Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
3
JOSIE
“Wow,” I say to myself the whole drive through my neighborhood, where my home now resides in a cute little development, a suburb on the outskirts of Blue Valley. Where I was greeted with a two-finger salute, a wave, or a tip of the head by every person I drove past, which is a lot of neighbors considering I live in an older development. A lot are retired, meaning they were out in the middle of the day, watering grass, picking weeds, checking their mail, or sitting on the porch. Or maybe they saw all the moving vehicles coming and going, making a point to be outside at just the right time. Now, that I can see being the real reason. A smile takes over my face when I realize my new neighborhood is going to be chock full of surprises with the newbie on the street. I’m practically a recluse. Working from home won’t make me the new gossip fodder in the way of having something juicy to talk about.
It wasn’t until I turned onto the highway heading into town that it finally sunk in that I am not in the city anymore. Gone is the hustle and bustle from where I lived before, where apartments, houses, and businesses stand a lot closer to one another. A lot of the times, I’d fall asleep to loud vehicles, a siren of some sort, whether it be a police cruiser, ambulance, or fire truck. Those were the days of apartment living, and something tells me that tonight when I lay my head down on my pillow, it’s going to take a while to adjust to the absence of noise I was once used to.
“You’ve arrived at your destination,” my handy GPS informs through the speakers of my car. Yes, I used it for the less than fifteen-minute trip, which, might I add, there were only two traffic lights. Two. My mind is blown that this small town is now my home. Sure, I’ve looked it up online, did a few drive throughs around the neighborhood on the rare occasion I was off work, but to really be in the thick of it, I’m still in shock. I park my SUV, take the keys out, grab my purse, loop the strap over my shoulder, and step out into the hot Tennessee sun. It doesn’t matter how warm it is, I’ll take the warmth over the bitter cold any day of the week. A quick flick of my wrist shuts the door to my car, and I hit the lock button on the key fob even though I’m pretty sure the crime rate in Blue Valley is little to nothing. I’m still not taking any chances. Imagine my grand entrance in the form of calling the police department because my car was stolen. The reason being is me thinking this is like Mayberry and no one would do something like steal a vehicle in the middle of the day while I go grocery shopping.
I walk the short distance from where Mrs. Betty is parked to the entrance of the store. An elderly gentleman greets me. “Welcome to Blue Valley Market. Do you need a shopping cart?”
“Yes, please,” I respond as he wheels it in front of me, taking my purse off to plop it where most would place a baby. Since I’m not actively looking for a future baby daddy, boyfriend, or husband, I’ll be living my best single life for the foreseeable future. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. Grandkids are not on the horizon, and with my bank account still dwindling, there’s no way I’d be able to conceive in the other way. If I’m being honest with myself, children aren’t for me, at least not with my five-year plan. “Thank you,” I say as I head further inside.
“You’re welcome. Have a good day.” The fruit and vegetable area is shining like a beacon, saying, ‘come to me, you must eat healthy.’ After the last couple of weeks working day and night along with packing in between, it meant cooking wasn’t a priority. So I ordered food or grabbed something that wasn’t always the best for me. Well, now my body is craving real food, like fruit salad, something I can eat off for the week, and a few things to make simple lunches as I throw myself back into work after taking three days off, something I never do. As soon as I’m caught up with the appointments I have booked, help others with extinguishing fires, and then hopefully working on the weekends will be over for good. Especially since my new home is going to need a lot of work, the yard specifically. It’s one thing for the inside of the house to be in disarray, but the outside is an entirely different matter, my neighbors will most assuredly thank me especially with how well manicured theirs ares.