Chapter 24
Andrew lowers the tailgate of his truck before he turns to look at me. “Are you sure you’re ready to say goodbye?” He asks.
I shrug. “I don’t think there is any other way around it. It just has to happen.”
He nods. “Welp, let’s get this show on the road, then.” I follow Andrew around to the back of my house, where we find Fernandez standing in the live trap we left out for him, eating leftover garlic bread.
“I can’t believe no one claimed this guy,” Andrew says, shaking his head as he moves to lift the cage. “I mean, look at him. Who wouldn’t want him as a pet?”
“Literally every person in this neighborhood.” I laugh. Over the last few weeks, I’ve asked everyone I’ve seen if they knew where Fernandez the rooster had come from. I got the same response from every Fawn Creek resident. He just randomly appeared one day, but no one knows from where. The general assumption is that he was probably dumped off. “I might actually be given a medal of honor for getting him out of here. I guess standing outside my window waking me up early isn’t the worst that he’s done. He apparently also loves to destroy people’s gardens.”
“Well, Rob and Megan are more than happy to let him live on their farm. Megan said she has something like 50 chickens now and she won’t even notice another rooster walking around.” He says, as we climb into the truck.
“Good.” I say with a nod. “That makes me happy to know that he will have a happily ever after of his own.”
He chuckles and squeezes my hand. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that? I can’t believe how kind you have been to that mean old rooster.”
“He’s not that mean.” I say. “He’s only chased me like three times, and I really think that he thought I was going to steal his food. The guy has just had a rough life. He’s been fighting for survival for who knows how long.”
“I just hope he will be happy.” I say, gazing out the window.
Andrew just laughs and shakes his head.
“What? No one is meant to do life alone.” I say, turning towards him. “Everyone in this world needs some sort of village to turn to, whether it’s a couple of friends, or a whole yard full of hens. Sometimes, you just don’t realize it until you get thrown in the middle of it. No one should live in isolation, not even a mean old rooster named Fernandez.”
He smiles. “I sure am glad I get to be a part of your village.”
“I’m glad you do, too.” I say with a smile.
Just then, we pull into Rob and Megan’s driveway. An enormous flock of chickens immediately surrounds the truck to meet us. A lady who must be around my mothers age, steps out of the swinging screen door to meet us with a wave and a smile.
Andrew and I climb out of the truck, and Andrew introduces me to Megan. Then he introduces Megan to Fernandez.
“He’s beautiful.” Megan says, admiring his red and teal tail feathers.
“He is.” I agree. “Thank you so much for taking him in. I hope he isn’t too much of a handful.”
I watch as Andrew pulls the trap from the back of his truck and opens the door. Fernandez comes trotting out with his head held high, like he owns the place. Typical. Within seconds, he joins the crowd of hens, almost as though he’s been here all along.
“I think he’s going to be just fine.” Megan says with a smile. “Feel free to come back and visit him anytime.”
“I have to admit, it really is quite quiet around here.” I say, before commanding Alexa to play my red dirt playlist.
“You’re missing Fernandez, aren’t you?” Andrew teases. “Are you going to go steal him back from Rob and Megan?”
“No.” I say with a chuckle. “He’s right where he belongs.”
It’s been two weeks since Fernandez went to his home and one month since Andrew moved back to Fawn Creek. The days have been busy. He hit the ground running with his contracting business and has stayed consistently busy all throughout the week. His brother, Cody, has even started to work with him part-time on his days off from the local oil refinery. I’m so proud of him for all of his success, even though it means that the two of us haven’t had much time together. We are simply just trying to enjoy the time that we have together.
Andrew sits across from me with his plate of enchiladas. “This looks amazing.” He says, eyeballing his food.
“I hope it tastes as good as it smells.” I say with a groan. “That’s the good and bad side of working from home. I’m able to cook in between helping customers, which is great, because dinner is already done when I clock out. However, on the flip side, I spend all day today smelling the chicken while it cooked in the crock-pot before I put the enchiladas together. It’s a strange kind of torture.”
Andrew shakes his head. “Sign me up for that kind of torture, any day. Speaking of, how’s work going?”
“Eh. Same old same.” I say with a shrug.
He pauses thoughtfully. “Do you like what you do?” He asks, cutting into his food.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t hate it. It’s not my dream job, but it pays the bills.”
“What is your dream job?” He pries, but when I don’t answer, he continues. “Your bookstore?”
I grimace and stare down at my plate for a second before moving my eyes to his. “That’s not an actual job. It’s a silly little dream of a ten year old girl.”
He scoffs. “Being a business owner is a real job. I should know.” He says, before shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.
I roll my eyes. “Sure, what you do definitely qualifies as a real job. You’re providing a service that there was an obvious need for in Fawn Creek, otherwise you wouldn’t be as busy as you are now.”
“So what’s the difference? Fawn Creek doesn’t have a bookstore.”
