by Ali Dean
It wasn’t until my stomach demanded attention that I was pulled from my writing trance a few hours later. As I ate a cider donut and thought about the next chapter, I remembered I had to find a place to live.
Reluctantly, I closed my writing window and opened the browser to search for rentals in Sugarville. I wasn’t surprised to find the only long-term rentals available were condos and apartments at the mountain village. Sugarville had a town center with stores covering all the necessities and a community center, also known as the recreation or rec center, close by. About ten miles north of the town center was the ski resort, also known as the mountain village. Surrounding it were second-home mansions, hotels, condos and apartment complexes.
The wedding last night had been at the nearby country club, which had a golf course, tennis courts, and a pool. Not too many locals lived up that way unless they were property caretakers. There were full-time residents, but most of them were only in Sugarville for a year or two before moving on. Locals referred to them as ski bums, even if they were snowboarders. They were usually in Sugarville for the slopes.
I didn’t want to live in an apartment complex with a bunch of twenty-somethings trying to make the most of their last chance to party and be irresponsible before accepting the realities of adulthood. I’d just turned thirty-one, but that wasn’t my lifestyle. What I wanted was a place just like this cottage. A little house with no roommates, far enough from the mountain village or the town center to provide the kind of isolation my soul required. That, and the kind of privacy Virginia Rose needed.
Finding nothing on the internet that matched my criteria, I decided to head into town. A lot of people around here posted things like this on the bulletin boards at the community center, the library, or the supermarket. If they wanted a tenant, a babysitter or a housesitter who wasn’t of the ski bum partier variety, they might have better luck with the locals-only communication stream.
I didn’t find anything at the library or rec center, and when I got to the bulletin board at the market I froze. Charlie was now in a sundress and sandals, and as usual, time slowed as I watched her pin a piece of paper to the board. Her hair, nearly black, cascaded down her back, wavy and a little wild. I knew what that piece of paper would say, but there was no way I was going to be Charlie’s roommate. For starters, I’d lived alone for too long to have a roommate. How would I even explain what I was doing all day on a computer? And then there was my infatuation with the woman, which made the situation extra impossible.
Deciding I’d do my shopping while I was here, I grabbed a cart and started through the aisles. It was busier than when I came on Tuesdays, but I guess I wasn’t as exhausted from people-ing as I thought, because I found the friendly waves and smiles felt nice. Just people from the community I’d crossed paths with or met in some capacity over the years. They didn’t all expect me to stop and talk to them, probably because they had their own shopping and lives to get back to. When I got to the last aisle, Hilda Newman was on her tiptoes trying to reach a glass bottle of cream on the top shelf.
“Let me get that for you, Hilda.” The woman was in her eighties and tiny, and I didn’t see this ending well.
I grabbed it easily and put it in her cart.
“Oh, Tanner dear, thank you. It always tastes better from a glass bottle but why do they have to put it so high up?”
“You know you can get milk and cream delivered to your door in glass bottles from Avery Creamery, right?”
“I know. But I like coming to the supermarket. It’s my social time.”
I had to smile at that. While she probably purposefully shopped on the weekends when it was busiest, I made a point to come when it wasn’t. To each their own.
“I never see you here. Have you been using my recipes?”
Hilda was famous in Sugarville for her recipes. She liked to write them out for people on her notepad whenever the opportunity arose. I had a feeling one was coming my way, and I wasn’t disappointed. I answered honestly. “Hilda, your recipes make up the bulk of my cooking.”
She put a hand to her chest and beamed. “Which one’s your favorite?”
“I can’t pick just one. In the summer, it’s rhubarb pie and basil balsamic chicken. I love the pumpkin chili and the butternut squash risotto in the fall. Beef stew in the winter. And probably the carrot ginger soup in the spring. But all your pasta dishes are great too.”
Hilda was rocking back and forth on her heels, all the wrinkles in her face creased from smiling so hard. I’d made the woman’s day.
“You’re such a fine young man. If only you had a nice lady friend to share meals with.” Her eyes brightened as she spotted something behind me. “Oh, why, what do you know? There’s the beautiful Charlie Ashley.” I froze, assuming I’d only failed to sense Charlie’s approach because she’d been in the store all along. I’d already been hit with it when I entered. But when I turned around, it started all over again. I swear this time music started playing in the background. I had to get a handle on this. It was getting worse.
“What a lovely dress.”
“Thanks, Hilda. How are you today?”
“Just peachy. You two already have my beer canned chicken recipe, right?” she asked, tapping a finger on her chin.
“Sure do,” Charlie answered while I nodded.
“Shucks, that one worked wonders for Jamie and Mia,” she mumbled under her breath. I felt Charlie swing her gaze to mine and when I glanced over, she widened her eyes.
What was Hilda up to?
“I’ve got a new one. Let me write it down and I’ll give it to you at the checkout. This will take a minute.”
Charlie shrugged and went to the ice cream section. I was frozen in place as I watched her load about fifteen pints of Ben and Jerry’s into her shopping basket.
I shook myself and grabbed the last few items I needed before Hilda called us over. “This is for Hawaiian chicken and pineapple tacos.” She held out a piece of paper and Charlie and I looked at each other again.
