They stopped talking when a lady Veronica
didn’t recognize walked in with her toddler. Once she passed by,
Hayley began speaking again.
“
Will your parents be
moving back too or are they finding it hard to get away from all
that sun? I know Carol, well mom, has been looking forward to
seeing you and your mom again ever since she heard you were coming
back. I wouldn’t be shocked if she strolled in here at any
minute.”
Veronica tried not to flinch, again. She
chastised herself for bringing up the subject of parents. Of course
Hayley would inquire about hers—most would. Her parents were still
a painful subject. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were gone,
she probably wouldn’t have pushed so hard to come back to
Surpatch.
“
No, my parents won’t be
moving anywhere. They, well…” Taking a deep breath, Veronica closed
her eyes to push back the tears that were trying to spring forward.
Once she was composed, she opened her eyes again. “My parents were
murdered about two years ago.”
Veronica watched the horror move across
Hayley’s face. Bringing her hand up to her mouth, Hayley tried to
talk between her fingers.
“
Oh, God. I’m so sorry.
What happened?”
Before Veronica could respond, Hayley was
out of her chair and hugging her. Veronica could feel tears seeping
through her shirt onto her shoulder. Attempting to soothe Hayley,
she rubbed her hand across her back. She wasn’t expecting such a
strong reaction from someone she barely knew. She cleared her
throat, and tried to lean back in her chair. Hayley was reluctant
to let go at first, but as she did, she reached for a tissue on the
desk to dry her eyes.
“
I’m sorry, I-I wasn’t
expecting you to say that. How awful. I remember how close you were
to your parents. You used to come into my parents’ grocery store
with them all the time, and you and your dad would always jokingly
nag your mom about how long it took her to pick up the items she
needed. Your dad would say ‘there were only five aisles in the
store, and it shouldn’t take her the three hours it did to get what
she needed.’
Veronica tried to remain composed. That was
just one of the fond memories she held close to her heart. She
gently reached over to rub Hayley’s knee.
“
I can’t believe you
remember that.” Sighing, Veronica sat back again and wrapped her
arms around her. Though the temperature hadn’t changed in the
library, she suddenly felt cold.
“
Their murder is unsolved.
The cops believed it was a hate crime. They couldn’t gather enough
evidenced to go after the known suspects, who were notorious for
showing violence against interracial couples.”
That part still upset
Veronica the most. It didn’t make much sense. Yes, in a way, her
parents were an interracial couple, but her mother was mulatto,
with a very light complexion, which at times was confused with
being Caucasian. For someone to sneak into their house, and kill
them while they were sleeping, took some planning.
I still don’t understand how the killers missed
the fact that mom was mulatto.
Their conversation was cut short when the
mother and toddler that entered a few minutes prior walked to the
counter to check out a few books. Getting up to assist the lady,
Veronica was happy she didn’t have to say much more about her
parents. She knew Hayley would probably share the information with
her in-laws, and this wouldn’t be the last time she would have to
bring the subject up. Conversely, she was also happy that she
didn’t have to get into details of the gruesome scene she walked
into. No one should ever have to find their loved ones in the state
she found her parents in. Swallowing the bile that had risen in her
throat, she thanked the lady, Mrs. Simkouski, according to her
library card, and handed her a few ‘save the dates’ for up and
coming events. On her way back to her desk, she saw that Hayley had
walked away. Her coffee mug was still in the same place. Veronica
assumed she went to the restroom to wash her face. Resuming her
data entry, she tried to get the images of her slaughtered parents
out of her mind.
B
lake frowned at the spreadsheets scattered on his desk, and
pushed his high-back leather office chair away from his desk to
stand. Stretching, the bones in his leg and shoulder popped.
Rubbing his shoulder, he walked over to the picture-window in his
office and looked out onto Main Street. Town Hall sat on the far
end of Main Street. It was one of the oldest buildings in Surpatch.