“No, but Fawn Creek has access to the internet. People don’t buy from bookstores anymore, they buy from Amazon and take advantage of two-day shipping.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Fawn Creek has a thriving downtown business district. If you open a store, people are going to support it.”
I take a bite of my food and ponder what he says. “There’s a difference between people buying things here and there, and it being a sustainable business that will support me. I’ll still need an income coming in to pay my bills.”
“You don’t need much.” He argues. “Your mortgage is paid off, you don’t have a car payment. It’s doable.”
I frown. “Maybe…. I don’t know Andrew. I’ve thought about it on and off for my entire life, but it’s just feels irresponsible to dump money into a business that may or may not work out. Doesn’t it make more sense to save it, and just work somewhere where I can bring in a reliable income?”
“At the end of your life, are you going to look back and think, ‘Man, I am so glad I worked in customer service for forty years to bring in a steady paycheck?’ Or are you going to wish you had followed your dreams?”
I wordlessly continue to pick at my food.
“You never know if you don’t try.” He says with a wink. “Hurry up and finish your food. I want to go for a walk.”
I raise a brow. “Exercise? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”
After dinner, Andrew and I make our way downtown, hand in hand, towards Drip. Suddenly, we find ourselves stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, right in front of my little brick building. I look up and see a new sign displayed in the window proclaiming that the building has been SOLD.
I stare at the sign and can’t fight the slight frown on my face. Andrew turns towards me.
“What’s wrong?” He asks, taking my other hand and trying to read my expression.
I shake my head. “Nothing. It’s stupid.” I release one hand and turn to continue down the sidewalk, but Andrew pulls me back towards him, gently.
He digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, jingling them in front of me. “Want to go inside?”
I raise a brow. “But… how do you have those?” I ask, following him towards the building. In one swift movement, he unlocks the door and holds it open, motioning for me to walk inside. “I don’t understand. You bought this place?” I ask, making my way through the doorway.
“I did.” He answers nonchalantly.
“But, why? Aren’t you busy enough building a house and running a business? What are you even going to do with it?” I pull out my phone flashlight and use it to look into the dark, musty building.
“Well, I have some ideas.” He turns on his own phone flashlight and leads me further inside. “I could really use a space to meet clients and do paperwork. That could be done in a small room in the back corner, of course.” He continues. “I think the rest of it could easily be retail space.” He shoots me a sideways glance. “I think this would be a great place for a bookstore, to be honest.”
“Uh….” I try to interrupt, but he goes on. “Of course, the upstairs could easily be converted into a couple of apartments, or more office space. The possibilities are endless.” He shrugs. “What do you think?”
For a second, I’m lost in thought, surveying the room before I snap back to reality. “Avery told you, didn’t she?”
He shakes his head, obviously confused. “Told me what?”
I throw my hands in the air and motion around me. “About me and this stupid building.”
“What about it?”
“That I love this place. I’ve always loved it. She had to have told you I’ve dreamed of opening my bookstore in this building ever since I was a little kid.”
He shakes his head. “No, I promise she didn’t say a word about it.” He shrugs. “They just kept dropping the price lower and lower, and it had been on the market for months. I made them a low-ball offer and crossed my fingers. They accepted it with no haggling.” He shrugs again. “The rest is history. I figure if nothing else, I’ll get it fixed up and use it for rental income for office space.” He closes the space between us and pulls me closer. “But I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of you and your store when I walked in here.”
I sigh and release myself from his grip before investigating the space. I creep through the building, taking in the overwhelming amount of work that Andrew has gotten himself into. Most of the drywall is missing, and the exposed studs are all that can be seen throughout the downstairs. Well, aside from the piles of dust, dirt, and broken sheetrock.
“This is going to be a lot of work.” I tell him, biting my bottom lip.
“Luckily, I’m pretty good at this kind of thing.” He teases, elbowing me lightly.
“So, I’d rent the storefront from you?” I ask, contemplating the crazy idea.
“Yep. I’d get everything fixed down here and then it’ll be yours to decorate and fill with books.”
“And what happens if I fail? What if I’m right and Fawn Creek isn’t big enough to support a bookstore?” I counter.
“What happens if it doesn’t fail? What if it takes off and you get to live your dream?” Andrew turns towards me and rests his hands on my shoulders, attempting to calm my nerves. “Tyler. You will never know if something is going to work out until you try. Either you can go all in and see what happens, or you sit on the sidelines and wonder what could have been.”
I think back to Hazel’s note and my drawings. I think of the money she left me that I’ve been saving. My eyes move to meet Andrews. “I’m scared.” I tell him softly.
He grins. “Good. If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” He sticks a hand out for me to shake. “What do you say? Are we doing this?”
I let out a deep breath and place my hand in his. “I guess so.”
He pulls me in for a hug against his chest before kissing the top of my head. “It’s going to be great, Tyler. You just wait and see.”
I hope you’re right.