An Evening at Home
I t was late afternoon, in blazing heat, when the Uber pulled up in front of Grace’s apartment building. Grace struggled to get the suitcases out of the small car and up to the third floor.
She opened the door and breathed in stale air. Jen wasn’t there—she was never around at this time of day—and the blinds were closed, making the apartment dark. Grace opened the blinds and let in the strong sunshine. Her plants on the windowsill were wilted and brown. She had forgotten to ask Jen to water them.
Well, she was back. Life was back to normal.
There was nothing good to eat in the apartment. Grace had used up the perishables before she went to Michigan, and she had forgotten there wouldn’t be any when she came back. She wasn’t going to use Jen’s food. They were careful about not eating the other’s food without asking.
She checked the cupboard where she kept non-perishable food. The cupboard held a can of corn, a can of minestrone, a bar of dark chocolate, and a bag of potato chips. She wouldn’t have thought her pantry was so empty. But she didn’t want to get an Uber and go to the store. The only store within walking distance was a dollar store.
Soup and potato chips—the same dinner she’d saved Doc from eating, that day he was so tired. That had been a fun evening. But the memory was clouded over by the argument they’d had. Now she was in California, and he was in Michigan, and she didn’t need to think about him anymore.
Grace opened the can of soup and poured it into a pan. It was food, and she ought to be grateful she had it. Later she could figure out about going shopping.
After dinner she worked out a plan for what to do over the next few weeks, typing it up on her laptop. She needed to get her apartment back in shape by grocery shopping, unpacking, and cleaning. She needed to get her car back from the garage, whenever the catalytic converter came in. And she also needed to get ready for the new school year.
She made a grocery list and ordered the groceries from Shipt. It was cheaper to pay the delivery fee than it would have been to take an Uber and get her own groceries. Besides, this way there was no chance of running into Lucas at the store.
Grace had the whole long evening to herself. Jen had texted her that she hoped she’d gotten in okay, and that she would be home late—she was hanging out with her boyfriend. Grace couldn’t stand to plunk herself down at her computer and work on National Board stuff. The goals she had reviewed on the plane were well and good, but they could wait until tomorrow.
Grace flopped down on the flat-cushioned couch, bonking her head on the armrest. What was there to do? Maybe she should read a book or watch something. It was strange not having anybody to talk to. She had gotten used to having her parents and neighbors around all the time. It would be better when school started and she was around the school kids and teachers all day.
How had Jen dealt with being here by herself the whole time Grace was gone? Maybe she was so busy it didn’t matter if there was someone else in the apartment or not.
Grace couldn’t get herself to read anything or pick something to watch. Maybe she ought to take a nap. It had been a long day, being up since three A.M. Michigan time, which was midnight California time. In Michigan she would be asleep by now.
§
Grace opened bleary eyes at the sound of keys in the door. The apartment was dim. She must have fallen asleep. Jen was back, unless that was a burglar with keys.
“Grace?” Jen’s voice was loud. “Are you here?” The overhead light snapped on, and Grace sat up, blinking in the bright light.
“Hi, Jen,” she said, still blinking. “Sorry, I just woke up from a nap.”
“You’re back!” Jen hugged her. She was wearing a flowered rayon dress. She must have had a fancy date with Ryan. “It’s good to see you,” Jen said. “You don’t know how empty this apartment felt the whole time you were gone.”
“I believe it,” Grace said. “I’ve got an idea. I’ll make tea, and we can catch up on our summers.”
“Oh, Grace, I’m sorry,” Jen said. “Ryan’s actually waiting for me outside. I just came in to change clothes, and then we’re going to the park for a walk.”
“Oh, okay,” Grace said. “What time is it?”
“It’s like ten o’clock. I won’t be out way too late—I have to get up early again.”
“Have a good time,” Grace told her. “Don’t get mugged!”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Jen said. She whisked off to her room to change, then rushed out the door to meet Ryan.
Grace wasn’t tired anymore after her nap. She might as well do something . She turned on an oldies playlist she had made on her phone after the town dance the other week, dragged her suitcases to her room, and started unpacking.
Her phone dinged. It was a message from Alex. What was Alex doing up at this hour?
