The Past Follows, Chapter Three

Chapter Three

I woke early the next day, an hour before my alarm. I considered my options as I drowsily lay in bed. I’d have to get a roommate. That wouldn’t be so bad. I had plenty of time to look for something good and the housing market wasn’t as outrageous as found in larger communities. I should be able to find a nice two bedroom. If the lease was in my name, I wouldn’t have to put up with a terrible roommate situation. I showered and  got in a few calls to realtors before work. I made an appointment with Yolanda from Cooper Realty, for Friday morning. 

“When will you move?” asked Heidi. Business had calmed down a bit and we had a moment to talk. 

“Some time in January, probably. I hope.” I didn’t want to have to go through the whole packing and unpacking process in two days, at the end of the month.

“Bruce and I can help you move. We've got Bruce’s truck.”

“Heidi, you're the best.” I thought of all she had done for me, saving my bacon when the Justin stuff went down. If she hadn't let me sleep on her couch until Judith had the apartment ready, I would have been truly stuck, nowhere to go. The idea scared me. What would Justin have done, with me at his mercy? 

“Tom will probably be home, too, so he can help with your furniture.” Tom was their son, going to the state university in Charlotte. 

On my lunch break, I considered James. I liked him. I liked his old fashioned manners and attentive conversation. He was kind, full of good humor, a pleasure to be around. My stomach did that little flip flop thing when I thought of our kiss. I quickly texted him, before I could consider the idea of appearing too eager.

***

After dinner, while I was looking through realty listings online, my phone buzzed. It was James.

“I had a great time last night,” he said. We exchanged a few pleasantries, then he asked “Do you have any New Year’s Eve plans?”

“Actually, yes, I do. Heidi’s throwing a party, sounds like it will be a big one. Would you like to come with me?” I paused. “Unless you had other plans?” 

“I thought about asking you to Molly’s, but Heidi’s party sounds better than a bar.” 

“I’ll double check with her, but I'm sure she’ll be fine with you joining us for the family dinner before the party. Would you like to meet there? I can give you the address.”

“I can pick you up, if you’d like. Your car’s still in the shop?”

I had been planning to catch an Uber there, but riding with James sounded better.

“That would be great.” We made arrangements and said goodbye.

It took me a while to fall asleep again, but I had much nicer things on my mind this time.      

***

In compensation for working so hard over Christamas, Heidi gave me Friday through Monday off, a nice New Year’s vacation. So I was able to meet with Yolanda on my day off. She showed me several properties. The last one was a two bedroom stucco house with interesting brick paving and an arched entry area. 

“This one was built in the 1930’s,” Yolanda explained. 

It had well established trees and shrubs making the lines soft and inviting. The interior had some nice touches, like the patterned tile in the bathroom, and glass doorknobs. And it was a house. No worrying about noise from other apartments or sharing hot water. Its location was ideal as well, just 10 minutes from downtown, and a very short commute to the toy shop. It was within my budget, so I agreed to sign a lease as soon as my credit check went through. It would be available January 5. Yolanda and I made an appointment for Monday, January 2nd, for the paperwork.

Now came the hard part, finding a roommate. That meant more time online, first posting on Facebook, then researching apps for finding roommates. I found a couple of apps that seemed useful and thought about what to say in my profile and ad. 

While I was thinking this through and formulating an entry, my phone buzzed. It was my mother. 

When she asked how I was doing, I explained my apartment situation to her.

“So I'll have to get a roommate to split the rent and bills. I can't get a one bedroom on my own.”

“That's crappy of them, to sell your apartment right out from under you.”

“No, mom, I've known they wanted to retire for a while. Judith and Richard have been nothing but kind to me.” 

“Why don't you come home? Rent isn't so bad here. It's not like the big city.” 

I almost choked. Big city? The population of the Milton metro area (if you could call it metro) was barely 150,000. Even from the perspective of Green Hollow, Milton was hardly a big city. 

I said, “I found a very nice two bedroom and I’ll find a roommate. I'll manage.”

