The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town (67 page)

“So what are you going to do about it?” he asked.

“I don't know, I guess I'll see them tomorrow. I might go and speak to him, see what he has to say for himself.”

“And what if he just tells you that he simply doesn't love her?”

“Then I'll take it as it is, but I want to check. She's my friend, and so is he. I have to try my best to get them to be happy,” she said, and with that the two of them went to bed.

4

The next day, Jenna, who had a lot on her mind, picked up Emily from her home. It was clear that Emily had been crying through the night and it didn't look as though she got a wink of sleep. Jenna asked whether she was really alright to go to work but Emily just got in the car without saying anything. It was unusual to see the bright, chatty blonde look so desolate and Jenna, who had a lot on her mind anyway, tried to alleviate the melancholic tension by talking about what her father had said the previous night. There wasn't much of any kind of response from Emily though, and soon enough silence reigned.

When they got to the strip of stores Emily froze when she had to get out of the car.

“It won't be so bad,” Jenna said.

“I can't do this. I can't face him,” she replied.

“You're going to have to do it sooner or later, and think about all the people that are going to be coming up to sample your delicious cakes. You owe it to them to get in your store. Besides, it'll do you good to go to work, it'll keep your mind occupied,” Jenna said, and took some more time to gently coax Emily out of the car. Emily was almost rigid with tension as they walked up to the stores. When they passed Mr. Johnson's Emily breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn't in there, but that was unusual since he was ordinarily the first one in. Emily started to worry, and wondered if he was okay.

“You just think about yourself. Go on, get your shop opened up and I'll be over for a coffee and a cake later as usual,” Jenna said. She went to her own store and made preparations for the day, and her thoughts were mixed. Could she do this for the rest of her life? It was different when she had worked there as a favor to her father, if she owned the place she'd be stuck there and wouldn't be able to leave on a whim like she could now. While she opened the store she glanced outside, waiting to see if Mr. Johnson would arrive.

He came up just before the store was due to open. Jenna gasped when she saw him. Usually he was the epitome of order but now he was unshaven and his hair was a tousled mess. His clothes were creased and he looked as though he had been wearing them for days. Big bags were under his eyes and he didn't walk so much as shuffle along. As soon as she saw him go in the store Jenna left her own and barged through his door. He was lazily opening up the cash register and pouring some coins into it, and he barely acknowledged Jenna's presence.

“Are you alright?” she asked, tentatively stepping in. He seemed to take an eternity to look at her, and when he did he only raised his eyes. He grunted at her and then continued tending to his shop.

“I heard what happened between you and Emily,” she said gently carefully, as though she was moving towards a trembling baby bird, not wanting to make any sudden movements to scare it off. It did provoke a reaction though as he paused what he was doing for a moment.

“Thank you for your concern Jenna but it's really none of your business. We just weren't suited to one another and that's all I have to say about it. I'm sorry for hurting her but sometimes these things happen. It's just life and there's nothing you or anyone can do about it.”

“You don't look so good about it yourself,” she said, “are you sure you really want this?” Mr. Johnson looked pained and it was clear he was fighting something but he wouldn't tell Jenna. She'd had enough of secrets from Riley and didn't want to go through all that again, but she felt a responsibility to Emily to try and find out the truth of what was going on in Mr. Johnson's head. Instead of leaving she moved around the store and idly played with a few items.

“Hadn't you better get back to your store?” he asked.

“It'll keep for a while. I thought you liked Emily a lot? You used to dote on her all the time, and I know you liked her a lot for a long time. It was easy to see in your eyes, every time you looked at her there was adoration in them.”

“I was an old fool, and we fooled ourselves into thinking that it was possible to be together. I should never have let it get that far. I knew from the start that it was stupid of me to fall for her. I shouldn't have let myself get into that position in the first place. She was too young, and didn't know what she was doing.”

“I think you're doing her some disrespect. She's a grown woman and knew what she was getting herself into. And you know Emily, hell, you probably know her better than me. She wouldn't have done anything she didn't want to do. It seems to me like you're creating this problem out of nothing. Where did it all come from?  Things were going so well between you guys.”

“The only thing that happened was that I got my senses back. It took too damned long and I hate that I hurt her but it's better in the long run, believe me. I should never have let things started. I was just a stupid fantasy I had and it was always going to end that way.”

“But why?” Jenna asked as she moved forward, now just a few feet away from the counter. “From the way you talk it sounds like you still care for her, and I know that she cares deeply for you.”

“It's just not meant to be!” he said, slamming his hands down on the floor. His eyes were wide with rage and she could see the whites within them. It almost frightened her, and she found herself shrinking back. Anger flowed through his body and he was seized with the desperate frustration of restrained emotion, and to see him in such a state made it clear to Jenna that things were not as simple as he claimed them to be. “Now leave me alone, I've had it with you young people, thinking you can change the world. Some things are meant to be the way they're meant to be and you just have to deal with them. Sometimes you can't get the things you want, and the best thing to do is move on before you do anymore damage.” He sounded bitter, and the words were poison to Jenna's ears. Mr. Johnson turned around and began tidying the shelves behind him. But Jenna did not leave.

She walked up slowly and spoke softly.

“Mr. Johnson, please, tell me what's going on,” she said. He hung his head and took a deep breath.