His office looked out onto all of Main Street and the few side
streets that branched off of the main road. His father,
grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great grandfather had
also occupied the mayor’s position. Each of their portraits hung on
the walls in and outside of his office. Besides his great-great
grandfather, Henry Darwood, Blake was the youngest to take the
title. His father was also the first to retire out of office. Blake
wasn’t sure if the town would elect him into office because of his
age, and he was unmarried, unlike all his predecessors.
Nonetheless, the town elected him without thinking twice about it.
Putting his arm on the glass, he rested his head on his forearm. He
was having trouble concentrating at work the last few days. He
still had to crunch the numbers needed to complete next year’s
budget. His father promised to stop by and have a look at the
spreadsheets to see if he could help, but Blake felt bad for
needing to call in the extra help. He wanted to prove to his dad
that he could handle the town on his own.
As he looked out the
window, he saw the newest citizen of Surpatch scurry by. Arthur
Stentson reminded him of a squirrel running across a field
searching for food. While he watched the man who captured
Veronica’s heart scamper down the street, Blake tried to suppress
the feelings in which he buried all those years prior.
What does she see in Arthur?
From what Blake could tell, Veronica was the same height, if
not an inch or so taller, than him. He had an awful five o’clock
shadow, and he looked as if his hairline was receding. His skin was
lighter than hers, and Blake assumed that he had to be mulatto like
Veronica’s mother. Loathing was the feeling that came to mind as
Arthur scuttled further down the street.
But why? He hasn’t done anything wrong. I can’t blame Arthur.
I just need to forget about Veronica.
Yet,
he couldn’t stop wondering how something as wonderful as what they
shared ended so badly. Blake knew this wasn’t healthy, and he was
going to have to try harder to once again move on. He didn’t want
things to be uncomfortable now that Veronica was back in town.
Being the Mayor, he had to be the bigger man, even if it hurt like
hell.
With a huff, Blake turned
away from the window and sat back down. Examining the spreadsheets,
he decided to call it quits until he and his father could go over
them together. He attempted to place the papers back in a neat
stack, but realized with each shuffle, he was bending and crushing
the sheets into a rumpled mess. He couldn’t stop thinking about
Arthur and Veronica. A flash of how smug Arthur sounded as he
introduced himself as her fiancé only upset him more.
Could her father really have approved of that
union?
Maybe her father was right in
asking me to wait all those years ago.
Thinking about the ring that still sat in his top dresser
drawer, the ring he was going to propose to Veronica with before he
started college, brought a sharp pain to his chest. Times like now
made him wonder why he hadn’t gotten rid of it.
The loud male voice in the outer office
caught his attention, and his mind was brought quickly back to the
present. Turning as his office door opened, he was met by his long
time friend, Miller. Miller never knocked unless Blake’s
receptionist told him Blake was in a meeting. He tended to just
walk in. He and Miller were the same height and almost the same
build. Miller was a little more fit. Blake liked to think this was
because Miller was a cop. When they had extra time, they would
workout together. Having sandy-blond hair and green eyes made
Miller the biggest ladies’ man in the town. Married, or single, if
she was pretty enough to catch Miller’s eye, not much could stand
in the way of him pursuing her. Blake was happy that in the last
few years Miller had settled down a little and spent less time
going after married women.
“
Well, if it isn’t the
Mayor of this fine town. What’s that look for?”
Miller plopped down on the leather sofa
which faced Blake’s desk. As he leaned back to make himself more
comfortable, his green eyes studied his friend while he waited for
Blake to answer.
“
Hey, Miller. What’s going
on? Are the people of Surpatch being on their best behavior for you
to have enough time to come bug me?”
They both laughed, and Blake sat next to
him.
“
Yup, it’s all quiet on the
home-front. I went to the high school this morning, but it was more
of a false alarm than anything else. You didn’t answer my question.
You look like you’re having a bad day. Did you and Lindsay have
another fight?”
“
No.”
Giving Miller a one word
answer didn’t help divert the attention from him, but Blake wasn’t
sure how to respond to his query.
What can
I say? ‘Well, gee, I guess seeing Veronica Klark after all these
years has done nothing but give me sleepless nights.’
