The Sexton House

Episode 26

I sit dumbfounded on the old springy
mattress, as I wait hoping Anna will
come back, but sadly she never does, at
least not tonight. I rise up from the bed
and walk over to the window, looking
out into the sky where dawn is clearly
near. The sun peaks through the clouds,
as a new day starts.

I walk back to the door and down the
stairs, hoping to find something to eat. I
dig through the cabinets not finding
anything appetizing, so I just eat a
poptart. After eating I sit playing on my
phone for a couple of hours before
realizing I’m wasting a beautiful day. I
go back to my room and throw on some
clothes before handing outside to my old
truck. Just as I’m getting in, a car pulls
up beside mine. I squint my eyes at the
vehicle, trying to see who it is. I spot a
head of curly blonde locks, knowing
exactly who they belong to.

“Harry, hang on a second.” Her voice
calls out, as she hurries out of her car. I
roll down my window.

“I-I wanted to apologize again for what
happened the other day. Again I am not
that type of girl, I honestly have no idea
what I was thinking.” I had almost
forgotten about her trying to make a
move on me at the funeral. It wasn’t all
her fault I kind of wanted it too.

“It’s fine, really.” I truthfully say, no
longer allowing it to bother me. She lets
out a breath before saying, “Thank God I
felt really bad and I didn’t want what
relationship we had built up to break
because of some silly hormones.” She
laughs, her cheeks turning red.

” Me either. You seem sweet and I really
want to get to know you more.” I smile
back at her. “Well, I would love that.”
Jane beams.

“Are you headed somewhere?” She ask,
raising a brow. “I was just trying to get
out of the house.” I explain, while
tapping my fingertips on the steering
wheel.

“I know this cute little park not far from
here if you wanted to maybe grab a bite
to eat and take it there.” I nod my head,
excepting the offer. I tell her to get into
my truck and we start driving. Jane
points me into the right direction since
I’m not really familiar with the roads. I
have yet to go exploring in the little town.
“So what would you like to eat?” Jane
questions, as we head into town.

“Anything is fine with me.” I answer,
remembering all I’ve had today was a
poptart.
We drive for a few more minutes before
we pull up to a small store. Jane runs in
after telling me she promises me she’ll
bring back something good. It’s about
ten more minutes before she comes back
out carrying two full bags of groceries.
“What all did you buy?” I laugh, as she
places the two overly filled bags in the
floorboard.

“Well, I didn’t really know what you
liked, so I just bought a variety of
things.” She giggles, her cheeks blushing
a bit.
We head off towards this park she’s
been raving about, I don’t get it it’s just
a park. What is so special about a park?

After flipping the radio many times to
different channels, I give up and switch
it off.

“You don’t like country music?” I shake
my head, “Never have, never will.” I say
with all honesty. I literally can not
handle the sound of it.
“Well, that’s a shame. I like it very
much.”
“Why? It’s all about beer and big
tractors.” I chuckle to myself, as I look
over at Jane.
“I don’t know, I just do.” We pull up to
the park, a bed of green grass filled with
picnic tables and small children playing
on the plastic playground liters the open
area.
“So, tell me, why is this park so special?
It looks like every other park I’ve ever
been to.” Jane rolls her eyes before
saying, “You haven’t even seen the best
part yet.” We grab the bags and I follow
Jane, as she leads the way. A few
minutes pass and we both stand before a
large pond filled with ducks. A fountain
is placed in the middle, spitting water
out from the top. The smell of fresh cut
grass fills my senses.

“It’s pretty cool, right?” I nod, taking in
the scene. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
We place our groceries on the ground,
before Jane opens up one of the bags and
pulls out a quilt. “Where did you get that
at?” I question.

” I got it while I was in the store, I
thought we would need something to sit
on.” I nod, agreeing we do.
“So, how is your sandwich?” Jane
questions, as she peers over her turnkey
sub. “It’s good, you did a nice job at
picking it out.” I take another potato chip
and cram it in my mouth with the rest of
the food.

“It’s so peaceful here.” I comment, gazing
at the pond where ducks swim freely.
“Indeed. I come here when I need to
think.” We sit, eating our subs in peace.

My mind wonders back to Anna and
what she meant when she said Max. Was
she referring to Max William’s, the guy I
ran into in the cemetery? Or was it
someone else? I have a lot of questions
that need to be answered. Hopefully I
can see her again tonight.