Page 47 of Obsession

The next few minutes were not very satisfying. I couldn’t find what I was looking for as most of the products were from local producers. There were kids everywhere handing out flyers. I received three before I started turning them down.

“Get involved in your community” it said, which brought an amused smile to my lips. How could I tell them I wasn’t part of their community?

They seemed to be preparing for some sort of Harvest Festival, something I had never experienced in New York.

Everything was of the highest quality, from vegetables and fruit to cheese and meat. But the real joy came when I reached the homemade candy aisle. I had completely forgotten about my favorite Lion bars when I tried a cherry tart that made my taste buds tingle. All natural, extremely delicious and I had just discovered my new favorite store in Seattle. There was also a regular supermarket inside, but I was not interested in that anymore.

I was deep into some coconut cupcakes when I noticed something strange to my left. I instinctively glanced in that direction, but the silhouette made me turn around completely.

It was a tall, bulky man dressed in black. The clothes I was so uncomfortably familiar with. He had a leather jacket on, andI couldn’t see his tattoos, so I could be sure it was him, but those pants didn’t look good on everyone, and there weren’t many guys his size.

The man turned around, analyzed some cookies, and then walked on without buying anything.

“Miss?”

I shook my head and turned back to the woman in front of me, who had probably called on me many times before.

“Would you like anything?” her smile was a little forced because I probably looked like a crazy person while staring at that guy.

A sigh left my throat as I tried to clear my head. What if it was Harris? It was his right to go shopping, just like any other person. I was the odd one out, sweating my ass off every time I saw him.

“Yes, a coconut cupcake, please,” I smiled back, trying to regain my composure.

But I couldn’t.

As I strolled through the store, I could see him at every corner. It was as if he was following me, but at the same time he was always in front of me. He caught my attention in a very unsettling way because I could not see his face and he wasn’t buying anything. Out of annoyance, I started to follow him, wanting to catch up with him and see his face, but he was always out of reach.

His presence made me uneasy. Harris wasn’t like that, he had no reason to avoid me, because I was sure that’s exactly what the guy was doing. The weirdo disappeared every time I got too close to him. The only way to catch him would have been to run.

“Katherine!”

A woman’s voice distracted me from my embarrassing chase. I turned around and saw a little old lady with a big smile behind a huge stall filled to the brim with jars of honey.

“You’re Christopher’s daughter, right?” Before I could answer, her smile grew even wider. “You look so much like him.”

Her sentence surprised me because she was the first person to say that. I was the spitting image of my mother.

“You know my father?”

“Oh, yes. Quite well, actually.”

I frowned a little because I had never met anyone from my father’s childhood, and it felt strange to hear about it now. I knew he lived here before he married my mother, but I hadn’t gotten used to it yet.

The woman started to laugh.

“Sorry, honey, you have no idea who I am or what I’m talking about. Iolanda,” she held out a small, aged hand to me.

She radiated the same cheerfulness as almost everyone in this town, or maybe just typical of this neighborhood.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I smiled as genuinely as I could, shaking her hand gently and trying to forget the gloomy freak from earlier.

She came closer to me, her eyes a clear blue, and even the wrinkles that surrounded them couldn’t diminish her beauty. She barely reached my shoulder, but her happiness was intoxicating.

“Everything is good now. Just as it always should have been for your father,” she said, holding my hand in both of hers.

My brows drew together in confusion.

“Did you know my mother too?” The joy on her face faded a little, sadness brewing underneath.

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