Chapter 3
S O L A C E
By Wednesday morning, I had learned three things about being back in Bellhaven.
The first was that my mother had no respect for the concept of paid time off.
I was beyond tired. The second was that eight years wasn’t long enough for people to forget a damn thing about you.
The third was that being around Smoke every day was becoming a problem I had severely underestimated, and not because we were fighting. Hell, that would’ve been easier.
After our conversation on Monday, things between us weren’t as tense.
We were still careful about what we said to each other, but at least every conversation didn’t feel like it was about to turn into an argument.
He stopped acting irritated every time I came into his work area, and I stopped making up excuses to ask him questions I could’ve easily asked one of the other guys.
“Sol, are you listening to me?”
I looked across the dining table at my mother. “Of course.”
“Then, what did I say?”
“You asked if we should move the tasting station closer to the entrance.”
“I said that five minutes ago.”
“Then no.”
My mother put her pen down. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“You keep saying nothing.”
“Because nothing is wrong.” She looked over my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn around to know what she was looking at. A drill started somewhere behind me, and my mother just smiled. I looked down at the Fall Festival Weekend menu layout on my laptop. “Can we please finish this?”
“We could’ve finished ten minutes ago if you stopped looking behind you every time Smoke moved.”
My head snapped up. “I have not been looking at Smoke.”
“Okay.”
“I haven’t.”
“Baby, I’m agreeing with you.”
“No, you’re doing that thing where you say okay but mean I’m lying.” She laughed, and I slammed my laptop closed. “I need to get out of here.”
“Good. Go to the print shop and check the reopen banner.”
“You just want me out of your face.”
“Correct. And stop at the hardware store. I need several small hooks.”
“Mama, I know what you’re doing.”
My mother let out a frustrated sigh, her lips pressing together as she shook her head. “What am I doing, Solace?”
“Whatever this is.” I waved between her and the construction area.
She laughed so hard that Miss Renee looked through the kitchen window. “Solace, you are a thirty-year-old woman who left that man in the dust of this town. If I was trying to put y’all together, I’d need more than some damn hooks.”
“Mama!” My mouth dropped open as she stood and gathered her papers.
“Close your mouth, girl. Run along.”
Twenty minutes later, I was walking down Main Street. If memory served me correctly, the print shop was three blocks away, and the hardware store was directly across from it. After I approved the banner, I left the print shop and almost stumbled off the sidewalk when I looked across the street.
The hardware store was still there, but Bellhaven Hardware was gone. Cole Hardware stretched across the front instead, and I stared at the name until the obvious finally clicked. Smoke owned the damn hardware store too.
I’d been inside that store hundreds of times growing up.
Mr. Wallace used to keep a jar of candy behind the counter.
When we were fourteen, Smoke would steal two even though the sign said one per customer, then give me the second one like he’d committed a felony on my behalf.
I smiled before I could stop myself, then I crossed the street.
The bell above the door jingled as I walked inside, and warm air hit me along with the smell of lumber and something earthy I could not identify.
The store looked completely different from the one I remembered.
It was brighter, cleaner, and much better organized, with updated registers near the front and aisles that stretched toward a warehouse in the back.
The old wooden counter was still there, though, which made me smile because I remembered Mr. Wallace standing behind it.
A pretty brown skinned woman with a big smile stood behind one of the registers. “Hi. Lemme know if you need help.”
“I actually do. Loretta sent me for some hooks.”
She smiled immediately. “Miss Loretta sent you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m gon’ need more information than hooks.”
“That’s exactly what I told her.”
She laughed. “What she doin’ wit’ ‘em?”
“I have no clue,” I chuckled. “I just know they’re small. Maybe Sm… Sherrod knows what she’s talking about.”
The woman’s expression changed. “You need Mr. Cole?”
“No,” I said quickly, and her smile widened. “I mean, I don’t need him specifically. If you know what she’s talking about, that’s fine.”
“I gotchu.” She came around the counter. “I’m Tanya.”
“Solace.”
She stopped, and I saw the recognition cross her face. “Oh.”
“What?”
Tanya smiled. “I heard your name befo’.”
