Chapter Nine
The small coastal town was called Gullrock.
Callie kept searching online until she discovered the town's identity, then drove there without hesitation.
She borrowed her father's car and headed east toward the coast. She rented a room from an elderly woman who lived in a large house and was lonely.
She found work at the town's only restaurant.
She wasn’t happy, but at least she could pretend she wasn’t hurting.
She decided to fake it until maybe one day she could forget, or even forgive herself.
She was friendly with customers, her landlady, and her coworkers, but she made sure not to get attached.
She kept to herself and avoided most social engagements.
It was a small town, and a newcomer drew a lot of curiosity, so of course people wanted to know her background.
She stuck to the simple parts. She grew up in a small town and went to university in the city.
City life wasn’t for her, so she decided to relocate.
She picked Gullrock because she had seen it in a picture and had always wanted to visit.
People liked the last part of her story.
There was something romantic about her finding their small town in a random picture on the internet and taking on the adventure of finding it.
She didn’t tell anyone that she was running away from her problems. And slowly, as each day passed, it became easier to live in the lie and hide the emotions she truly felt.
The first week was hard. She cried herself to sleep every night.
She hated herself for what she had done and for hurting Ryan.
She still didn’t understand how she had let that happen, but she knew she had to take responsibility for her actions.
Her landlady, Martha, knew that Callie wasn’t all right.
Although she never asked, she began to pay closer attention to Callie.
She did kind things, such as baking cookies for her or having dinner waiting after a late shift at the restaurant.
Callie began to feel the care and comfort of a mother.
By the second week, she had begun to recognize the repeat customers, who were almost the town’s entire population.
They were accepting and kind, welcoming her into their community.
After a month, it still didn’t feel like home, but it was one of the best places to be when she couldn’t be with the people she loved.
The restaurant was family-owned. Joel Neuman, the youngest son, had taken over management as his parents aged.
His siblings showed only moderate interest in the place, and he was left to run it with his own vision.
Joel was thirty, single, and had returned to Gullrock after finishing school, following a short, failed attempt to build a career in the city.
Callie was setting tables for the dinner rush when she heard a yell from the kitchen.
“Bloody, crap-ass, biscuits,” Joel called out.
Callie headed to the kitchen to find Joel alone, holding his hand, with a tray of dinner rolls on the floor.
“What happened?” Callie asked, rushing to his aid.
“I burned myself on the oven while putting the tray in,” he explained.
Callie quickly led him to the sink, turned on the cold water, and forced his hand under it.
“Why were you doing that?” Callie asked as she waited for his hand to cool.
“Edna is running late,” Joel explained, wincing.
“You’ll be OK,” Callie assured him. She paused, remembering what had first caught her attention.
“Did you say crap-ass instead of swearing?” she asked.
“I try not to swear at work,” Joel replied. “It’s a family restaurant.”
“Crap-ass?” Callie repeated with a grin. “Careful, that language might get us a PG rating.”
Joel laughed, and she smiled back at him.
“Do you have any aloe?” she asked quickly, ending the moment of humor.
“Edna keeps a tub in the cabinet.”
“A tub?” Callie questioned as she went in search of it. “How often does she burn herself to have a tub of it?”
“I think she keeps it for me,” Joel confessed, and Callie laughed again.
She pulled his hand out of the water. The burn looked painful, but it wasn’t serious. She began applying aloe to the injury.
“That’s the first genuine smile I’ve seen on your face since you got here,” Joel said.
“I smile,” Callie objected.
“I said genuine,” Joel repeated. “You should do it more often. It suits you.”
“Well, if you keep swearing like a Teletubby every time you burn yourself, I will,” Callie joked.
“If that's all it takes, I’ll ask Edna to buy a larger tub of aloe.”
“No!” Callie laughed when she realized he was suggesting self-mutilation to keep her smiling.
But the smile quickly faded. It felt like cheating to joke and laugh with someone. She told herself she wasn’t worthy of happiness and quickly turned away to clean up the mess of the dropped bread. Joel knelt beside her to help pick up the rolls.
“I got this, boss,” Callie said. “You go get a bandage for your hand.”
Joel paused for a moment, looking at her sadly.