“You could stay with me until you get on your feet. I still have your bedroom just like you left it.” 

“Mom, that's good of you, but unnecessary. I'll be fine here. I like my job with Heidi.”  

“I worry about you. It's much safer here.” 

This was like falling into quicksand. I stopped struggling.

“You're right, mom. If things don't work out here, I'll come and stay with you.” 

Her sigh of relief was audible. She switched to her usual account of all the news in Green Hollow. 

“I ran into Janine's mother the other day. I told her you'd moved to Milton. Janine just got a divorce and came back home. She married that idiot, Brian. Well, Janine never was that smart.”

Janine was not stupid. She was very outgoing and sometimes impulsive, but not stupid. True, I never liked Brian either, but I'd never say so. She was always fun, full of good humor. We were inseparable in high school, until she ran off with Brian. I hadn’t heard much from her since then.

When my mother had brought me up to date on Green Hollow gossip, we said goodbye.

***

James picked me up Saturday night. Since Heidi had invited us for a family dinner before the party, we departed my house at 6.

When we got to Heidi's we were greeted by the delicious aroma of Heidi's famous stew. Bruce and Heidi's teenage daughter, Lydia, whispered and giggled with her two friends when I introduced James. Evidently word had gotten around that I had a new man. As their son Tom had been away in college when I was hired at the toy store, his was a new face for me.

Heidi started interrogating James immediately, asking him about his family, his course of study, his intended career, obviously wanting to ask exactly what his intentions with me were. Never mind that this was our third date.

Luckily, dinner preparations called her away. Bruce and Tom invited him into the den for a drink, leaving us girls to serve up dinner. Lydia and her giggly friends were banished to the dining room to lay the table. That gave Heidi the opportunity to congratulate me on my new catch.

"He's so much nicer than Justin!" she said, ladling the stew into a huge tureen.

"Well, seeing as Justin landed me in the hospital, anyone would seem nice in comparison." I was slicing hot bread at the kitchen island.

"Justin was a stuck up a*****e," she insisted. "Even before all of that... I never liked him."

She looked at me from her rummaging of the utensil drawer. "You need a good man like James. Someone who will treat you right. These fashionable men... Pfft! I have no use for them. They just want eye candy."

I was amused. "So you approve? I have your permission?"

Heidi beamed at me.

***

Bruce and Tom seemed to like James too, inviting him for another drink and a game of darts after dinner. The bartender had shown up and was arraying his tools and supplies. The girls did a great job with the decorations. We mature women needed only to lay out the finger foods. Finally the guests began to arrive. By nine, the place was packed and humming.

The champagne was wonderful. I think, ordinarily, Heidi would have been introducing me around, connecting me with kindred spirits, but she left me and James alone. We ended up on the porch swing. James fetched our coats as midnight approached and there would be fireworks to follow. I had switched to this incredible peachy drink that had very little bite to it, disguising the alcohol almost entirely.

Normally rather reserved, I found myself cheerfully chattering away with James, confessing all kinds of hidden thoughts and feelings. I believe I mentioned my penchant for poetry in the 10th grade and my ardent desire to be published in The New Yorker. I also became huggy-kissy, not my normal mode. I was practically in James' lap out there on the porch swing.

At midnight, we cheered and I locked James into a serious soul kiss. Then we were saying our goodbyes. I exuberantly thanked Heidi for the smashing party. I half noticed her pulling James aside as I said goodnight to Bruce as well.

On the ride back to my place I continued my virtual monologue. Some distant part of me said 'You're drunk and making a fool of yourself.' When we parked in front of my apartment, I swooped down on James with an energetic kiss and quickly overheated. I started trying to undo his shirt buttons while I licked at his neck. James gently pulled my hands away.

"Whoa, Karen. You've had a lot to drink," he cautioned. I had forgotten we were in his car.

"Come upstairs," I invited. James carefully steered me up the steep front steps, took my keys from me after I dropped them the second time, unlocked the front door. Up more steps, more locks, then he had me in my bedroom. He pulled back the covers.

