Coming Home (Pierpoint View #1)

Chapter Three - Summer

CHAPTER THREE

Summer

I wake up the next morning hungry. I hadn’t eaten since the plane ride over here and dinner last night was just not on the agenda because that meant leaving the apartment would also be on the agenda and there was no way I was going out again. In fact, 10 minutes after getting out the shower I was dead asleep in my new bed and I’m sure a hurricane wouldn’t have been able to wake me up.

I grab my keys off the hook on the back of the door and I head down the stairs through the empty shop.

As I throw my keys into my bag and step out on to the pavement, I realize I don’t even know where the nearest grocery store is and I need a plan of attack so I make a mental list all the items that should be on my agenda for the day: Groceries, breakfast, maybe meet some locals.

I start walking past the stores next door, there’s a dry cleaners, some kind of surf shop. Just down from the dry cleaners there’s a hardware store, Fred’s Hardware. It’s been around for what seems like a long time; the two A’s are missing in hardware and the paint is chipping.

“Hey, you must be the new neighbour.” A man, around early to mid 60’s walks out the front door with a box in his hands. “I’m just setting up for the day, had a late start,” he says by way of explanation, gesturing to the box.

“I just moved in last night, actually. Do you need any help?” I ask.

“I heard the gossip around town that we were expecting a new resident, was wondering when you’d get here.” He ignores my request to help and sets the box down on a low table outside the window of the shop. “I saw Brooks brought you up here, you know him?” He questions, his arms crossing over his chest and a frown on his face, the fabric of his shirt stretching across his stomach as he does.

“Oh no.” I shake my head, “I only met him on the way into town, my cab dropped me off on the outskirts and I was stuck in the rain, he felt bad I guess and offered me a ride,” I say, tucking the stray hairs behind my ear that had blown in to my face.

“Damn those cabs… can’t do a good job if someone paid ‘em… literally,” he mutters, turning to go back into the shop. “Where’re you heading?” His voice fades away the further he moves into the shop and I follow after him.

“In to town to get some groceries,” this time its my voice that fades as I try and chase down the man inside. The shop is a maze of floor to ceiling shelves, boxes and displays of different things fill most of the walkable space too.

Walking amongst fishing rods and plungers, I find him struggling to hold a box closed, trying to tape it up. “Here let me help.” I move over to him holding the two sides down for him as he tapes.

“Thanks,” He puts the tape down and rubs his hands together actually looking at me for the first time. “Remind me of my daughter, you do.”

“Oh really? Does she live around here too?” I ask.

“No,” He moves on to the next box to tape, “Her and her brother moved away to college and never came back, not that I blame ‘em after their mom died. Didn’t want the reminder, I suppose.” He shakes his head and for a second looks pretty heartbroken before he shakes it off. I wonder if his kids know that by not wanting to come back, their dad lost them, as well as their mom.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I say, Resisting giving him the hug my heart is aching to give him. It just reminds me of my Gran and the situation I left her in. and suddenly remember I haven’t even introduced myself, “I’m Summer by the way, I didn’t catch your name?”

“The names Fred, and s’okay, it was a while ago now.” He shrugs, picks up the box and makes his way through a door at the back of the store. I wait a minute, two, and when theres no sign he’s coming back, I take that as the end of the conversation.

As I start walking down the hill back towards town, I’m pleased at how easy it is get back to main street, though I don’t remember the road coming here being this long.

Or steep. Good God help me on the way back up with grocery bags in tow.

I add ‘start looking into getting a car’ to my mental list of things to do today. The day’s heat is also starting to make itself known now the morning breeze is letting up, and I can feel my hair start sticking to the back of my neck.

Highcliff Street winds so far above and around Main Street that I can actually get a pretty good view of the whole town and the mountains and forests bordering it and faintly, if I ignore the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff side 5 feet to my left, I can hear the bustle of the town, the cars, some chatter, doors opening and closing, a dog barking. It’s already so different to how quiet it is up on my quiet little cliff top.

I make it to Main Street, my feet also now sweating even though I’m wearing sandals.

There’s a fair amount of people out and all the businesses on this street seem to be open already, patrons already inside, customers already being served and it seems a shame that the strip of stores under my apartment are so quiet.

Despite having an agenda, I can’t help but just enjoy the walk, the buildings on either side of main street are shading the pavement and creating a wind tunnel so I’m cooling off, no longer feel like I’m about to melt into the ground at any moment. The only thing that could make this moment even better would be finding a coffee shop or a bakery, I would love an iced coffee right now.

Maybe a pastry to go with it for breakfast.

I pass by gift shops, post offices, banks until finally I reach the end of Main Street which leads into a pier. I can only imagine this plays a huge part in why the town is called what it is, and it seems this is where all the tourists gather.

The pier is long, too long to wander around and explore right now with my stomach shouting at me, and the hoards of tourists are just not what I want to be dealing with right now, though I can’t say it’s not pretty. Beautiful sandy beaches and clear water either side and the old pier with what looks like restaurants, and some arcade games running up the middle.

I head back up the other side of Main Street and as I pass yet another gift store, a golden retriever, tail wagging, tongue lolling out the side of it’s mouth, nearly comes barreling into me from a side road, completely catching me off guard .

