Coming Home Chapter One

Coming Home A Novel by Alexandra O’Hurley copyright 2011




Chapter One
The seats of the old Greyhound bus were worn and frayed...it had definitely seen better days. Sunshine had faded the once royal blue fabric into a mottled gray-blue. Years of traveling had taken its toll on the hue, just as time on the road had taken its toll on the rest of the vehicle. Twisting a length of dark blue cotton thread that had come undone from the back of the chair, Kaitlin toyed with it and watched in fascination as it curled around her slender finger. Looking at anything was better than looking out of the window to see that she was finally coming closer to her final destination.
It wasn't the most glamorous mode of transportation, but considering the circumstances, she was glad she had been able to scrape up enough money to pay for the ticket. She had had to sell off her engagement ring to a very unsavory pawnshop owner in a very unsavory part of town, but it had to be done. No one wants to have to go back home with their tail between their legs, especially to the small town she grew up in, but it was the only place she had left to turn. Stifling a groan, she finally dared to glance out the dirty window, and saw exactly what she expected to see. Nothing. Fields and fields of nothing, some green, some barren, with an occasional depressing little run down clapboard house to separate them.
She always wondered why you could pass by these houses time and time again and never see an occupant. You would see signs of life, a car parked outside, a child's rusting red tricycle, an old tire swing swaying in the breeze, or maybe a flower bed planted with care, but it never appeared as though people actually inhabited these places. It seemed these houses were empty shells that looked like they were filled with life but were really vacant. And she could relate, because she felt the same way.
Everything in her life had failed, and now she was coming back home to the small town she had left behind so many years ago. Then she had been so sure she was going to make something of herself and never have to look back again, that she had thrown up her nose at all the people stuck there, thinking she better then they. Now she would have to face those same people and listen to the gossip.
Pressing her forehead against the cool glass of the window, she sighed and closed her eyes as tears came to the edge. She refused to let them slide. She may have lost everything she had in her life, but she refused to lose her dignity surrounded by a bunch of strangers on an old, dirty bus. Opening her eyes, she could see her reflection in the glass, and was shocked at just how bad she looked. Her soul was catching up with the outside.
"It can't be that bad, can it?"
She turned toward the voice and looked up into a kind old set of eyes that looked oh so much like her own, but the wrinkles creasing the corners and the depth of experience they held proved they were definitely different. The woman shrugged, not really wanting to be bothered with conversation, but did not want to be completely rude. "It can be that bad, and possibly even worse."
"Want to tell me about it?" The older woman said as she settled herself into the worn seat beside her. “I listen pretty well and even shake my head in all the right places.”
"I really don't want to talk about it. I am sure you have your own problems to worry about right now."
"Well, hon, my only issue is not getting enough sleep in the next row because someone in this row keeps sighing loudly, so I figured I would come find out what the issue was so I could get some rest. Oh, that’s right, you are the only one sitting in this row. So, what’s the drama so I can get some sleep?"
Did she just say what I think she said? "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was making such a racket up here, nor did I realize I had even sighed all that much.” It came out a little angrier than she planned and she grimaced a little, but continued on, “I thought you little old gray haireds could sleep through just about anything?" She threw out to the woman, being ruder than she should have been, in hopes of making the woman leave her alone. There, that should shut her up.
"Oh, we normally can dear, but between the gassy woman behind me…” she turned and pointed towards the back of the bus, wrinkling her nose as if she smelled one right that second, before turning back to continue, “…and the guy who looks like a serial killer to my left, and you moaning and groaning up here, I just don't think I will be able to manage getting in my nap today. So why don't you just tell me what’s going on? If you really do have a problem, then maybe I can help and it'll keep me awake. If you are a whiner and boring, it'll help put me to sleep. So I see it as win-win. Go ahead and have at it."
Well, this is either the rudest old woman I have ever met or the coolest old broad ever. "Well, if it is just going to ruin your day if I don’t fess up, then, get comfy."
The twinkle she saw in the older woman's eye as she smiled looked so familiar, but she couldn't understand why. She had definitely never seen this woman before, and she never forgot a face. Yet, there was something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. "Are you from around here?" she asked the older woman, hoping to solve the mystery.
