Oil & Ink

Chapter 25: Back to Wander

Charlie pulled Sara's truck into his driveway. It was mid-morning on Monday, and everything was quiet. They'd kept the same driving schedule, but the drive back was — as it always was — much less exciting than the drive there.

Sara was awake. Charlie parked, but kept the truck running. He gathered up his bags and his big check.

"Thanks so much," he whispered to her. She hopped into the driver's seat and would drive herself home. "You working today?"

She shook her head. "No, thank God," she said. She was exhausted.

"Okay, cool," Charlie said. "I'll see you there tomorrow then."

She gave him a wave and pulled out of his driveway. It was time to head home and take a very long nap.

***

Sara wasn't sure why her parents were being so nice, but they let her have the afternoon off as long as she promised to cook dinner. She quickly agreed and went upstairs to rest.

She woke up nearly four hours later and got to unpacking. She was catching up on a podcast when she heard her phone ding with a text message.

It was a group text from the manager at Tucker's. He was calling a staff meeting at the store for tomorrow night.

Huh? Sara wondered, that's never happened. Then she remembered what this was probably about. Tucker's was being sold. She tossed her phone onto her bed and got back to unpacking.

Wait. Then she ran back over to her bed and picked up the phone to text Charlie.

Sara: Did you just get that text??

Charlie: I did. This is probably it.

Sara: No... don't say that.

Charlie: I mean, what else would it be about?

Sara: I know...

Charlie: Don't think about it now.

She tossed her phone on the bed for real this time. Not thinking about something like that was impossible.

***

Sara's shift was at 9 am. She was scheduled to work until 5 pm, but the staff meeting was at 6 pm, so she was planning on sticking around until then.

She got up to fix breakfast, just like always, and drove to Tucker's. She had no real reason to, but she felt a little uneasy as she got closer and closer. She wondered if she would pull into the parking lot and the place would be under construction or something.

But when she arrived, it looked just as it did before she left for her trip. She walked inside and still; everything was the same. The fact that nothing had changed was almost creepy.

Sara was only there long enough to make herself a fresh cup of coffee before she saw Charlie pull up. She wondered how it would feel coming back to work after winning a huge contest.

He walked into the door, just as he always did, with his head down and his backpack on.

"Morning!" Sara said from her perch at the register.

"Morning," he said, beelining it to his corner.

He turned on the lights and set up his laptop. The busy season was officially over. There'd be some stragglers, of course, along with the travelers who were more experience and prepared for cooler weather.

But for the most part, today was expected to be a slow day. Charlie hunched over his laptop and Sara hiding behind a magazine, working her way through a pack of gum.