The Past Follows, Chapter One

Christmas in Milton

The Past Follows

Chapter One

I woke up fighting something that wasn't there. I'd slept through my alarm, the neighbors used all the hot water and I left my wallet upstairs. Standard s****y morning. Ordinarily my boss, Heidi, was no slave driver. She didn't mind occasional tardiness. Not this day though. Christmas Eve isn't the best day to be late when you work in retail.

I pulled into the parking lot behind the toy shop five minutes late. The usual stock room smell of fresh paper and plastics was overlaid with cinnamon and ginger. It smelled delicious... the first three days of the Christmas season. It had become obnoxious after that, lingering in my clothes and hair, even in my coat. It was nerve grating to hear every single customer exclaim "Oh it smells so good in here!" as they entered the store.

“Karen, get your a*s in here!” Heidi yelled as she opened the cash register with a ding. I bundled up my long blonde hair into a quick braid and joined Heidi behind the counter. She was counting out the cash drawer, inserting the money into the till of the cash register. I started my opening routine, turning on banks of lights, setting the model trains into motion, and making sure the window displays had not suffered any mishaps overnight. I righted one over turned miniature fir tree in the middle display. At 10 o'clock, Heidi flipped the open sign and unlocked the door. A small crowd had already collected around the shop windows and customers began to drift in.

Working in a toy shop can be fun. Heidi trusted me to design and deploy window displays, which allowed me to be creative. No creativity today, though. I'd be hard pressed to keep up with the crowd we'd be seeing. It was my duty to keep the place in some kind of order, and assist Heidi at the register as needed. My job didn't pull down the big bucks, but I was well paid for a shop assistant. Well enough to be independent.

Just past lunch (a hurried sandwich in the stock room) we had a major avalanche of model train cars and it spilled over into the window display. I righted the last overturned miniatire Christmas tree in the window and was backing away when I felt something brush my a*s. I quickly turned, amazed someone would try to grope me in a toy store. I knew I had a figure that inspired such attention, but really, this was pushing it too far. I met the eye of an entirely embarrassed man, holding the offending kite kit that had just rubbed me. His arms were full and it was no surprise he had trouble managing his bundle of goodies.

"I'm so sorry," he ducked and bowed, almost demolishing the stack of ginger bread cookie tins. I quickly assessed the situation.

"Here, let me," I said as I relieved him of the kite, two stuffed pandas and a slinky. He was as disheveled as he was clumsy, with short curly brown hair sprawling above wide blue eyes. His shabby tweed jacket matched his battered jeans and scuffed loafers. We were almost eye to eye, but then, most men are as I am 5'10".

"Come with me, we can stow these behind the counter for you." I led the way to the swamped cash register counter. Tucking the items into a corner, I turned to relieve him of his other boxes and parcels.

"You can keep shopping, we'll have these things right here for you," I assured him. When he hesitated, I asked if I could help him find anything.

"Well," he began, "I need one more gift, for my dad. Some kind of logic puzzle maybe. Could you show me where the adult toys are?"

I looked at him. Had I heard him right? Was this some kind of joke? Adult toys?

No, it wasn't a joke, because he suddenly turned beet red.

"Not that kind... I mean, not like that..." he stammered. I took pity on him.

"I know just the place for you to look," leading him to the 12+ area. "Here you go, all of these items are designed for ages 12 and up." Heidi signaled me urgently and I hustled off to the cash register to assist.

I was rather pleased when he approached the cash register just as I finished up an elderly lady with a doll. I scanned his items, impressed with the number and variety of his selections. He looked young to have children, but you never can tell.

"Lots of good kids on Santa's list this year?" I inquired.

"For my nephews. My brothers have swamped me with nephews. I'm up to my eyeballs in them."

I bagged his last items. His debit card read: "James McDowell" It suited him. My eyes locked with his intense blue ones as I handed him his receipt. Feeling a bit foolish, I smiled and thanked him.

Christmas day I managed to launder every single item of clothing and piece of linen in the entire apartment. I'd also polished the furniture, cleaned out the fridge and vacuumed under the bed and couch. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I showered off the dust and sweat and got into comfy pjs. I popped in "It's a Wonderful Life," and settled down for a cozy evening.