"Oh, I lived here eons ago. I left when I was in my early twenties plannin’ on settin’ the world on fire. Which I did and had a ball doing it too.” A huge salacious grin on the elder woman’s face spoke of many stories that could be told of that time period. “And other then a brief stint of coming back home in my thirties when I hit a snag in life, I haven't been back.”
A slight frown floated across the woman’s face, “I'm on my way back now though, as I just retired.” And as fast as the frown came in, the smile and twinkle returned. “I decided the hustle-bustle of the city was just too much for a cool old broad like me. I need a slower pace now. I’m going to do all the things old ladies are supposed to do, spend time with family, paint, read, knit, and play bingo."
The younger woman smiled and offered her hand, "Well, you are definitely that, a cool old broad. I'm Kaitlin, and it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Kay, nice to meet you Kaitlin. So how’s about that story now?" The two women shook hands, smiling at each other, both with a twinkle of humor in their matching eyes. And Kaitlin still couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity she saw.
"Well, Kay, it's a long one." Kaitlin settled herself into the worn seat, trying to get comfortable.
Kay looked up ahead, through the grimy front window of the bus and then turned back towards her. "Then I suppose you had better get started. We are almost to my stop."
"I was born around here. My mother moved us away when I was younger, and there I realized I loved being a city girl. I got stuck back here in the sticks when I was in high school, met someone visiting his grandparents one summer, thought I fell in love and a few years later, got married. We moved back to the city I had lived in, and started a whole new life together. I just knew I would never have to come back here. But here I sit…hurtling towards the past faster then I would ever want to, in a broken down bus no less." Without thinking, another sigh escaped her lips, but she seemed oblivious that she had even done it.
"Never say never, my dear." Those twinkling blue eyes grabbed her attention once more.
Kaitlin shrugged with a smirk, "Yeah, that whole saying has been on my mind this whole trip."
Kay looked down and paused, as she seemed deep in thought "So…what is bringing you back here?"
"Failure is. My husband and I started a concept management firm. I was the idea girl; he was the business guy. He took care of the office stuff, you know, the hiring, firing, paying the bills, doing the books. I took care of the inspiration and the ideas. Then a few years ago, things just changed. We started to pull apart from each other in small ways. He started doing things on his own; as did I, which at first I thought was a good thing, since we were married and working together. I thought we needed our own space and it would be good for our marriage. Then a few months ago, I found out one of those separate things he had been doing was his assistant and the way I found out was he left me and took nearly all the money we had saved, as well as all the money we had in the business. He just…took everything."
Kay looked down again, lost in thought for a moment, as if trying to remember something, then looked up and asked, "Was the marriage so bad that he felt justified to do that?"
"I never thought so. Yes, I was very focused on the business. No, I didn't want to start a family like he did. Yes, I partied a little too much, but that was mostly schmoozing to get more business, so I felt I was doing the right thing.” She looked back down to her finger, still wrapped by the thread and tugged a little on it, biding time, collecting her thoughts and emotions for a moment. “I knew we had grown apart, but couldn’t admit it. I was still having the time of my life, and he wanted to settle down into a family life. I wasn't ready. But we had always been friends, and that is what hurts the most. My very best friend in the world took everything I owned and walked away, just because we weren't on the same page anymore."
"Well, you can sue him in court to get back half the assets, right? Then you could be back on your feet again in no time."
"I could if I could find him!” Kaitlin shrugged and shook her head. “I've spent the last four months trying to find him, as well as, trying to keep my business and my life afloat. And I failed. I lost everything I had. I had to scrape together enough money to get the ticket to ride this piece of crap bus to the one place I hoped I never had to go back to again." Another sigh escaped Kaitlin's lips and Kay smiled, knowing this time she definitely did not realize she had done it.
"You didn’t have anyone in the city you could have stayed with?"
A sign of regret showed in the frown that flickered across Kaitlin's face. "Most of my friends worked with me. And when they all lost their jobs, I got to see just how good of friends they really were. They seemed to hold me responsible when I couldn't salvage the business; all they saw was that they had lost their livelihood. And I worked so much, that I didn't really have many good friends outside of work."
"Well, sounds like you did have a good reason to sigh. I had to come back here for similar reasons when I was about your age. But I'll let you in on a little secret that might make you feel a little better." Kay smiled, her twinkling eyes lighting up beyond measure.
