Jaded

Chapter 2

"Oh! I am so sorry," I stammered out, taken aback. I had not noticed anyone around me. 

"Are you okay?" The man stepped forward, concern on his face. 

" I am okay actually. Are you? Sorry again. it has been a long day so I may not have been paying the most attention to my surroundings" I rushed out. He was taller than me, maybe by a few inches, and he looked to be around my age. he was definitely attractive and had a great smile. 

"Yeah, I am okay. My name is Alex, by the way. What's your name?" 

" My name is Dalia. I just moved here today actually. Are you from around here?" He smiled at me and motioned me to go forward. I took that as he was going to walk with me while we get our groceries together.

"I grew up in Tucson actually. I moved out here for work a few years ago. There were a lot of better opportunities for me out here." I felt that. Growing up in Delaware did not give me as many opportunities as my siblings who grew up in Texas and Florida. 

"Well, I can relate to that. I grew up in Delaware and felt very stuck where I was at. Now I am 26 and starting my whole life over. How many years have you lived here?" 

"I have lived here since I was 18 or 19 actually," I grabbed the milk from the fridge and Alex grabbed some milk for himself. 

"Wow, that is really young! Props to you!" That was really young to move across the country by himself. I had only moved a few states south. 

"Thanks! Yeah, I like it here, and I hope you do too! Do you know anyone here?"  This question definitely hit hard. I really did have no one. Sure, I would meet people at work but it would be a while before I really gained the kind of friends that I had back at home. I did lose some friends post the divorce, and honestly, I was grateful for that. It really showed me who was there for me and who was not. 

"No actually. When I said fresh start, I meant I am really starting from ground zero here. I am sure I will meet some people from work though so that is exciting. My family and friends plan on visiting a ton so that is great." Alex quickly pulled out his phone and opened it up. 

"Here, give me your number and we can hang out sometime. You can count me as your first friend here. I know how lonely it can get starting out here," I rattled off my phone number and thanked him. We both smiled at each other and headed toward the checkout aisle. I pulled my cart into the self-checkout and Alex did the same. Once I finished ringing up my items and putting them back over to the cart, I looked up and found Alex waiting for me with a smile on his face. I felt thankful that he stuck around. 

I headed out with Alex, towards our cars stopping outside of the doors and turning to him. "Well, it was really great getting to meet you, despite nearly taking out each other with our carts. Feel free to reach out anytime if you want to hang out," I said. 

"Yeah, I'll text you when I get to my place to make sure you got home alright. Have a great rest of your day," He walked away and I headed to my car and quickly packed everything into the trunk. I was excited to get home and unpack the groceries. I was looking forward to settling in for the night and ordering some much-needed furniture throughout the house. On the way home, I admired all of the new food places and stores I wanted to check out in the coming weeks. 

I pulled into my driveway, opened up the garage, and parked my car. I grabbed all of the things I bought and opened my door to the house, quickly bringing everything in. I spent twenty minutes putting the food away and compiling the household items near the entryway to the kitchen so I could grab them as I go throughout the house. I started unpacking the kitchen, focusing on the pots, pans, plates, and cups first. 

I admired the beautiful kitchen which was a selling point for the house. It overlooked the living room and you could see the back yard which had a grill and cooking station. There was also a pool and a little over an acre of land which left plenty of room for adding more activities down the line. I really wanted to get some hammocks to put out there. 

The house also had a very large front porch and I was looking forward to the morning coffees I would be able to have. There were four bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with the Master being on the first floor. I also had my very own office and some room upstairs for my very own movie theatre. I was really excited about all of the memories I was going to make here with my family and friends. 

I thought back to today meeting Alex and felt excited to have already made a new friend. He was really nice and very easy on the eyes. Remembering that he was going to text me, I checked my phone and as a matter of fact, he did text me an hour ago. Quickly shooting off a reply letting him know I was home, I focus my attention on making dinner. Deciding to make some chicken and fry up some veggies. 

Once I was finished eating dinner, I started to make my way to my room and got a quick shower. I washed my face and did my nightly moisturizing. I climbed into bed, thankful that I set up my bed early in the day. It was not anything fancy, however, a couple of pillows, a blanket, and a sheet were all I needed for now. 

I stared at the ceiling thinking about the coming days of starting a new job and felt nervous about how everything would go. When I applied for the position, I had only heard about it through my dad who had a friend in close relations with NASCAR. When the friend asked if my dad knew of anyone, he gave them my email and they sent their application portal to it. I applied and had three interviews before I was finally chosen. It was nerve-wracking but rewarding to be chosen. 

I spent a lot of time prepping for the move, but the hardest part was finding an apartment or condo that I loved. I came to Charleston a couple of times over the past couple of months to tour places and nothing felt right, but my dad set me up with a realtor and we went over the possibility of me buying a house on my own. I made decent money but post the divorce, I had to spend a lot of legal fees and we had to sell the house. While we walked away with a decent cut from the house, I did not think buying a home would be easy. But I qualified for a really good loan rate and was able to find this home which ticked a lot of my boxes. 

I wanted a home with enough rooms for visitors, and also a great entertaining space. I also wanted to have a peaceful and quiet space, so while a may have paid a little more than I would have for a normal-sized lot and home, I absolutely loved it. This would be the home that I would live in for years to come.