Chapter 3: Three Bags, Two Feet, One Start at a New Adventure

A Chapter by Holly

He drove an hour to a town called Roseville. He was a funny man who has lived a long life. She laughed at his stories of his 5 kids growing up. He told her about his struggles, and hard times with his wife getting sick. The closer they got to the town he told her good places to try. It was a little town. So little it didn’t even have a Walmart. Every shop was a mom and pop shop. “Is it paved?” She asked innocently. He chuckled and replied, “Yes! No worries, its small, yes, but it has a good prescription for healing a lost soul.” She smiled. But under her smile she was silently freaking out. She had never been in a town so small that it didn’t have big stores, especially Walmart. Walmart was so common that it made getting chicken pox look like nothing big. She had seen lots of celebrities in Walmart. Now all that was gone. Who would she see now? Certainly not Britney Spears. Not even Jennifer Lopez. Definitely not Adam Sandler. Despite she had been invited to many parties they have thrown and she could call them whenever she wanted, it was still the fact of not running into them so easily that was odd.

He dropped her off at a small diner. But he left her with a message for an Irma to make her a winter surprise. She thanked him and gave him double what she owed him. He politely refused. “It’s my job to take you where you want Ms.” She smiled still handing him the bills, “No sir, a job yes. But a friendship even more! You have already helped me and I want you and your wife to go somewhere together. You deserve it.” After much back and forth of taking the money, he finally accepted it. She walked into the tiny diner with three bags and her purse. An older woman came to the counter. She had curly red hair and a pasty complexion. “How may I help you Darling?” Kyna started laying her things onto the bar and looked at her name tag. It was Irma. “I was told to get a winter surprise?” “You must have met Ned! What a silly man. I’ll get that for you. Anything to eat? You look like you could use a good burger?” “Do you sale any salads?” Irma smiled. “Only the best! Straight from Carl’s farm today.” She turned around and walked into a kitchen telling the cook some orders. Kyna watched them exchange in the order window. She then saw her walk back across the kitchen and come out the swinging doors. She stood at the counter in front of Kyna eyeing her bags. “Not from around here I see. Driving through?” She then looked out the windows searching for any foreign cars. “I am not sure actually.” Kyna replied. Irma started to wipe the counters around her. “Well what are your plans hunny?” Kyna sat there and started crinkling a napkin and shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t use to not knowing anything. She felt so alone and lost. ‘Did I make the right choice? I could go back home and act like nothing happened.’ Irma stopped wiping the counter and looked at her. “Well are you going to stay her?” Kyna looked up at her. “I guess so.” “Where are you planning on living? Do you have any family here?” Kendra was about to answer when the front door bell went off as a customer entered into the diner. Irma smiled. “Dameon! How are you this afternoon!” Kyna turned around and her heart skipped a beat. She had seen some good looking men in her life, but not as good looking as this one.

He stood over 6 feet tall. He had muscles in all the right places, but not too many. He worse a basic blue tee with wrangler jeans that was tight in all of the right places. He wore brown cowboy boots. She looked back up to his face giving him a once over to make sure she really took in his good looks. He walked up to the counter near Kyna and tipped his head to her then looked at Irma. “I thought I would come say hi. Mama has been getting onto me for not being cordial. I also wanted to get me one of those juicy burgers to go. My mouth has been watering ever since I came back into town.” “Where have you been these days? I feel like I see less and less of you!” The gentlemen leaned against the counter, “I have been in Texas.” Irma dropped her hands and looked at him. “Texas? Why in the world are you in Texas for? You’re not trying to leave me are you?” The man laughed. “No just visiting some cousins. They try to get me to move over there, But I just can’t see myself a Cowboys fan.” They both laughed. Irma threw her towel at him and walked into the kitchen. The man looked at Kyna and smiled again then looked back at the kitchen. Kyna turned bright red. Damnit. She knew she was red because she could feel her cheeks grow hot. After what seemed to be an eternity, Irma came back and set a salad and an ice cream shake in front of her then turned to hand Dameon his food. “Now you better come see me more and tell your mama I want to have a sewing night soon. I am getting so tired of Savannahs book club. I need a little change in my life.” Dameon smiled and replied, “No worries ma’am. I will be back. You know I can’t resist this burger and of course your beautiful spirits!” Kyna silently ate her meal and turned just in time to watch him walk out the door. “Have you been to the inn yet?” Kyna looked up forgetting about her previous conversation. “Oh no, this was my first stop.” Irma walked over to the end of the counter. She wrote down some directions and an address, then walked back and handed Kyna the address. “Talk to Jim. He owns the place. Tell him Irma sent you. He will get you the best room at a good price.” Kyna thanked her and then preceded to ask where the nearest cab was. Irma giggled. “Hunny, the nearest cab is from wherever you came from. Here, we use our two feet if we need to get anywhere in town. It’s all walking distance, well until we go home. Then we drive. The inn is a couple blocks down this very road. You can’t miss it.” Kyna thanked her and paid her bill, after started her trek down the road.

She passed many places, a coffee shop, a couple of boutiques, a bank and a few more places. She was right. It wasn’t that big, yet she still felt lost in this new world she was exploring. She drug her luggage and kept on until she came up to the small inn. Las Cruces inn. How small it was. It probably had 15 rooms max. she walked in and saw a young man. “Hi there! Can I help you?” Kyna laid her luggage down. “I am looking for a Jim? Is he in?” A loud voice from an adjacent room announced, “Are you the law, long lost child or a hippie?” Kyna looked at the guy in the front desk, Jeremy. He smiled and shook his head. “No?” Kyna said half asking why. A short man walked out of the room. He was chubby and wearing suspenders. “Well than I am the Jim you are looking for!” He chuckled. Kyna eased up and smiled. “I need a room. Irma sent me.” Jim tilted his baseball cap. “Well let’s see what we have here.” He walked up to a board with keys. There were maybe three or four missing from what she could see. Jeremy handed her a paper to fill out while he selected a pair. Number 4. She finished filling out the paperwork and he handed her the keys. “Maid service is everyday around 11:30. Pool is always open. Wi-Fi password is on a paper in the room. Breakfast is promptly 8:30Am. If you have any questions through your stay dial 1.” Jeremy took her paper work and went to his computer and started typing something. Kyna grabbed the keys and turned to grab her luggage. “Woah, woah. A pretty lady doesn’t need to carry her luggage, Kid help her to her room.” Jeremy jumped up from his chair and grabbed her three bags. He walked her out the front doors and quietly to her room. She opened her door and he laid them onto the bed. “Have a good day ma’am.” The room wasn’t that big. It had a full sized bed. The typical mirror on the cabinets, and a small fridge. The wall paper was a little outdated but it was still nice. Above the desk was a picture of a hummingbird. How small but powerful bird that was. The bathroom wasn’t very big. Her bathroom at home was at least bigger than these rooms combined. She went and sat onto her bed. Now it was time to make that call she had been dreading this whole trip. It was already 7pm. That was 4Pm in California. He should be making his way home soon. She took a deep breath and pushed her father’s phone number.

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