Page 2 of New Nebraska Home

How did one translate ‘as obnoxious and toxic as pig shit on a hot summer’s day,’ to a seven-year-old boy?

“So… what?” he asked, looking up at me with his huge mossy green eyes with flecks of gold.

“Hmmm.” I tapped my chin, exaggerating my movements to make him giggle. I loved that sound. It always reminded me of wind chimes. “Sooo uneducated!” I yelled, grabbing him under his arms. I stood and swung him around in circles, moving into the front yard. He screamed and giggled, telling me that, at least for now, he was happy, and with any luck, he would forget about the nasty things she’d said around him recently. Gen and her small-minded views were no longer our problem.

When I put him back down, I sat on the porch step and he sat next to me, resting his head on my arm.

“Lizzy, why are so many people leaving? Isn’t this still a good home?”

“This is the best home. But sometimes people move, and towns change. We’ll get new neighbors soon, I’m sure of it.”

“Why is it changing?”

“Do you remember when we found out that all the fairytale creatures were real?” I asked.

“Yeah, I remember the guy who turned into a gigantic wolf on TV.” He spread his arms wide.

“That, right. Well, all kinds of people are special and different. And these special folks are moving to Nebraska! So, who knows, we might have a wolf as a neighbor!”

“Or a vampire. What about one of the guys who can play with fire?” He was bouncing up and down with excitement, just waiting to see what the world would bring him. I wished his thirst for discovering the unknown was contagious, but I was pretty sure that pure joy was reserved for those who still had faith the world was a good place. I wasn’t so sure anymore.

After I got Leif seated at the kitchen table, I checked my phone and saw the alerts for several missed calls and texts. Before I could go through them, my phone started vibrating, and ‘work’ flashed on the screen.

“Hey, Boss,” I answered with a bright smile, knowing that was how Mr. Perry preferred to be greeted. He never said as much, but the way he stood taller with his chest out every time I called him ‘boss’ told me and it made my day. Mr. Perry was a sweet older man who ran the office supply store and had given me my first actual job after Mom left and Daddy drank himself to death. He even let me bring Leif when he was a toddler and set up a playpen at the back of the store.

“Hey, Liz. I’m afraid I need to speak to you for a moment. Is now a good time?” The tone in his voice told me I needed to sit down. My mind started racing to the worst-case scenarios. Had something happened to the store? To his wife?

“Yeah, now’s fine. What’s up?”

“I’m selling the store. I know I said I wouldn’t, but some big hot shot came in and said it was the perfect location for a gym. He just made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and—” his words rammed together and I could barely understand him, but it didn’t matter. His message was obvious. I was out of a job.

“I understand, and I appreciate you calling to let me know.” I tried to keep my voice light since I knew Leif could hear me.

“I’m glad you understand. The grandkids are coming this afternoon to clear the place out and then Margie and I are going to Atlanta with them. We’re looking forward to enjoying our retirement in the land of ripe peaches and amazing barbeque. But I’m real sorry about all this…”

“I hope you have a fantastic time. Did I need to come pick up my last check?”

“No, dear. I’ll put it in the bank, and even though you don’t need to come in again, I’ll make sure you’re paid through the week. Least I can do.”

“Thank you, sir.” I wasn’t sure I could get out many more words at the moment. “I hope you and Margie love Georgia.” I quickly hung up the phone and stared at it, tears burning in the back of my eyes.

At that moment, I didn’t have time to fall apart. I blinked hard, willing the tears back in. For now. A glass of wine and a good cry into my pillow would help after Leif went to bed. First, I needed to figure out how I was going to keep a roof over his head and food on the table.

It had been two weeks, and the last of my neighbors who had chosen to leave were long gone. Main Street looked like a ghost town with boarded-up windows and signs that said ‘For Sale,’ everywhere.

Thankfully, the necessities had reopened first.

They’d already started working on changing Mr. Perry’s office supply store into that gym. That, according to the signage, catered mostly to shifters of all types.

I hadn’t even realized that there were more than just wolf shifters.

Most of the grocery stores were open, and the specialty aisles that had once held Top Ramen and sriracha were now stocked with protein bars that had blood additives. I didn’t want to think too much about that one. But there were plenty of normal foods. Fruits, vegetables and surprisingly good prices on meat. That was at least one benefit. Apparently, shifters preferred large quantities of protein and demanded a fair price.

Since the town was in such a state of upheaval, I knew it might be tricky to find a job. Especially as a human, when it seemed the new paranormal business owners preferred other paranormals. But I still spent several hours every day scouring bulletin boards, online forums, job websites, everything I could think of.

In the meantime, I needed money. So, I did what my grandmother did when she faced a similar, but far less supernatural, problem. She rented out several of the rooms in the home to boarders.

Just like her, I had to be careful of who I let into the house. Not only because I was a woman, and didn’t want anyone thinking they could take advantage of me physically or otherwise. But I had a child in the house, his safety had to be first.

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