But I found myself restless and moody, unable to concentrate. I had instructed myself that moping was not allowed, that I would just have to keep busy and plan a special treat for myself for the evening. Finally I gave up on the movie. I got dressed and decided to find an open restaurant. Seeing other people, even strangers, would be better than being at home with unhappy thoughts of the past.

Denny's was the only place open at 9 o'clock on Christmas night. I was mulling over the menu when I was surprised by none other than James McDowell, appearing to take my order. I felt my face blossom into a smile. A friendly, familiar person, even if only a customer, was very welcome on what had been quickly becoming a dismal evening.

"How are your nephews?" I asked.

"Little savages, one and all. They are in bed, exhausted from being naughty all day long."

"Oh, you don't fool me. You love them, don't you?" Feeling suddenly mischievous, I added, "And how did your father enjoy his adult toy?"

He blushed again, but took my ribbing in a friendly way. "He likes his puzzle cube quite well, thank you. What can I get you?”

I pointed out my selection, he jotted it down, and I watched him walk away, feeling much happier.

James brought out my order, topped off my coffee and quickly moved on to his next customers. I cheerfully tucked into my pancakes. But when a waitress brought me my check, I was disappointed. I had expected James to bring it to me.

"Where's James?" I asked.

"He's off at ten." I glanced at my phone. Damn, 10:15. I was hoping to see his blue eyes and his smile one last time.

I finished my meal and paid up. In the parking lot I jumped back in surprise as someone approached me from the side of the building. Clutching my chest, I panted "Oh my god James, you scared me!" He was holding a poinsettia. Well, actually, he wasn't just holding it.. he was presenting it to me.

"I hope you don't mind.. I thought you might like.. It's not nice being alone on Christmas," came tumbling out. He steadied himself, slowed down and said, "Would you like to have a drink? At Molly's?"

I thought of my clean, empty apartment. I didn't want to go back there. Having a drink with a strange man? Well, Molly's was a public place and I'd drive myself in my own car. Why not?

"Sure." I smiled into those deep blue eyes.

When I reached Molly's, James was loitering just outside, waiting for me. He held the door and we navigated the crowded pub. James found us seats in an alcove near the pool table. As he helped me off with my coat, he asked, “What can I get for you?”

I automatically said “Bohemia.”

“You can't drink Mexican beer in an Irish bar. It's utter blasphemy.” I felt a bit silly, realizing he was right.

“Tell you what, let me get us a couple of half pints, and if you don't like it, we can get you something else.”

I settled into a creaking leather chair at a table lit by a green shaded reading lamp. It was warm and cozy, quite the Irish pub. The walls were covered with photos of famous Irishmen and famous Irish pubs. The long wooden bar gleamed darkly, with the traditional mirror and range of bottles behind. There was a convivial crowd; we were lucky to get a table.

James quickly returned carrying two mugs of beer. As he settled into his chair, I cautiously sipped my beer. It was good. Different, but good. I took another sip.

“You're smiling. You must like it. This is Harp, an Irish lager.” He sipped his as well.

“So you're Irish?” I preferred keeping the focus on others.

“No, not me. I'm Scottish,” he said with pride.

“Do you wear those kilts? The plaid ones?”

“Only once. I visited Scotland with my whole family and my father insisted I wear proper Highland Dress. That's where I got this.” He displayed one arm of his tweed jacket. It seemed less coarse than ordinary tweed. I touched the cuff and it was silky wool.

“And a kilt?”

“Yes, a kilt. Why are women so fascinated by the kilt?”

“We all want to know what you wear underneath.”

James's blush was faint, and he covered his embarrassment well, but I could tell. I changed gears.

“And what are those bag things? And what kind of plaid was it? There are family plaids, right?”

“The bag is called a sporran. We wore the MacDowell clan tartan, a sort of plaid. It's beautiful, actually. Blue and green.”

“I'd like to see that one day.”

“I think we can arrange that.” His genuine smile warmed me. And here we were, already talking about seeing each other again. I'd barely met him. But those blue eyes pulled me in.

Talk moved on. I was new to Milton, and he was able to tell me much about his hometown.

“How did you end up here?” he asked.

“I moved here with my ex a few months ago. He got a job offer here at the paper mill, and I came along.” That had gone bad quickly. As in, a trip to the ER, two broken fingers, sundry bruises, and talking to victim's services about domestic violence.

