2. Chapter 2
The airport an hour from Silas Valley is small, and very few people are there to catch flights. I stand with Codi outside of security, sad she’s leaving.
“I’m going to miss you. Are you sure you don’t need me to stay longer?” she asks.
I shake my head. “You have work. On top of that, it’s Halloween tomorrow. You always look forward to handing out candy in your neighborhood.”
She sighs. “I know. The kids’ costumes are always so cute. But I hate that I’m leaving you so soon. We didn’t even get to explore your new town together. By the look of the grocery store and that nice coffee shop we saw, I can already tell it’s better than it was the last time we were here.”
She’s right. I’d already known that though.
Just because I didn’t visit before I decided to move, doesn’t mean I didn’t look up pictures of the town.
I was pleasantly surprised that when we’d gone to get groceries and pick up propane for the boiler that I couldn’t get working due to lack of gas, everything looked like what I’d researched, if not better.
Silas Valley residents had done a lot in recent years to spruce up the place. And with the festival that starts tonight and goes through Halloween—the same one we attended as kids—it’s full of fall vibes, and quite a few people milling about.
“That just means you’ll have to come back for Thanksgiving—if you aren’t spending it at Jonah’s place.”
Codi flushes when I mention Jonah, her new boyfriend.
“It’s still early days so I don’t know what we’re doing. But if I don’t spend it with him, I’ll be on the first plane out.”
“Even if I find out I have ghosts?”
“You said you thought you were in the clear!”
I chuckle. “Sadly, the only things I found in the basement were the boiler, and the washer and dryer that looked to be about twenty years old. But who knows, maybe they feared you and will come out now that you’re gone.”
She shakes her head. “Ha-ha. Everyone knows you’re the scary one, Harps.”
I pull her in for a hug. “Thank you for driving here with me and helping today.”
“Of course,” she pulls back and meets my gaze. “Be careful, and call me if you need anything. I hope your fresh start is everything you hope for it to be.”
“Thanks, big sis.”
She hugs me again, and we say our goodbyes and I-love-yous before she goes through security, and her blonde head disappears from sight.
I stand near the entrance for several minutes after she’s gone, feeling the weight of being alone in a new place for the first time. It’s an odd feeling, one mixed with sadness, trepidation, and excitement.
Back in my car, I turn on the radio. Creed plays through the speakers, and I change the station immediately.
Maria liked Creed. Probably should have been a red flag but alas, we dated for the last year despite my instincts telling me not to, since we’d been friends for years prior and shared the same friend group.
I shake off my thoughts of her, not wanting to taint my fresh start.
Not to mention, I’m over her and the relationship we had.
After talking with my therapist about it for the last few months, I realized I liked the idea of a relationship with her more than the relationship itself.
I liked that we had a friendship as a starting point and thought she accepted what I did for work.
Spoiler alert: she didn’t like strangers buying my feet pics, or me sending my dirty underwear to people all over the world. She really didn’t like the custom videos I made for them either.
At the end of the day, fuck her and her judgment. I was sadder about losing my friends. Even though I’ve started to realize those people weren’t my friends either.
By the time I arrive back and cross the Silas Valley town line, the sun is setting and I’m ready to get out of the car and maybe try and meet some new people. I’m also starving, having eaten only a sandwich Codi and I made after we bought groceries.
I remember the coffee shop and cafe, Hearth & Harvest, that we saw earlier. Upon parking, I see it’s closed for the day, but there are lights still illuminating the outside windows.
The front of the red brick and mortar building is decorated for the festival with leaves, and a scarecrow that looks an awful lot like the one outside my house. He’s painted on one of the windows—though this is a friendlier looking version of him, that won’t scare children away.
I stare into the hollow eye sockets, as I had earlier at the farmhouse, taken in by them. I don’t know how long I’m frozen in place, but I don’t move until a group of people walk by my car.
I laugh at myself for being so weird about this scarecrow. I do like them, but I don’t know why this one in particular keeps drawing me in.
With an audible sigh, I stare at my reflection in my rear-view mirror. After checking my makeup and hair, happy to see my winged eyeliner and red lip stain are still in impeccable shape, I grab my purse and get out of my car.
I lock the doors, smooth down the black cropped sweater I threw on before leaving the house, and tug up my black jeans. I’ve got on my comfy combat boots, too.
