Chapter IV: Erica makes friends (Part 1)
2191 Words
Erica took a quick look. Then she nodded.
This didn't make any sense.
She had been weeding the orchard for about an hour, but there seemed to be no end to it. It seemed to her that she was wasting time. She had bought some gardening gloves to protect her hands, but she was exhausted and her back was hurting like hell from crouching down for so long. It was going to take days to remove all the weeds.
Maybe I can't get anything to grow, she thought in frustration.
Erica got up and threw her gloves on the floor, fed up. Nothing seemed to be going as planned. Her house was a dump and it stank and had holes in the ceiling. She couldn't even go up to the bedrooms because the mattresses were rotten and the furniture chewed by rats. In addition, the house did not have an efficient heating system, so she could only depend on the fireplace and it was not enough to heat the entire interior, and she was cold all the time. She couldn't sleep at night either, and she felt increasingly tired and cranky. And the orchard was a useless mass of land. And her car was having more and more trouble starting. And she had no job.
The accumulation of all her problems crushed her for a few minutes and she needed a while to calm down. Tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. She hated crying, She didn't want to cry. Crying never solved anything, and besides, her face was always red as a tomato. Erica didn't consider herself a pessimistic person, but everyone had their difficult moments. And she was facing several at the same time. If only she could talk to her father and tell him what was happening in her life…
Shit, she didn't want to think about it right now or she wouldn't stop crying all day. She had to get those thoughts out of her head immediately.
Erica closed her eyes. Then she took a breath and breathed it out through her mouth. And again. She thought about all the progress she'd made with the house since she'd arrived and all the resumes she'd sent out yesterday, and that made her feel a little better. She also tried to see the positive in the house and in living in a town that no one knew. In her long-awaited solitude and the need not to be searched for. Jordan would never find her here, she was completely sure of that. She had also changed her phone number, email, and any social contacts. She could start over and live in peace. Yes, everything was not so bad. She could do it. She could do it.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of a car approaching her house. Then she saw it. It was a small modern black van and two young women Erica had never seen before got out. The first was tall, dark-haired, and had an infectious smile. She was dressed in simple jeans and a black leather jacket. The second was shorter and more voluptuous, and had light eyes and a gentle look. She seemed a little more nervous than the first but she smiled at her when they finally came up to her.
“Hi, you're Erica, right?” The first woman greeted her in a good mood. “My name is Stephanie and this is Lauren. Sorry for parking in your area without permission.”
By now she wasn't surprised that she knew her name. Apparently the news of her arrival had spread throughout the town.
“It's not a problem at all. Nice to meet you too,” Erica replied politely.
Stephanie c****d her head and pointed to the orchard and the gloves she'd just dropped on the ground.
“I think we just caught you at a bad time. Are we bothering you? Do you want us to come back in a bit?”
“Oh no, no. In fact…” The young woman glanced around her orchard, “I'd say I'm done. I had planned to rest for today.”
She smiled.
“Then we're lucky. We came because we were wondering if you wanted to go out tonight for a drink with us. You know, a girls' night out. In Milford Haven,” Stephanie said.
The invitation took her completely by surprise. For a moment she didn't know what to say.
“You don't have to force yourself to say yes,” Lauren prompted, seeing her embarrassment. “It's just that I asked Stephanie to come over to say hello and give you this.” She handed her a plastic bag. “It's a small gift, but I hope you like it.”
Inside the bag was a large container with buns filled with chocolate, cream cheese, and jam. Erica's stomach rumbled instantly.
“Thank you very much really. You shouldn't have bothered.”
“It's not a bother. I'm glad you like it,” Lauren replied with relief.
“About staying tonight…”
“We're just going to have a couple of drinks in a bar in Milford Haven and not much else. Tomorrow Lauren and I have to work, but we wanted to welcome you even if it was a little late,” Stephanie explained. “Actually, I wanted to go see you earlier, but my husband told me to wait a bit because you would probably be busy with the move. By the way, how are you doing?”
Erica sighed.
“The move went well, but the house is…” She left the sentence unfinished.
They both made faces when they heard her.
“f**k, that sucks. Can we help you with something?”
“No, no, but thanks anyway. And yes, I would like to hang out with you tonight.”
Stephanie and Lauren seemed very pleased to hear her.
“Cool! Can you pass me your number? So I can give you the location of the bar we usually go to. Is eight o'clock okay with you?”
“Yes, no problem.”
“Perfect. So see you tonight. We have sooo many things to tell you about our town,” Stephanie said with a mischievous smile.
Erica raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of things?”
“You'll see, you'll see. Don't even think about missing our hangout, eh?”
“I will not do it.”
“In that case, bye. Welcome to Comraich Gaoil, by the way.”
“See ya,” Lauren said with a smile.