“You can take it,” I told her, even though that sounded like a good one to try for tonight.
“No, that’s okay, you can have it.”
Hilda shook her head. “No no, you two go get the ingredients and make it together.”
Silence. Hilda waited. I looked at my feet and tried to remember to breathe so I wouldn’t pass out. I felt a light punch on my arm, forcing me to face Charlie’s relaxed smile. “Sure, why not?”
Chapter Five
Charlie
“Don’t worry,” I tell Tanner as we walk back through the aisles, pulling ingredients from the list. “I actually have dinner with my parents tonight.”
Aside from mentioning he already had all the spices on the list, he hasn’t said a word. It’s hard to tell how he felt about Hilda’s blatant attempt to set us up. Horrified, is my best guess.
When he doesn’t respond, I take a picture of the recipe on my phone. “Here, I’ll text you the recipe so you have it. What’s your number?”
He gives it to me and I hear it chime in his pocket when I hit send. Tanner scratches the back of his neck and continues looking distressed. I cannot figure this guy out. He’s a rock star. Yes, he sings in a wedding band and in small town events, not on big stages, but anyone who has seen him perform knows he could do bigger things if he wanted. And it’s not only musical talent and stage presence, it’s his look. He just has it. There are really no words to describe Tanner Moon. Sometimes I think he finds me annoying, and other times I think he’s just super shy.
“What is it?” I ask.
He pulls out his phone and looks at the screen. There’s a flash of disappointment and I wonder if he actually did want to cook tacos with me tonight. “It’s just, I’ve got this recipe book with all of Hilda’s recipes. I could write it down, but it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t on her special recipe notebook paper or in her handwriting.” He stares at his phone the entire time he confesses this and I think I might be dying a li
ttle at how adorable he is. Yes, Tanner is hot, mysterious, polite, oddly gentle, and lots of things that stir up women. But sentimental about Hilda Newman’s recipes? That I did not see coming.
Tanner Moon, it seems, is also a little weird. And I like it.
I hand him the recipe. “I’ve got it on my phone, you can have it. Plus, I’m not getting the ingredients tonight.” I don’t tell him I’ve been eating out or with my parents practically every night. Hilda was right about one thing. Cooking for one kind of sucks. And being alone in the house at night is the worst.
We start to head to the checkout line when we run into Seth Kline. “Oh hey Charlie, I was just about to call you.”
“You were?” Seth is the other associate at the law firm where Mia works, and I didn’t know he had my number.
“Yeah, I saw your post on the bulletin board. Are you still looking for a roommate or was that from a while ago? I know Mia moved out in June or something, didn’t she?”
“I just put it up today, actually.”
“I’ve been looking for something closer to town but it’s really hard to find anything. I’m still in an apartment at the mountain and it can get really loud at night. Plus I’m paranoid the place is going to burn down one of these days with all the weed those kids are smoking.”
I laugh. “Seth, most of the people in that complex are only a few years younger than you.”
“I’m an old soul. Makes for a great roommate.”
Topher lives in the same apartment complex as Seth and that place reeks like a marijuana greenery 24/7.
I hold up my basket filled with ice cream. “I’ve got to head home to put these away before they melt. If you meet me there, I can show you around?”
“Awesome.”
The cashier comments on each flavor as he scans my ice cream while Tanner unloads his cart on the belt behind me and Seth waits by the door.
Just as I’m about to say goodbye to Tanner, he says my name. “Charlie.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I stop by your house too? I’m looking for a new place now. Morgan was right. I found out when I got back from Muffins and Steam this morning that Jill’s moving back with her family. They’re going to live in the cottage at the orchard.”
“Oh shit, Tanner, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m happy for the Hartlands. But there’s not much to rent that’s not at the mountain.”
“Maybe I should charge more for Mia’s old room. I mean, I’ve already got two people interested.” I’m teasing, but Tanner doesn’t crack a smile.
“I won’t stay long, with groceries I need to put away too. But your place is on my way home. You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. You know which one it is, right?”
He nods. “Yeah. Up the hill from the Finers’ on Old Hollow, right?”
“That’s me.”
As I drive home, I’m already in a much better mood than when I left. I’ve got two decent guys as potential roommates, and soon the house won’t feel so lonely. I guess if I had to choose, it’d be Seth. Tanner’s too attractive to be roommate material. I mean, I think we have an understanding. I’ve heard enough to know he’s like me -- hooking up with people who won’t stick around for long. Neither of us dates locals, so we know that we won’t accidentally end up in bed together, but maybe I’m not as confident about that as I should be. He’s just too much. Too intriguing. Too sexy. Too contradictory.
The guys follow me into the house and look around while I load the ice cream into the freezer.
“That’s a lot of Ben and Jerry’s,” Seth states the obvious.
“I eat it for breakfast.”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Seth says.
“I’m not joking. I never joke about ice cream.”
“You eat ice cream for breakfast, every day?” Tanner sounds a little awed, or maybe just dumbstruck.
