In His Arms Tonight

She had made it! The long drive made her anxious to be free of her small Honda Accord. It was a fairly hot day, but the breeze cooled the air enough that it was not stifling. To Jay it wouldn’t have mattered if it rained all day, it was a gorgeous day, moving day. She got out and had a long stretch as she took in her surroundings. This was home now. The big gorgeous city was far better than her dusty hometown. Jay had not grown up rich, but her mother had worked almost to her death to make sure was not noticeably lacking for anything. Thinking of her mother still made her sad, even after all this time. It had been years since her mother had lost her battle with kidney failure. The ache had dulled some but it was still persistent. Walking up the long driveway, Jay admired the house she would live in. It was well maintained, a small white house with blue shutters. Jay thought it would fit her perfectly. It looked even better than the photos that had first attracted her to the property. She wasn’t supposed to meet Ms. Swanson, the owner, for another hour, but she just had to see the house. Her regular interactions with disappointment made Jay doubt this all was going to continue happening so smoothly. She walked around to the back of the house. The huge yard would be perfect for the garden she planned to put in. Her own little piece of peace. Satisfied that she had made the right decision, and starving from the road trip she decided to adventure around town for some lunch before her meeting. There seemed to be endless possibilities in this city. So many things to see. Small boutiques selling custom designs, lavish restaurants, and so many different people. Where to start? She parked in what seemed to be an area with a wide variety of restaurants and stores. Walking around taking in the sights and sounds had almost made her forget about lunch she was awestruck. Her belly however, had not and groaned in discomfort. Ok, she thought, I’ll eat. She chose a place that was casual and didn’t carry a high price tag. Jay wasn’t worried about money, but she certainly didn’t intend to blow through this nest egg she had built along with the inheritance from her mother she had come here with. Please seat yourself greeted her in the mostly empty eatery. So, she did just that and opened up a menu. Burger sounds good…anything sounds good her stomach seemed to moan in reply. Where is the server? She had not been there long but she was starved and in the time she had been here she hadn’t seen anyone save for a customer sitting alone at a table towards the back. She got up and walked to the server’s station. “Hello.” She called out. It was eerily quiet. “Is anyone working?” She said mostly to herself but also to the man who sat at the table. He didn’t have anything on his table to indicate he had eaten at all. He did not respond. Strange she thought but maybe he’s preoccupied. She pushed through the kitchen doors deciding that if the food wouldn’t come to her, she would go to it. Jay would cook her own food at this point and leave the money for the neglectful owners. The kitchen was empty. She noticed how pristine everything was. Maybe they’re closed, but in the middle of all that activity outside she couldn’t imagine that being the case. Then she spotted it. A sparkling new Cookaide mixer. Jay had been lusting after one for awhile for herself. She went over to admire up close, and then, “Who the f**k are you?”