Come Get Me Page 7

  Glad to be out of any area Maria might be found in Jim realized he must’ve been walking faster than he thought. When he finally took a few seconds to look up he saw he had almost made it to the old grocery store he hung out at as a kid. It never had been much of a store, he thought looking at it. He savored the few minutes he had and studied what once had been so familiar. Back then he’d looked at it with childish eyes. Now he was an adult and saw it not for what he once made it to be, but for what it actually was.

  Back when he was a kid it had seemed an almost magical place where he and his friends could get everything their little hearts desired. Now it was just an old run down store that didn’t even look like one. It actually looked like it used to be a house and Jim guessed at one point it probably had been. The place had to be one of the oldest buildings in town so it must’ve once been something other than a store. The only thing that really identified it for what it was now was the old dilapidated icebox setting off to the side of the front door and the old, faded weather worn sign proclaiming the name of the place. Grandmas.

  Just seeing the sign raised goose pimples on his skin. He’d been there many a time in his childhood. It was almost his second home. Looking the building over he saw that the windows still had the old homemade decorations up that he and his friends used to make fun of when they were young. He felt bad about it now what with Grandma being retired and all. They’d just been a bunch of stupid little kids looking for something to pick on and the store had unfortunately been it. The little old lady everyone called Grandma, who was the owner, used to take the time each year to decorate just so she could help get everyone into the spirit of whichever holiday it was. Since the store only did local business she’d made the decorations herself to save a little money. They were nothing fancy, just enough to remind everyone there was a holiday and what one it was. Shaking his head he walked up to the door.

  Hesitantly he opened the door and stepped inside. He couldn’t help but smile as the door let out a squeal of protest. It had always done that. No matter how much oil was put on it, it still squealed. Taking a few steps forward so the door could close he heard the floorboards groan like an old man under his weight. That was slightly new. They used to make noise but not so much. Of course he had gained some weight since the last time he’d been here so maybe that was it. The place was still the same, he thought looking around, seeing familiar little knick knacks hung here and there.

  When he was little it’d been a simple little store where people were always welcomed like family. He hoped whoever ran the place now still kept that same type of atmosphere. It would be a shame if it was gone. It seemed like all the places now were just out to make a buck and screw the guy they were getting it from. Nobody ever took the time to just talk and ask you how you were doing and if they did you knew they didn’t care about your answer. Luckily it seemed Grandma’s hadn’t lost that homey feeling. So far the only thing he could see that was actually different was the selection of products. There were a lot more brand names being displayed than he remembered. The shelves were literally packed. Everything one might need seemed to be able to be found here, which was a good thing since one of the big stores was moving in. If Grandma’s didn’t keep up it would soon find itself going out of business.

  The smell of dust hung in the air just as he remembered. He could actually see little pieces of it floating in the stray light. Seeing that he guessed the sun was making a try at coming out today. Just coming to this place seemed to have lightened his mood. He didn’t want dark and dreary anymore. Following the light to where it shone he saw that the floor was still just a bunch of mismatched boards that looked like they were replaced on an as needed basis. Over the years this type of repair seemed to have been done many times if what he saw was any indication. From the looks of it some had been done recently.

  Shaking his head with a happy contentment Jim wondered when they would finally break down and replace the whole floor and maybe even the building. They might eventually try to catch up with the times, but he doubted it. He actually hoped they didn’t. This place was part of his childhood and he didn’t want to see it changed one bit. He didn’t think he had to worry about it considering the pace of the town and the people that lived in it. They would probably always stay a few years behind the rest of the world. Nothing had changed in over twelve years so it probably wouldn’t change for at least another twelve if whoever ran things now had anything to say about it. Thinking things like that used to bother him. He used to think the town was useless and wanted out of it as soon as possible. Now he could almost see himself coming to enjoy a place like this.

  Jim’d almost finished his reminiscing when he finally noticed one other thing that had changed since he’d left. He should have noticed it before this. Especially since it was staring at him like he was possessed. The person behind the counter was no longer a little, hunched over old lady; now there was a beautiful woman. A woman Jim had never seen before. And here he was just standing there looking off into space like he was the village idiot.

  His mother had mentioned Grandma retiring but she didn’t tell him who’d taken over in her place. Seeing her now he wished she had. Jim found himself very pleasantly surprised and yet felt stupid at the same time. He’d been looking around not thinking he might be being watched himself. Trying to look as if he had come in for some purpose he smiled sheepishly and stepped to a shelf and began looking. He stole a glimpse towards the register and found she was still looking at him. Knowing that his ruse hadn’t worked he decided to just go explain what he had been doing.

