Chapter 3 – Jennie
During the lull between the breakfast rush and lunch, I run home for a quick visit with Granny, and to give Dawn a short break so she can go home and relax for a while.
When I walk in through the side kitchen door at ten, I find Dawn loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
Granny is seated at the kitchen table, wearing her favorite floral bathrobe over a blue denim dress and her fuzzy pink bunny slippers. Her purse is slung over her shoulder.
“Hi, Granny.” I give her a kiss on the cheek. “Are you going somewhere?”
She nods. “I’m going to work.” She points at the old kitchen clock on the wall that’s been in this house for probably fifty years. “I have to get ready for the lunch rush.”
“Well, you know, I just came from the diner, and everything is under control. Why don’t you stay here and help me?” I wink at Dawn as she closes the dishwasher door and turns it on. “I could really use your help.”
“Oh, sure, honey,” Granny says. “I’d be happy to. What do you need help with?”
“Can you help me fold the laundry? There’s a load of towels in the dryer.” I nod to the side door, and Dawn takes the cue and slips out of the kitchen as I lead Granny to the laundry room.
I pull a load of washcloths and hand towels out of the dryer and carry them to the living room, where I dump them in the middle of the sofa.
Granny and I sit on either side of the pile.
Folding laundry is the perfect diversion, as it’s something easy that Granny can do.
It keeps her occupied and feeling useful, which is important for her mental health.
Pumpkin jumps up on the back of the sofa and walks back and forth, purring and rubbing against the backs of our heads.
“Where’s that husband of yours?” she asks as she folds a washcloth in half once, then again.
My heart skips a beat. “He’s gone, Granny. We got a divorce.”
“When’s he coming home?”
“He isn’t. We’re not married anymore.”
Granny frowns. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Thank God. I hope I never see David’s face again.
“That’s funny because he was here just this morning.”
My blood turns to ice. “What do you mean, he was here? You saw him?” That’s impossible. David moved to Las Vegas right after our divorce. As far as I know, he hasn’t stepped foot back in town in ten years.
She nods toward the front picture window. “I saw him outside, looking around. I thought he’d surely want to come in, but he didn’t. Soon as he spotted me, he walked away.”
My pulse starts racing, and my chest tightens. Surely, Granny is confused about who she saw. Sadly, her memory isn’t reliable anymore. It couldn’t have been my ex-husband.
As a distraction, I turn the TV on so we can watch reruns of Little House on the Prairie on DVD.
Granny loves that show, I think because it reminds her of happy times.
I remember watching reruns of the series with her and Grandpa when I first came to live with them.
And before that, I watched them with my mom when I was little. It’s a familiar comfort for both of us.
We fold washcloths and hand towels for half an hour, until we have two stacks of them.
Granny helps me carry them to the linen closet and lay them on the shelf.
Later tonight, after Granny is in bed for the night, I’ll retrieve them from the linen closet and put them back in the dryer so we can do it all over again tomorrow.
“Would you like something to drink? Or a snack?” I ask her.
“No, thank you.” She gives me the sweetest smile, and the corners of her blue eyes crinkle. “I think I’ll just rest in my chair for a bit, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I don’t mind. Let me get your blanket.”
After she settles comfortably in her rocking recliner, I cover her with her favorite fleece blanket. This is Pumpkin’s cue to jump into her lap and curl up. I turn off the TV and the light so she can nap peacefully.
She’ll sleep for about an hour, and I’ll have her lunch ready when she wakes up. She’ll eat around 11:30, and then Dawn will return a few minutes before noon. That’s when I’ll run back to the diner to help out with the lunch crowd.
I walk over to the big front window to close the curtains and catch sight of a man walking away, down the street.
I stare at him, unable to look away. He’s the right height, and the right build.
He’s wearing the same type of cowboy hat David always wore.
The same boots. He’s got the same king-of-the-world swagger.
It can’t be David. It just can’t.
His parents are away for the summer on a European cruise. To my knowledge, I don’t think he has any friends left in town. There’s no reason for him to be here.
A chill runs down my spine.
It can’t be him.
* * *
On my way back to the diner, I stop in first at Emerson’s Grocery Store and find Maggie in the produce department unboxing a shipment of apples. “Hey.”