Kaitlin was caught up by the light she saw in those eyes before she added, "I'm up for just about anything that might make me feel better at this point."
"Retiring wasn't the only reason I am moving back here. My husband of 40 years just passed away." Even though those words slipped past her lips, Kay continued to smile and the twinkle just got brighter in her eyes.
"THAT is supposed to make me feel better?" Kaitlin choked out, struggling for the right words to say at that moment, of course nothing came to mind and she just felt that much worse.
"Well…not exactly. But here is why it may. I told you that I had to move back here briefly when I was about your age. I thought my life was going to end at that point. But, on that small stay here, that is when I met my husband."
Kaitlin groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed right now was a living, breathing romance novel. "I'm glad you found love on your trip back to the sticks, but that doesn't mean I will. I can't imagine having another relationship right now, especially after what just happened to me. My plan is to get my life back in order, save up some money and get back to the city and start over again."
"Oh sweetie, that was my plan too when I came back home." Kay smiled, "I used to not believe in true love and all that hogwash you read in romance novels. A man had wronged me, just like you, and I told myself right after he left, never again, never ever would I let a man get close to me. But as I stepped off that bus, there kneeled this big hunk of a redneck man in tight faded jeans and a black t-shirt, changing a flat tire on his old pick-up truck, with a big old German Shepard in the back. My body immediately stood up at attention when he turned and looked up at me with the sexiest green eyes I had ever seen. And then when he smiled at me, my heart skipped a beat."
Kay continued after a brief pause, seemingly caught up in the memory of that first encounter, "But I knew I wasn't in a place in my life to start anything new, so I kept on walking and tried to avoid him at every turn. Which you know as well as I do, avoiding anyone is hard to do in a small town. By the next day, he knew who I was, were I lived, and that my favorite flowers were tulips."
"My favorite flowers are tulips, too." Kaitlin smiled, loving the fact that she seemed to have found a similar soul in this woman.
Kay smiled at her, "Well, my husband showed up on my doorstep the day after I arrived with tulips in hand and that sexy smile he had shown me the day before. And then again nearly every other day for almost a year before I finally stopped being mule-headed and gave him a chance. I wonder to this day why I had to be so damned stubborn."
The answer seemed obvious to Kaitlin, "You knew you weren't ready, so why beat yourself up about it?"
A little irritation filled Kay's expression, "How DO we ever know when we are ready? Do you wake up one morning and look into the mirror and say, 'Okay, love, I'm ready today, come and get me?' No…it happens when it happens, and my only regret with that wonderful, loving man that I spent the last 40 years loving was that I didn't make it 41. I could have let him make me happy sooner if I had just let him in."
"But if you had been wronged, don't you think you needed time to heal?"
"You mean time to moan, groan, sigh and cry?" Kaitlin blushed and Kay smiled, knowing she had struck a chord. She took a moment before she continued on.
"Sweetie, I pushed this wonderful man away time and time again, thinking I didn't want love. Thankfully, he knew what I needed more than I would admit to myself, so he persisted. What if the right man comes to your door and you turn him away just because you have been hurt and he isn't as persistent as my husband Henry? So, you would rather sit around depressed over what you lost, versus going out and having the time of your life with someone who could bring you happiness? Even if that happiness is short lived? Just because you accept a date with a fella doesn't mean you have to continue to date him or even marry him. I think getting back on that horse and having fun, going out with friends is EXACTLY what you need right now.”
Kay turned and put her hand on Kaitlin’s cheek, “You are too beautiful a young woman to sit and fade away. It would break my heart to see that happen."
Kaitlin was amazed to see the older woman’s eyes grow misty with what looked like tears. She felt a sudden embarrassment over the moment and turned to look back out into the green fields outside the window, not really seeing them, mulling over the words Kay had spoke. "I suppose getting out and having fun would be exactly the opposite of what my ex would expect out of me. And why should I do what he expects me to do. He’s probably living it up with his 21-year-old assistant in some tropical isle, spending my money like it was water. So, maybe you are right."
"Now that's the spirit. Just go have fun and try to forget what Adam did to you."
"Good idea..." Kaitlin frowned, "Did I tell you my husband's name was Adam?"