“I really hope you don’t keep yourself in purgatory for too long,” he said. “It was nice to hear you laugh.”
It was a busy night for the restaurant. A few of the usuals were back, and they greeted Callie as if they had known her their entire lives.
The customers didn’t mind that the food took a little longer to come out of the kitchen.
Everyone was so much more relaxed in Gullrock.
Joel would run the bar and help Callie with the tables, but he always insisted she keep all the tips.
The fortunate thing about small towns was that people generally called it a night early.
Callie was used to the city, where people stayed up all night.
Gullrock residents seemed to want to go to bed at a respectable hour.
At nine o’clock, the restaurant was empty, and Callie slid into a chair at the bar, exhausted.
“That was busy,” Joel said as he slid a beer and a chicken sandwich toward her. She accepted them with thanks. “I credit you,” Joel continued as she ate. “I think they are coming here to see you.”
“They are not,” Callie protested against the silly suggestion.
“They are,” Joel insisted. “You’re the first new resident here in almost a decade. They want to meet you. I’m surprised that several women haven’t tried to set you up with their sons yet.”
“You’re teasing me!” Callie accused.
“Yeah, maybe,” Joel winked at her. “So listen, I need to ask you something.” He sobered, and Callie suddenly felt nervous that Joel had uncovered something about her.
Her stomach tightened. He saw her tense but kept going.
“There’s a tradition here on Saturday. It’s a town event, and my restaurant volunteers to cater it.
I know it’s supposed to be your day off, but would you be able to help set up? ”
“Yeah, of course,” Callie replied, relaxing. “What’s the tradition?”
“This weekend marks the end of the fishing season,” Joel explained. “We gather at the beach. Edna and I cater a buffet, then we burn driftwood and drink.”
“Sounds like it’s just an excuse to get together to drink and eat?” she replied.
“Yes,” he laughed. “That’s exactly what it is. We have a few of these each year for various ridiculous reasons.”
“I’m happy to help with such an important tradition,” Callie confirmed.
“Thank you. It will be fun,” Joel assured her.
Callie finished her meal and said good night. The walk back to the house was short. Everything in this town was close, but it was a beautiful fall evening, and the fresh ocean air filled her lungs, relaxing her. She thought maybe one day she would allow herself to be happy again.
Callie met Joel on the beach Saturday afternoon, as he had asked.
He and Edna were setting up tables, and Callie went to help.
Edna had spent days preparing the buffet they were serving.
It was a great spread of sandwiches, wraps, and salads.
Joel was also smoking a brisket he had started hours earlier.
“You must be exhausted,” Callie said when Joel explained that he had started smoking the brisket at two AM.
“It's worth it,” he grinned. “Just wait. You’ll agree.”
It would be a couple of hours before the beef was ready, and people seemed to understand that.
When they started to show up, they came to drink and be social.
Callie realized Joel had timed the meal to be just before sunset.
As everyone was served and sat down with their food, the sky turned red behind them, and they watched it reflect on the ocean.
“This is so beautiful,” Callie said, sitting on a picnic blanket beside Joel. “And,” she added quickly, “you’re right. This is the best brisket I’ve ever tasted.”
“Edna may be the chef, but I have smoking meat down to a perfect science,” Joel replied.
The sun quickly disappeared below the horizon, the ocean grew dark, and the stars began to appear. As people finished their meals, they kept drinking and chatting. It seemed there were other cleanup volunteers, and someone was setting up speakers to play music.
“People in this town know how to have fun,” Callie said, watching the interactions unfold.
“It’s a good place,” Joel confirmed. “I really hope you decide to stay.”
“What makes you think I’m not staying?” Callie asked.
“You’ve been here for over a month now,” Joel observed. “And you haven’t asked about long-term accommodations.”
“I like it at Martha’s,” Callie protested.
“And I’m sure she loves having you,” Joel confirmed. “I figured that if you knew you were staying, you’d want a place of your own.”
Callie turned away from him, sad. He was right. She didn’t know if she was staying. But she should decide. She was starting to fall in love with the small town and its welcoming people, which were helping her heal and making it hard to leave.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Joel said when he saw her demeanor change. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Come follow me.”