“I know it’s late, but I learned something today,” Alex’s message read. “Remember when you had to sell all that chicken that was about to expire, and Charlie bought a lot of it? Charlie told me today that they still have to use up a lot of that frozen chicken, and he doesn’t know how Doc talked him into buying so much. That wasn’t Charlie’s idea—it was Doc’s!”
“Huh!” Grace replied. “Wow.”
If true, that was a nice thing Doc had done for the store. Although it didn’t change what had happened later.
“I still think Doc was interested in you,” Alex texted. “He never ran around trying to help the store before you came to town.”
“Well, I guess he got tired of helping,” Grace replied. “You know how I told you he thought I was taking advantage of his helpfulness. He thought I was some kind of moocher. If there’s anything I don’t want to be, it’s a moocher!”
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “Doc’s seemed pretty gloomy the last few days. I think he misses you.”
“Misses me? There’s no way he misses me,” Grace said. “He started that argument. He could have come and talked to me any time before I left, but he was going out of his way to avoid me. And besides, he and Hannah seem glued at the hip. If they’re not dating yet, they’ll probably start any day.”
“OK, OK, I won’t push it,” Alex replied. “How was your first evening in California?”
It hadn’t been great, but what could you expect for the first night back?
“I ordered groceries and took a nap and now I’m unpacking my stuff,” Grace told Alex. “For that matter, shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“Yeah, you’re right, I should get off,” Alex said. “I was baking raspberry bars for the store, but they’re done now. I just wanted to tell you about Doc and the chicken.”
Grace finished unpacking her suitcases and got ready for bed. She had her pajamas on and was looking for a missing phone charger when Jen came back in, smiling from ear to ear.
“Look!” She held out her hand, something sparkling on it. Grace hurried over to look. It was a diamond ring.
Good for Ryan—Jen had been waiting for him to propose for a while. He must have finally asked her.
“Jen, I’m so happy for you!” Grace pulled her roommate into a hug. “That’s wonderful!”
“I’m so happy!” Jen was beaming. “Come on, sit down, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Ryan had proposed on the top of a hill that overlooked the brilliant lights of the city. Jen said she had never been so surprised as when Ryan got down on one knee and pulled a ring box out of his pocket.
“We’re going to get married in the winter,” Jen said. “Around New Year’s. We can’t set the exact date until we check with the church. I won’t finish nursing school until the spring, but we didn’t see any point in waiting until then, since I’ll be just as busy after I finish school.”
“You’re probably right,” Grace said. “They say people are always waiting around to do things when they’re less busy, and most of the time ‘less busy’ never comes.”
Jen nodded. “Right, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Of course, that means we have to start planning the wedding right away. Did you know lots of reception venues book a year ahead?”
Grace shook her head. “Wow.” Her sister Katie had had her wedding reception at the fireman’s hall in Fraser’s Mill. You could usually get the hall with a couple months’ notice.
“Do you want a cup of tea or anything?” Grace asked. “I’ll bet you’re way too excited to go to sleep.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got to make some calls,” Jen said. “Ryan says my parents knew about the proposal ahead of time, but I want to tell them and my sisters how it went before the news leaks out and they hear it from someone else.”
That was bound to take a while. Grace decided to go to bed.
She had said her prayers and gotten in bed when a thought struck her. With Jen getting married, she would have to find another roommate. Who in the world would she room with? She didn’t want to room with a total stranger. One of the other female teachers from her school could be good, but she didn’t know if any of them were looking for a place to live.
If she didn’t find anyone, she would have to move to a smaller apartment, because she could never pay rent on a two-bedroom apartment in L.A. by herself. But she didn’t want to live by herself. It was hard enough that Jen was gone most of the time. She couldn’t imagine never having anyone around—it would drive her crazy.
Why did some people like living by themselves? What was going on in Thoreau’s head when he decided to move to Walden Pond?
Grace pulled out her phone and looked up Thoreau and Walden Pond.
Apparently Thoreau wasn’t such a hermit as she had thought. She had always believed he lived out there alone with nature at Walden Pond. The Internet informed her that Thoreau walked into town every day and had friends over frequently. His mom did a lot of his laundry and cooking. Some hermit.
Real hermits did live by themselves, but Grace didn’t think she was cut out for that kind of life. She’d better find a roommate. She ought to start figuring that out.
She had too many things to do, and all of them seemed like a lot of work. Grace might as well get some sleep while she could.