30 something
Here we go.
At 31, I am finally back to the same place where I had started. You’d think that for someone who had tried his whole life to escape this shithole, there would be better opportunities elsewhere, but the cost of living in New York working for an insurance company as an agent gave me whiplashes.
My mom would have won a hundred dollars if she were alive today, and would rub it in my face, yelling, “I told you so!”
Well, Mom, you are right; I had no idea I would come back here for good.
Nothing much has changed in the town since I last came here four months ago for my mom’s funeral. The same peeling paint on the diner sign, the same smell of pine and river water. And before that, it had probably been...
Okay, wait a minute.
I slammed on the brakes as I noticed Paul lugging a cart full of flowering shrubs uphill towards his house, immediately thinking of his heart condition. He turned, hearing my car door shut.
“Uh, Zane! Hi?” That was dropped like a question, but I think he is happy to see me, because he dropped the stupid cart and pulled me into an embrace.
Wow. Okay.
“I think I am settling down here?” That came like a question, too. He raised an eyebrow.
“Really? Joanne would be so happy with that decision.”
“I bet.”
“Can we talk about it later, please? I am sorry, but I need to plant these before it starts to rain.”
I was confused. “Where are you planting those?” I asked. I didn’t see any more space in this front yard for those little ones. “And where’s your car? Why are you lugging them around?”
“My car broke down two blocks away, and I bought these on a whim. It might have been a bad decision. I don’t see much space in my front yard...” He murmured the last bit, dragging his eyes around.
I couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped me. I am pretty sure that Paul did not care for the space or minimalism. But he should really care about his heart condition. “Well, Paul. Lucky for you, the Bed and Breakfast could wait. I got time, do you need help?”
“Zane! I completely forgot you’d be taking over the B&B now. Welcome back to Eureka Falls!”
I immediately got uncomfortable. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I might not continue the business, so I just shrugged.
“You know what? You should take these.” He pushed the handle of the cart into my hand, with a little too much force, and said, “Consider them a welcome gift from my end for the B&B. Plant them at the front gate. They bloom almost throughout the year.”
I was... happy about the gesture, but... ugh. There is no but, Paul has kindly gifted you, I told myself. “Thank you. I feel—” I cleared my throat, “—welcomed.”
Zane, you are an idiot with that fake-ass smile.
“Well. Would you like to come in for a coffee?”
“No, Paul. Thank you. Some other time, maybe?”
That was how I found myself standing in the front yard with shrubs I never asked for, and a B&B I was granted. God, all of this was going to be...mine? Am I responsible for all of this now?
2010
“Ma, the guests in 202 complained that their bed was creaking too much. Should I call Tim?”
“Uh, sure.” Ma didn’t hear a word I said, busy typing away in that ancient, humming desktop she called a computer. Rolling my eyes, I asked Matty to bring the fresh blankets to 202 that had just got vacant, and I went out to get my much-needed break. This time of the year, during Fall, it got super crazy with the tourists from all around the country flocking into this historical village, which they loved to call a time capsule. It’s an old people’s village, that’s what it is.
I was googling the broke-ass youth-friendly residences in New York when I caught a movement in my periphery.
Oh, it was just Jordon.
He looked like a fucking creep as usual. I rolled my eyes and looking up at him, still leaning against the wall.
“What do you want, Jordon?”
He sniffed. Was he eating properly? He looked scrawny and pale for his age, his shoulders hunched against the wind.
“I...uh...I’m sorry.”
The fuck was he saying sorry for? "Why are you saying sorry?” Was he shivering? “Where is your coat, Jordon? Why are you here?” I asked again, straightening up, removing my jumper and throwing it on him. He caught it and looked at the thick, dark blue wool in confusion. “Wear it if you don’t want to die of cold.” Even as I said it, I could see my breath misting the cold air.
“Could I get a job here? I could use some extra cash.”
I looked at him from top to bottom. He could use some extra calories.
“Sure.” I started walking away when he held my hand to stop me. How was he so warm if he had come here in a stupid t-shirt?
Did he run away from home?
But his startlingly firm grip on my hand distracted me from my own question.
“Uh...could you put in a good word for me?” Shit, he looked so nervous right now, as if it was going to be a real job interview. I was sure that with the kind of money we were making this season, my mom could really use an extra hand, especially with how frustrated she was getting with the number of breaks I was taking every day.
Wait a minute.
Wasn’t Jordon rich? Why did he need ‘extra cash’?
That brought a sneaky smile to my face. “What’s in it for me if you get a job?”
He looked troubled for a moment, and when I folded my hands across my chest like I wasn’t going anywhere, he simply said, “Fine, what do you want?”
“Doesn’t your father own a bar? I need you to sneak some liquor for me.”
Before I even finished, he was already shaking his head. “My dad will kick my ass. No.”
“Ugh, fine-uh. Give me 20% of what you make.”
He shook his head again. Who had more bargaining power here?
“Forget about the job, Jordon. You’re obviously not serious. We can get Matty full-time.”
I was walking away when, once again, he held my hand to stop me, his grip tightening slightly. “I’ll share my video games with you.”
Interesting. “I can bring them home?”
“No,” he chuckled, making me raise my eyebrow. He knew how to laugh? The sound was low and rusty. “But you can come to my place whenever you want to and play whatever. We have internet all the time.”
With a smile, before he knew it, I started dragging him to the reception area, where my mom was still struggling with that thing.
“Ma, you know Jordon?”
“Sure,” she said without even looking up, her eyes glued to the screen.
“Ma!”
“Sorry, honey. Uh, ah, Jordon! Hi, yes,” she bobbed her head like she was a doll, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I know Jordon. What’s up?”
“I’m thinking that Jordon could be of good help here at the B&B. He doesn’t look like it, but he is very strong.”
“Zane! Come on. Be nice.” Ma turned to look at Jordon, scanning him, as if she was meeting him for the first time, when in truth she had seen him many times at our school. He was the only kid who came to school with the best cars. “Jordon, what do you know about B&B’s?”
He shook his head & shrugged, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. Ma, who was a good person, said, “It doesn’t matter as long as you’re willing to learn. Are you willing to learn?”
What she actually meant to ask was, 'Are you going to be regular and not take many breaks during work hours?'
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then you are hired. I’ll still need to inform your parents, so I’d be happy to get their number.” She said, and with that, my job was done.
I was frigging excited about all the video games I’d be playing at Jordan's setup.