  Walking towards her Jim couldn’t see too much. She was sitting down with most of her body out of view but he guessed her height to be about five two give or take a few inches. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that gave her a young look but not a childish one. Quite the opposite in fact. It made her look like an adult who wasn’t afraid to show that she liked to have a little fun now and then. Overall he had to say he liked it. A lot. As he approached she suddenly looked up. He was embarrassed to have been caught staring at her so openly but he couldn’t make himself look away. As cliché as it sounded he was trapped by her eyes. They were the clearest blue he’d ever seen. Oceans couldn’t compare. Her gaze left him speechless. With a great effort, but not really wanting too, he finally was able to look away.

  When he finally reached her he bashfully looked up and saw a wary look in her eye and a grim edge around her eyes. From it he guessed she’d seen both good times and bad in her life and didn’t know what category he might fit under. It was a look he hoped he’d never see again after she got to know him. He felt stupid standing there like an idiot but he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t exactly the first impression but it would have to do. If he’d known someone like her was going to be there he might’ve done things differently but knowing him it probably would’ve happened about the same. He’d never done well with women. He’d been ok when he was younger, but something seemed to have happened when he graduated high school and went out into the real world. He just had no luck. He was trying to think of something clever to say so he could end the problem of him looking like a fool when he realized she’d already asked him something.

  "Huh?" he said dumbly, "I mean, could you repeat that? I didn’t quite hear you."

  "I said, Hi! My name’s Jill and this is my store,” she said still a little wary. “I also asked if I could help you with anything." She still wasn’t looking too sure of how to handle him. At least he was talking now and not just staring off into space. That was good. He guessed if someone came into the place he worked and just stood there staring at him he would probably be acting the same way.

  "No, not really," he said leaning on the counter trying to put her at ease. It didn’t seem to be working. "I'm just kinda reminiscing about my childhood." Seeing his words weren’t helping much he quickly added "I grew up around here. My friends and I used to come here all the time when someone else was behind the counter." As
he finished he tried a tentative smile to let her know he wasn’t some maniac but it probably just made things worse. He wasn’t doing too well. The one time he actually wanted to make a good impression and he was doing abysmally. She was still looking at him like he belonged more in an insane asylum than a store. He didn’t know what else to do. Maybe it would be better if he just left and came back later when his feet weren’t in his mouth.

  "When we were little we used to come here all the time,” he said trying again and ignoring common sense. “A little old lady everybody called Grandma would sell us penny candy and let us read whatever the newest comics she had." He pointed first at the candy that was still kept behind the counter and then at the comic book rack over in the corner trying to illustrate his point. All the while he was talking he kept throwing little smiles into what he was saying. Thinking about how he probably looked he could just imagine what was going through her head. She most likely wanted to call the cops and tell them she needed a little help with someone that was touched in the head. Just as he was about to finally listen to the little voice telling him to shut up he noticed something had changed about her face. As he’d spoke about Grandma her features began to soften. By the time he’d finished there he could actually see a tiny smile.

  "Well,” she said blowing out the pent up breath she’d obviously been holding, “now I understand why you were kinda in a daze when you first walked in. At east it makes a little more sense.” Laughing slightly she continued, "I was beginning to think you were a little touched in the head or some idiot depriving his village."

  "No, nothing like that," Jim said reassuring her. He was right! She did think he was weird. Great, now he had to do a lot of work to get her to change her mind. Turning his thoughts back to what he’d been talking about he continued. "I was just surprised to find someone other than Grandma sitting behind the counter. I was so used to seeing her it just caught me off guard seeing you. My mom said something about Grandma retiring but I guess it kinda went in one ear and out the other. I was still expecting to see her when I came in.” She looked like she bought everything he was saying which was good since it was pretty much the truth. He hadn’t really thought about who would be sitting in Grandma’s place. Seeing a good looking woman there had just compounded his confusion. “I've been gone for a long time,” he continued, “but I guess old habits die hard. I was actually hoping to see her again but my mother didn’t say much else about her. I’d kinda like to see her but I don’t know where she lived. Too bad though, I really missed her." He knew exactly where she lived but Jill didn’t need to know that. He was just trying to figure out some way to make sure the conversation continued until he could direct to something else. He didn’t want to just say hi, bye and leave. He wanted to get to know her a lot better and if the only way he could find to do it was to talk about Grandma well, he would take it. It would surely eventually lead to another topic. He just had to wait. He actually felt slightly foolish jabbering on and on the way he was but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact she seemed to like it. After telling her a little about what he and his friend used to do in the store he finally finished saying all he could think of so he grinned sheepishly and shut his mouth.