"I'm sure you did hon. I can't imagine I would know on my own, now, would I?" The twinkle in Kay's eyes seemed to get even brighter.
"I suppose...” Something just didn't feel quite right, but the smile from this woman and the time and advice she had just given her made her shake the confusing thoughts from her head.
Kay's voice grabbed her attention again. "Here is my stop."
Moving back to her original seat, Kay began collecting her thing. Kaitlin realized this was her stop as well. It gave her a small amount of happiness that Kay may be her neighbor while she lived back in the sticks. Kaitlin stood up and started to collect her small amount of possessions as well once the bus stopped.
As she moved towards the front door, she turned back to see if Kay was coming. She did not see the curve of her gray head above the blue seats, so she walked back towards where she had been to see if Kay needed help. As she approached, she saw that the row was empty. She looked around her, but saw no signs of Kay. I don't remember seeing her pass me to get off?
Kaitlin walked off the bus herself and around the side to collect her one worn suitcase, still not seeing Kay. She had hoped she could at least exchange information, as she felt the woman was definitely a kindred spirit, no matter the age difference. After collecting her bag, she stood near the bus, scanning the area for Kay, but eventually giving up, and knowing that in a small area such as this, a spirited older woman would probably be easy to find. She picked up her suitcase and carry-on bag and made her way though the crowds of people hugging their long lost relatives or sweethearts, to where she had planned on meeting her sister for the final ride home. But what she saw in front of her nearly made her faint.
Glancing ahead, Kaitlin saw the nicest ass to ever be encased in light blue denim. Both eyes aimed on the man the ass belonged to, she watched as he kneeled over a wheel well in an old beat up Ford pick-up. She stared as she walked towards that general area, not really paying attention as to whether her sister was there or not. A Mack truck could have pulled to within inches of her frame, and she would not have noticed. She did notice the beautiful dark gray and white German Shepard peering over the edge of the bed of the truck, watching as his master changed a flat tire.
Kaitlin froze and dropped her suitcase to the ground beside her. Flat tire...dog....nice ass encased in light blue denim? Nooooo way. I have been reading too many science fiction novels. There is just no way what I am thinking is actually happening.
But thoughts of the familiar eyes and all the similar things between herself and the older woman kept flashing back to her. She quickly searched her memory for the details of Kay. And of Kay’s story of her first meeting her true love. Did she say his name? He had gorgeous green eyes. Fixing a flat. German Shepard in back. Tight jeans and a black t-shirt. Okay, let's go see so I can put my mind at ease that I am just having a little mental meltdown.
Kaitlin picked up her suitcase again and started walking towards the old white pick-up, her eyes focused on the perfect rear in front of her, and what a view it was. The German Shepard took notice of her nearing them and moved closer to the rear of the truck bed to sniff out any danger. He eyed her for a moment and then let out a mild yelp, which seemed more in welcome then in defense. A ‘Hi, how are ya’ if you will. As she neared her destination, she took note of the muscular biceps and broad shoulders, which narrowed to a slim waist, all encased in tightly stretched black jersey, which of course was connected to one wonderful rear.
Her heartbeat picked up as she stood just behind him, watching him finish putting on the new tire, and noticed the grace in his fluid movements. She was in awe of the way in which he seemed to float through his actions as if they were choreographed, and she loved the play of muscles through his upper body as he moved. She had never been so incredibly attracted to a man, and she had only seen the back of him to this point.
Turning to look at her, Kaitlin knew it was all over. She saw the most amazing set of green eyes she had ever witnessed, filled with a depth of intelligence and warmth, and she caught her breath, unable to think or speak. He stood and smiled, and she knew this man would own her heart if he wanted to when she looked at that smile. For the first time in her life, she realized that love at first sight was possible.
And then, that was when thoughts of Kay and her story ran through her mind again. She had to know if her feeling was right. She bolstered up her courage, and strengthened her stance and asked, "Henry?"
The man stood to his full height of well over 6 feet, within inches of her. The heat of his stare was almost as hot as the heat she felt coming from his perfect body. Looking into her face, he frowned slightly, yet smiled at the same time, "Yeah." He paused, frowning a little deeper, deep in thought, "Do I know you?"
No. But I surely hope you are about to.