Always and Forever

by Harper Bentley

  The tears continue as I think about all I’ve gone through since Brody and I split. I mourn the loss of our friendship (yet again), how good we’d been together, how completely loved I’d always felt being with him. I cry because I know I hurt Alex even though he’d said he understood. I lament the loss of being part of Brody’s family, having missed his awesome parents and brother and sister. And, yes, I even find it in me to bemoan the fact that Dory died.

  But most of all, my heart aches at losing the only man I’ve ever loved, at the loneliness I’ve felt inside for so long because he left me, and at the anger I’ve felt due to his betrayal.

  I give myself a few minutes more to grieve as I think about today. I wonder what’s changed making him say he has a right to me now. He also says he still loves me and I know I still love him, but I’m a different person from the one he broke up with. I’m stronger now, tougher and, sadly, more jaded than I was before. Getting your heart broken for the first time tends to shatter your innocence and that thought makes me sad too.

  I sigh and finish the rest of my wine, and after placing the glass back on the ledge, I slowly lower myself down in the tub until I’m completely submerged, my hair floating above me like the gossamer fibers of cotton candy as it’s being spun. And it’s quite lovely under the water, the only sound being the solid thrum of my heart beating in my ears. And it’s my heart, a heart that’s been destroyed this past year, completely obliterated, yet on it beats, that fills me with a sense of pride knowing that I myself didn’t break.

  I hold my breath until I no longer can and blow out air as I resurface. The peace I suddenly feel is one that I haven’t felt in a very long time and I know everything’s going to be all right.

  I hope.

  Chapter 3

  “Oohh! How much for these?” the woman at my register asks, holding up a pair of dangly crystal earrings.

  “Seventy-five dollars,” I answer with a smile as I continue ringing up her items.

  “I’ll take two!” she says excitedly as she grabs another pair placing them on the counter.

  I love the Hullabaloo. It brings people from all around to Serenity Point, and this woman and her friend have been in my store for going on an hour oohing and aahing over various novelties. They’re both finished with their shopping and are now checking out, and the total of this first woman’s purchases, including the twenty-percent discount, is well over five hundred and I’ve still got to ring up a few more things for her. Awesome!

  “We love your store!” the second woman croons and my smile gets even bigger as I thank her. “They don’t have any like this in Virginia Beach.”

  “Well, there are antique stores,” the first woman adds. “But nothing as diverse as yours. We’re going to tell all our friends about you!”

  “That’d be great!” I say as I fold the silk scarf she’s bought placing it in a box then putting the box into her bag. “The total is six-hundred-thirty-three dollars and seventy-two cents.”

  “That’s a steal!” she exclaims as she hands me her Visa.

  Her friend’s purchase is nearly the same amount and I make sure to hand them several business cards for their friends before they leave, of course, telling them to be sure to have a cookie and a cup of hot tea before they leave.

  “You’re making a killing,” Greer says with a grin as she comes up and sets a shadow box on the counter. “This is for the woman in the red sweater. She’s not finished looking around.”

  “How awesome is this?” I say, feeling so pleased at how today’s gone. It’s five o’clock, an hour before I close, but I’ve still got around fifteen patrons in the store, and by no means will I run them out until they’re finished shopping.

  “Pretty cool,” my sister agrees now coming behind the counter and pushing me in the back. “You go mingle for a bit. I’ll man the register.”

  I walk out from behind the counter going to see if anyone needs help but everyone’s pretty content in their shopping, so I wander to the front to check on the refreshments. Wow. Out of the six dozen I made, there are four cookies left. I check the teapot then looking around notice a few things out of place and go to arrange them glancing out the window as I do. The entire street is lit up more so than usual with strands of lights with big bulbs that have been strung all down Main Street which was blocked off at five this morning so the booths could be set up. Looking out now, I see there are gobs of people everywhere, so it makes perfect sense for me to see Brody right off the bat. Jeez.

