Come Get Me (9 page)

When he was little it’d been a simple little
store where people were always welcomed like family. He hoped
whoever ran the place now still kept that same type of atmosphere.
It would be a shame if it was gone. It seemed like all the places
now were just out to make a buck and screw the guy they were
getting it from. Nobody ever took the time to just talk and ask you
how you were doing and if they did you knew they didn’t care about
your answer. Luckily it seemed Grandma’s hadn’t lost that homey
feeling. So far the only thing he could see that was actually
different was the selection of products. There were a lot more
brand names being displayed than he remembered. The shelves were
literally packed. Everything one might need seemed to be able to be
found here, which was a good thing since one of the big stores was
moving in. If Grandma’s didn’t keep up it would soon find itself
going out of business.

The smell of dust hung in the air just as he
remembered. He could actually see little pieces of it floating in
the stray light. Seeing that he guessed the sun was making a try at
coming out today. Just coming to this place seemed to have
lightened his mood. He didn’t want dark and dreary anymore.
Following the light to where it shone he saw that the floor was
still just a bunch of mismatched boards that looked like they were
replaced on an as needed basis. Over the years this type of repair
seemed to have been done many times if what he saw was any
indication. From the looks of it some had been done recently.

Shaking his head with a happy contentment Jim
wondered when they would finally break down and replace the whole
floor and maybe even the building. They might eventually try to
catch up with the times, but he doubted it. He actually hoped they
didn’t. This place was part of his childhood and he didn’t want to
see it changed one bit. He didn’t think he had to worry about it
considering the pace of the town and the people that lived in it.
They would probably always stay a few years behind the rest of the
world. Nothing had changed in over twelve years so it probably
wouldn’t change for at least another twelve if whoever ran things
now had anything to say about it. Thinking things like that used to
bother him. He used to think the town was useless and wanted out of
it as soon as possible. Now he could almost see himself coming to
enjoy a place like this.

Jim’d almost finished his reminiscing when he
finally noticed one other thing that had changed since he’d left.
He should have noticed it before this. Especially since it was
staring at him like he was possessed. The person behind the counter
was no longer a little, hunched over old lady; now there was a
beautiful woman. A woman Jim had never seen before. And here he was
just standing there looking off into space like he was the village
idiot.

His mother had mentioned Grandma retiring but
she didn’t tell him who’d taken over in her place. Seeing her now
he wished she had. Jim found himself very pleasantly surprised and
yet felt stupid at the same time. He’d been looking around not
thinking he might be being watched himself. Trying to look as if he
had come in for some purpose he smiled sheepishly and stepped to a
shelf and began looking. He stole a glimpse towards the register
and found she was still looking at him. Knowing that his ruse
hadn’t worked he decided to just go explain what he had been
doing.

Walking towards her Jim couldn’t see too
much. She was sitting down with most of her body out of view but he
guessed her height to be about five two give or take a few inches.
Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that gave
her a young look but not a childish one. Quite the opposite in
fact. It made her look like an adult who wasn’t afraid to show that
she liked to have a little fun now and then. Overall he had to say
he liked it. A lot. As he approached she suddenly looked up. He was
embarrassed to have been caught staring at her so openly but he
couldn’t make himself look away. As cliché as it sounded he was
trapped by her eyes. They were the clearest blue he’d ever seen.
Oceans couldn’t compare. Her gaze left him speechless. With a great
effort, but not really wanting too, he finally was able to look
away.

When he finally reached her he bashfully
looked up and saw a wary look in her eye and a grim edge around her
eyes. From it he guessed she’d seen both good times and bad in her
life and didn’t know what category he might fit under. It was a
look he hoped he’d never see again after she got to know him. He
felt stupid standing there like an idiot but he couldn’t help it.
It wasn’t exactly the first impression but it would have to do. If
he’d known someone like her was going to be there he might’ve done
things differently but knowing him it probably would’ve happened
about the same. He’d never done well with women. He’d been ok when
he was younger, but something seemed to have happened when he
graduated high school and went out into the real world. He just had
no luck. He was trying to think of something clever to say so he
could end the problem of him looking like a fool when he realized
she’d already asked him something.

"Huh?" he said dumbly, "I mean, could you
repeat that? I didn’t quite hear you."

"I said, Hi! My name’s Jill and this is my
store,” she said still a little wary. “I also asked if I could help
you with anything." She still wasn’t looking too sure of how to
handle him. At least he was talking now and not just staring off
into space. That was good. He guessed if someone came into the
place he worked and just stood there staring at him he would
probably be acting the same way.

"No, not really," he said leaning on the
counter trying to put her at ease. It didn’t seem to be working.
"I'm just kinda reminiscing about my childhood." Seeing his words
weren’t helping much he quickly added "I grew up around here. My
friends and I used to come here all the time when someone else was
behind the counter." As he finished he tried a tentative smile to
let her know he wasn’t some maniac but it probably just made things
worse. He wasn’t doing too well. The one time he actually wanted to
make a good impression and he was doing abysmally. She was still
looking at him like he belonged more in an insane asylum than a
store. He didn’t know what else to do. Maybe it would be better if
he just left and came back later when his feet weren’t in his
mouth.

"When we were little we used to come here all
the time,” he said trying again and ignoring common sense. “A
little old lady everybody called Grandma would sell us penny candy
and let us read whatever the newest comics she had." He pointed
first at the candy that was still kept behind the counter and then
at the comic book rack over in the corner trying to illustrate his
point. All the while he was talking he kept throwing little smiles
into what he was saying. Thinking about how he probably looked he
could just imagine what was going through her head. She most likely
wanted to call the cops and tell them she needed a little help with
someone that was touched in the head. Just as he was about to
finally listen to the little voice telling him to shut up he
noticed something had changed about her face. As he’d spoke about
Grandma her features began to soften. By the time he’d finished
there he could actually see a tiny smile.

