by Tonya Kappes
The old gas station was the first one that was ever put in Sugar Creek Gap. Now there were many more throughout the town, but this one in particular was like you were stepping back in time.
They had two pumps, one on each side of the other, a small office with a few vending machines, a restroom around the side, and a large glass garage door. Nick Kirby and Simon Little rented the garage from the owners to do all their mechanic work.
Not only did I love how Colvin Batty had rented the extra space to Nick and Simon, since he was too old to do any work, but it was a nice way to keep the gas station open for business. So many businesses had closed after all the big retail stores and fancy gas stations were built on the outskirts of the city limits.
Still, Nick and Simon not only benefited, but so did Colvin. He was a resident of the Sugar Creek Gap Nursing Home, assisted living care, and the seven-thousand-a-month price tag to live there wasn’t cheap.
I particularly loved the fact the gas attendant, a young high school boy, pumped your gas and washed your windshield just like they did when I was a kid. It was good ole Southern hospitality.
“Hey, Bernie.” Nick pushed himself out from underneath the hood of a car. He took the rag dangling off the car he was working on and wiped the grease from his hands. The radio blurred music from WSCG. “Is Gerome alright?” He reached over to the old transistor and turned the volume knob down.
“Aww, he’s fine. He’ll probably be by shortly, but I noticed there’s a certified letter that must’ve been accidentally put in my bag by mistake.” I took my bag off my shoulder and reached into the front pocket where I’d put the letter so I didn’t have to dig through the rest of the mail. “Is Simon here?”
Nick eyeballed the envelope.
“No, he went to see Tim Crouse about a part we’ve been trying to get manufactured for motorcycles.” He reached out for the envelope. “I’ll sign.”
“I’m sorry. Only he can sign for it, but it is from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.” I held the front of the letter out. “Maybe it’s about your part. That’s exciting.”
His eyes zeroed in on the letter, and confusion settled in them.
“Nah. It must be something else because he said he filed the paperwork online under both of our names.” He crossed his arms and appeared to be considering the situation.
“If I hustle back, I just might be able to catch him at the courthouse.” I’d already been there to deliver the mail to those offices before I walked here, and I did have to pass it on my way back so I could get the mail to Little Creek Road delivered before the Front Porch Ladies had a hissy fit. “I better be on my way. It was good to see you, and good luck on your patent. You two are going to be famous!”
Chapter 4
There was no luck when I made it back to the courthouse and up the stairs to Tim Crouse’s office.
“I can give it to him.” Tim Crouse reached for it when I showed it to him. “I’ll be meeting with him again tomorrow to finalize some paperwork for it.”
“I appreciate it, but even though you’re his lawyer, I’m not able to leave it with you, by law.” I shrugged and stuck it back in the front of the mailbag. “But let him know that I’ll take it back to the post office tomorrow morning and have Gerome bring it to the gas station tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that,” Tim agreed. “Say, I hated to hear about you and Mac.”
“Yeah. You know, it was a bit uncomfortable with him being Richard’s best friend, and honestly, I’m not really looking for a commitment.” I slapped my flapping lips together when I realized what I’d said.
“You okay? You look a little shocked.” Tim smiled and eased back onto the secretary’s desk, who wasn’t in the reception area, thank goodness.
“I guess I have no idea why I would even tell you that. I’m so sorry.” I blinked my eyes, trying to blink some sense back into me.
“I guess being your lawyer, maybe you trust me with some deep dark secrets,” he teased, though he was right.
Tim was someone I did trust. He’d really helped me out with all my legal dealings and the mess Richard had created with his other life. But that was in the past, and those were feelings I’d already decided to bury and not bring up anymore.
“I guess.” I offered a reassuring smile, knowing he’d keep what I said between us. “Strange. Anyways, he and Lucy look very happy.” That entire sentence was like I’d just swallowed a bitter pill, almost making me gag.