As she watched the car pull away, Erica realized something important.
Oh damn, what had she just done?
[...]
Erica wasn't sure she had made the right decision.
As she parked her car at the Kings Arms Pub, her stomach clenched with nerves. She had pulled her brown hair into a high ponytail wrapped in a purple bow and had put on a little makeup, though her dark circles still showed through despite the best efforts of the concealer. She had decided to wear black jeans and the cutest sweater she had, which was light blue and had been bought for her at least five years ago. Over the top she was wearing a brown jacket and black boots.
Erica didn't really want to go, but Stephanie's frank smile and Lauren's hopeful eyes had made her make a hasty decision. And of course, also the gift buns, which she had devoured as soon as she had the opportunity. Now only the empty wrapper remained. But at least her stomach was full.
What was happening to Erica was that she hadn't gone out with anyone in a long time and she feared that her social skills were poor. Already in her student days she was a demure and shy student, and all the friends she had from the university were in Cardiff. No one at her old job missed her either, that's for sure.
She sighed. Stephanie and Lauren seemed like very nice people and easy to talk to, so there was nothing to worry about. She'd probably have a good time, and to be honest, she needed friends. Living alone in the middle of the field sometimes got a little hard.
Taking a breath, Erica adorned her features with a smile and opened the door of the establishment, almost immediately running into the two women sitting at the table who were waiting for her. She took a quick look at her watch as she hurried to reach them.
“Oh, sorry I'm late,” Erica apologized promptly, even though her watch said eight o'clock. She must have been late.
“Actually we haven't been sitting here for five minutes. You're just in time,” Stephanie replied. “What do you want to order?”
“A beer, nothing more. I have to drive later,” Erica explained as she took a seat and put her bag aside. “Did you also come by car?”
“Yes, but it was my Evan who brought us here. He didn't want me to take the car if I was going to drink, so he offered to give us a ride and drop us off later,” she said with evident satisfaction in her voice.
“Oh, do you have a boyfriend?”
She laughed.
“Boyfriend no, I'm married.” And to emphasize her words, Stephanie showed her the wedding ring that she wore with all the pride in the world on her ring finger. Erica raised her eyebrows. Oh.
“Have you been married for a long time?”
“Oh, not that much, about three years. But I've known Evan since we were kids, so it's like we've been together our whole lives.” Stephanie put an arm around Lauren's shoulders. “And Lauren's husband, Dylan, is Evan's best friend. And she and I are like sisters.”
“Really?”
“Yes, we can continue telling you things, but first the drinks. I've told Evan not to come pick us up for another couple of hours.”
The three of them ordered their drinks, and after taking the first swallow, Erica suddenly felt much better. The atmosphere was comfortable and relaxed, and that was just what she needed. No holes in the walls, mold or weeds. Instead, the three of them quickly caught up on an endless variety of topics. They talked about work, fashion, openly complained about the rising prices and how bad things had been lately, and they also gave Erica a refresher on all the important gossip of the town and the names of its most recognizable inhabitants. And they also talked about the ESF.
“They go down to town many times, but not all of them. The Eastons, for example, travel a lot so you rarely see them,” Stephanie explained.
“Yesterday one of them came to visit me. His name is Brent, I think.”
They both quickly recognized the name.
“Yeah, we've seen that one a few times, haven't we, Lauren?”
Her friend agreed.
“He's the one who comes to Comraich Gaoil the most and he seems likeable,” she added.
“Why did he show up at your house, Erica?”
“For nothing in particular. He wanted to give me his card in case something happened or I needed help. Apparently it was an order from their bosses,” she replied.
“It is normal. You are the first woman to live outside of town. No wonder all the men are worried about you,” Stephanie commented understandingly.
“But don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration...?”
“Not at all,” her new friend protested. “It's what any decent man would do, of whom there are few left. A shame. I bet Brent wasn't the only one, right?”
Erica nodded.
“There's the mayor and Sean, too.”
“Sean Allister?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Sean is a very polite man. His brother, not so much,” Stephanie commented candidly.
Erica nodded.
“So I heard.”
“I mean, Emerson isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but he's a lot more elusive and intimidating than Sean. A few months ago they broke up with their girlfriend and now he is in a mood that no one can stand, but I would say that he is almost always like that.”
“Did they break up with their girlfriend?”
Lauren seemed a bit uncomfortable.
“Do you know that polyamorous relationships are common in this town, Erica?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, Brent told me,” she replied, “but honestly I still don't believe it. I thought that didn't happen in real life. But I don't dislike it at all; in fact, I would say that I find it… interesting.”
Suddenly Stephanie and Lauren exchanged enigmatic glances.
“Hey, Erica, we want to ask you a question…”
“Yes?”
“Do you know anything about Comraich Gaoil?”
- Writer
