Chapter 15


    VIOLA


    I take ast look at what was my life in the big city. The house has been sold and stands all locked up


    in front of me. My business is dead and the ‘Sold’ sign on the frontwn stands boldly like a headstone


    and testament to its death. I was able to afford this house because of my business and having to sell it


    now represents the loss of everything that I built.


    I smile thinly as I hand, Jenna, the agent, the keys to the property. I don’t want her to see my pain. I


    don’t think she’d understand and besides, I’m really just another client to her. Was another client, I


    correct myself. The house is sold. I have no more value to her unless I’m in the market for another


    house and I’m not. She knows it.


    Nevertheless, she did a great job for me.


    “This is for you,” I say as I hand her a small gift.


    “Oh, you really shouldn’t have,” Jenna says smiling with genuine appreciation.


    “You deserve it,” I smile.


    “Thanks,” she says smiling back at me.


    I shake her hand and greet her. Then I get in the car, start it and with a quick wave and empty smile,


    back out of the drive. I look at the house onest time as I drive away slowly making my way to the


    freeway.


    It’s a long drive and I stop regrly to rest. When I need to sleep, I stop and park in public ces


    where I know it’s safe. I sleep in the car to save my money and make it to my hometown in two days.


    When I arrive, I realize not much has changed but then what do you expect? It’s not like people are


    rushing to get to this small town.


    It was the only ce I could think of toe right now. I tried finding work after my business died but


    my reputation preceded me and I wasn’t able to find work that would pay the bills and sustain my


    lifestyle in Los Angeles. It hadn’t been an extravagant lifestyle either.


    So here I was. I had told no-one about the small house my mother had left me after she passed away


    although I know anyone who had seriously wanted to sue me would have found it. I was grateful that


    thewsuits threatened by past clients hadn’t happened.


    Even if they had, if I had to sell this small house it wouldn’t have generated much cash. A house in this


    small town wasn’t worth much. I was nevertheless grateful that I still had it and that it was paid for.


    Surprisingly, I left Los Angeles with a bit more money than I expected and the fact that my mother’s


    house is paid in full, gives me some room to breathe.


    The house has been closed up for so long that it smells dusty. I carry my bags from the car into the


    house and set them down in the bedroom before going through the house and opening all the windows


    and doors. I change into my oldest clothes and began cleaning immediately. By the time evening


    arrives I am still far from finished.


    All the work cleaning and dusting has left me with an appetite I have not had in a long time and I decide


    that I will finish the cleaning tomorrow. I need food and decide to drive into town to get some food from


    the local supermarket.


    When I enter Danzer’s I get the feeling that the only things that have changed are the products on the


    shelves and the cashiers. Other than that, I remember it exactly as it has always been when I was


    growing up. I roam between the shelves and find that the products I want are still in the same locations


    on the shelves where they were so many years before. As I wonder if I have stepped into thend that


    time forgot, someone bumps into me from behind and I drop the jar of peanut butter I am holding. It


    smashes on the floor sttering peanut butter all over.


    Look at that. They still use ss bottles here, I think as I look at the mess. My thought is interrupted by


    the person that collided with me.


    “I am sorry. I’m such a klutz,” the woman exims.


    I think I recognized the voice and turn to look at the woman.


    She has red hair that falls just past her shoulders. Her hair frames her face as it hangs smooth, silken


    and straight. Her eyes are emerald green and her lips full and perfect. I am sure I have seen her


    somewhere before but can’t quite recall where.


    As it happens, I do not need to recall where I have seen her before. She remembers me.


    “Oh, my goodness! Vi! It’s so good to see you! I had no idea that you were in town. How long have


    you been back?”


    As she speaks to me, the penny drops. Amber. I went to school with her. We graduated in the same


    year. I never expected to find her here after all this time.


    “Amber,” I reply surprised. She steps forward and hugs me as if we are best friends. “I never thought I’d


    see you here.”


    “Well, it really is me. I never left,” she smiles.


    I’m surprised to hear her say it. As far as I can recall, Amber had big ns which included leaving the


    town where we grew up as soon as possible.


    “Why don’t you finish your shopping and then we can meet the coffee shop just over there?” Amber


    says pointing to the coffee shop just outside the entrance of Danzer’s.


    “Sure. Why not?” I reply. I have no inspiration to rush home to the empty house. Dust bunnies aren’t


    the most social creatures. On the contrary, they love to make me sneeze. Besides, I can do with some


    company right now.


    I finish my shopping and twenty minutester I enter the coffee shop and find Amber seated at a table


    by the window.


    Her face lights up when she sees me. I get the feeling that she might be just as starved forpany as


    I am. Then I remember how popr she was in high school and I tell myself I’m wrong. I’m sure she’s


    just as popr now as she was then.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    We ordertte’s and start talking. Amber tells me she never left. She had ns to study at Yale but


    then her father died from a heart attack and with no ie she had to give up her dream of studying to


    be a doctor and leaving to work in a big city. She watched all her friends leave to go and study and lost


    contact with them over the years although some of them return asionally to visit their parents.


    Amber asks me what I’ve been up to and I tell her. I make the history brief and don’t go into the details


    of what caused the demise of my wedding nner business. I expected that she would know but it


    seems that the news from the big cities doesn’t reach the small towns. Or people here just aren’t


    bothered to read about what happens in the big world. Either way I feel relieved at not having to go into


    the details of what happened.


    Amber asks me what I’m doing now and I tell her I’m going to have to look for a job. She tells me she


    waitresses and offers to put in a word for me at the restaurant. I thank her and tell her I’m interested. At


    least the ie will help me save what little money I have until I figure out what I really want to do


    next. Being a wedding nner here does not hold much promise. I think a funeral parlor is a more


    lucrative business here. I’m not being nasty but most of the people I see are older and retired. Their


    children have moved away and the town is slowly dying. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s on a major


    trucking route, it might have died long ago.


    We have an enjoyable chat and Amber tells me that she’s leaving tomorrow for a few days as she has


    a job interview in Los Angeles. I wish her well for the interview despite the disappointment I feel inside.


    If she gets the job, I’ll be alone here and I was just getting used to the thought of having an old friend


    around.


    After our Latte’s and catching up, we swap numbers and leave. I feel happy to have met an old friend


    despite the fact that she might not be around much longer. I go home to the dust bunnies feeling a lot


    better.