But like the true Southern lady I was, at least when I had on the mail carrier uniform, I was trying to stay positive and happy.
“You know I’m always here if you need an ear.” Tim pushed off the desk and looked over my shoulder. His secretary had come in and handed him some papers.
“Hey, Bernie.” Deborah pushed her glasses up her nose. “Did you forget to drop off a piece of mail?”
“Nope. Just trying to catch Simon Little.”
“It was good to see you twice in a day.” She smiled and walked behind her desk to answer the phone. “Line one.” She looked at Tim.
“I’ll talk to you later, Bernie.”
“See ya, Tim.” I waved bye to him and Deborah.
Of course, Tim had to mention Mac, but I had to mention Lucy. I knew she and Tim had gone on a few dates, which made me wonder if he needed to talk about Mac and Lucy more than me. There were plenty of times I’d see Tim around town and wonder how he was doing with it, though I didn’t recall he and Lucy being what I’d consider officially a couple.
Quack, quack.
My duck friend who lived in the Little Creek was waiting for me at the small walking bridge over the creek on Short Street. It was a daily ritual. She’d wait for me near the bridge, and I’d throw her some duck pellet food I’d gotten from Veterinarian Olson. It was a nice place to stop and rest for a few minutes before I finished the second loop of deliveries.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” I grabbed the bag of pellets from the mailbag and opened it up, tossing a handful into the creek. “I had to make a pit stop.”
I had no idea why I talked to my duck friend, but I did. We would do the same song and dance at the end of Little Creek Road, where I’d cross over the other bridge at the end of the street that led me back to Main Street and across the street to the post office, where I’d grab my third and final loop of the day.
Quack, quack. The little duck looked so peaceful sitting on top of the water, only I knew its little webbed feet were going a mile a minute underneath the water to keep it from drowning.
“I feel like I’m drowning,” I told the duck and threw one small handful of food into the creek. “I guess I’m wondering if I’m going to be alone when I’m older. How is this going to turn out for me?” I questioned the duck, who was safe to talk to since she didn’t answer me back.
Her head pierced the water as her bill batted at the pellets, giving a little headshake a few times. I watched in amazement at how determined she was to eat every little pellet.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” I pushed the strap of the bag onto my shoulder, and off I went, taking a left on Little Creek Road.
There were only a few houses to deliver to on my street. First one was Mac Tabor. I was thankful I didn’t have to deliver to him since I’d already been to Tabor Architects, where I delivered all his mail together. I knew it was okay when we’d been dating, but now that we weren’t, I was sure it wasn’t legal to deliver his personal mail there. I made a mental note that I would no longer do that and keep all of it professional.
I stood at the top of the street and looked down at the row of cottage-style homes that were only on the right side of the dead-end street. These were the first homes built in the settlement when they discovered Sugar Creek Gap, claiming it as a mill town. All the houses were two-story homes with a family room, a bedroom, a bath, and a kitchen on the first floor. The second floor was like a little loft bedroom. Each house had a small covered porch along the front with three concrete steps leading up
to it.
We all had chain-link fences and a gate to enter the small grassy front yard.
“It’s ‘bout time you got here!” Harriette Pearl hollered from the front porch of her house, where she and the following three neighbors, who I lovingly referred to as the Front Porch Ladies, were all gathered on the two wooden swings hanging from Harriette’s porch. “We was ‘bout to put out an all-points bulletin on you.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle when I let myself in her front gate and walked up the walkway to see them.
“You even brought out the scanner?” I pointed to the police scanner she had sitting on a little wire table with the antennas stretched out like two long bunny ears.
“We were worried something happened to you.” Ruby Dean, the neighbor who lived next door to Harriette, tsked. “It wouldn’t be unusual for you to put yourself in a sticky situation.”
“Mmhmmm, maybe another murder and all.” Gertrude Stone shrugged. “I was telling Ruby that I’d been worried about you since Mac cheated.”
