Page 28 of Lovewell Lane

I stopped scrubbing to look up at him. “Thank you. She’s a sweetheart, and it’s hard not to get along with kids. They’re way more fun than adults.”

We didn’t say anything more until Tessa returned. When she did, Slick was trailing behind with a book in hand. He looked pleased to see me. We shared quick greetings before Tessa grabbed my hand.

I let her lead me toward the backyard, but turned to say, “If we aren’t back, please take them out when the timer is up.”

Slick gave me a firm nod. He had my utmost confidence.

Tessa grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. “Daddy, we need to take the four-wheeler.”

“Alright, hold on.”

We walked over to the garage that was added to their house. Tessa took the time to tell me what all the plants were aroundthe garage and what the flowers would look like in the spring, while Derek messed around in there. He came out with a helmet for Tessa and a motorcycle helmet, for supposedly me.

He thrusted it into my hands. “For insurance purposes.”

Then he got down on a knee to fasten Tessa’s helmet.

We took a short ride, with Tessa sitting in Derek’s lap, and me shrinking into myself to sit on the back corner of the four-wheeler while clinging onto the metal rails of the back. The view was nice, the hilly landscape of Weston Farms disappeared into a forest in the distance. Even in the winter, it was green and bursting with life.

Most fields looked out of season, but there were small sections with vibrant greens growing even in January. We stopped by a fence and hopped off the four-wheeler.

“We don’t grow much during winter, but that’s kale and spinach,” Derek explained. “We have a greenhouse too, but that’s mostly for us and giving back to the community.”

I nodded. This place was much bigger than I originally thought. From his house, only one of several fields was visible, so much of the farm was hidden by those rolling hills and tree lines.

“The pigs are over here,” Tessa cheered. Derek handed her a bucket that he’d brought with us of what looked like kitchen scraps. “Margo, you feed them. Aren’t they so cute?”

“They’re adorable,” I cooed. They also looked like they weighed more than Derek, but adorable nonetheless.

I took a few steps back to watch Tessa spill more of the bucket into their trough. I put my hand up to block my voice from reaching Tessa’s ears. “We don’t eat these pigs… right?”

He laughed. “Since Tessa turned two, all animals on our farm have turned into pets.”

“Thank fuck for that. I was starting to worry that Piglet's friend was on my plate at that family dinner the other night.” I pointed to the perfectly pink pig in the back of the pen.

“His name is Porky,” Derek chided. I looked at him to find a corner of his mouth lifting up. His smile was crooked, and it made me want to trace his lips with my thumb to memorize the curvature.

-

Living in the same place for the foreseeable future had its benefits. I’d never decorated before. There was never a reason, since I wasn’t staying for long. Hanging up my first piece of artwork felt big. Exciting. Which was terrifying. Because the prospect of being excited to stay somewhere permanently terrified me.

Needless to say, my trip to the thrift store with Lila was fruitful. I pulled out my giant oil painting that someone had clearly done as a high school class project out of my back seat and made my way to my house. Home. I was still getting used to that.

I unlocked the door with little difficulty and made my way inside. Holy shit it was cold. I must have forgotten to turn on the heating unit. My painting was bigger than the small breakfast table I sat at for meals. I maneuvered it to balance there anyway. With my hands free, I turned to inspect the thermostat.

It was fifty-two degrees and quickly dropping. The January cold snap Georgia was having was very unkind. And my heating unit was even more unkind since it wouldn’t even attempt to adjust the temperature. Fuck.

I looked around, once again weighing my options. It had been a week since I called Derek to pick me up from a bar. Asking him for help again in such a small window made me want to pull my teeth out.

Maybe I could fix it myself. I was competent.

Forty minutes, dozens of Reddit threads, and two calls to Scarlet later, and I was proven wrong. This stupid heater was useless. And so was I.

It was too late to go out and buy one of those room heaters since everything around here closed after eight o’clock. I decided my only option was to put on every item of clothing I owned and stick it out for the night. An hour later my teeth were chattering. Something about knowing I had to wait until morning to fix the issue made it even more miserable.

We needed to fix the vibes. I got out of bed, not with any ease since my four layers of pants and sweaters limited my movement. Music was the next item on the agenda. Moving around would create body heat. Right?

I was mouthing the words to my favorite playlist and dancing around without any care. Suddenly, I was too hot. So I took a break from dancing to display my first piece of art. The swirls of various blues and pinks created beautiful cotton candy clouds. The entire painting felt serene and calming like it belonged in a therapist's office.

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