“I knew at the start that people would look at us. I thought I could handle it. I know they'd all think that either I was a dirty old man or she was a gold digger looking for a sugar daddy, but I thought we could fight against it. It just got too much. The last straw was last week when we went to the movies. At the end we walked out and a group of kids were there. They were checking out Emily. I pretended not to notice, and then they made some smart remarks. Emily didn't hear but I did, and it struck me at my heart. Is that what everyone thought? Were they just laughing at us? I don't want that, and I certainly don't want it for Emily. She's such a great woman that she needs someone who she can be proud to be with, not someone that's only going to draw attention to her. And whenever we're out I see everyone looking at her. They all know she's beautiful and she's too good for me, and she could be with any of them in a heartbeat. How can I compare with that?” he asked, not expecting an answer. But Jenna had one for him.

“You know, you did compete with him. You were the one she chose. The one she wanted to be with. If you're going to turn your back on that then you are a fool, but who cares what other people think? They're not the ones that you have to answer to, you only have to answer to each other. Right now you've broken that girl's heart. It's not too late if you want to fix it, but only if you can handle being with her because she's not there to fool around. She wanted to be with you properly, and she doesn't care about the people talking at you. Why would she? And why would you? You're the one that gets to go home with her, that gets to sleep with her at night. You should be thankful for her, not turning away and hiding in this store. Do you want to be happy? Because your happiness is sitting right next door.”

He didn't say anything for a long time, and Jenna didn't know if what she had said had had any effect, but then he turned around and she could see a silent crystal tear rolling down his cheek.

“I have been a fool, haven't I?” he said. “I just got so caught up in what I thought everyone else was saying that I forgot about what mattered to us. I don't know what we'd do without you around here Jenna, you're a wise woman, way beyond your years. You know, you remind me of your mother a lot. She always kept people on the straight and narrow, and always knew exactly what to say, even if it was said with a sharp tongue,” he said this last part with a twinkle in his eye. Jenna smiled.

“I just want the people I care about to be happy,” she said, “go and talk to her, I think she'll appreciate it. Just don't hurt her again.”

“I won't,” he said. Jenna left the store and watched Mr. Johnson leave a few minutes after her. He took a deep breath and paused, then marched into Emily's cake shop. Jenna skipped out of her own store and peered into the window. She saw the two of them sitting together, and it seemed to be an emotionally charged situation. But they were holding hands, and Jenna felt pleased that she had managed to get them back on track. 

With a satisfied smile she walked back to her own store, and for the rest of the day she took notice of the customers that came in her store. Most of them were regulars, and she chatted with them about their lives, offering advice when it was sought, but otherwise just getting a glimpse of a window into the people around her. Everyone greeted her with friendliness and were eager to talk about them. They all asked after her father, and when she brought up her mother they all shared their memories of her. Every one of them said that she was a warm, friendly woman, and that Jenna reminded them of her a lot. This made Jenna swell with pride for her memories of her mother had swirled into a hazy dream, and sometimes she wasn't sure whether she was thinking of the truth or if she had made her memories glow.

The more she spoke with them the more she realized that, like it or not, she was a part of this community and had been all her life. It was a surprising revelation. She was a part of something that she had been fighting for the longest time. All her life she'd been tempted with the lure of the wide world and the big cities, assuming that just because they were bigger and newer and unexplored they were better, but as they day rolled on and the hours passed by she was filled with delight and how pleasurable it was just to talk with people and engage them in conversation.

When the deliveries came in she spoke with the drivers, and for the first time she actually reveled in the fact that she had all these people around her. It was like a plethora of ready-made friends and Jenna couldn't believe that she had been blind to it for this long. When it came time to shut up her store she reflected on a good day, and a smile crept across her face. She locked her door and gave a satisfied nod, then spun on her heels to see Emily and Mr. Johnson share a kiss. They looked a little embarrassed.

“Thank you Jenna,” he said. They were holding hands and looking like a proper couple.

“Looks like you two have patched things up,” Jenna said.

“All because of you,” Emily replied, “I don't know what we'd do without you,” she said.

“Yeah, about that, your father called me this afternoon. I only just caught him after me and Emily had. He mentioned he might be selling the store and asked if I'd be interested in expanding mine? Is it true? I can't believe he'd leave after all this time, he's practically an institution here. And was the stroke that bad? I thought he'd be back sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, yeah, he's fine, I think the stroke just shocked him and now he wants to try and start living again. You know what he's been like after mom died. He hasn't been the same.”

“No...that's true. He has been a shell of a man. So what are you going to do then, if he sells the store?” Mr. Johnson asked.

“Are you finally going to be moving somewhere new like you've always wanted?” Emily said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I'm going to miss you, you're my best friend,” she added. That had always been an assumed truth but this was the first time it had been spoken out loud, and Jenna's heart was warmed.

“Don't worry about that, I have something in mind,” she said, and got in her car and raced home.

5

She burst in through the doorway and marched through the house to the kitchen where her father and Riley were eating some dinner. The two men were getting on well, which Jenna was eternally grateful for. Riley had been spending more and more time at theirs. Whenever he wasn't with them he was with his mother. He still hadn't gotten a job yet but was looking into a few things. They stopped eating when they saw the look on Jenna's face.