“We’re new in town,” I said softly. “They’re just curious.”
“We’re not that interesting,” Tommy said.
“Let’s just eat,” I said, leading them to a corner booth.
We sat down and ordered dinner. The kids quickly forgot about the staring strangers when the pizza arrived, but I didn’t. Every time I looked around, someone was looking at our booth with interest. I nodded at a few of them and then took to ignoring them completely. I wasn’t the type to smile and make friendly chit chat. If that’s what they were waiting for, they’d be waiting a long damn time.
“You guys new in town?” the waitress asked when she brought us our check.
“Yes,” I said.
“Where are you from?” she asked, looking from me to the kids and back again.
“California,” Sarah said with a mouthful of pizza. “The southern part.”
The waitress laughed and smoothed Sarah’s hair down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I cleared my throat and cut her a look but didn’t speak.
“Well, welcome to town,” she said with a bright smile. “We hope to see you guys in here again sometime.”
“We’ll be back,” Sarah said with confidence. “We love pizza, and my daddy can’t really cook. And since he’s single—”
“That’s enough, Sarah,” I said, shooting her a warning look.
She shrugged and took another bite of her pizza. “Well, you can’t.”
The waitress just laughed again and hurried away from the table. I watched her go, knowing she would share our entire exchange with anyone who would listen.
When the kids finished their food, I paid and we left. As we pulled back into our driveway, our next-door neighbor walked into our yard. She smiled and waved, hurrying toward the car.
“Good evening!” she said when I stepped out. “I was hoping I would get to meet you tonight!”
“Hi,” I said, not bothering to return the smile.
She smiled even brighter. “I live right next door. I’m Nina Johnston.”
I just stood and stared at her.
“I’m Sarah, and this is my brother, Tommy,” Sarah said. “That’s my dad. His name is Sean,” she hooked her thumb toward me.
I was going to have to have a talk with her about talking to strangers and telling everyone our business.
Mrs. Johnston turned to look at the kids and her smile widened. She leaned down to shake each of their hands and whispered to them that she always had cake at her house. They giggled when she winked and told them not to tell me even though I was standing right there.
I observed her easy interaction with them. She was older, probably in her sixties and looked to be starved for company. She didn’t mention her husband, but she wore a ring on her left ring finger, so I assumed she was widowed. That surprisingly softened me a bit toward her. Though I was not in the mood to make friends, I could at least relate to the loneliness that came with our ill-fated states.
“She seems nice,” Tommy said as we climbed the front steps a few minutes later.
“I like her!” Sarah said with an enthusiastic nod.
I nodded and closed the front door behind us.
So far. So good.
CHAPTER TWO - EMILY
“Why does it have to be so damn hard to get a loan in this town?” I’d spent the first half hour of dinner venting to my best friend. It wasn’t like me to whine and I hated being a dark cloud, but I couldn’t help it today.
“It could have something to do with the fact that we’ve got less people here than I can count with my right hand.” Janie said as she wiggled the fingers in her right hand. “Options are limited, Em’. You’ll have to find some creative ways to get that daycare up and running. I believe in you, babe. You’ll make it work.”