  He’s decked out in his firefighter uniform, the blue cargo pants and all, but he’s also wearing the blue jacket that goes with it and, damn it, why does it all have to look so good on him? He’s standing by a firetruck that’s got its lights going talking to a man while a little boy, who I’m assuming is the man’s son, tugs on Brody’s pants leg. I watch as Brody squats down on the balls of his feet to get eye level with the little guy then engages him in what looks like a serious conversation as the child points to the truck several times. Brody suddenly scoops him up and places him inside the cab of the truck and I can’t help but smile at the pure glee that shows on the kid’s face as he bounces in the truck seat.

  Brody then makes the mistake of showing the boy the rope pull for the horn which the kid grabs and yanks on several times which startles the people nearby and one little girl jams her fingers in her ears because it’s very loud. I giggle when I watch as Brody tries talking the kid down, giving the father a sheepish grin as he attempts to grab the kid and get him the heck out of there. It’s no easy task, but he finally succeeds in getting a hold of the boy then places him on the ground in front of his dad. The kid immediately tries getting right back up in the truck but Brody’s faster and nabs him before he can make his way inside again. I can tell the boy’s about to cry but any boohoo’ing is stopped when Brody pulls what looks like a small fire engine from his jacket pocket and hands it to the kid who’s now in seventh heaven and immediately drops to his knees to zoom the truck several times over the street.

  Father and son finally walk away and I watch as Brody puts his hands on his hips, his shoulders moving up then down as he sighs in what I assume is relief. Then I get caught. Before I can move away, he looks over at my store and sees me standing in the window. He grins his beautiful grin and gives me a small wave. I suck in a quick breath, wave at him then hastily turn on my heel and head toward the back seriously baffled by his sudden interest in me.

  As I’m retreating, the bell on the front door jingles and I turn to see Elise Powell who owns the clothing consignment boutique across the street come in. She and I have gone to a couple antique shows together and she’s as sweet as can be. Now her hair is half red and half green in honor of the Christmas season (she’d told me this last month) and she’s wearing it in what I’d call a bird nest bun, messy and teased within an inch of its life. She has on a long, black leather duster that’s a gothic version of coat and tails, double-breasted and buttoning high on the left side of her neck. It’s very Prince Purple Rain-y and it looks good on her. Completing her outfit are white leggings and black thigh-high lace-up stiletto boots and she just looks totally cool.

  “Happy Hullabaloo!” she announces, smiling big with her green lips and waggling her eyebrows over eyes lined in red. A few of my customers check her out, but upon seeing her infectious smile they smile right back and continue shopping.

  I laugh. “Back at you. How’s it going over there?”

  “Pretty well, actually. I’ve sold over two grand today! That last batch of Versace dresses I snatched up from Williamsburg have sold like hotcakes!”

  “Awesome!” I reply, genuinely thrilled for her. She’s been in town for going on four years and we’ve become good friends but it seems some people are just now warming up to her. It was mostly the older folks who’ve had a tough time accepting her wardrobe choices but whatever. She owns every look she wears.

  I look down and watch as she picks
up a cookie, her alternating red and green polished fingernails making me smile then she takes a bite. “Oh, God, these are even better than last year’s. What’d you do to them?”

  “One tablespoon of almond flavoring,” I reveal with a grin.

  “Mmm. These are the best,” she declares around her bites. She finishes her cookie then pours herself a cup of tea and after taking a sip then snatching another cookie, looks at me, eyebrow up. “All right, Pipe, I know you’ve always said you don’t want to know, but this has been bugging the shit outta me for a week now.”

  Besides owning a kickass clothing store, Elise is also a self-proclaimed psychic, another reason the older townspeople have had a tough time with her. I’m sure she’s been the ridiculously thinly-veiled topic of a few sermons in the community churches as preachers warned their parishioners about not suffering a witch to live but she’s always laughed it off saying that God made her the way she is and they can bite her.

