Page 17 of Making Home with You
“They’re not.I wear a size eight.Yours are freakishly small!”
“Whatever,” she says dismissively and I begin to panic all over again.All I brought with me are a pair of snow boots, which won’t even look decent, let alone good, with what I’m wearing.
I stand in front of the full-length mirror in Erin and Ryan’s bedroom, examining my feet, which look like a five pound sausage crammed into a two pound casing, wondering if I can just suffer through.But with each shift of my feet, they grow redder and puffier.
I run my hand through my hair as I try to figure out just what the fuck I’m going to do.At this point my only option is to slip on the boots and stop along the way and hope I can find something.
I look over at Erin, my face in full on stressed-out mode and my thoughts scrambled.I don’t know why I can’t seem to pull it together.Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but I really want this job and this snafu is not what I need at the moment.
“Relax,” Erin says as she picks up her phone.“I’ll text Kelsey and see what size shoes she wears.Maybe hers aren’t so freakishly small.”She pauses and air quotes my words back to me and I flip her a quick middle finger, which makes her flip me off in return and laugh.
Erin’s phone chimes and she smiles.
“You’re all good, sweets.Head over to Kelsey’s, she’ll take care of you.”
When I pull into Kelsey’s driveway, she’s waiting by the front door with two pairs of heels in her hands: one deep red patent leather and the other basic black.
“Your choice,” she says, holding them out to me.“But personally, I’d go with the red.”
“Red it is,” I say, taking them from her hand and thanking her.“I owe you!”I yell as I slip the shoes on mid jog back to my car.
“Nope,” she says, kindly.“Good luck today.”
I climb back in my car, smiling and feeling pretty good about the interview and myself, but all of this has made me realize how much I miss having friends nearby.Most of my college friends are spread out across the country and anyone I was friends with in high school has long since left Eddington.Being with Erin and Kelsey over the last few days has been something I needed, and adding Finn to the mix has been a bonus.
Even though it is broad daylight and there’s a possibility I’ll blow our cover, I text Finn and tell him I’m stopping by the station to see him.
Me: You at the station?
Finn: Yep.Why?
Me: Ok if I stop by for a quick second?
Finn: Yeah.Everything ok?
Me: Yes.Pulling into the parking lot now
Finn meets me at the door, letting me in and taking me back to his office.The elderly lady manning the front desk gives me a kind smile and goes back to the scarf she’s knitting.
This place is literally like a scene from an idealized small town TV series just like Eddington.It’s a rare occurrence to have any sort of crime spree or murder happen so the station runs itself like a family owned business.Anyone can come in; there’s no high security, no officers checking people in, no bulletproof glass.Just someone’s grandma greeting people.
“What are you doing here?”Finn asks, and I catch a bit of excitement and nervousness in his tone.
“You ever seeJaws?”I ask, my question throwing him for an even bigger loop than me showing up here sort of unannounced.
“Of course.Who hasn’t?”
“She’s like your Polly,” I say, motioning to the front desk.“Did she give you the report about the kids karate-ing people’s picket fences?”
Finn laughs, and it’s deep, echoing in his small office.Something about the way the receptionist peeks in through his office window tells me his laugh is uncommon, that his seriousness is what he shows the world.It’s a side of him that most don’t get to see and I love it.
He shakes his head at me and again asks, “What are you doing here, Sarah?You just here to give me shit?”
“Nah, but it’s fun, isn’t it?”I wink at him and he smiles, his whole face lighting up, making my stomach feel like it’s filled with butterflies.He’s so fucking gorgeous, and even more so when he’s happy.
“Everything’s fun with you,” he says and I swear my heart stops for a second.
I almost forget why I’m even here, my face flushing and my heart beginning to race.Then Finn says, “You look really nice.Are you going somewhere?”