“I’m sure.”
She laughed, and I followed her toward the back.
She found two different sizes, and I took pictures to send to my mother because I wasn’t making this trip twice.
While I waited for her to answer, I looked around.
Two other employees in branded black shirts were around.
A contractor was loading boxes onto a cart.
Another customer called toward the register asking if his account was ready.
This wasn’t a little hobby Smoke had picked up. It was really his business.
I looked at my phone to see that my mother finally responded.
I told Tanya and watched her get the box. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I asked, “How long has Sherrod owned this place?”
“A few years. I started part-time at first. I’m the manager now.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah. He’s a good boss. Good dude.” She said it without hesitation. Something about that bothered me, although I couldn’t explain why. Maybe I was still trying to wrap my head around how much I didn’t know about Smoke’s life anymore.
Whenever I thought about him over the years, I pictured him right here in Bellhaven, still working construction.
I never really thought past that. Now I’d been home barely two days and found out he owned a construction company and the hardware store we used to come to as kids.
Clearly, Smoke had been doing a whole lot more than I’d ever imagined.
I thanked Tanya for her help, bought the hooks, then headed back outside. I hadn’t made it half a block before my phone started ringing in my purse. I pulled it out, saw my best friend’s name on the screen.
I smiled before answering. “Hey, girl.”
“Finally. I was starting to think Bellhaven swallowed your ass up!”
I laughed and adjusted my bag higher on my shoulder. “I’ve been here for almost four full days.”
“And somehow that was long enough for you to forget you have a best friend back home.”
I shook my head as I passed Main Pharmacy. An older woman coming toward me slowed down, looked at my face, and smiled so wide that I knew she remembered me even though I couldn’t immediately place her. I smiled and waved anyway. “Hey, how are you?”
“I knew that was Loretta’s baby,” she called back. “Good to see you home, Solace!”
“Good to see you too.” I kept walking, still smiling when my best friend spoke again.
“See, that right there is exactly why I couldn’t live in Bellhaven. You don’t even know that lady, do you?”
“Not a damn clue.”
She burst out laughing. “And she knew your whole government name.”
“That’s Bellhaven.” I smiled at a man standing outside the barbershop who lifted his hand when he saw me. I recognized him as one of my father’s old friends and waved back before continuing down the sidewalk. “Everybody remembers everybody here.”
“Mhm. Now that we got the Bellhaven welcoming committee out of the way, are you gonna tell me if you’ve seen him yet?”
My smile disappeared. “Girl.”
“Oh, shit. You have.”
“I saw Smoke the first day I got back. My mother hired his construction company to renovate the diner.”
There was a short pause. “Your ex owns a construction company?”
“And apparently the hardware store too. I just left there.”
“Damn. Okay, then. Check him out!”
“Exactly.” I smiled and waved at another familiar face passing me on the sidewalk. “He’s doing really well for himself. Better than I imagined.”
“I’m more interested in how you’re doing after seeing him.”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
I paused before answering because lying to her was pointless. “It was weird at first. We haven’t seen each other in eight years, and now I’m around him every day because of this renovation and festival prep. But we talked a little yesterday. It’s been… okay.”
“Okay enough that you’re thinking about him?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the smile that came with it. “Nothing is happening. I just called off a whole engagement, Cindy. Besides, Smoke and I have way too much history for me to even be thinking like that.”
“I know. Just be careful.”
“I am.” The diner came into view at the end of the block, and I crossed the street toward it. “I’ll call you later. I’m back at the diner.”
“You better.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my purse as I crossed the street. Talking about Smoke had done absolutely nothing to get him off my mind, and walking back into a diner where I knew he’d eventually show up probably wasn’t going to help.
My mother was near the counter when I walked back into the diner. I pulled the pack of hooks from my purse and handed them to her. “The banner is approved, and I got your hooks.”
“Thank you, baby.” She set them on the counter and rubbed her stomach. “Now I need some food. I could go for Greene’s.”
Smoke came through the opening behind the counter before my mother could answer, and my attention went straight to him. Dust covered the front of his black T-shirt and streaked one shoulder, while sweat darkened the fabric around his chest.