She glances up from her work. “Hey, you. How’s it going? Calmer now, I hope, after the drama this morning.”
“Yes, much calmer, thank you.”
“What’s up? Do you need something?”
“No. I just wanted to ask you—I know it’s stupid, and surely you’d tell me if you’d seen him—”
“Jennie, please, spit it out.”
“Have you seen David in town lately?”
“David?” Maggie looks horrified. She never did like him, not even when I was dating him, and especially not after I married him. She wasn’t stupid. She saw all the signs. “No! If I had, believe me, you’d be the first to know. Why are you even asking?”
“Granny told me she saw him this morning outside our house. I thought for sure she was confused. But then, a little while ago, I saw someone walking down our street, heading away from our house, and I could have sworn it was David. I mean, it looked just like him.”
“Did you see his face?”
“No. I only saw him from behind.”
Maggie looks worried. “No, I haven’t seen him. And if he were in town, he’d need groceries, and I’m pretty much the only game in town. If he were here, I think I would have seen him. Granny must have been confused, and her confusion has rubbed off on you. She put the thought in your head.”
“I know. You’re right. I just thought I’d ask. I figured if anyone came across him, it would be you or Ruth.”
She nods. “Yeah, he did like to drink, didn’t he? He was his most abusive when he was drunk.”
“You’re right. I’m just being silly. Forget I said anything.”
“Have you mentioned any of this to Chris? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him a heads up. He could ask the deputies to keep an eye out for David, just in case.”
“Chris? No.” God, no. “I wouldn’t want to bother him with this. I’m sure it’s all in my head.”
Chris knows very little about my disastrous marriage right out of high school, but it’s not something we’ve ever talked about.
I was married and divorced while he was at school in Arizona.
By the time he returned to Bryce, my relationship with David was old news.
There was no reason to bring it up. Plus, I was ashamed to talk about it.
I let myself get suckered in by an abusive asshole.
After saying goodbye to Maggie, I walk through the connecting door into the diner.
Speaking of Chris, I spot him immediately, seated with Micah and Robyn at one of the booths near the front windows.
My first thought when I see them is Thank God.
The guys always looked out for me when we were kids.
And now they’ve grown into formidable men.
Just knowing I have them in my life makes me feel safer.
Micah and Robyn are seated on one side of the booth.
His arm is across her shoulders, and she’s leaning her head on him.
He says something, and she laughs. They make such a striking couple.
The contrast between his midnight black, long braided hair and warm brown skin and her auburn hair, blue eyes, and pale, freckled complexion is stunning.
Chris sits alone opposite them, looking so handsome in his tan sheriff’s uniform. His hair has darkened a lot since he was a kid. He was so blond back then, practically a towhead, but now his hair is more of a darker blond. His trim beard, too.
His hair isn’t the only thing about him that’s changed over the years.
Of the three of us, he was always the runt, but apparently he had a growth spurt in college.
By the time he came back to town, he’d nearly caught up to Micah.
The way Chris’s shoulders and arms fill out that uniform shirt is enough to give a girl fantasies.
When Robyn catches sight of me, she straightens in her seat and waves.
I return her smile and wave back. I’m so happy Micah has her in his life now.
They recently purchased a home here in town, just two streets over from mine.
They were living in Micah’s one-room log cabin located behind the auto repair shop, but they needed more space.
For an engagement gift, Micah asked Robyn to pick out a house in town.
She was over the moon at the prospect of them having their own house because she spent most of her adolescence in foster care, moving from placement to placement, and it had been years since she felt like she had a real home.
“Hi, guys!” I say as I stop at their table. They already have drinks—milkshakes, to be exact. Not a surprise. “Sorry I’m late. I stopped in to speak to Maggie for a minute. Have you ordered yet?”
Just as I ask, Cara brings a tray to their table and delivers their lunches. Burgers and fries for the guys. Robyn has a turkey melt and mashed potatoes with gravy.
“Do you have time to join us?” Chris asks. He scoots closer to the window to make room for me and pats the bench seat beside him. “Sit.”
“Sure, for a few minutes.” I slide in next to Chris. God, he smells good. I detect a hint of cologne and the smell of fresh laundry.
When I steal a fry off his plate, he smiles. I swear, that man would let me get away with murder.