifted from her mouth to her body, she felt a sense of urgency in his touch. She’d forgotten the pleasure of that quickening in her belly and the growing ache for more.

  She could feel the warmth of his breath upon her skin, and the pounding beat of his heart beneath her palms. When he gently pushed his knee between her legs, she moved to let him in.

  The joining was so much more than she’d expected. Her eyes were awash in tears before she knew it. So long. It had been so long. And when he began to move, she wrapped her legs around his waist and fell into the rhythm of love.

  Sully had lost all sense of time, but he could feel the urgency in her body as her muscles began to tense beneath his touch.

  When her breathing shifted into a soft moan against his ear, he rocked harder, faster, until the moan turned into a cry of disbelief.

  It was the sign he’d been waiting for.

  He gave up all he was to the woman in his arms.

  They made love twice more before morning. Once in a heated rush, and the last time just before daylight in the confines of his shower with her back against the wall and the water pouring down upon their heads.

  * * *

  On the same morning, Barb Holland was standing out on the back veranda of her home with a cup of coffee between her hands, her gaze on the horizon. There had been a faint glow of light in the east for a while now, but as she watched, the sky began to glow in shades of violet and gold, and then purple with shades of pink.

  When the sun finally moved into sight, the colors from before were suddenly lit from within. Tears blurred Barb’s vision. This was the last sunrise she would see from this place.

  The furnishings she intended to keep were already in a PODS storage unit on the way to Dallas. She still had a house to strip down and remodel before she’d move in there, but it was a positive plan, and Barb desperately needed a plan.

  Finally, she walked back into the house, turned off the old Keurig machine and cleaned it up to leave behind, then loaded two suitcases of clothes into he
r car.

  There was a lump in her throat as she came back into the house to do a walk-through, making sure she wasn’t leaving anything of value behind. What she hadn’t expected to feel was the small niggling emotion of relief.

  Yes, Niles was gone, and her heart was broken. She’d loved him for so long, she wasn’t sure yet how much of herself was left. But there was one inescapable fact that couldn’t be ignored.

  Never again would she put a drunk to bed.

  Never again would she worry when he left the house in a less-than-stable condition.

  Never again would there be excuses to be made and signs of his addiction to be hidden.

  Niles’s death had shocked her. It had broken her heart. But it had also freed her. She just had to find a way out of the guilt she felt for being glad it was over.

  She locked the door as she walked out, then left the key under the mat. The Realtor would be by later this morning to put up the For Sale sign.

  What the town of Blessings had yet to discover was that Barb had given her lawyer, Peanut Butterman, one last job. She had deeded all fifteen of their rental houses to the present occupants. It was a gift to them in Niles’s name, and she would never have thought of it if it hadn’t been for Melissa Dean. It felt good, and it was the right thing to do.

  She got in the car, then glanced at the box buckled up in the seat beside her. Her destination was Dallas, and Niles’s ashes were riding shotgun.

  * * *

  Danner Amos was eating breakfast when his cell phone rang. He started to let it go to voicemail, then noticed it was the number to his rental properties and got up from the table to answer.

  “Dan Amos speaking,” he said, then heard a woman’s voice.

  “Mr. Amos, I understand you have rental properties.”

  “Yes, I do. What did you have in mind?” he asked.

  “Do you have any furnished properties?”

  “A couple, but both are only one-bedroom, one-bath properties.”

  “Perfect. Would it be possible to see them today?”