Touch Me (You & Me 2)

“You know you love me!” Talia said loudly.

Katherine giggled and took off her apron, hanging it on a hook in the back. She let her hair down, running her fingers through it and loving the feeling of her hair being free from the scrunchie. She grabbed her purse, excited for the walk home.

“Bye,” she waved to Talia as she headed out the door, her warm cable knit sweater fighting off the bite in the air.

She walked down the street, one arm swinging, her other holding her purse close to her body. She wasn’t naïve. Purse snatchers lurked in even the nicer neighborhoods. Her eyes roamed up and down the street, not looking for danger, but looking at the various displays in the windows as she passed. There was a little extra pep in her step as she actually smiled at the people she passed on the sidewalk. It felt good to just be one of the crowd, going about their daily lives without worrying about a madman trying to hurt them. She was one of the normal people now—for the most part.

She paused in front of a dress shop window, her gaze caught by a beautiful purple gown. It reminded her of the gown that Tim had ruined. She had loved that gown and the color. She paused for a long time, staring at the dress and trying to think of a good place to wear it. She didn’t have one, yet, but maybe Ben would want to take her to another one of those charity balls, assuming Will would want her there after the scene Tim had made.

“It’s beautiful and would look amazing on you,” an older woman said, stopping to stand beside her.

“But I have nowhere to wear it.”

The old woman laughed. “Then you find somewhere. A dress like that deserves to be on a beautiful woman, not stuck in some store window.”

“I work at the bakery down the street, I’m not sure that is proper attire,” Katherine joked.

The woman giggled. “Honey, you have to set the standard.”

She turned to look at the dress again. The more she stood looking at it, the more tempted she was to buy it. “It is gorgeous,” she said, with a sigh.

“I’ll bet it’s expensive.”

Katherine nodded. “I’m sure it is. That exquisite detail had to cost a small fortune.”

“Well, you only live once, dear. You may never find an occasion to wear the dress, but listen to me, take advantage of your youthful figure while you can. Dress to the nines and who cares who’s watching, even if it is just to dash out to McDonalds,” she advised.

I nodded my head. “That is very good advice,” I told her, thinking about the time I had already lost and not wanting to lose anymore.

“If I had your figure, I’d buy it,” sh

e insisted.

Katherine smiled. “Thank you, but I’ll have to pass for now. You have a nice day.”

She walked away, leaving the woman and the dress as she headed for the small grocery store. She strolled into the market, smiling at the owner as he neatly stacked produce.

“You’re back,” he greeted her.

“I am. I love your store,” she complimented, thrilled that he remembered her.

“Thank you,” he replied, beaming.

She grabbed a basket and began to roam the produce department, looking for fresh salad ingredients. She truly loved being so close to the place. She imagined stopping by every day after work and starting a new routine to match her new life. After picking some veggies, she headed for the meat counter, picking up some fresh chicken breasts to grill. Everything looked so tempting, the fruits smelled sweeter and the colors looked more vivid. It had to be her new outlook on life.

“Hi,” she greeted the young woman at the checkout counter, setting her filled basket on the belt.

“Hello. This looks yummy. Let me guess, fresh grilled chicken salad,” she said with a smile.

Katherine nodded. “You guessed it. I love how fresh everything is here.”

The girl nodded. “He only takes the best of the best. You should try some of the salad dressings. He gets them from a lady who makes them from scratch with fresh ingredients.”

“Really? That sounds great. I’ll remember that for tomorrow,” she said, excited at the suggestion.

Katherine chatted a bit more before carrying her groceries out the door and heading for home. The walk home was invigorating. Instead of getting right down to cooking, she changed into her workout wear and headed out for some speed walking before dinner. It was still early, and she wanted to take advantage of the daylight.

It felt good to breathe hard and work up a sweat. She could feel her body getting stronger. For too long she’d felt weak. She’d been physically weak and after constant abuse, she’d become mentally weak as well. He’d even managed to keep her weak from afar. The knowledge that one day Tim—or one of his minions—would turn up had kept her confined. Kept her trapped—trapped in a body that was weak with no fight.