I eventually shuffled off to my bedroom and curled up on my mattress, the only big thing left in my apartment. Someone was going to pick it up tomorrow. But for tonight, I wrapped myself around my ginormous stuffed teddy bear and cried all the tears for everything.

Finally spent, I dried my eyes on my pillowcase and gave myself a pep talk. It was something I was pretty damn good at—pumping myself up when I needed it. Tomorrow is another day, right? Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind said so, and that was good enough for me at the moment.

Tomorrow I was heading to Cooperstown and a new life as a travel nurse. I would have plenty of time on the drive to think about this. And I would keep it to myself until I figured out what I was going to do. I stared at the ceiling for a long time before I fell asleep.

- 2 -

Dan

“Dan,theman!Wheredoes this grocery store hide its soy sauce? I swear I’ve been up and down every aisle,” declared the long-time customer looking up at me hopefully.

I smiled at him, knowing he hadn’t looked very hard. The old guy was in a store scooter and tended only to check the shelves that were eye level. “Did you forget your glasses today, Joseph?” I asked, ribbing him. I stopped what I was doing to lead him over to the aisle he needed.

“Let me just get this for you,” I said and dropped the soy sauce into the basket on the front of the scooter. “And now, in exchange for my help, I know you’re going to tell me a joke. Go ahead, lay it on me.”

Joseph guffawed, and I think he would have thumped me on my back if he could have reached it. With me being 6‘2“, my back was definitely out of reach from the scooter.

“Did you hear about the guy who drank invisible ink?”

I shook my head.

“He’s at the hospital, waiting to be seen.”

I groaned loudly and waved him off. “Get out of my store, would you?”

I walked away, shaking my head. This wasn’t my store, and I didn’t even work here full-time, but I liked this gig. I wasn’t here for the money. Lord knows the pay wasn’t great. I found I liked people, and I kind of liked helping those people. Corny, maybe, but I really did enjoy putting a smile on a person’s face. I liked helping with small problems, even the kind that just meant I showed them the aisle where the item they wanted most was hiding from them.

I looked over at the checkout to see who was working as I passed by. Georgia was at checkout 2. She winked at me, her long earrings bobbing back and forth as she swished items from the conveyor belt across the scanner and over to the bagger. I gave her a slight nod and picked up my pace to discourage her desire to talk. Risky business right there. She was a huge flirt and married.

“Dan!” I heard my name being called from behind me.

“I feel like I’m in the Cheers bar, where everybody knows your name,” I quipped as I turned around to see John Harris.

“You’re dating yourself, Dan. Today’s young people have no idea what you’re talking about,” John declared with a smile.

“Funny, John. You know you’re older than me, right? Need me to point you to the geriatric aisle?”

“No, I’m just here for the fruits and vegetables. That’s how I keep my youthful figure,” John quipped, putting his hand on his middle-aged hip and striking a pose.

“Hey, I do want to talk to you, though, Dan.”

Here it comes. Another round of John trying to get me to listen to his political agenda.

“I know you did an excellent job on the fall festival, and now you’re heading up the new music festival. Great work!”

“Thanks. I had a lot of help. I mostly just delegated.”

“And he’s modest, which is a plus,” John said.

“Look, I don’t want to run for mayor on the independent ticket.” I added, “It’s just not my thing.”

“You’ve got the pulse of this town, Dan. And you know what people want and how to help them. What’s better than that?”

“Nope.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you’ll think about it. Just don’t wait too long. The deadline for declaring your candidacy is fast approaching.”

I shook my head. “You are like a pit bull who sinks his teeth in and won’t let go.”