Letting go of Veronica’s arm, he reached out
to shake Blake’s hand.
“
I’m Arthur Stentson,
Veronica’s fiancé.”
There was a smugness in his tone, but
Veronica knew that was just the way Arthur talked. He believed that
every man who came in contact with her would fall madly in love
with her. He liked to let others know that she had chosen him and
only him.
Although Blake’s eyes showed it was taking
everything in him to restrain himself, his voice came out calm and
cool.
“
Arthur, it’s nice to meet
you too, and welcome to our town. This is my brother, Parker and
his wife, Hayley.”
As he spoke, Blake never took his eyes off
of Veronica.
“
Would you like to join
us?”
Arthur placed his hand back securely on
Veronica’s arm and shook his head.
“
Thank you, but not
tonight. We’ve had a long day. Veronica raved that this would be
the best place in town to grab a bite to eat. We haven’t had a
chance to go grocery shopping, and we’ll probably be turning in
early tonight.”
As Blake responded his lips pulled into a
tight grin, and Veronica wondered what Blake really wanted to
say.
“
Well, if you’re looking
for good food then you are in the right place.”
Blake then turned his attention back to
Veronica and said, “We’ll need to catch up soon, Veronica. Arthur,
it was nice meeting you, and I’m sure I’ll see the both of you
around town.”
“
Yes, I’m sure we will,
Mayor Darwood. Veronica, shall we?”
Veronica nodded and waved with her free arm
as they turned to find an empty booth.
B
lake couldn’t believe it. For the last forty-five minutes, he
had trouble taking his eyes off of the booth where Veronica and
her
fiancé
sat.
Veronica Klark was the girl that had taken him years to get over.
Yes, he had been the one who finally called it quits after their
four year relationship, but he knew that was where they were
headed. Veronica had applied and was accepted to go to the
University of Alabama; he wanted her to attend the Iowa Central
Community College like him. She was the one who chose to leave him.
For the last few months of the relationship, they did nothing but
argue. After their last big fight, weeks before she went away, he
knew the break up was imminent. He also knew he needed to beat her
to the punch. He couldn’t let her be the one to decide when it was
over. Before the fatal words could slip from her lips that hot
August afternoon, while they sat in his car, he beat her to it. He
remembered that day so clearly.
“
Veronica, look, this
isn’t working out between us.”
She turned towards him with a look of
surprise. As she thought about what he was saying, he watched as a
stern look replaced her look of shock.
“
Blake, what are you
talking about?”
He could hear that edgy tone in her voice,
but he pushed forward.
“
I’m just saying, I think
it’s time for us to see other people. Truthfully, I’ve had my eye
on a few girls back on my campus. And well, I think it’s time for
us to grow up and move on. The whole high school sweetheart thing
was cute and all, but I’m two years older than you and I should
have moved on a while ago. I would really like to date a more
mature woman.”
Blake watched her expression change, he
could see the anger rising. Most girls would have probably cried,
but not Veronica. She never cried. It was some weird thing that her
father instilled in her when she was a child. He had asked her
about it plenty of times, yet, she always gave the same answer.
‘There’s no point in crying over something you can’t fix.’ He was
always able to tell when she was close to tears. She would take a
deep breath and close her eyes as if to push the tears back. When
she would finally opened her eyes, she was calm again and her eyes
were clear. This time, however, she seemed a little deflated.
Slouching in the seat, she didn’t appear as confident or mad as she
was before she closed her eyes. She turned and looked out the
window, refusing to make eye contact with him.
“
Blake, if that’s the way
you feel, then take me home.”
Without saying another word, he turned the
hot car back on, wiped his sweaty hands on his shorts, and drove
her home.
He didn’t see her again. A
week or two later he heard that she left for college, and a few
months after that, her parents packed up to move closer to her.
They claimed they missed her too much. Blake decided it was for the
best. It hurt like hell that she left him, but if he and his town
weren’t any good for her, then he knew he did the right
thing.
But if it was the right thing, why
after nine years is my stomach doing somersaults, and my pulse
beating like a jack hammer in my ears, just by the sight of her?
And why do I keep staring at her booth?
Taking another sip of his beer, he replayed her walking
through the door. Being one of the very few African Americans
growing up in Surpatch, Veronica by far was the prettiest. As a
teenager, she was beautiful and as an adult, she was stunning. When
she entered Gilligan’s, it seemed as if the whole room had ceased
to exist. As she moved closer, he took in her slender frame. She
stood at five foot six, and her caramel skin seemed to have a glow,
like she had her own personal sun shining on her. Her dark brown
hair hung straight down past her shoulders. The dimple in her right
cheek flashed when she smiled, and her hazel-brown eyes always
reminded him of honey.
Though he greeted her as an
old friend, he had a hard time keeping the pain from his voice, the
same pain that tormented him after all these years for doing the
right thing. He had always wondered how he would react if he ever
saw her again. He also questioned if would he know for sure that he
was over her. Was the hurt that he felt from her breaking his heart
all those years ago still there? He could honestly say
‘
yes’
.
Why did she move back to Surpatch? And why did
she have to bring that Arthur guy with her?
For him, it was nothing more than salt in a wound. Banging his
beer bottle down on the table, he felt Parker jump next to
him.
“
Are you all
right?”
Blake stood up. “Yeah, I just need some
fresh air.” Without looking back at his brother, Blake headed for
the door. Before he was able to make it to the outside, Lindsay
strolled in.
“
Hey, you! Sorry I’m late.
I needed to drop off the yarn for the blanket Mrs. Campbell is
making for Jessa’s baby shower. What’s wrong? Are you
leaving?”
Blake looked down at Lindsay. She was his on
again-off again girlfriend. For the time being, they were back on.