I shrug, because I’ve never fully understood why this is considered so outrageous. “I like having something cold and creamy in the morning. People eat all kinds of sugar-packed stuff for breakfast and why should ice cream be limited to dessert or hot days? It’s the best food on the planet and in my opinion, excluding it from the most important meal of the day is downright wrong.”
I close the freezer and find Seth eyeing Donut’s dog bowl in the corner. “I forgot. You have a dog, don’t you? Where is he?”
“Donut, he’s a Bernese. Mia picked him up earlier to take him on a walk.”
“Ah, crap. I’m allergic to dogs.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, I break out in hives when I’m in contact.”
I’m not going to let Mia and Jamie have Donut just so I can have a roommate I don’t really need, am I?
“I guess that rules out me moving in. Bummer.”
I glance at Tanner, who opens the back door to the porch.
“Bummer,” I agree. Then I spot Mia and Jamie on the trail outside. “Looks like they’re back with Donut.”
We follow Tanner outside and watch as Donut trots up the hill to us. Normally we’d get a more enthusiastic greeting, but he’s tuckered out from the walk. Donut isn’t exactly the most athletic dog.
Seth says a quick hello to Mia and Jamie but ducks out before he can break into hives.
Tanner squats down and scratches Donut behind his ears, letting Donut lick his face.
I feel Mia staring at me and look over at her. “What?”
“You didn’t invite me to yoga this morning.”
“You have your long runs on Sundays.”
“So?”
“So, I didn’t want you to have to pick between that and yoga with me. You’re training for the half marathon. Besides, I changed my mind anyway. I’m going to start an ultimate frisbee league. Tanner, will you join?”
He looks over at me. “Yeah, maybe,” he says noncommittally.
The idea just popped into my head, but now I wish I’d asked Seth. He has a bunch of people on his trivia team who might be interested too.
“I’ll do ultimate frisbee,” Mia offers. “Is there a position that doesn’t involve throwing the frisbee? Usually it goes backward when I do it.”
Yeah, ultimate frisbee might be rough for Mia. Coordination is not her strong suit.
“Can I do it?” Jamie asks.
“Yeah, anyone can.”
“So you broke up with Topher, and you didn’t tell me that either,” Mia deduces. She’s very good at stating things without much attitude or emotion in her tone, and yet somehow it’s more impactful than if she was shouting at me about being a lousy best friend. I can’t tell if she’s annoyed, confused, or hurt that she’s not in the loop.
“Actually, he broke up with me,” I correct her.
“He did?” Tanner stands up, and his tone actually has a ring to it. It’s doubtful, but his eyes? They tell a different story. He’s got dark brown irises, and there’s a flare to them, a little outrage behind his otherwise rock star-chill aura.
“I was going to do it myself anyway. He said, ‘it’s you, not me,’ and I had to correct him. Really, I should have ditched that dude a while ago.”
Jamie snickers and Tanner laughs.
Mia crosses her arms. “Or maybe you shouldn’t have hung out with him in the first place. Why are you still dating guys like that anyway, Charlie?”
A little outrage of my own flares. “Whoa. Hold it. Just because you have your own perfect boyfriend here doesn’t mean you can start criticizing me for not having one myself. Maybe I don’t even want one. Maybe I like having not-perfect boyfriends.”
“Really?” There’s that deadpan voice that says way more than it should.
I don’t want to think about that question or my answer to it.
Jamie steps between us. “Ladies, ladies, ladies.” He puts his hands out like we might start bitch-slapping each other. I realize I’m breathing hard, my heart racing. I’ve never fought with Mia before, not that I can remember.
“Hey, Tan
ner, what do you say we crack open a beer inside and let these two have a little talk?”
“Tanner has to get home to drop off his groceries. Can you give him a tour of the upstairs?”
“You’re getting a roommate?” Mia’s voice is actually a little bit shrill now.
“Yeah.”
“What if I want to move back in?”
“You want to move back in?” Jamie asks, turning his head as he starts to walk inside.
“Well, no.”
“You’re just upset. You two need to talk. I’ll show Tanner around.”
As soon as the door closes, Mia starts with the accusations. “You’re mad at me. You’re punishing me for moving in with Jamie. For having a boyfriend I actually like and want to spend time with.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m not that childish, Mia. You know I love you and Jamie together. I’m the one who encouraged you to move in with him.”
“Then why don’t you ever invite me to do anything anymore?”
“Why don’t you invite me?”
“That’s never been my role. You always have the ideas and I go along with it. I like it that way. I’m not good at initiating social stuff.”
She’s right. I hadn’t really thought about it like that, but that’s exactly how it’s always been. “I guess I want you to have this time with Jamie. I don’t want you to feel obligated to do stuff with me.”
“You know I’ll tell you if I already have plans. I’m figuring this out too, you know? I live with Jamie now. I don’t need to spend every other second of the day with him. And I do invite you to do stuff. I just invited you to go on a hike this morning and you never responded to my text.” They’d walked over here after their run, and I had only just gotten out of the shower after yoga. Having unannounced visitors is actually one of my favorite things. If I could find a place right in the center of town where I could sit on my front porch chatting with everyone walking by all day, that would be ideal.
We glare at each other for a few seconds before it slips out. “I’m lonely, Mia.”
