Page 4 of Loathe at First Sight

“So, have you talked to Mom yet?” She asks.

“Not yet. Dad texted saying they are working at the bar tonight, so maybe I can head straight to the house and avoid seeing her altogether.”

“Oh, yeah, that should make her less mad at you.”

“At this point, I don’t know if she can get any more mad at me, so why not avoid her for as long as possible?”

I love our mother. But I don’t think she’s ever quite forgiven me for leaving town. And unlike Veronica, I stayed gone much longer. In fact, I haven’t been home in the last five years.

There’s no real reason for that. It’s not like I hate my hometown or have beef with my family. It’s just that I was busy, and life got in the way.

And it was partially that when I actually would come home, my mother would bitch at me for not coming more. It was just easier to stay away and live my own life.

When that life went in the crapper, and I had to ask if I could come back, I mainly talked to my dad. I knew I wouldn’t get any shit from him.

But now, I won’t be able to avoid her anymore. We will be living under the same roof.

Ronnie interrupts my thoughts. “How’s the drive been?”

“Long. But alright I guess—except when I just stopped for gas at the little place outside of town, and they only took cash. Since I live in the 21st century, I didn’t have any on me.”

“The Quick Stop?” She asks. “Yeah, they’ve been cash only for a while now.”

“Does everyone know this?” I ask in a shrill voice.

“Everyone who hasn’t been gone for so long,” she laughs. “So, what happened? Did you get gas?”

“No. I ended up…well, I sort of went off on the lady behind the counter. Then, this tow truck driver offered to pay for my gas, but I told him to shove it.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. A guy offered to pay for your gas, and you turned him down?”

“Yes. I don’t need his pity.”

“Do you know who he was?” She asks.

“His tow truck said Jack’s, so he’s either Jack or he works for Jack, I assume,” I answer.

“Bearded and built like a tree?”

“Yeah…”

“Yep. That’s Jack. Moved to town a few years ago.”

It amazes me that she knows so much about the goings on in the small town she doesn’t actually live in anymore.

She adds, “I would climb him if you know what I mean.”

“Gross.”

“You don’t think he’s hot?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s annoying, so that cancels out any hotness he may have. Besides, I don’t know if the lumberjack thing is really my style.”

I hear a voice in the background with a smooth Spanish accent. “Veronica, love, are you about ready for your massage?”

“Yeah, give me just a minute, honey,” she replies before turning her attention back to me. “Sorry.”

“Who was that?”

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