Chapter 7 #2
“The experiences yes, the details, no.” He smiled.
“So, you just retired and moved here?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I… there’s…” He sighed again, this time more heavily. “A few of my team have been…” He shook his head and stood suddenly. “How about some dinner? I have some burgers and hot dogs?”
She got the hint that he didn’t want to talk about his work. There were things she didn’t want to verbalize either. Not yet, at any rate.
“Do you have chips?” Simona asked from across the room. “The wavy kind?”
He smiled and she watched him fully relax and change back into his old self. Even his smile was back as he stood up and walked over to where Simona was. “I do. I also have some cookies that you can have after we eat, if it’s okay with your mom.”
Simona, being her daughter, narrowed her eyes. “What kind of cookies?”
Todd laughed. “Chocolate chip. My favorite.”
“Mine too.” Simona jumped up and down and reached for Todd’s hand.
She hadn’t planned on staying around his place for that long, but as she sat out on the deck that overlooked the water and watched him grill burgers and hot dogs, she realized this was just what she needed. A relaxing time around a man she liked. She told herself it was good for Simona as well.
Her daughter needed good male role models in her life. Not that she didn’t have any—there were all of the husbands of the women she was closest to in town. Men she admired as well as liked.
While they ate, they talked about her work and about all of the things he wanted to improve around the house.
The downstairs of the home was cleaned and appeared to be where he was currently living, but the upstairs was still extremely dusty and most of the furniture was covered with large white cloths.
He explained that he hadn’t had a chance to open up the rooms yet, nor did he think he wanted to until he was done with the main floor.
“It took me almost two days with a new lawnmower I had to purchase at the hardware store to clear out the yard.” He motioned to the green patch of grass inside an old stone wall.
“I’m hoping the fertilizer and grass seed I put down will choke out all the weeds.” He looked out over his yard.
“Are you going to be planting flowers in the beds?” she asked, looking at the long rows of flower beds against the fenced area.
“I want to, but there’s just so much work inside to do still.” He glanced at her. “It may have to wait until next year.”
“You could always hire someone,” she suggested.
His eyebrows shot up. “I suppose I could.” He glanced around his yard again. “It’s kind of a personal project, fixing this place up. I want to take my time. Put my own sweat and soul into it, you know?” He glanced at her and she smiled.
“Yeah, when I purchased my place, I did the same thing,” she admitted.
“It’s the first place that has been mine.
” She leaned back and sipped her drink. “I wanted to put my mark on the home. To make it ours.” She looked over at her daughter, who was watching one of her favorite TV shows on the iPad she had brought along.
“I spent every free moment I had the first year we lived there repainting, planting, or, in the case of my bathroom, completely redoing everything.” She smiled. “Now, it’s home.”
He glanced around and nodded slowly. “That’s what I want for this place.”
“Cookies,” Simona interrupted them with a cheerful plea.
Todd laughed and stood up, then walked in the back door and came out with a box of cookies from the local bakery, Sweet Expectations. A brother and sister duo, Wyatt and Melissa Sharpe, had taken opened the bakery recently.
“You bought cookies from Sweet Expectations?” she asked.
“I’m trying to support local.” He shrugged. “Besides, I was in there yesterday on a much-needed donut run.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t think that a man in your great shape ate too many sweets.”
“Not too often. But since I’ve been burning through the calories working around the place, I’ve made an exception. Besides, they have really great sweets at the bakery.”
She smiled. “Yes, they do.”
“The town has grown so much from what I remember. About the only shop that is still the same is Serenity’s Attic.” He bit into a cookie.
She leaned back and munched on a cookie as she watched a few seagulls floating over the water. She couldn’t get over the view. A cool breeze came off the water, and the smell of the salt in the air had her relaxing even more.
“The store is one of the longest running businesses in town. Crystal has been smart and has changed the store with the needs of the customers. Adding local produce and free-range eggs and meats was by far the best idea. We make almost as much on those products as we do on the touristy type items.” She laughed.
“A couple years back, Crystal was asked to do a couple star chart readings and now she takes requests. I swear if she could, she’d read palms.”
He glanced at her. “Do you believe in that stuff?”
She shrugged. “No, not really.” She tilted her head. “Although, she did predict that I’d meet you.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows shot up.
She chuckled and waved her hand in the air.
“The morning we met.” She looked over at him. “Crystal read my star chart and claimed that a child would find me love.” She watched for his reaction and was slightly surprised when he didn’t laugh the statement off.