"Well,” she said blowing out the pent up
breath she’d obviously been holding, “now I understand why you were
kinda in a daze when you first walked in. At east it makes a little
more sense.” Laughing slightly she continued, "I was beginning to
think you were a little touched in the head or some idiot depriving
his village."

"No, nothing like that," Jim said reassuring
her. He was right! She did think he was weird. Great, now he had to
do a lot of work to get her to change her mind. Turning his
thoughts back to what he’d been talking about he continued. "I was
just surprised to find someone other than Grandma sitting behind
the counter. I was so used to seeing her it just caught me off
guard seeing you. My mom said something about Grandma retiring but
I guess it kinda went in one ear and out the other. I was still
expecting to see her when I came in.” She looked like she bought
everything he was saying which was good since it was pretty much
the truth. He hadn’t really thought about who would be sitting in
Grandma’s place. Seeing a good looking woman there had just
compounded his confusion. “I've been gone for a long time,” he
continued, “but I guess old habits die hard. I was actually hoping
to see her again but my mother didn’t say much else about her. I’d
kinda like to see her but I don’t know where she lived. Too bad
though, I really missed her." He knew exactly where she lived but
Jill didn’t need to know that. He was just trying to figure out
some way to make sure the conversation continued until he could
direct to something else. He didn’t want to just say hi, bye and
leave. He wanted to get to know her a lot better and if the only
way he could find to do it was to talk about Grandma well, he would
take it. It would surely eventually lead to another topic. He just
had to wait. He actually felt slightly foolish jabbering on and on
the way he was but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact she seemed to
like it. After telling her a little about what he and his friend
used to do in the store he finally finished saying all he could
think of so he grinned sheepishly and shut his mouth.

"Got it all out now?" she joked. He just
shook his head feeling a little more foolish than he had. He knew
he’d been blabbering, he’d just hoped she hadn't noticed. "Now
after all that stuff you said I’m happy to tell you that Grandma is
still alive and as ornery as she ever was. I should know, I'm
Grandma's granddaughter.” She paused to let him take that little
bit in. The surprise must have registered on his face since she
smiled a little wider as she continued. “She still comes in every
now and then to say hi. Heck, you might even see her today.” Seeing
her beaming face Jim figured he might not have messed up as bad as
he thought, maybe things were looking up.

"Well, that sure is good news,” he said
keeping the conversation going. “It’s good to hear she’s still
around." He remembered hearing Grandma speak once or twice about
having a granddaughter but she’d always quickly changed the subject
when somebody asked about her. It seemed to make her sad; the
little girl had never come to visit. Nobody had ever even seen so
much as a picture of her. Then again that wasn’t surprising since
Grandma wasn’t one to go broadcasting her personal life to
everyone. She welcomed you into her store and was nice to you while
you were there and if she saw you on the street but that was about
it. So, now after all these years of only hearing a word here and
there about the girl he finally got to meet her. Jim had to say,
she had been well worth the wait.

"So," she said when he didn’t immediately say
anything else, "I told you my name. Now is usually the part when
you tell me yours. Then we talk and get to know each other and soon
we’re old friends and everybody lives happily ever after."

"Oh, sorry,” he said feeling like a humungous
dork. He was acting like he’d never talked to a girl before. He
didn’t understand what was going on. Whenever he tried to speak
everything just came out wrong. Whatever it was maybe it would go
away if he kept talking. “My name’s Jim Collins," he said trying to
get more comfortable. "Like I said a few minutes ago, I grew up
right down the road from here. We, I mean my friends and I, used to
come in here almost every day. But once I was old enough to leave I
did just that. I left and haven't really been back for about twelve
years." After talking for a few minutes he felt better. At least he
wasn’t staring at her all moon-eyed like he had been anymore.

"So, what brought you back now?" she asked
nudging him along.

"Well, unfortunately I had to come back for a
funeral. One of my friends died." Everything had been going good
until now. He’d almost let himself forget why he was here. Now it
all just came crashing back in.

"I'm sorry," she said obviously caught a
little off guard. "Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it’s just a little hard whenever I
think about it,” he said. “Talking to you helped me put it aside
for a few minutes.”

“Well, if you need to talk or something just
let me know,” she said sounding concerned. He couldn’t believe it.
Most people now a days didn’t care about other people and here she
was, someone he had just met and she was acting like they were old
friends. She was there with a shoulder to cry on so to speak. That
was just another thing to like about her. “I guess I should also
say sorry for being so blunt when you first came in,” she added
looking a little embarrassed. “It was just, you know, I'd never
seen you before and when you came in you looked a little funny and
whatnot, then when you didn’t answer me right away after I said
something to you I thought you might be some kind of weirdo tourist
or something. Maybe even worse. Now look, I've gone and been blunt
and came right out and asked you why you were here like you didn’t
have any kind of right to be here or something. Now I feel like
maybe I’m the weirdo. This first meeting of ours isn't going to
good is it?" she finished laughing nervously. He knew exactly how
she felt. They were both babbling like a couple of little school
kids. The meeting wasn’t actually as bad as she thought though.
True, it was one of the strangest he’d ever had, but also one of
the best ever too. Still, he couldn’t tell her that. She was the
one that was nervous now. The shoe was on the other foot now. His
slightly morbid reason for being there had probably been the cause
but then again maybe it was something else. That is if he were
lucky which he probably wasn’t.