  But now I sigh not really wanting to hear what she has to say because from what I’ve heard, she’s usually right and that scares me. Even though I dislike Brody right now and we’re broken up, I still love him and there’s always a bit of hope that we somehow might still be able to repair things, right? I mean, what if she tells me Brody’s supposed to marry someone like Jennifer Lawrence? I can’t compete with her! After a moment, I finally nod for her to go ahead and tell me since she has gone through the trouble of coming over here.

  “You and Brody aren’t finished. But I’m seeing two roads. One’s easy and the other’s hard.” She looks at me seriously. “It just depends on which way you want to go, Piper.”

  “Are you saying we’re supposed to be together?” I prompt, crossing my arms over my chest secretly thanking my lucky stars that JLaw didn’t come up.

  She shrugs. “I can only tell you that I see him as a strong presence in your life. If that means you get back together, well, I guess that’s up to you two.”

  “Before that happens, he’s got a lot of explaining to do, Elise.”

  She nods. “He does.” She grabs another cookie and finishes her tea, throwing her cup in the trashcan. “I’ve gotta get back and close up. I left Amber in charge and she was freaking out a bit since it’s only her first week.” She walks to the door then turns and inquires, “You’re participating in the bachelorette auction, right?”

  I nod then narrow my eyes at her as she smiles huge before mysteriously stating, “Excellent!” and leaves.

  ~~~

  “Twenty dollar bid, now twenty-five, now twenty-five, will you give me twenty-five?”

  Mr. Axelrod, the town’s postmaster, is the auctioneer and he’s been going at it for a half hour. Um, I guess there are a lot of bachelorettes in Serenity Point. Everyone’s in the Knights of Columbus hall that’s just up the street from my store and Ryan’s now on the stage being auctioned off. She’s up to twenty dollars which is actually pretty high, matching only Brody’s older sister Cassie who went earlier to Jeremy Pitkin, one of Brody’s fellow firefighters and Cassie’s “kind of” boyfriend. The other dozen women have pulled in around fifteen bucks each, so I’m impressed that Ryan’s bid’s this high.

  “Twenty-five!” old Gus Batchelder shouts out from where he’s sitting and Ryan shoots me a look of panic from the stage which makes me snort.

  “I’ve got twenty-five! How about thirty? Thirty? Thirty?”

  “Thirty!” Mike Heller calls out. Apparently, Ryan’s arm wrestling comment didn’t scare him too badly. When she whips her head to me giving me a seriously panicked look now, I crack up then wink and give her a big smile because this is awesome!

  “I got thirty, who’ll give thirty-five? Thirty-five? Looking for thirty-five? Sold for thirty to the dapper, young gentleman in the navy shirt!” Mr. A points at Mike who’s now grinning. And it’s not like Mr. A doesn’t know everyone in town, he just likes describing people, I guess.

  I look back to see Ryan’s eyes get huge because Mike won and now I chuckle. Good for her. This could be the start of something for them. She moves off the stage going behind the curtain, opposite from where I’m now walking onto it, then suddenly turns and looks at me before doing a happy dance, excited that Mike “won” her which cracks me up. And then I choke on my laugh because when I look out to the crowd, I see that Mike’s approached the table to the side of the stage to pay Zelda Matthews, the town’s treasurer, and he clearly sees Ryan do her jig which makes him raise an eyebrow. When I look back at her, she’s all kinds of embarrassed, face red, eyes huge and the mortification of getting caught apparent on her face and I again have to laugh.

  So now it’s my turn to be auctioned. I find I’m feeling somewhat confident because I haven’t seen Brody anywhere which actually makes this easier. I’d thought I kind of wanted to stick it to him by doing this, but somewhere between yesterday and today, I decided to be an adult and don’t really want to hurt him anymore. I walk over to where Mr. A is standing at the podium in the middle of the stage and he winks and smiles sweetly at me. He and my dad went to school together, so I’ve known him my whole life.