“No, I don’t want no mac and cheese.” Ruby shook her head.
“Mac and cheese?” Gertrude snarled. “I said Mac cheated!” she yelled at Ruby. “Turn up your ears!”
They bantered back and forth about Ruby’s hearing getting worse while I spoke up over them.
“Mac didn’t cheat.” That was the last rumor I wanted to be added to the rumor mill around our small town. “We decided we were better friends.”
“Friends do things together.” Millie Barnes gestured to the other three ladies. “And I’ve got my Elk’s meeting with my friends.” She, in her none too subtle way, was trying to get around to asking if I had her dessert from the Wallflower. “And I’ve not seen you and Mac even so much as look over yonder way for each other.”
“We are busy just like you.” I took the bag off my shoulder and took out her box before I got to their mail bundles. “And from what I hear, you’re going to have some wonderful slices of smoky summer sausage and grits casserole today for your Elk’s meeting.”
“I can’t thank your mom enough for being so kind and baking this for us. The ladies love it, and so do I. We talk all other nine months out of the year how we can’t wait for summer to roll around and have some of this summer casserole.” She opened the box and quickly shut it when Gertrude tried to get a look-see. “If you’d join the club like I’ve asked you to over and over, then you’d be getting a slice today.”
“I ain’t got no time to join any club.” Gertrude snapped.
“Because you’re too busy watching your soap opera,” one of the ladies mumbled, creating all sorts of feathers being ruffled and each one of them pointing out different flaws in the others.
“I’d love to stay and referee, but I’ve got to go let Buster out to potty before I head on over to the neighborhood.” I handed each of them their stack of mail and told them I’d see them later. “And I need to see Gerome before he leaves for the day.”
“What’s up with him?” Harriette was the ringleader of the Front Porch Ladies. She was the nosiest too.
“Nothing. He’s the mail carrier for the garage, and I have a certified letter for Simon that was slipped into my bag by accident. It’s certified, so I’m sure Simon is waiting for it.”
Harriette and the gals knew all too well about waiting for mail. They loved getting mail and were always waiting for me.
“Poor guy. He is a kind young man.” Harriette’s lips pursed as she shook her head like he was heading to the sweet hereafter. “Never met a stranger. Always called me by name. Asked about my neighbors.”
“Is there something wrong with Simon?” I lifted the bag onto my shoulder and waited at the bottom step to hear her reply.
If someone was sick or if there was some sort of scandal, Harriette would know. I swear that church telephone chain was just a license to gossip.
“You know how stories spread around here, which I didn’t want to believe, but when I saw him over at the General Store, I knew the rumors were true.” Harriette’s lips turned down. She lifted her hand up in the air and crumpled up her fingers. “He’s got some sort of early arthritis.”
“Is that what it is?” Millie asked. “Kay Tedle said she’d seen him at a restaurant one day, and he could hardly pick up his fork to feed himself. It was awful.”
I listened to the older women banter about the various things they heard from the rumor mill without even knowing what was actually wrong with Simon Little. Living in a small town, I knew that everyone always suspected the worse when it came to an illness.
Like this tale of Simon Little. Harriette said he’s got some form of arthritis. But when she heard Millie say something about not being able to feed himself, I could see her wheels turning like he had something worse.
I was trying hard not to diagnose the young man, though I was curious to ask Gerome since he did see Simon a few days a week, if not on a daily basis.
“I don’t know about none of that, but I do know I’ve got to get going,” I said.
“You be sure to tell us about what you find out.” A smile curled up on Harriette’s mouth because she knew I’d be checking into all of this gossip. “’Cause we all know how you have a way with folks and finding out the truth.”
“Why, Harriette Pearl, if I didn’t know better, you’re saying I am a tad bit nosey.” I winked and waved behind my back as I headed down the street, passing the next few houses because they belonged to the Front Porch Ladies.
