Jettie Woodruff - Underestimated

After I had my clothes carried to the room that I would call mine, I dragged myself back out to the car. I remembered seeing a Dollar General Store back in town. At least I could get a pillow, and a couple of blankets to sleep on. I desperately wanted some bathroom supplies, and I supposed that I should go to the grocery store.

I went to the Dollar store first, that was my first mistake. By the time I had bought two hundred and twelve dollars’ worth of supplies, enough to get me through until I could go shopping the next day, the grocery store had closed. I bought a coffee pot and had no coffee for the next morning. My new adventurous beginning was not in accordance with how my mind had played it out… at all. What was I supposed to eat now? I hadn’t had anything since around noon, wanting to put the miles behind me, and just get there already. Get there, to an ugly blue house that was close to the beach, if you could get down the mountain. Get there to a house without a bed or food. Get there to a house that I had to wear my sunglasses inside because the bright yellow paint hurt my eyes.

I unloaded my new belongings. I didn’t put anything away in the bathroom. It seriously needed a good scrubbing. Why didn’t I buy cleaning supplies at the dollar store? At least I could have disinfected the tub. I used the cheap strawberries, and cream shampoo and a new washcloth to clean the tub, and then filled it with hot sudsy water. It felt sensational, and the tension that had begun to build again started to evaporate. I tried to think about my new life and making the house my home, but my mind kept drifting back to Drew. It had been four days now since I had vanished from his life. I wondered about his reaction when he realized that I had disappeared. What went through his mind when he dialed my cellphone? I didn’t even know where it was. I wondered if anyone would answer it. I knew he was probably beyond irate, and I was sure that a few things had gotten broke during his discovery.

I woke to the sun pouring in through the window. My homemade bed must have been sufficient. I slept the whole night without waking once. I didn’t waste time stretching and lingering around in bed the way that I was used to. I got straight up, brushed my teeth and pulled my long dark hair into a ponytail. I still had a hard time looking in the mirror without double taking. My hair had been blonde for the past six years, and my natural brown, seemed so distant and foreign now. My bruised cheekbone also looked better. You could barely see it once I applied the foundation.

I pulled on a pair of hand-me-down jeans and a sweatshirt. That was the part about Las, I mean Indiana that I was going to find the most difficult. It was May, and the weather was so diverse. I could handle it, had it been a bit different, but forty degrees different? Come on. Why didn’t I get a choice? I surely would have chosen a warmer climate. How were you supposed to enjoy living by a beach when you wore a continuous layer of goose bumps?

I had breakfast at Millie’s Diner. Millie herself waited on me.

“Good morning. Can I start you off with some coffee?” she asked.

“Yes. Thank you. That would be great.” I chose to sit at the bar and thumbed through a newspaper.

“Here you go sweetie. Do you need a few minutes yet?” The friendlier than I was used to lady asked.

“No. I’m ready. Could I get gravy and biscuits and two slices of bacon?”

“You sure can, coming right up.”

I read through the local paper, smiling at its size. It was a full four pages. The Vegas Sun was dictionary compared to the Misty Bay Daily News. The front page talked about the events planned for the year’s Summer Fest. There would be apple bobbing, grease pole climbing, corn hole tournaments, a wood chopping competition, and the list went on and on for the weekend long celebration. Saturday night would be no kid’s night, and it described the street dancing and wine tasting events for adults only. I flipped the page and read about the new breast milk flavored coffee at ‘Reminiscent.’ Are you kidding me? Where the hell was I going to be working? Where the hell would you even get breast milk? I kept reading and learned the benefits of breast milk coffee. I would not be trying the breast milk coffee. I was sure of that. Gross.

“Here you go honey,” Millie said, setting my plate in front of me. It looked mouthwatering. Either that or my stomach was so hungry, it would have looked mouthwatering had it been a plate of gravy and worms. It was delicious, and I am sure I ate it in record time. Millie probably thought I hadn’t eaten in weeks. She refilled my coffee cup, and I thanked her. The diner was fairly empty and had only a few people; of course it was getting kind of late for breakfast.

It was almost eleven. I hadn’t even started my long list of shopping yet, let alone the cleaning that needed to be done. I was, however, feeling a little less uneasy that morning. I had plenty of time to do it. I may not finish in the next three days, but I would be working mostly days so I would just have to work on it in the evenings after work. I was going to need something to do in order to keep my mind from thinking too much anyway.

“Is there a furniture store around here?” I asked Millie when she slid me a small strawberry Danish.

“There’s one over on Long Road. Is there something particular that you are looking for?”

I took a bite of the cheese Danish. “Hmm, this is amazing,” I told her as the warm contents of strawberry and cream cheese teased my taste buds. “I kind of need everything,” I smiled up at her.

“You bought Clara Bliss’s little cottage, didn’t you?”

Clara Bliss? How was I supposed to answer that? No. I live in a house that my grandmother left for me. That was what I was supposed to say. That’s what Ms. K told me to say. Who is Clara Bliss?

“Clara lived there up until about ten years or so ago.” Millie started to explain. I breathed a sigh of relief. “She moved to Portland to be closer to her grandchildren. The house has sat empty for a good many years. You can thank her for the lovely colors,” she winked, and it made me smile.

Shew, I didn’t have to explain anything.

“Where is Long Road? Do they have pretty much everything? Do they deliver?”

Millie laughed at my run-on sentence. I didn’t mean not to give her time to answer. I was just happy we weren’t talking about my house anymore.

“Yes. You can get furniture for every room in the house, including curtains.”

I was glad she mentioned curtains. I had neglected to add them to my long list.

“Thank you,” I said, taking a ten dollar bill from my purse. I liked Millie, and I hoped we would become friends. She was probably twenty years or more, older than me, but nonetheless she was a very nice lady.

“Can I offer you some more advice?” she asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“There is a place about fifteen miles from here called Potters. It’s a warehouse full of housewares. I am sure you could buy everything you need there, and they only sell American made,” she added, proud of that fact.

I took out a piece of paper. “Thank you, Millie. I will definitely go there. Do you know the address?”

Millie laughed a short laugh. “You don’t need an address sweetie. Turn right at the stop light and drive till you see the billboard on the left that says Potters. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you. I better get going. I have a long day ahead of me,” I smiled and left the ten dollars on the counter, leaving her a three a dollar tip.

“Come back this evening. Tonight is meatloaf Friday,” she invited, and I left with a nod and a smile.

I knew I wouldn’t be back. I had too much to do, but I would come back and have meatloaf Friday sometime. I hadn’t had meatloaf since before my Grandma Joyce passed away.