Although he stared straight ahead, he could feel
Miller’s eyes burning into him. He didn’t want to look at him and
he didn’t want to lie either. Blake sighed and slouched in his
seat.
“
If I tell you, do you
promise not to laugh?”
Miller pulled his brown deputy hat off, and
placed it on his lap.
“
I’ll try, but I can’t
promise you anything.”
That was as honest of an answer as he was
going to get from Miller.
Blake dropped his sight to the carpet and
said, “I-I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. Since the moment I
saw Veronica the other night in the Watering Hole, I haven’t been
able to get her off my mind. I mean, that’s dumb isn’t it? She left
me. The town and I weren’t good enough for her.”
Blake’s voice began to rise. Stopping
himself before he got too loud, he pushed up from his seat and
started to pace.
“
One minute I’m having
flashbacks of how great things were with us. The next, I hope I
never see her again, which we both know is going to be impossible
now that she has moved back. Why the hell did she have to move back
anyway? She was so bent on moving away, why come back
now?”
Taking a deep breath, he was sure Diane
could hear him in the other room. Not to say Diane was the
gossiping type, but still he tried to keep his voice softer.
“
Why the hell did she have
to come back?”
Blake stopped pacing and turned to meet his
best friend’s eyes. Miller slouched forward, letting his hands
dangle out past his knees.
“
I don’t know B. Yeah,
Parker told me you guys ran into her the other night and that you
left early.”
I bet Parker also told him that I left
Lindsay inside, alone, after Arthur and Veronica finished their
dinner.
Miller sat in silence. There weren’t many
times that Miller was a quiet man, but when it came down to his
best friend and the woman he’d once loved, he knew there really
wasn’t much he could say to help soothe him. Standing, Miller
walked over and put his hand on Blake’s back. Before Miller could
try to give him comforting words, Richard Darwood walked into the
office. Blake’s father gave a raised eyebrow at the scene he walked
in on.
“
If you boys need a minute,
I can step out.”
Miller dropped his hand and smiled.
“
Nope, I think we’re all
set. Hey, Blake, meet me tonight at Gilligan’s, we’ll talk
then.”
With that, Miller turned and walked out the
office.
Looking his son over, Richard could tell
there was something wrong with him, but decided that when Blake was
ready he would talk.
“
If you’re all set, let’s
have a look at those budget pages. I have a late lunch with a few
of my golfing buddies after this.”
Taking a seat at the desk, Blake tried again
to get his mind off of Veronica.
Chapter 3
In the last few weeks, Blake was pretty
proud of himself. He had his normal life back, which included not
obsessing over Veronica. He and Lindsay had gone on a few dates,
and the budget was straight for the new fiscal year. It helped,
that even in the small town that they lived in, he hadn’t run into
Veronica once in the last three weeks. Driving his car up to the
front of the library, he realized all that hard work was going to
be undone. His parents’ anniversary was in a week and a half, and
he and Hayley were heading over to Webster City to pick up their
gift. Parker wanted to go, but at the last minute, he had to stay
and help out with some after school activity. As the car stopped,
he looked out the window at Veronica. She was standing next to the
curb wearing a light blue and purple striped blouse, a navy-blue
skirt that stopped just before her knees and navy blue high heels.
She didn’t look like your typical librarian. Her long brown hair
was pulled back into a ponytail just the way he used to love her to
wear it, so he could walk up behind her and kiss her slender neck.
Emphasizing her elegant neckline, she donned long dangly
earrings.
Of course, Hayley was nowhere to be seen,
and he left his cell phone in the office, so he couldn’t call her
to see if she would be out soon. He could tell Veronica was trying
to be nice. She waved as he parked the car. Blake gazed at Veronica
through the window and she began to smile, which caused his heart
to stop beating. Her smile was as if someone walked into a dark
room and turned on a light switch. He loved the way her dimple
showed when she smiled wide enough. Not wanting to come off as
rude, Blake turned the car off and stepped out. As he climbed out
of the car, he told himself to just play it cool. His heart
twisted, but he stood straight and stepped on the curb next to
her.