Chapter 2
~
Rhea
I spent most of that evening unpacking boxes, until I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. By then, I’d managed to finish my bedroom, the bathroom, and most of the kitchen. That was enough for now.
In the morning, I had gotten up stiffly and grumbled as I had my morning coffee. The first thing I needed to do was to fix that broken board on the porch.
Luckily, it didn’t take too long to find my tools, given that I’d had the great idea of labelling all of the boxes.
The one I was looking for, however, was tucked into the bottom of a stack, and it took a while to get to it.
All of the tools inside were unused and a few were still in their original packaging.
I’d bought them thinking that all homeowners had to have tools, and I was glad that I’d gotten them now.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to fix the board, but I gathered up my tools and went out to the porch, setting up my phone so that I could watch a few informational videos. I hoped that would be enough to get it done.
The first two tutorials had me more confused than anything, but by the third, I was confident enough to get started.
Got to get the nails out first, I told myself, grabbing a newly-unpackaged screwdriver and getting to work. It was harder than I expected, but pretty soon, I had all of them in the palm of my hand.
Right, then… Uh… angled pilot holes, I thought, muttering the last few words under my breath as if that would make me understand them better.
I already had the battery-powered drill in my hand, and I measured the approximate spots I wanted the holes with my eyes.
It wasn’t a perfect system, but I was sure it would work well enough.
Before I could get the drill started, though, the alarms next door suddenly began to wail. I flopped backward from the fright, but managed to catch myself on the fence before I tumbled down the stairs.
That’s going to take some getting used to, I thought as I pushed myself to my feet and looked toward the fire station.
Curiosity won, and I walked closer so that I could see through the doors where the truck was.
I noticed Calder, Beck, and Ash running toward it, already dressed up in their bulky uniforms. They loaded themselves and some things that I couldn’t name onto the truck, and the lights came on fast.
I was transfixed by the whole thing. It was one of the more exciting things I’d ever seen in my life.
I was wondering where the fire was, or if it was something else.
Firemen didn’t just deal with fires, right?
Maybe there was a car accident, and they’d have to save someone with the jaws of life. Or there was a cat stuck up in a tree.
Whatever it was, the idea of the three of them heading off heroically to save somebody made my heart flutter. I could almost imagine myself being stuck somewhere, and one of them shattering a window to sweep me up and carry me to safety. The idea made me blush, even though nobody could see me.
You’re being ridiculous, I told myself as I watched the truck roar out of the station. It came racing down the street, and I noticed Calder through the driver’s side window.
He glanced at me for a moment, and it felt as if time was slowing down to a crawl when he winked at me.
Immediately, my heart began racing, and I swallowed, trying my best to smile back.
Then, the truck flew off, and I was left reeling on the sidewalk.
I held my hand over my chest for a moment to catch my breath, wondering what on earth I’d gotten myself into.
I’d agreed to go on that date, but I had no idea if my heart could actually handle it. For now, though, I needed to get back to the floorboard. I couldn’t just stand there and fantasize about the boys in uniform all day.
Shaking my head at myself, I made my way back to the porch.
I was truly acting like a teenager, and if I was honest, I liked it.
I hadn’t felt this way in… well, ever. Maybe it wasn’t that bad if I let myself dream for a little while.
It would make the moving process a lot less boring, anyway.
I let out a small sigh as I sat back down to work on the board again.
I peered closely to figure out the angles that I needed to drill.
It wasn’t something I was particularly experienced in, but the video had made it look fairly simple.
I just needed to make sure that I didn’t accidentally split the wood in half.
That possibility made me hesitate. If I did break it, I’d have to figure out how to replace it.
There was a hardware store not too far away, but would I have to cut the wood myself?
How would I know whether it was the right kind? Or the right size?
It’s fine, I thought as I brought the drill closer to the wood. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I managed the first one well enough, and took a deep breath before I got started on the second.
The drill almost slipped when I heard a car horn from the street, but I didn’t ruin anything. Delicately, I shut the drill off and set it down next to me, before wiping my hands with a rag that I’d brought from the kitchen.
When I looked up, I noticed that it was a UPS van parked in the road.
That was odd. I didn’t remember ordering anything, and I wasn’t expecting any mail.
Even so, I got up and walked closer as the driver got out, dressed in the classic delivery uniform.
She was a sturdy woman with short hair; the natural grey dotted throughout her placed her age at maybe fifty or so. She was smiling at me as she walked up.
“I have a delivery for Rhea,” she said warmly, looking me up and down. “That you?”
“Yeah,” I said, immediately feeling like I could trust her. She just seemed like someone who could be a place of comfort, someone who would be easy to talk to and get along with.
The box she retrieved from the van was fairly big, and I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows as she approached with it.
“You’re new in the neighborhood, aren’t you?” she asked as she walked right past me. “My name is Jackie. I live right down the road.”
“Uh, nice to meet you,” I said, following her to the house. She headed up the steps and placed the box right next to my door. “Thanks, you didn’t need to bring it all the way up.”
“Nonsense.” She waved me off as she turned around. “A lemonade would be wonderful, actually. Could use a break.”
