Crude Love

Sam let out a long sigh as she steered her car towards the exit. She hadn’t been to her dad’s house in years, not since she lived with him. She’s been putting off coming here. She’s been putting off revisiting all her old memories with her dad. He passed away last fall and left her his house and everything inside. Sam had already contacted a real estate agent and was coming to pack up what she could and planned on selling the rest.

She pulled into the driveway and felt a ball of emotions swell in her chest. She stepped out of the driver's side door and stood in front of the red-bricked house. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes scanned the front yard. The oak tree had grown so much since she was there last. Her dad had a landscaper that was scheduled to come out every week to mow the grass, so everything was well kept. A small smile flashed on her face as her eyes landed on the small, chipped frog statue at the base of the tree.

Sam had stumbled over the cement figurine one night after celebrating the end of the semester. Her friends had dropped her off with a few too many drinks in her. Her dad was so furious at how drunk she had gotten but helped her through the front door and tucked her into bed. The next morning he made her his hangover cure. He called it ‘the squashed frog’. It was bright green with a cement frog toe floating in it. He had a weird sense of humor like that. Sam's dad never told her exactly what all was in that concoction but it worked like a charm.

Sam's phone buzzed from her back pocket as she approached the front door, pulling her out of her memories.

“Hey mom, I’m literally walking up to the door now,” she answered as her mom waved at her on the video call. Her mom’s silvery hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She always looked so effortlessly sophisticated, a total contrast to Sam, whose long dark hair was swirling in the wind as she unsuccessfully tried to tame it with her free hand.

“Hi honey! You made good time, Samantha! How does it look? Is it a mess? Do you need me to come help you?” her mom bombarded her with questions before she even had a chance to step through the door. Her dad was always tidy. He never left any loose ends. He had cleaned out the fridge, emptied the trash cans, and everything was in its place. He had taken care of everything before driving into Houston for his treatments.

“No, mom. That’s too long of a drive for you. Don’t worry. Everything here looks great,” Sam answered while walking through each room to take mental notes of what she needed to do. Her parents had divorced when Sam was nine years old. Her dad couldn’t adjust to the city, so he moved back to Bryan. Sam spent every other summer with her dad and lived with him while she attended college.

“Well, I was just talking to your Aunt Margaret, and she said she wished you had waited for her to come back into town before going there so she could help you. She’s visiting your cousins in California for the next month but said you could use her garage as storage space if you needed. Your dad was her big brother after all,” her mom told her.

“The real estate agent told me that it would be the perfect time to list the house for sale, so I didn’t want to wait that long,” Sam replied.

As her mom continued to ramble on about Aunt Margaret and how each of her children were doing, Sam had started making a shopping list of packing supplies and groceries she would need while she stayed there for the next week or so. She had taken some time off work to get everything done but was able to work remotely if she needed to extend her stay. Sam was a project manager and did all her work from home. Her boss really didn’t care when or where she worked as long as she was able to get everything done. She did a pass through all the rooms and double-checked her list.

“Mom, I’ve got to run to the store and grab some things. I’ll call you later!” Sam jumped in mid-sentence.

“Okay, hun. Be safe! Remember to lock up,” her mom always worried about her being alone.

“Okay, bye mom!” Sam replied quickly.

Sam’s shopping cart was getting full, and she only had a couple more items on her list she needed to get from the freezer section. As she rounded the corner, she noticed a tall, broad-shouldered man standing in front of her favorite frozen pizza brand. He had on some dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a very worn, faded baseball cap. She waited for him to move before opening the door and reached in for her cauliflower crust pizza. As she turned around to drop it in her cart, she heard a deep voice call her name.

“Sam?” the guy in the baseball cap was now standing a few feet away from her.

“Jesse? Oh my gosh! I didn’t even recognize you! What are you doing here?” Sam gave him a hug and pulled back to see his sweet smiling face. She couldn’t believe her eyes. He had grown into a handsome, and dare she say, quite muscular man. Not like the lanky kid that had gone to the same college as her. For a few years, they hung out in the same social circles until they graduated, and she moved away for an internship. Well, everyone moved away after they graduated. There wasn’t much in this small town as far as jobs went. Or so she thought.

“I was just grabbing some dinner before heading home,” Jesse said, softly smiling down at her.

“I mean what are you doing here in Bryan?” Sam laughed. “I thought you had moved to Dallas or something,” she said as she tried to remember what job he had lined up after graduation.

“Oh, that didn’t work out. I got a job here. It’s a long story. What about you? Are you at your dad’s?” Jesse asked.

“Well, kind of…” Sam began to explain when Jesse’s phone suddenly rang.

“Sorry, I need to get this,” he said as he swiped to accept the call and turned around for privacy.

Sam quickly checked how she looked in the reflection of the freezer doors. She pulled her long hair out of the low ponytail and let it flow over her shoulders. Her round face was slightly flushed from the summer heat. She tucked in the front of her oversized t-shirt into her fitted jeans to help show off her curvy frame.

Sam smiled as she thought back to when they used to study together and hang out after exams. Their group of friends always teased that he had a thing for her. Especially, Sam’s best friend Ashley. Ashley was convinced he was in love with Sam.

“He’s always following you around like a little, lost puppy,” Ashley would joke. Sam never really paid them much attention, but now she wondered if he still might think about her that way.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon,” she heard Jesse say as he turned around to face her. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that he had to go see someone.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I have to run. But, um, do you still have the same number?” Jesse looked through his contacts to find Sam’s number and flashed his screen towards her.

“Yep, that’s me,” Sam replied with a shy smile, her heart jumping at the thought that he still had her number saved after all these years.

Jesse grabbed his shopping basket off the floor and started walking backwards, “I’ll text you!” He flashed her a smile and turned to walk down the aisle. Then he took a few steps back to peek his head back down the aisle and said, “It was nice running into you. You look really good,” before disappearing around the corner.