He liked to have a date when Parker and Hayley were out with him.
He hated being the odd man out. “Hey, no, nothing’s wrong. I was
just stepping out for fresh air. Want to join me?”
“
Sure, let me just put my
purse down.”
Stepping out into the night’s air, Blake
took a deep breath and leaned against the brick wall. Main Street
was rather quiet for such a nice night. He was relieved that no
fellow townsmen were walking the streets. He was in no mood to hold
a conversation with any of them. Opening his eyes as Lindsay exited
the building, he looked up at the stars.
“
Are you sure everything is
okay?” she asked, as she wrapped her slender arms around his waist,
and rested her head on his chest.
Before he could respond to her question, the
Watering Hole’s door opened and Veronica and Arthur stepped out.
Making a right as soon as they exited, the couple didn’t see
Lindsay and Blake standing off to the left-hand side. Blake bit the
inside of his cheek at the sight of Arthur sliding his arm around
Veronica, as the couple headed towards the house she once shared
with her parents, and now shared with him.
“
Is that Veronica Klark? I
heard she was moving back to town. I-oh. Now I
understand.”
Lindsay pulled herself from Blake and gazed
up to meet his stare.
“
Veronica. That has you in
this mood.”
It was more of a statement than a question;
however, Blake still felt the need to answer. “It’s not what...”
Lindsay put her hand up and Blake stopped talking.
“
Look, I get it. I’ll be
inside if you want to join us in a little while.”
Blake hung his head in shame as he watched
Lindsay step back inside. He knew she wasn’t mad, just a little
hurt. He tasted blood in his mouth from biting the inside of his
cheek. With a quick glance at the Watering Hole’s door, he pushed
himself off the wall and headed towards his house. It was the end
of the fiscal year, and he knew he still needed to work on the
budgets for next week. That was the excuse he gave himself for
being a jerk to Lindsay, and blowing off their date night. He would
have to send her flowers in the morning.
Chapter 2
V
eronica was thankful she had a few days to get the house in
order before starting her new job. She didn’t feel as stressed as
she thought she would on her first day at work. Kissing Arthur
before getting out of the car, she headed up the steps to the James
K. Polk Library. Walking in, she headed for Mrs. Plum’s office.
Sherry Plum was close to retirement. This was one of the main
reasons Veronica took the job. She knew she would be next in line
to run the library upon Sherry’s departure. Veronica remembered
coming to the library as a little girl during story time, and
listening to Mrs. Plum read the Story of the Week to the children.
She wondered if the library still offered such activities, and
looked forward to having a crowd of children sitting at her feet
while she read to them. The library was rather large considering
the town’s size. Patricia Darwood, Blake’s grandmother, loved to
read and often urged her husband to donate money to the library in
hopes that the future generation of Surpatchiens would share her
love for books.
Finally settled at her desk, Veronica began
to work on the newest project in the library. After receiving
funding, the library was going computerized. She needed to make
sure all the books and patrons were added into the new complex
system. Coming from a bigger city, Veronica worked on a similar
format at her old library and was willing to take on the challenge.
While entering the books into the database, she wondered how Arthur
was dealing with his first day at A & R Accounting. Originally,
he wanted to start his own accounting firm, but he decided that it
would be better to apply to the one and only accounting company in
town. Surprisingly, they were looking for one more person in their
two-man organization. Arthur took the job, hoping that he could one
day persuade some of the clients that were now with A & R to
come with him, when he did choose to break away from the company.
Veronica smiled to herself, she knew that it wouldn’t take Arthur
long to figure out that the people of Surpatch were faithful to the
locals, and they didn’t turn their backs on a fellow neighbor for
someone that they didn’t know. He would have a lot to prove to
everyone to gain any new clients.
While she typed away, she noticed Hayley
weaving her way around carts of books with two mugs in her hand.
Hayley stopped at her desk and slid in front of her one of the
steaming cups of what Veronica assumed was coffee, before sitting
down in the empty seat next to the desk.
“
Hey, I wasn’t sure how you
liked your coffee, so I only added two sugars and a little
cream.”
Glancing up from her
monitor, Veronica smiled at the petite redhead. Hayley hadn’t
changed much since high school. She was no more than five foot two
and had wavy auburn hair with brown eyes. They were in the same
grade in high school and had a few classes together.
I wonder when she and Parker started seeing each
other?
The last time I saw Parker, he was
on the rebound from having his heart broken by Amy Johnston.
She and Blake used to joke that Parker was going
to fall in love and marry the first girl he kissed. Amy apparently
didn’t have the same feelings.
Picking the mug up and taking a sip,
Veronica then said, “Thanks, it’s just the way I like it.”
Hayley gave her a bright smile as she put
her mug on the desk.
“
So, how does it feel to be
back?”
Setting her mug down too, Veronica leaned
back in her chair.
“
It’s nice in some ways,
but in others, well, a lot has changed. I guess it’ll take time to
get used to, you know.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Hayley ran
her finger around the rim of her mug. Veronica took another quick
sip before speaking.
“
How long have you and
Parker been married?”
Hayley looked up and brushed a few strands
of curls out of her face before responding.
“
It’s going on four years,
but we dated for two before that.”
“
That’s cool. How are your
parents, and his parents?”
“
Oh, they’re good. Both
sides keep wondering when the grandkids are coming. Parker and I
aren’t ready yet.”
At the mention of grandkids, Veronica gave a
slight flinch. She hoped Hayley didn’t catch it.
Thankfully, it seemed as if she missed
it.
With a small laugh Hayley said, “Parker says
he has enough trouble with the kids at school, and he considers all
of them his, anyway. It seems as if we are always having students
and their parents over for dinner. I guess it’s Parker’s way of
trying to stay connected with the community.”