  "Got it all out now?" she joked. He just shook his head feeling a little more foolish than he had. He knew he’d been blabbering, he’d just hoped she hadn't noticed. "Now after all that stuff you said I’m happy to tell you that Grandma is still alive and as ornery as she ever was. I should know, I'm Grandma's granddaughter.” She paused to let him take that little bit in. The surprise must have registered on his face since she smiled a little wider as she continued. “She still comes in every now and then to say hi. Heck, you might even see her today.” Seeing her beaming face Jim figured he might not have messed up as bad as he thought, maybe things were looking up.

  "Well, that sure is good news,” he said keeping the conversation going. “It’s good to hear she’s still around." He remembered hearing Grandma speak once or twice about having a granddaughter but she’d always quickly changed the subject when somebody asked about her. It seemed to make her sad; the little girl had never come to visit. Nobody had ever even seen so much as a picture of her. Then again that wasn’t surprising since Grandma wasn’t one to go broadcasting her personal life to everyone. She welcomed you into her store and was nice to you while you were there and if she saw you on the street but that was about it. So, now after all these years of only hearing a word here and there about the girl he finally got to meet her. Jim had to say, she had been well worth the wait.

  "So," she said when he didn’t immediately say anything else, "I told you my name. Now is usually the part when you tell me yours. Then we talk and get to know each other and soon we’re old friends and everybody lives happily ever after."

  "Oh, sorry,” he said feeling like a humungous dork. He was acting like he’d never talked to a girl before. He didn’t understand what was going on. Whenever he tried to speak everything just came out wrong. Whatever it was maybe it would go away if he kept talking. “My name’s Jim Collins," he said trying to get more comfortable. "Like I said a few minutes ago, I grew up right down the road from here. We, I mean my friends and I, used to come in here almost every day. But once I was old enough to leave I did just that. I left and haven't really been back for about twelve years." After talking for a few minutes he felt better. At least he wasn’t staring at her all moon-eyed like he had been anymore.

  "So, what brought you back now?" she asked nudging him along.

  "Well, unfortunately I had to come back for a funeral. One of my friends died." Everything had been going good until now. He’d almost let himself forget why he was here. Now it all just came crashing back in.

  "I'm sorry," she said obviously caught a little off guard. "Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, it’s just a little hard whenever I think about it,” he said. “Talking to you helped me put it aside for a few minutes.”

  “Well, if you need to talk or something just let me know,” she said sounding concerned. He couldn’t believe it. Most people now a days didn’t care about other people and here she was, someone he had just met and she was acting like they were old friends. She was there with a shoulder to cry on so to speak. That was just another thing to like about her. “I guess I should also say sorry for being so blunt when you first came in,” she added looking a little embarrassed. “It was just, you know, I'd never seen you before and when you came in you looked a little funny and whatnot, then when you didn’t answer me right away after I said something to you I thought you might be some kind of weirdo tourist or something. Maybe even worse. Now look, I've gone and been blunt and came right out and asked you why you were here like you didn’t have any kind of right to be here or something. Now I feel like maybe I’m the weirdo. This first meeting of ours isn't going to good is it?" she finished laughing nervously. He knew exactly how she felt. They were both babbling like a couple of little school kids. The meeting wasn’t actually as bad as she thought though. True, it was one of the strangest he’d ever had, but also one of the best ever too. Still, he couldn’t tell her that. She was the one that was nervous now. The shoe was on the other foot now. His slightly morbid reason for being there had probably been the cause but then again maybe it was something else. That is if he were lucky which he probably wasn’t.

  "It's ok, calm down," he said reassuring her. "Like I said, I probably did look a little funny just standing there and don’t worry about all the questions. This is your place. If somebody was standing in my store staring off into space I think I’d ask a few questions too. The way you acted was about the same thing I probably would’ve done. Actually I probably would’ve done worse."

  "Well, be that as it may,” she said, the look of concern returning to her face, “I'm still real sorry about your friends’ death. I’m guessing it was Tommy you were talking about by the way. It shouldn’t surprise me though that I see people I don’t know. Tommy sure did seem to know a lot of people.
It is all kinda strange though. Nobody’s ever died like that around here from what I’ve heard. Everybody’s real shook up about it. It’s sad how you can be here one day and then gone the next."

  "Yeah it really caught me off guard too. My mom called and woke me up from this weird dream I was having. As soon as I heard what she said I was right back out.” Seeing her puzzled look, he continued. “I passed out right there in my room. When I woke up I came right home as quick as I could. It was almost like I was trying to get here so I didn’t miss my chance to say goodbye to him or something. I hadn’t seen him in a long time. Now I won’t ever again.” He was almost talking to himself towards the end. Looking up he saw that Jill looked like she wanted to do more than just stand there listening but wasn’t sure if she should. “I guess it was about time for me to come back I just wish it hadn't been for something like this," he finished with a bitter smile.