"C'mon, girl, sit down before you fall down."

I laughed and pulled him down with me. He managed to get my shoes off and laid me back against the pillows.

"Karen, you're beautiful."

I tried to focus on him and said, "You're a sexy Scotsman. What do you wear under your kilt?" More giggles.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed my forehead.

***

An aching head was the first thing I felt when I woke up, then a roiling stomach. What on earth made me drink so much? I cringed when I remembered my sexual onslaught on James in his car. What would he think of me? It was good of him to not take advantage of my inebriated state, though. I eventually rolled out of bed, feeling pretty crummy physically. Mortified was a good word to describe my state of mind. I stumbled into the kitchen. There I found James’ note on the kitchen table, anchored under some Gatorade and a bottle of ibuprofen.

This should help. Call me when you’re feeling human. 

There was a small sketch of a Christmas tree with a little bird on top. 

"I swear I don't drink that much usually," I told James when he returned my call. 

"Heidi told me that when she charged me with your safe-keeping. She also strongly implied Bruce would have something to say about it if I mistreated you." He laughed. "I like Heidi."

James had a short shift at Denny's, one til eight. After work, he wanted to take me to see the holiday light display Milton city park hosted every year.

As my car was still in the shop, James picked me up again. The "Celebration of the Oaks" display was fun. I had never been to it, being new to Milton, so it was one surprise after another.

We took our time. Holding hands, we wandered under the oaks looking at the gaudy designs picked out in colored lights, then between corridors of fancifully decorated Christmas trees, and finally through the botanical garden's formal pathways, which glittered with tiny white lights.

It was relatively warm in the greenhouse, so we settled on a bench tucked between climbing tropical plants. James had been talking about his family, then suddenly turned to me.

"I know nothing about your family except that your mother lives a few hours away."

"It's just me and my mom. My dad died when I was sixteen. Since then, it's just us girls."

"Oh Karen, I am sorry. I didn't know..."

"Don't be sorry. I don't talk about it much."

"That must have been hard, losing him so young." James squeezed my hand.

That compassionate touch spurred me to elaborate, "Well, no... He was a real b*****d. I'm sorry he died, but I am glad he's out of our lives."

I looked at James and saw complete attention there, no judgment.

"That's why the thing with Justin hit me so hard."

"The thing with Justin? The guy you moved here with?"

"Yes. One night we got into an argument and I was pretty bruised up before I was able to get away and call the police."

James' face became hard.

"F****r. If he ever bothers you again..." He looked murderous when he said this.

I gave a short laugh. "You and Bruce both. Don't worry. Bruce set him straight."

After a while in silence, I confessed, "I feel like I should have known better, I should have seen it coming, I should have learned from my mother."

"It's not your fault, Karen. And you did learn from your mother... you got out."

I hadn't thought about that before. It lifted my burden a bit.

"You really think so?"

"Yes. You knew what to do. You're lucky, so many women don't."

I put my head on his shoulder. Somehow I trusted James. He learned more about me on our cozy bench than Heidi, my closest friend in Milton, had ever known.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading so far into my story. I appreciate any and all comments.

Reviews

[C.S. Williams]

It's nice to see Karen really showing she's got a good head on her shoulders and try to solve her problems. It makes her a more likeable and engaging character to read about, she doesn't feel helpless.
Plus it's really nice seeing that Karen despite her humble existence has people who still care about her and want to get her out of a jam. Again, it's just nice to read about people being decent for a change.
I do agree with Michelle Saldana that I wish we could've gotten a bit more of Karen's thoughts when she was tipsy and trying to put the moves on James. I'd imagine she definitely wants it bad, but James is a decent person so he doesn't take advantage of her (another thing I really liked. It's amazing how standards of men feel so low that when someone doesn't take advantage of an inebriated woman it's a good sign when it should be, like, a basic trait)

Either way, again, really liked it, hope to see more in the future!