“Your ex?” James asked. I squirmed inside. I didn't want to talk about Justin. James must have realized this and talk quickly moved on. I learned more about Scotland and James's family, and there was more general discussion of traveling and staying home, various cities we had visited, cities we would love to see.

When the bartender announced last call, it surprised me. I couldn't believe we had talked until 1:30 in the morning. I definitely needed to get home as I had to work tomorrow.

"I'll walk you to your car," James insisted. I was glad. I'd had to park several blocks away in the middle of downtown. Lucky for me he was a true gentleman and stayed until I got into my car. Because I couldn't start the car. The engine wouldn't even turn over. Shivering, I shone my flashlight to light our cars as he hooked up my jumper cables. It was 2:30 am and bitterly cold when we finally gave up.

"I'll call an Uber."

I got out my phone, but James stopped me. It didn't take much convincing to get me to accept a ride. We set off in his 20 year old Subaru station wagon. Our easy conversation continued the few miles to my apartment. I turned to thank him for the poinsettia, the drinks, the company, and met those bright blue eyes.

"You've saved me a lot of money, Karen," James said confidentially.

"How's that? You wiped us out yesterday, buying up the store for your nephews."

"If you hadn't come into the restaurant on Christmas night, I would have been reduced to buying toy after toy just to get a glimpse of you.. and work my way up to asking you out."

"Hey, I'm easy.. just poke me in the a*s and ask for the adult toys. That'll win my heart every time."

I couldn't see him blushing but I knew he was. I relented. "James, I'm very glad we met up again, I had a good time." I turned to face him more directly. "The poinsettia was sweet." I had it in my lap, the top leaves were tickling my chin.

"Can I call you?" he asked. "Maybe we could do it again?"

I gave him my number, and then impulsively gave his cheek a quick kiss.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading my story. I welcome any and all comments, critiques, etc. I'm fairly thick skinned so I am open to honest criticism.

Reviews

[C.S. Williams]

Hmmm I'm interested in where this goes. I don't normally read romance and I'm a little wary of the genre considering what gets popular these days, but so far I'm interested in Karen's little relationship with James. He seems like a very sweet guy and I want to see where this relationship goes.

I was reminded of the Jim Croce song "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" which I think is an underrated Christmas song, by the way.

Saw a few typos here and there plus some places to tighten up sentences, but overall I liked it and will be reading more.

(PS, sorry for reading your stuff so late. I know you reviewed my first chapter a while back and I feel bad for not reading some of your work sooner, so here I am!)

[SweetNutmeg]

I'm listening to Jim Croce's song. It's a bit sad, but captures the holiday well. I am personally out of touch with current romance stories, but the ones I do remember were pretty formulaic and portrayed not very healthy relationships. But I love having romance in my stories. There is usually some kind of love interest in all of my stories. I'd be delighted to hear any nit-picky details, no comment is too small for my appreciation. I value your encouraging words. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i really want to spport your work. literature nowadays is too bourgeois and i think there is space for working-class fiction. i thought this first chapter depicts the lives of everyday people in a fly-on-the-wall way. if it is missing something, i'd say it would be scenery. i want a greater sense of time and place. where is the action taking place? what makes this place and time period special?

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for supporting me! I think ordinary people have lives that can be interesting, as much as anyone else. I appreciate your feedback, and I will keep it in mind when I'm able to continue working on my writing.

[Wathanya.5KY3]

It's been a while since I can focus on reading. While I'm not one to read a lot of romance, I really enjoy your writing style, so thank you for continuing to write. There are a few punctuation things that can be fixed, but I don't think they matter enough as I was able to fully enjoy the story either way. I love the fast pace and the episodic awkwardness.

[SweetNutmeg]

Welcome back! Thank you for reading and reviewing. I just reread it and see a couple of punctuation problems I missed before. This will not actually be a traditional romance. In the romance genre, there is always a huge build up of the couple's relationship... several full chapters before they even consider kissing on the cheek. I'm rushing things along because there is more than romance happening here. You'll see. I'm so happy you're back!

[Eliza arabi]

Interesting read. Keep going.

[Michelle Saldana]

I genuinely enjoyed this! The Christmas season has always had a special place in my heart. I could almost smell the aroma of cinnamon, ginger, and fresh paper as I read.

Karen and James are both incredibly engaging characters. Karen feels like someone I'd casually meet up with for coffee, and James, with his charming awkwardness was an instant favorite for me.

