Done (Harmony Haven #1)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

JESSE

“I jokingly invited him to Wal-Mart,” I laughed, taking another sip of my coffee and shaking my head at how insane I had suddenly become.

“What’s wrong with that?” Ms. Ellison laughed in return.

We had both been laughing over Easton’s binder since she returned from delivering it to him. She had picked it up wearing a big hat, sunglasses, and huge boots. She quietly nodded when I handed her the box, gave me a small wave, then disappeared back across the street and into her car. Easton had clearly assigned her a job to do and she was enthusiastically making the most of it.

However, I watched through the screen door as she drove back up ten minutes later. She jumped from her car and grabbed her foot, pulling one of the boots off and throwing it across her lawn. “Don’t you dare disappear,” she yelled at me from across the street. I hadn’t even realized she knew I was watching. “I’m changing my shoes and then I want to know what kind of mission I just completed.”

Since then, I had been filling her in on Easton’s questions, while she gasped in awe and placed her hand over her heart. She seemed to think Easton was Romeo and question five was equivalent to him asking, “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?”

Although, I couldn’t deny that the questions were incredibly endearing. Easton had gone through a lot of trouble to ask them, making it cute, something he knew would make me smile.

When I started to answer them, I thought about playing with him and making everything I wrote into some ridiculous tale. Then I thought about telling him my ridiculous truths, let him see what kind of woman he was trying to reel in. He’d run so far, so fast.

What is the silliest thing I have ever done? Easy. I tried putting a glass of water into the microwave but it was too tall, so I poured some of the water out thinking that would help it fit.

But as soon as my pen hit the page, I realized that I actually wanted to answer his questions. There had never been another person, except maybe my mom, who cared to ask me anything. It felt good to answer them with meaning, especially since they weren’t very personal.

Then I got to his last question, the one Ms. Ellison had been hung up on. All he asked was what I was doing Friday night, and maybe he thought I’d say I was headed to the town’s little pub, soaking in the local music that Harmony Haven had to offer. Surely, he didn’t expect my answer to be so mundane.

“Really, Jesse,” Ms. Ellison caught my attention and I looked back up at her. “What if he decides he wants to go to Wal-Mart?”

“Then he can help me reach the top shelves and load the heavy stuff into my trunk,” I teased, knowing it would never happen.

“Well,” Ms. Ellison mused, “I bet he’ll show up and even offer to drive.”

My negative responses were futile, so I let the subject go, turning my attention to Max. He was in day three of his new school, and with Ms. Ellison keeping me company until almost noon, the past two days were easier to bear than the first had been.

“So, Max has adjusted better than I imagined,” I praised. “The teachers are perfect and he’s been talking to them in class. It makes the decision to move here even better.”

“Well it certainly worked out for me. I haven’t had this much fun, or this much conversation, in years.”

“Oh,” I suddenly remembered, “I have something for you.” I made my way to the closet door near the kitchen. I think it was supposed to be a cleaning closet or an extra pantry, but it was the perfect place to store any candle stock I kept on hand.

“For me?”

“Of course, you.” It didn’t take long to find the one I wanted. I pulled the jar out and presented it to her like she had just won a game show. “Here you are. Smells like vanilla, and suits you perfectly.”

The candle was a simple soy-based vanilla, but the words on the label made me want to give it to her.

“Oh dear,” she laughed and nodded as she read the bold, black print. “Nosy Neighbor.”

“On our website, people can create their own labels and we will put them on their candles. That way they can gift them with a personal touch. Someone had ordered a bunch of Nosy Neighbor labels and this was an extra we had.”

Ms. Ellison was laughing quietly and looking down at her candle. I was worried she would take it seriously instead of the joke I intended it to be, but as she held it close to her chest and smiled up at me, I knew she was as good of a sport as I suspected she would be.

“This may be the best thing anyone has ever given me.”

“I doubt that,” I blushed, realizing how sincere she was being. “It's just a–”

“It’s a gift,” she cut me off. “It's been a while since I was given anything. Let me cherish it.”

With a slight nod, I decided against downplaying the simple candle. Whatever it made her feel was important, and I was happy that something I loved would be loved by someone else.

Two nights had passed and I hadn’t heard back from Easton. Not that I was hoping to, but I kind of expected him to text me at the very least. Maybe say thank you for answering his stupid questions.

According to Ms. Ellison, he hadn’t called her either, but she mentioned she saw his truck at the fire station on Thursday afternoon so he was clearly alive. I didn’t tell her, but I also saw his truck parked outside the station as I took Max to and from school. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did.

My invitation to Wal-Mart must have really hit the mark.

“Are you ready to go do some shopping?”

Max nodded with as much excitement as he could muster for a Friday evening trip. He liked being out and about, but he hated the word shopping and wasn’t particularly fond of busy places like supercenters. But he was always good about riding patiently in the cart while I overthought everything I would and wouldn’t need.

After I got him buckled into his car seat, I looked up the road and waited five seconds, just on the off chance Easton really did show up. Then I blew out a breath and berated myself for caring. Ms. Ellison had been so sure that Easton would want to spend a Friday night in Wal-Mart with a single mom, that she had me delusional enough to think five seconds too long about it.

With my seatbelt buckled and Disney tunes on the radio, I headed toward the highway that led to the next town over. It was in the opposite direction of Atlanta, and although it wasn’t my first time going that way, I found the single lane highway a bit daunting.

Just as I breached the end of the town limits for Harmony Haven, I passed Fiddler’s, the old pub that everyone seemed to go to on Fridays. There were a ton of cars parked outside, and for just a moment, I had a little regret that I’d never go and see what all the fuss was about.

Then I saw a big red truck with the black rims and chrome outline. It was just like Easton’s, or more likely it was Easton’s. The pub was exactly where he belonged on a Friday night. He was good looking and single with no responsibilities. What guy wouldn’t want to be there having fun?

It had been exactly what I predicted and I laughed at myself for letting Ms. Ellison’s words make me think Easton would choose anything else .