I gasp, my heart racing, hand pressing tightly against my chest, nearly dropping my purse in the process of avoiding the bounding dog. It stops by my side and starts sniffing around the lamp post.

“GAIA!” a voice shouts from deeper in to the side road, their figure hurriedly walking in my direction.

I try to get my heart rate back under control and wanting to be at least a little helpful, I reach for the dog’s purple collar just as the figure reaches us. I can see he’s actually in a firefighters uniform, sans any headgear and jacket, just a white t-shirt gripping his muscled arms and chest and those beige trousers and boots they wear.

He looks stressed, running a hand through his sweaty hair, making his blond strands even messier than before.

“Thank you, she’s tough to catch once she gets going,” he explains, taking the dog’s collar from me.

“No worries,” I say, “I’m glad I could help, is she okay?”

He nods. “She’s okay, Alex left an incense burning and it set the fire alarm off and Gaia got spooked.” He seems annoyed, in a familiar type of way, as if this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.

The guy then looks at me as if actually seeing me for the first time. “Oh, you’re new.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement, I guess in a small town, everyone knows everyone and he wasn’t expecting to meet someone new.

I smile sheepishly. “Yeah, I moved in last night.”

He nods with what I think is recognition on his face.“Ah, you moved into the Taylors?”

“Yeah, up on the cliff.”

“Highcliff Street. I know all about you, heard about you, feels like I’ve already met you,” he laughs, “You’ll find that a lot around here, gossip travels fast. Can’t keep a secret in this town.” His smile is sympathetic as if he’s been the one gossiped about enough for the both of us.

“I think I’m starting to get that,” I say with a laugh. The guy seems around my age, maybe a little older, but that might just be the disheveled, stressed, look he’s got going on.

“I can’t remember if I told you, but I’m Archer by the way.” We’ve been talking up a storm as Archer guides me through the side streets back to Alex after I offered to help. He mentioned Gaia is Alex’s baby, they do everything and anything today, even brings her to work at her yoga and pilates studio, which is where they were when Gaia got out.

We make it to the end of the street which opens onto a park, with a one way road circling it.

“Oh yeah,” I laugh. “I’m Summer.” I seem to be making a habit of not catching people’s names when I meet them.

We walk through the gated entrance to the park and Archer lets Gaia go and she runs off towards the other exit on the other side. “She knows where she’s going?” I ask Archer.

He nods. “Eventually she would’ve come back if I hadn’t gone after her, she’s really smart, knows the town like the back of her hand but Alex… you’ll see, she would not be okay if she had to wait.”

We follow in Gaia’s footsteps, although we follow the path and stay off the grass — just like the sign nailed to the gate told us to — until we reach the other side leading out on to the row of buildings that I can now see are a mix of businesses and houses. There’s a fire truck straight ahead, firemen lingering around, talking amongst themselves and passersby.

One person in particular stands out .

Her hair matches all the buildings around her, half of her head is dyed a pastel pink, the other a pastel blue with darker roots coming through. Though that’s not the first thing I notice about her, it’s that she’s crying hysterically into a fireman’s chest who seems to be looking for any kind of way to get out of the situation.

The guy finds Archer in the crowd and you can tell by the look on his face how relieved he is. He bends down to whisper something to Alex and points our way and she follows with her gaze.

The girl notices Archer, stopping her sad sobbing for not even 5 seconds because once the girl’s eyes find Gaia, she starts sobbing all over again. She runs over to us, engulfing Archer in a hug, before crouching down and snatching Gaia into a hug in much the same way, lifting her against her chest.

Archer strokes the girl’s hair back a couple times, much like he was doing to Gaia earlier, and says, “Alex, you know she would’ve come back to you.” His voice is gentle, filled with affectionate familiarity.

“I know, she’s so good. I love her so much,” she says, her voice muffled by Gaia’s fur.

“Exactly, so there was no need to cry. My guy over there is more wet from your tears than the sprinklers.”

“But I was scared,” she says defiantly, and I’m surprised she didn’t stomp her foot.

“I know, but hey, Gaia actually did you a favor!” Archer says, trying to bring up the mood.

Alex looks up at him, confused.

“Because Summer over there,” Archer says, pointing in my direction, “grabbed hold of her before she could run any further and now she can become another one of your victims and I can be free.”

Alex looks at me for the first time since getting Gaia back, and rolls her eyes. “Archer’s just pissed that he can’t do most of the moves in pilates,” she says, by way of explanation.

“Hey, I can too!”

Alex ignores him, and pulls me into a hug. “Thank you for helping find my baby.”

“She’s a good girl, from what I heard she would’ve made her way back to you in the end.”

“She is a good girl! Now, can I repay you?” she gushes.

“You could not enlist her into your pilates boot camp.” Archer mutters under his breath. Alex hits him softly on the arm but otherwise ignores him once again, looking at me expectantly.

Although her gratitude isn’t necessary, I take the opportunity that’s being presented. “How about you just help me find the grocery store and we can call it even?” I suggest.

Alex laughs. “That’s the best proposition I’ve heard all day, let me finish up here and we’ll go!”