  “Ready to do this, sweetheart?” he inquires off mic, his face now full of concern. He knows about Brody and my breakup as does everyone else in town, and knows it’s been rough on me. He’s got a daughter who’s a few years older than I am and he’s probably dealt with a breakup or two with her so I know he gets it. He’s been like an uncle to me and it means a lot that he cares. I bite my lips, giving him a little nod and take a deep breath as I turn to face the crowd.

  “Okay, we’ve got pretty, little Piper Knowlton here, folks. She’s been kind enough to come up here to help out Serenity Point, so let’s start the bidding out at ten dol…”

  Before he can get the whole word out, I hear someone holler out, “Ten!” then another shouts, “Fifteen!” followed by, “Twenty!”

  Mr. A turns and grins at me in approval. If this isn’t good for a girl’s ego, I don’t know what is.

  Until I realize who’s bidding.

  My heart zings to my throat because Brody’s standing front and center and puts his hand up as Mr. A calls out, “Can I get twenty-five?”

  Shit. Where’d he come from? God, isn’t there something fireman-y that he needs to be doing? I look down and frown at him only to get a smirk right back. Jerk.

  The bidding continues and someone shouts out for thirty dollars. Brody counters with thirty-five and back and forth it goes. I have no idea who’s making the other bid because they’re at the back of the hall and the lighting’s not so good there.

  “Forty-five, forty-five! Will you give me fifty?” Mr. A hollers.

  “Fifty!”

  “Fifty-five! Fifty-five! Who’ll give fifty-five?”

  Before I know it, the bid’s up to ninety dollars. Holy cow. The highest anyone’s ever gotten is eighty and that was when Peyton Capps’ dad went against Dax Baker, our present mayor, last year. She’d been all smug, prancing around afterward as if she was the belle of the ball which made us all want to punch her since we knew she’d been having an affair with Dax while she was married (which probably caused her divorce) and being bid on just made her look like the hooker that she was.

  The bidding continues and now I’m sweating. Gross. But what if Brody wins? I’m not ready to spend any time with him yet! He needs to stop!

  Glancing to my right I see Ryan and Greer who’ve come to the front and both are giving me a thumbs up. What does that mean? Greer has Addie on her hip and I see her little almost fourteen-month old self try to put her thumb up too which makes me giggle despite all the craziness that’s going on right now. Then Greer mouths, “Clay,” jerking her head toward the back and I realize it’s my brother-in-law who’s back there bidding. Yes! I grin back at Greer because how cool is he? Then I make the mistake of looking over at Brody who’s practically glaring at me as he calls out his bid which floors me when I hear him offer one-hundred doll
ars. Yikes.

  The bidding continues and the murmur from the crowd gets louder with each amount shouted as do the gasps and the multiple “Oohs!” which blows my mind that Clay’s willing to do this for me. Well, I’m sure Greer’s put him up to it, probably threatening to withhold sex or something if he didn’t, but it’s awesome nonetheless. As the bids continue, everyone’s heads are going back and forth at each call, from the front of the auditorium to the back as they await the next offer.

  “Three hundred! Can it get three-fifty?”

  “Five hundred!” Brody yells and there’s a huge gasp and not a little buzzing throughout the crowd and I think everyone’s eyes (mine included) are now on the back of the hall waiting excitedly to see if Clay will beat it.

  “Come on…” I mumble waiting for Clay to shout out a higher number, but he doesn’t, and before I know it, I hear Mr. A shout, “Five hundred it is! Sold to the fine, fetching fireman at the front!”

  I see Mr. A likes alliteration too. Jeez.

  The whole place breaks out in applause and I stand there in a semi state of shock, mouth hanging open. Mr. Axelrod puts a hand to my shoulder and squeezes. “Highest bid we’ve ever had,” he reports with a wink. “Make him pay, honey.”

  Oh, I’ll make him pay all right. I nod somberly then leave the stage, but not after giving Brody a look who smirks in answer.

  Chapter 4

  I duck out the back of the hall and stomp down the alley, muttering about how stupid everything and everyone is. At my store, I unlock the back door and go inside, slamming the door and once inside my office, plop down in my chair and lean back to stare at the ceiling.