Page 24 of Homesick

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“How was your first night doing chores, sweetie?” my mom asks and offers me some fresh coffee.

Blake and I quickly finished up the rest of the chores last night and it went surprisingly well. Or as well as it could go. It was still weird being around him, but it wasn’t impossible. I tried to keep our conversations to a minimum by making sure there were no awkward pauses. Awkward pauses never led to anything good.

“It was fine. I forgot how much work it was, though. I’m a little sore,” I admit while sipping on the black coffee in front of me. The bitter taste helps perk me up instantly.

“Mmhmm. And what about Blake. How did that go?”

“Good. I’m putting up with him for Chris’ sake.”

I decide to keep things short and sweet when it comes to talking about Blake with my mom. She is one of my favorite people, but when she has something to talk about, she does. The last thing I need are rumors about me and my ex being shuffled around this small town. I need to exist here for the foreseeable future, and I want that existence to be peaceful.

She gives me a questioning look but doesn’t press for any more details. “How’s work at the Rustic Inn going? Sheila has nothing but great things to say about you. She says you’re helping them with their social media stuff.”

I was enjoying running the Rustic Inn’s social media channels. I’m able to post whatever I want, and it’s nice to flex my creative muscles for once. I even thought about updating their logo and seeing if I can do something about their outdated website. I’m not a computer whiz in any sense, but I’m willing to learn.

“It’s going well. I’m enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I do have to talk to Sheila about cutting my shifts short so I can get back here in time to do chores.”

I gulp down the rest of my coffee and check the time on my phone. I see a text notification that’s been sitting unread since last night. I decided it would be practical to give Blake my new number and he had sent a simple, but meaningful text.

Blake: Thanks for letting me help tonight.

I’m still debating on whether it warrants an answer or not. I feel like I’m a teenager trying to psychoanalyze text messages from her crush. However, in this instance, he is not my crush. He’s just an ex-boyfriend who is seemingly harmless. I still can’t ignore the little flutter I feel in my stomach when I see his name pop up.

“Ah shit, I’ve got to go.”

“Wren Grace Campbell, do not swear in front of your mother.”

“Sorry Mom! Love you,” I shout before heading out the door. I promised Emma I would go to the park with her and Milo this morning since I’m off.

I hop in my car and turn up the radio. I crank the windows down and let the cool breeze air out my car. This car had lasted me all the way through high school and college and is still kicking. The only issue is the lack of Bluetooth and air conditioning. To this day, I still consider air conditioning a luxury.

After twenty minutes of driving while simultaneously trying to find a radio station without static, I pull up to Honey Grove’s only playground.

The small plot of land has been here since Emma and I were kids, but there have been some improvements over the years. For example, the rusty monkey bars I cut myself on are no longer there and were replaced with much newer and shinier equipment. Thank God because the thought of little Milo having to get a tetanus shot would throw me into a spiral.

I see my best friend waving me over frantically and I jog over to her and Milo sitting on a small picnic blanket. I can tell she’s exhausted, but somehow she still looks so at peace with her son sat between her legs. I always thought the motherhood glow was a myth to make women feel better about how hard their job is, but she definitely has it.

“Hello cutie,” I say as I give my nephew a nose boop. I feel a warm, happy feeling bubble inside of me as soon as I sit down. I can feel the baby fever nipping at my heels.

I take Milo from Emma and place him on my lap so I can get all of my snuggles in. “It’s such a nice day out.”

Emma hands me a juice box and I sip on it with my free hand. “Nope, we’re not going to turn into boring old people and just talk about the weather. Now please tell me you’ve attempted to run Blake over with your tractor already.”

I place Milo gently in his stroller and gear up to talk about the man who has so quickly become the most interesting thing about me lately. “It’s only been one day, but I think I’ll be able to deal with him. We’ve established some ground rules.”

“Ground rules?”

“Yeah. Like we agreed not to talk about our past relationship. And we also agreed not to spend time together outside of the farm. I think the boundaries will help a lot.”

Emma takes a long sip of her juice box, deep in thought. “That sounds great and all, but you two are like magnets. If you’re close enough, you’ll eventually end up together. I’m worried you think what he did six years ago is enough to keep him at arm’s length,” she says, looking down at the wedding ring on her finger. “I guess what I’m trying to say is just be careful.”

I lean back on my forearms and let her words wash over me. There were times when Emma knew me better than I knew myself, but things have changed. I’m not the same naïve girl I was when I left this town and a nice ass and dreamy eyes are not going to unravel that. There are times when I feel broken inside, but I know those broken pieces are the foundation I need to grow.

“You’re right. I’ll be careful,” I respond, not wanting to let this conversation go much deeper. All I want is to hang out with my two favorite people without having an existential crisis. “He did call me out for the dating app debacle.”

“Oh God. I’m still mortified about that,” Emma laughs. “You can’t fault me too much. It’s not like we had that kind of access growing up. Imagine how much bigger the dating pool would’ve been.”

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