“Chase.”I chuckle.“It’s Chase.”
“Oh.”She smirks.“Right.”
“See you tonight.”This afternoon would be more accurate.Who eats dinner at five?That’s still late afternoon to me.
“Yep.”She’s gone through the entrance to what used to be the office.
I’m out the door with my phone against my ear before I know it.The thing had been vibrating in my pocket nonstop while Lou was giving me the tour.I knew if I’d answered it, my time with Lou would have been over.
“What?”I snap into the phone the second my coworker picks up.I listen as she tells me the pile of shit I’ve gotten myself into and that I’ll need to deal with “my choices” right away.“Yeah.I’ll take care of it.”I hang up before she’s got a chance to tell me what else I’ve done wrong.I also decide to put off taking care of anything for a while.
In my car, I start it up and turn up the air-conditioning.It’s hot outside for the middle of April, and it was ten degrees warmer inside that house.I let the cool hair hit my face as I unbutton my dress shirt a few buttons.I need more clothes.I left––took off, really—grabbing only the bare minimum of my shit.Like my now stain-soaked shirt and one spare.Staring at that house, I give Lou Hamlin a little more thought.After that, I spend time giving this little town some thought.
I like Zodiac Hills, Nebraska.The people have been so pleasant.Hell, not a single person has told me to “fuck off” since I’ve been here.It’s refreshing.Thinking about the morning I spent talking to a random stranger at the drug store about the weather when I bought myself a toothbrush and toothpaste, well, it makes me smile.
I could get used to this.
Throwing the car into reverse, I back out of the driveway onto the highway in search of a larger town.I passed one on my way here.They’ll have the supplies I need to enable me to extend my visit in Zodiac Hills.
My phone rings.Time to face the music.I answer on the second ring.“Yeah?”I turn down the hands-free speaker in my car as the asshole on the other end of the line tends to scream.It’s his only way to communicate, apparently.When he’s done, I tell him what he wants to hear: that I’ll be back soon.It’s not what he wants to hear.He wants me back today, but I can’t go back.Not yet.Besides, I haven’t taken time off for over a year.Sure, the way I chose to take it is a bit unorthodox.And against policy which is the part that makes my boss yell even louder.I’m so tempted to tell him to fire me.Hell, I should beg him to fire me.
As he rants, I let my mind wander to Lou.I’d love to spend quality time with the curvy woman who wields a hammer, but from the voice on the other end of the line, I know my time here is limited.It’s for the best, probably, because spending too much time with Lou Hamlin, might just derail my life as I know it.My real life.