[SweetNutmeg]

In the past I have written weak female characters who can't fix problems, so I make a conscious effort to give my female characters the ability to solve problems and handle things. I agree with you both that there needs to be more to Karen's drunk rambling, it's an opportunity to reveal what Karen is like under her self restraint. And yes yes yes not taking advantage of someone who can't consent is pretty basic.

Thank you so much for your review!

[Michelle Saldana]

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Karen and Heidi in this chapter.

Also, I loved the New Year's Eve setting; Karen and James' connection was so palpable. I do think you should consider diving a tad deeper into Karen's internal emotions during that moment to heighten the impact even more.

Aside from that, I'm still very hooked and eager to see where this goes!

[SweetNutmeg]

I agree that part could be more fleshed out. I will look into that when I have time. I'm very glad you are enjoying. Thanks for reading!

[Michelle Saldana]

Of course! I am invested in this story.

Thanks for sharing your great work!

[Samuel Dickens]

A clean, well-written chapter, methinks. Romance builds like a rolling snowball. I gotta tell ya--that James has a lot more willpower than me. Any date of mine that tried to jump my bones would've succeeded splendidly.
"Justin was a stuck up a*****e," she pronounced". I think you might find a better word than "pronounced".

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for your kind, attentive review. I will attend to that word choice. You've been a staunch supporter and I appreciate the time and energy you devote to helping me out.

[Samuel Dickens]

I think anything that gets you "fiddling" with this is a good thing. That said, I'm okay with the formatting changes, though they might not be really necessary. Keep at it, my friend!

[SweetNutmeg]

Fortunately the formatting problem was just a glitch, not a permanent change to the functionality of the site. I agree that anything that gets me fiddling with this is a good thing. I forced myself to go through the old reviews and edit accordingly, in the hopes that it might get me going again. And it did. I'm busily working away on chapter 4. :)

[Samuel Dickens]

Great news! See, it worked.

[Gary]

"I got in a few calls to realtors before work the next day." You make the same mistake others have pointing out to me. You jump into a chapter without setting the scene. Where is Karen? What is her mood? Is she anxious about her upcoming deadline or is she optimistic?

"Bruce’s and Heidi's daughter Lydia, a teenager, was whispering with her two girlfriends when we arrived, and they giggled when I introduced James to Bruce and Heidi." I would consider "Bruce and Heidi's teenage daughter, Lydia, whispered and giggled with her two friends when I introduced James."

""I swear I don't drink that much usually," I told James in the morning. I had called him first thing when I found his friendly note on the kitchen counter." I feel like you missed another opportunity jumping int the scene here. I can picture Karen stumbling out of bed a little hung over but still smiling after finding a simi-romantic note from James.

Your story is moving along well. I find Karen to be not only be likeable, but believable. James however is still a bit of a mystery. Yeah, he's a really sweet guy, but I'm not seeing much of his personality. I want to know more about his back story. But maybe that's intentional. If I'm getting ahead of you, just tell me to shut up and be patient.

As always, I am looking forward to the next chapter.
Gary

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you so much for your thorough, helpful review. I especially want to thank you for rescuing me from that horribly awkward sentence about the teenage girls. I tried many ways of rephrasing and for some reason couldn't come up with anything better.

I see what you mean by lost opportunities. This will take a bit of thought.

I'm going to try to flesh out James a bit. My achilles heel is making flat Ken dolls for romantic interests. I've been doing writing exercises aimed at figuring him out and giving him a life and a personality. Tough going for me.

Thanks again, you are ever helpful.

[Gary]

Good to see you posting again.
"There was a small sketch of a Christmas tree with a little bird on top." I don't remember if this was in the first draft, it's been a while, but I like it. Nice touch.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for keeping up with me. I'm trying to work my way out of writer's block by revising with everyone's comments in mind. The sketch is an addition. I've decided to give him artistic talent, lol.

Have you noticed anything going on with formatting? I am not being given formatting options when I post. I'm wondering if this is a glitch, or a deliberate site change. Do you know?

[Gary]

I haven't posted in quite a while so personally I don't know.