Bloom - Greta Van Fleet

Chapter Two

It didn't seem to occur to Esme that the house would be empty, other than the bed that the previous owners so graciously left behind. One of her first big investments would definitely be a new mattress; the stained one that currently lay on the bed didn't really appeal to her.

"I'd offer you a coffee," She turned to the man in the door, noticing that he was still holding onto her suitcase. "But obviously..." The two shared a quiet laugh as Esme gestured around the empty house. She'd have to test the public transport out later by going to the supermarket. Unfortunately, since she lived fairly out of the way, the bus only came once an hour, on the hour. It was only a short ride into town, but she could count the number of people in a 5-mile radius on one hand – there was no point in a bus coming regularly to pick up people that didn't exist.

"I assume your first job is sleeping, then?" Josh walked further into the single-room house, placing the case down next to the bed. "Do you have bedding?"

In truth, sleeping had been her intention; she'd been thinking about it since leaving Washington the previous evening. Plans change, though, and there was too much excitement in her to even consider shutting her eyes for a moment. She wanted to get the place looking perfect, or at least liveable. And then there was the forest to look around, the lake to paddle in, the bathroom to inspect. There was just too much to think about.

"I'll pick some up when I go out later." She glanced around, taking a mental note of everything she'd have to get from town. It'd definitely take her multiple trips to stock up, not just on small things, but appliances too. Pots, pans, a kettle, crockery, cutlery, pillows, a duvet. The list seemed endless, and that wasn't even mentioning the fact that she'd have to stock up on food. Suddenly, things turned from exciting to daunting and she wished that she'd planned things better.

"What are your plans other than sleeping, then?" Josh sat down on the mattress, pulling a face as he felt the lumps and bumps dig into his thighs.

"I'm not too sure," There was certainly a lot to get done, but where to start. "Cleaning, I guess. I can't really unpack anything without getting rid of some of the dust." To emphasise her point, she ran a finger along the kitchen counter, inspecting the grime that she'd picked up. "Gross."

It was silent for a moment or two as the two glanced around, taking note of just how much needed to be done. Esme was right about one thing; it certainly was gross.

"What about you? Do you have any more driving to do this afternoon?" The man shook his head, a smile coming to his face as he thought about the free time he'd have this afternoon. He'd certainly earned it after driving 6 hours, all before the clock hit 11. In all honesty, he'd planned on going into the shop, maybe annoying his brothers a bit, but he was tired, and sitting around doing nothing now seemed like a much better idea. Maybe he'd go to the café Esme was due to start working at, or maybe he'd mill around the local shops for a while. It wasn't often he had an afternoon free, and the possibilities were endless.

He eventually left after about half an hour, growing tired of hearing Esme refuse his offers to help. It became almost dizzying to watch the woman as she shuffled around the apartment with an old cloth she'd found in her case, swiping at any and every available surface. The sound of her sneezing echoed around the empty house as she got face-full after face-full of dust. By the time he left, her nose was glowing bright red, and her eyes were watering slightly. He offered to help one last time, only to be met by the door being shut in his face, and a loud voice telling him to 'piss off and do something useful.' He let out a chuckle, strolling back to his car with a bright smile on his face.

Cleaning was hard for Esme, her allergies kicking off at the first sign of a dust particle. Part of considered not cleaning at all and just living in a dusty pit until it eventually got too much to live amongst. Unfortunately, just imagining the look on her mother's face put her off of the idea, choosing instead to suffer a sore nose in the name of cleanliness. After all, goblins thrived in the dirt, and the last thing Esme wanted was for her precious items to be taken from her. Just thinking about it brought a smile to Esme's face.