I’ll probably stand out in this small town with all my piercings, including my septum, but at least my clothes cover the multiple floral tattoos winding down both of my arms. Eventually, everyone will see them and get used to me, but for now, I’ll ease them into it.
The chilly fall air blows through my hair as I walk down the street toward the park where the festival is being held.
There are other people and families around doing the same.
The closer I get, music and laughter filters from the tents set up, and what looks to be the same carnival games I remember they had when I was last here.
The smell of fried food fills my nose when another breeze wafts by, and my stomach growls. I walk under a lit archway with a red and yellow banner that reads “Silas Harvest Festival.”
I enter among the other people joining the festivities. Familiarity washes over me as I take it all in. It’s exactly what I remember as a kid, and after dropping my sister off, it’s the reminder I need as to why I chose this place for my fresh start.
I find the food stands, zeroing in on a corn dog place. My mouth waters, and I make a beeline towards it. There’s only two people ahead of me in line, and when I reach the front, a couple that looks to be around my age are manning it.
The woman is the first to greet me. “Hi there! What can we get for you, doll?”
“Um,” I look at the menu and see they have a couple of corn dogs but all of them have interesting names, and one has apples in it.
“What do you suggest?”
“First time at the Corny Dog?”
I chuckle at the name. “Yep, just moved here actually. Do you have a storefront in town as well?”
The couple goes quiet. I wonder if I said something wrong before the woman smiles wide, and bumps the guy in the arm.
“Oh my gosh, welcome! We’re so happy that you’re here,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow at her odd choice of wording, and the guy laughs awkwardly. “What my wife means is, we’re happy to have a new face in town.”
She joins him in his awkward laugh. “Yes, sorry. That was weird, wasn’t it? But Mike is right. We don’t get people who move here often, especially people in our age bracket. I’m Olive!” She holds out her hand for me to take.
“Oh well, I’m happy to be of service then, I’m Harper,” I say, putting my hand in hers.
Her grip is tight, and the shake she gives me is vigorous. When I pull away, the pair is still smiling at me—no, grinning—more than just excitement in their eyes, but I can’t say what it is.
I put my hands in the pockets of my jeans, glad Mike didn’t offer his hand, too, and take a step back from the stand.
They stare at me for another too-long moment before Olive says, “Sorry, this is weird, huh?”
“A little.”
“Like I said, we just don’t get new people often. Obviously we need to work on our people skills or we’ll scare you away.”
“It would take more than that to scare me away.”
Olive sighs dramatically, like I said the best thing ever. “That’s good!”
I look behind them at the menu. My first interaction with townspeople isn’t going how I planned, and I want to get my food and go home. I can restart tomorrow and hope things go better with whomever I meet next.
“So, what do you suggest?” I repeat my earlier question.
“Right!” Mike says, looking me up and down. “You look like someone who likes spice.”
“Excuse me?”
Olive elbows him. “What he means is, maybe you’d like our jalapeno and cheddar corn dog? It’s got a nice kick to it.”
I cock my head at the man now looking at me sheepishly. Does he know me from what I do for a living? No, he can’t. I hide my face online, so that’s impossible. But what a fucking odd thing to say.
“Sorry,” he points to my hair and septum piercing. “It’s just your style,” he says as if he can read what I’m thinking. “Your vibe is way cooler than most people here. Half the population is over the age of sixty.”
So much for not standing out too badly. I clear my throat. “Right. I think I’m going to go look and see what else is around.”
“Wait!” Olive squeaks. “I’m so sorry, we’re leaving such a bad impression.”
When I don’t say anything, she continues, “Whatever you want is on the house. I’ll even throw in a hot apple cider. I pressed the apples myself!”
“Oh my god, Harper, is that you?”
I turn toward the feminine voice, expecting to see someone I know, but it’s most definitely not. The short woman has long jet-black hair that only amplifies her pale complexion and sharp features.
When she gets closer to me, she tugs me into a hug and puts her mouth to my ear. “Just go with it.”
I force a smile on my face and pull back. “It’s me!”
“You know our new guest, Ava?” Olive asks.
Ava…
The woman who I now know as Ava wraps her arm around my shoulders and squeezes. “I’m her landlord.”
Ah. That’s where I know that name from. I never spoke to her on the phone, just email correspondence when I found the place on a rental website.