Slammed

adheres it to my shoulder and pats it.
     
    "There. Good as new," he says.
     
    "Thanks. And I am a morning person," I say. " After I get my coffee." I stand up and look over my shoulder, pretending to inspect the bandage as I plot my next move. I already thanked him. I could turn and walk out now, but that would seem rude after he just helped me. If I just stand here waiting on him to make more small talk, I might look stupid for not leaving. I don't understand why I'm even contemplating basic actions around him. He's just another inhabitant!
     
    When I turn around, he's at the counter pouring a cup of coffee. He walks toward me and sets it on the counter in front of me. "You want cream or sugar?"
     
    I shake my head. "Black is fine. Thanks," I say as I pick up the cup and take a sip.
     
    He's leaning across the bar watching me as I drink the coffee. His eyes are the exact same hue of deep green as his mothers are from the picture. I guess he did get a feature from her.
     
    He smiles and breaks our gaze by looking down at his watch. "I need to go, my brother is waiting in the car and I’ve got to get to work," he says. "I'll walk you back. You can keep the cup."
     
    I look at the cup before taking another sip and notice the big letters emblazoned on the side. World's Greatest Dad . It's the exact same cup my father used to drink coffee from.
     
    "I'll be okay," I say as I head toward the front door. "I think I've got the whole walking erect thing down now."
     
    He follows me outside and shuts his front door behind him, insisting I take his jacket with me. I pull it on over my shoulders, thank him again, then head across the street.
     
    “ Layken!” he yells just as I'm about to walk back inside my house. I turn back toward him and he's standing in his driveway.
     
    “ May the force be with you!" He laughs and hops into his car and backs out of the driveway as I stand there, staring down at the Darth Vader house shoes I'm still sporting. Classic.
     
    ***
     
    The coffee helps. I locate the thermostat and by lunch the house has finally started to warm up. Mom and Kel are gone to the utility company to get everything switched into her name and I’m left with the last of the boxes, if you don't count what’s still in the jeep. I get a few more things unpacked and decide it's high time for a shower. I'm pretty sure I'm closing in on day three of my granola girl look.
     
    I get out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel; flipping my hair forward as I brush it out and blow dry it. When it's dry, I point the blow dryer at the fogged up mirror, forming a clear circular area so that I can apply a little makeup. I notice my tan has started to fade. There won't be much laying out here so I might as well get used to a slightly paler complexion.
     
    I brush my hair and pull it back into a ponytail and put on some lip-gloss and mascara. I forego the blush since there no longer seems to be a need for it anymore. Between the weather and my brief encounters with Will my cheeks seem to stay red.
     
    I search my closet and find a long sleeved shirt and throw it on with some jeans and the socks I wasn't able to find this morning. The only shoes I find that are weather appropriate are a pair of thin black boots. I slide them on and zip them up over my pant legs.
     
    Mom and Kel have already come and gone while I was in the shower. There is a note from her informing me she and Kel are following her friend Brenda into the city to return the U-Haul. Three twenty-dollar bills are on the counter next to the car keys and a grocery list. I snatch them up and head to the jeep, reaching it successfully this time.
     
    I realize as I'm putting the car into reverse that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. I know nothing about this town, much less whether I need to turn left or right off of my own street. Will's little brother is in their front yard so I pull the car up parallel to their curb and roll down my passenger window.
     
    “ Hey, come here for a sec!” I yell at him.
     
    He looks at me and hesitates. Maybe he thinks I'm going to bust out in Zombie mode again. He walks toward the car, but stops three feet short of the window.
     
    "How do I get to the closest grocery store?" I ask him.
     
    He rolls his eyes. “Seriously? I'm nine."
     
    Okay . So the resemblance to his brother is only skin deep.
     
    "Well, thanks for nothing," I say. "What's your name anyway?"
     
    He smiles at me mischievously and yells,