The house next to me was owned by Mac and was a rental that’d been sitting empty for a few months. I wasn’t sure, but I think Mac had been a little hesitant, considering what’d happened there a while back, which was another story for a different time.
When I’d moved to town from the farmhouse, I was looking forward to having a nice neighbor who I could talk over the fence to and share vegetables from my fancy garden boxes with.
“Buster,” I called into the house when he wasn’t at the door to greet me. The chocolate lab sounded like a horse galloping down the hallway, and he skidded around the corner with his tail looking like a whirligig that’d fallen from a tree. “You must’ve been taking a good nap.”
I put the mail carrier bag on the floor in the family room so he didn’t bowl me over with his excitement. With a few good rubs and kisses, he was ready to go do his business. While he was outside, since it was a lovely afternoon, I took my time before letting him back in and made myself a little salad to help curb my hunger.
“How are you today, Rowena?” I asked the lazy feline, who was rolled over on her back with her paws in the air like she had no care in the world. She shouldn’t. She lived the life. “I hear your brother scratching at the door.”
As soon as she heard me open the screen door, she darted back to the bedroom where she’d stay until the coast was clear, or at least until she heard me open the to-go box Mom had sent them once Buster had sniffed it out and reminded me it was in the mailbag.
“Your granny loves you two so much.” I put the box on the counter, took a few pinches of food, and put some in each of their bowls. “Be good, kiddos. I’ll be late because I’m meeting Julia at the doctor’s office.”
My insides churned with giddiness at the thought of playing with baby Clara while Julia was at her appointment, even if it was in the lobby of the doctor’s office. Any time spent with her was well worth it.
“You look like you’re far off.” Monica Reed was behind the counter of the post office when I walked through the front door. “Whatcha thinking about?” She had her elbows planted on the counter with her hands cradling her chin.
“Clara.” The name always put a huge smile on my face. “I am ready to get this last loop finished so I’m not late to Julia’s doctor’s appointment, where I’ll get to watch my baby girl.”
“My goodness, Bernie, I never thought I’d see the day when you turned into a girly woman.” Gerome was right on time and grabbing a few of the plastic bins to throw in his truck.
/> I laughed.
“Monica, Bernie here is a boy’s mom to the core.” He winked. “Grandma looks good on you.”
“Maw-maw,” I told him with a hard nod, trying to wear the name with pride since Grady and Julia had told me that was what they were going to teach Clara to call me. It would’ve been my last choice, but I’d embraced it or, really, forced myself to embrace the name.
“Maw-maw Bernie.” Monica cackled.
“Before I forget.” I dropped my mailbag on the counter and opened it to get the certified letter. “There was a certified letter in my second loop for Simon Little at the mechanic shop. I did try to deliver it to him since I’m running early, but he wasn’t there. I told Nick to let him know I would give it to you.”
“Sure.” Gerome walked over and waited for me to get it.
“I swear I put it in the side pocket.” I continued to search through the mailbag. All the second loop mail was gone, and the only thing in there was a bag of duck pellets. I knew I’d put the letter in the front side pocket, but it was empty.
I took my hands out of the bag and stood there a second, retracing my steps.
“I delivered the mail to the Front Porch Ladies, then I went home to let Buster out.” I snapped my fingers and stopped talking after I realized what I bet happened. “My mom had given me some scraps for the dogs, I bet when Buster was all up in my bag, he must’ve scratched out the letter. I bet it’s on my floor at home.” I let out a long sigh. “I’ll come in early tomorrow and bring it in for you to give to him.”
“No problem.” Gerome grabbed another plastic bin filled with mail and stuck it on top of another one, picking both of them up at once. “I’ll see you two cool cats tomorrow.”
“Bye!” Monica and I called out in unison.
“And I’ve got to grab my third loop.” I hurried to the back of the post office where it was employees only and filled my bag, heading out with a little jig and with the thought that I’d soon be playing with the sweetest little girl in the world.