Country Mile

FINALLY BEEN REIGNITED

The drive to the grocery store was made in awkward silence for the first long, fifteen, minutes. Anne drove with her hands tightly wrapped around the steering wheel, unsure of whether or not agreeing to bring Ellie along was a good idea.

"So," Ellie said, finally breaking the quiet, but not the tension. "What do you do for a livin'?"

Anne risked a glance her way before bringing her eyes back to the road. "I'm a teacher. 9th grade geometry." Her voice was stiff, although she tried to sound friendly. She knew Ellie was well aware of what she did for a living, and if she was going to be put through a game of 20 Questions, she'd return the favor.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I like to call myself a 'community health worker', it sounds more friendly and happy. Really, I'm a child protective specialist."

"Oh," Anne smiled. "When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to work with kids and becoming a social worker was on my list of possible aspirations. What made you decide to go into that specific field?"

Ellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Adam.. Adam never told you?"

A sheepish look crossed Anne's face, though it was in naivety to the real meaning behind Ellie's question.

"Adam hasn't told me a whole lot about you, to be honest," the redhead embarrassingly admitted. "It's been sweet nothings, you know? Kind, little remarks here and there, but, nothing substantial enough for me to get a good understanding of you as a person. Just enough to know he loves you dearly."

The blonde nodded slowly then quickly changed the subject. "I'm a year older than Adam. How old are you, again?"

Anne sighed amicably, "Really? You're gonna do me like that, huh?"

Ellie only smiled as she looked out the window.

"I'm 34."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at that. "Were you intentionally lookin' for a Sugar Daddy, or..."

Anne laughed heartily. "I'd hardly consider a man 4 years my senior to be defined as 'Sugar Daddy' material."

"Then what kinda material would you define my brother as?"

"Expensive," Anne answered without skipping a beat. "The kind of material that costs more than you think you're willing to pay, but somehow you find yourself giving everything you got because after one glance, you can't imagine not having it in your life."

Ellie couldn't hide the impressive look that crossed her previously dubious face. She gave another nod and smiled. "Good answer."

Anne shrugged as if what she'd just said was common knowledge. "He's a good man. One unlike anything I've ever known."

"Now that, Anne, is somethin' we can agree on."

"And I hope, Ellie, that's just the first of many things."

They pulled into the grocery store parking lot and once Anne found a space and put the car in park, she turned fully in her seat to face the blonde. She took in her features and noticed how similar she looked to Adam. They had the same steel blue eyes that looked as though they could cut right through you or cradle you in kindness, depending on the mood. Her blonde hair reminded her of Delilah's. Her nose, Genna's. She looked as if she fit perfectly into the tight-knit family and she wished she had known more about her. She wished their first meeting hadn't been so tense.

"I love your family," Anne said honestly. "Even though I've only known them for a short while, Adam and the girls have quickly become people I want in my life. They're funny, kind, thoughtful, and this may make me sound selfish, but they make me a better person just by being near them."