Page 5 of Finding Basil
After the second glass of Shiraz, he fell asleep on that ugly couch and woke the next morning more rested than he ever had. “You’re ugly, but comfortable,” he grumbled.
The things he should have grabbed were his French press, grinder, and coffee beans. Groaning as he looked at the boxes, wishing for the one containing those to jump out at him, hedecided to head to town instead. Driving to find coffee seemed much less annoying than tearing through boxes to find his coffee.
He got up and grabbed his bag to shower and change, but as soon as he got to the upstairs bathroom, he discovered the faucet didn’t work. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The thing was ancient; the hot and cold were separated, and the faucet itself crusted with mineral deposits.
“No shower. Well, this is gonna be fun.”
He placed a call to Cordelia, but being it was before nine, he’d had to leave a message.
“Cordelia, it’s Herb Buffet. There is no water coming out of my shower. Help!”
After he ended the call, he changed his clothes and washed his face. The pressure wasn’t great coming out of the bathroom sink faucet, but at least the crust in his eyes was gone.
Heading to town, seeing the scenery roll by his windows, he forgot completely that he was having second thoughts the previous night. Even the trees looked happy, leaves and branches gently swaying in the breeze.
Split-rail fences were borders for the cows that leisurely grazed the green grass; horses ran over a small hill, their silhouettes lovely in front of the misty backdrop of the sky.
He felt like the world had slowed, letting him finally catch up to living, instead of just working and heading home to a lonely apartment that overlooked a river that he couldn’t enjoy except from a distance.
A gas station was off to the right side of the road, and he knew most had coffee. He pulled into the lot and saw a couple of young women filling their tank while simultaneously watching one girl’s phone, laughing at whatever they were seeing.
It was a cheerful scene, and one he’d never noticed in the city, but then again, he always had his face in his phone, reading emails and answering texts from his interns.
After walking into the gas station, his nose led him to the coffee on the back wall. A man of about his own age behind the counter pushed his glasses up his nose after nodding to him and bidding him a good morning.
He poured a large cup full of coffee and added sweetener and creamer before applying the lid and carrying it over to the counter. On the way, he grabbed a box of donuts and a bag of jerky, satisfied they would carry him through the morning until he could unpack his food.
“Will that be all for you?” the clerk asked, while again pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“Yeah, it is. Listen, I’m new to town. Where is the best place to buy groceries?”
“Here,” he said, totally serious.
Herb had seen the prices of the goods. If there weren’t another grocery store, he might fly through his savings just on food. “Oh. Oh, sure. Thanks.”
“That’ll be twenty-five twenty-three.”
He had the cash, so he used that instead of his card and nodded to the man after he paid. “See you again soon, I think.”
“We’ll be here.”
Sipping the coffee once he got back in his Jag, he sighed as he saw the other cars in the lot and on the road. All SUVs or trucks.
His own driveway from the main road was dirt; most all the roads off the main road were dirt. His Jag was never tested for mud since he’d had it. He couldn’t imagine what a winter would be like, snow, mud, ice…
Herb’s phone rang as he contemplated getting rid of his dream car, and he answered happily, ready to not think about that. “Hello.”
“Mr. Buffet, you called?”
It was Cordelia. “I sure did. My shower isn’t working. The water won’t come on.”
“Oh? Well, I’ll send the plumber out this morning. He can check over all the plumbing for you if you’d like, saving you some time, hopefully.”
“Sure, sure, that would be great. Listen, where do you all shop around here? Please tell me not that gas station.”
“No! Ken Johnson is a good enough man, but he charges too much for everything else because he keeps his gas prices low. I’ll send you a list to your email of all the shopping around here.”