She took a seat in the chair that I’d put out on the porch, stretching herself as if she’d already had a long day. I didn’t point out that I hadn’t exactly invited her to stay. She seemed nice, and I could use a friend in a place full of strangers.
“Sure,” I finally said, before leaving her on the porch and heading to the kitchen.
I didn’t have everything packed out, and definitely no lemonade.
But there were sodas in the fridge, and I hoped that Jackie would be alright with that.
I went back outside, and offered her one. She laughed as she took it from me.
“This is actually my favorite flavor,” she grinned as she opened the can and took a good, long swig.
I stood across from her, leaning against the fence, taking care not to trip over the loose floorboard I was still in the process of fixing. “Good to know. So, what can you tell me about the neighbors?”
I meant the firefighters, but Jackie tapped at her chin and peered around as if she was making sure whether there was anyone listening. She leaned forward conspiratorially before she spoke.
“Mostly young families, retired folk,” she began.” And gossip. A ton of gossip. Not that I’m one to complain, you know. Stories are always interesting.”
I nodded slowly. I wasn’t going to argue with that; she was right. To be fair, I never liked to be involved with drama, but like a lot of people, I did like knowing about it. I waited for Jackie to elaborate, and she seemed happy to take the opportunity to do so.
“Like across the street,” she said with a quick wink.
“Jillian’s gotten a new car, and everyone knows full well there’s no way her useless husband could afford something like that.
Theory going around is that she’s got someone on the side, if you know what I mean.
Not judging, of course. Everyone does things they’re not particularly proud of. ”
I had the feeling that she was, in fact, judging, but I shrugged. “Suppose it’s none of my business.”
“Mm, there was something I heard about you, too.” Jackie turned to me with a glimmer in her eyes. “That the boys from the firehouse have a thing for you.”
“Wow,” I laughed awkwardly. “Word sure does travel fast, doesn’t it? Honestly, I’m not sure what to do about all of that. They’ve all asked me on a date, and… Well. What do I even…”
I paused, watching for her reaction, but Jackie was simply smiling. “Oh, come now, dear. You’re young. You should be having fun while you can. Hell, I’d be ecstatic to have three handsome men fighting over me. It’s not exactly a terrible problem.”
“I mean, if you put it that way,” I said, and Jackie chuckled. “I guess I could see where things go. No harm in it, right?”
“Not even a little,” Jackie agreed. “Now, why don’t we take a peek inside that box? I could swear I heard porcelain in there, or glass.”
I looked over at the box and saw the label across the top of it. It was from my mom; maybe a housewarming gift. Knowing my mom’s taste, though, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it was.
“I’ll get a pair of scissors,” I announced, but Jackie reached for the utility belt wrapped around her waist, producing a pair like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.
I took them from her and got to work on the box.
Whatever was inside was so wrapped up in bubble wrap that I couldn’t really see what it was.
“So it’s really fragile then,” Jackie said, finishing her soda in one big swig and sitting forward to watch me free my mom’s gift from its popping prison.
“Oh… oh, no,” I muttered when I finally managed to release it. It was a god-awful seashell lamp, one made from terrible plastic that looked so cheap I couldn’t imagine that anyone would ever want it.
“Well…” Jackie let out a long whistle. “I suppose you can hide it in a cupboard somewhere.”
“I’ll have to put it out when they visit,” I sighed, “or I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“The sacrifices we make for family,” Jackie mused before she got up from her chair and stretched herself out. “I should get back to my route. See you again, alright?”
“I hope so,” I answered as I watched her walk away. Gingerly, I put the lamp back in the box and carried it inside, already wondering if I could stage some sort of ‘accidental break’ so I would never have to see it again. For now, I put the box in the back of my closet in my room.
It’s as I did so that I realized I had absolutely nothing to wear that was worthy of a date with someone like Calder.
I thought of a dress I’d seen at the mall where I worked; one that I’d been eyeing for a while.
It was pricey, but something told me that it would be worth it.
I had some savings left that I could use.
It wasn’t the most responsible idea, but right then, I didn’t care.
I could always cut back on groceries and replace it.
With that thought, I left the house, deciding I’d take care of the porch later. I got into my car and drove to the mall, which was less busy than usual. That was good news. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with hordes of shoppers.
The dress I was looking for stared right at me from one of the clothing store’s front windows. It was simply perfect. I hesitated for a second, then remembered what Jackie had said. She was right. I was young, and I needed to have some fun. I had tons of time to be responsible later.
After I grabbed the dress, I headed back out to the parking lot, where the sun immediately assaulted my senses. I hadn’t realized how bright and hot it had been before spending some time in the cool, synthetically-lit mall.
I noticed a crowd forming at one end of the lot, and I was instantly curious. There was a firetruck close by, and my heart skipped a beat. I moved somewhat quicker until I was at the very edge of the crowd. I saw the uniforms, and recognized Beck’s golden hair almost immediately.
He was standing next to a car, while Calder and Ash stood on the other side. Calder seemed to be analyzing the situation; the others were clearly waiting on him.
I heard a low, pathetic bark, and that’s when I noticed the small snout inside of the car. There was a dog trapped in there.