The mix-up with "adult toys"? Absolute comedic gold.

Great stuff!

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and for your encouraging words. I actually made that horrible mix-up myself, and knew it had to be immortalized as the dumbest thing to say. It was actually the entire inspiration for this story.

[Michelle Saldana]

Lmao! I love this

[JessyJacob]

My constructive feedback is I really loved the usage of words simpler clear to imagination where an average man don’t need to refer dictionary, description is soothing and clear to eyes. I wish I could write like you and will read more of your words and style.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for taking the time to read and review. I try to avoid "purple prose," which is using lots of fancy words just to show off a big vocabulary. English is such a varied and colorful language, you can usually find a word that expresses exactly what you want to say without resorting to a thesaurus. I love the English language, its capacity for fine nuance is remarkable.

[JessyJacob]

Its heartfelt review, you have a great talent, to write in different styles, I really like to compile.

[Gary]

I believe this is a very strong start, but I have a few suggestions.
"I woke up fighting something that wasn't there. I'd slept through my alarm, the neighbors used all the hot water, I left my wallet upstairs, and had to run back to get it. Standard s****y morning." You could probably leave out "and had to run back and get it." It may make the opening flow a little smoother.
"I scanned his items into the computer, impressed with the number and variety of his selections." Drop "into the computer." Your reader knows what she scanned it into.
"He's off at ten." It was ten past ten. Damn, I had hoped to see his blue eyes and his smile one last time."
Does "He's off at ten." I glanced at my watch. Damn, 10:15. I was hoping to see his blue eyes and smile one last time." flow better?
I finished my meal and paid up. In the parking lot I jumped back in surprise as someone approached me from the side of the building. It was James. Clutching my chest, I panted "Oh my god, you scared me!"
How about leaving off the first sentence and simply say "In the parking lot I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone stepped out from the corner of the building. Clutching my chest, I panted. "Oh my god, James, you scared me!"
"Last call surprised me. We had been talking for over 3 hours. I definitely needed to get home as I had to work tomorrow."
When the bartender announced last call it surprised me. I couldn't believe we had talked till 2:30 in the morning.
"Lucky for me he was a true gentleman and stayed on the pavement long enough for me to start the car and pull away, because I couldn't start the car. It wouldn't even turn over. His jumper cables didn't work either.
Lucky for me he was a true gentleman and stayed until I got into my car. When I turned the key it wouldn't even turn over. I stood shivering as his attempt to jump my car failed.

Please don't think I am trying to rewrite your story. That is not my intent. But something I have learned lately is that sometimes, being a little less wordy helps the story flow better.

I look forward to reading future chapters. Good luck and keep writing.
Gary

[SweetNutmeg]

Gary, thank you so much for your review.

I took in your many good suggestions and changed some things around, sometimes the way you suggested, sometimes in my own way. I definitely don't feel like you are trying to rewrite my story. I appreciate the specific examples. And yes, frequently less is more.

I'm curious about two things.

Does the slang meaning of "Karen" turn you off from a character named Karen?

And another reader saw James as a teenager at first. Did you get any feeling for his age, in the toy store?

Thank you again for the time you took to give me such a helpful and thorough review. I value your opinion.

[Gary]

At 57 years old, I don't think of "Karen" like younger people do. So, it didn't bother me.
I didn't get the impression James was as a teen.

[Samuel Dickens]

I think this is very clean writing, with no grammatical errors.
When James is first encountered at the store, I got the impression that he was a shy teenager, and not someone who she'd have a romantic interest in.

"..trains into motion, and making sure the window.."
"I righted one overturned miniature.."
"..he was clumsy, with short curly brown.."
"I tucked into my pancakes" I'm unfamiliar with this use of "tucked". Also, her finishing eating seems so abrupt, especially since we didn't witness her ordering or receiving the food.

A fine effort, my friend.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for your review! I looked over the toy store encounter and changed it from "young man" to just "man." I hope that makes it more clear.

Tucking into your food is not uncommon, but I think it might be more British. The last time I saw it used was in a Harry Potter book. So I will take your comment under advisement and see if anyone else finds the word strange.

I entirely agree with your comments on the section where she is suddenly eating pancakes. I had to add a small paragraph to make that transition properly.

I so appreciate your review. You know I always value your opinion. You've been a staunch friend for many years.