Finding True Love

Chapter 3

There was no way Hansen was going to stay at his house. It was tainted with Hannah's actions of infidelity and betrayal. There was too much pain there in the house that he and Hannah had built their life in. So he decided to leave his home and stay at his parents' for a while. He walked out the door with nothing but one bag and his car keys. 

He walked to his car, opened the driver's seat door and got in. He dropped his bag onto the seat beside him and started the car. 

Instead of driving off, he just sat there, staring at his house. Memories of the happy moments he had with Hannah went through his mind, as if he was watching a movie of their life. It fast forwarded to today, and on how it all ended. 

I'm going to be alone forever, Hansen sighed and thought to himself. 

He never saw himself with anyone other than Hannah. She hurt him and it would take years before he could ever get over her. 

I doubt I'll ever get over her, Hansen thought to himself. 

Hansen wiped his face and groaned, closing his eyes and hitting the steering wheel consistently with frustration at how his life was practically over. He didn't care that the car kept making honking noises every time he hit it. Hannah was his everything and now he had nothing. 

Honk! 

Honk! 

Honk!

Meanwhile, from the outside, nosy neighbors were still watching him from their windows, hiding behind their curtains and peeking out.

"Poor Hansen. That no-good Hannah was a hussy, I tell you," said an old lady watching from afar while she was tending to the tulips in her front yard. 

An old man sitting on the front porch behind her pretending to read the newspaper replied, "Yes, indeed." He shook his head in disapproval, feeling sorry for Hansen. 

"This is the most entertaining thing that's happened since crazy Tom Jones boycotted the grocery store because they wouldn't let him pay with a living chicken instead of money," she said with a chuckle.

The old man replied, "Oh yes. It was such a bother, trying to walk into the grocery store without stepping on chicken poop." They both shook their heads. 

Hansen opened his eyes and stopped hitting the steering wheel. He took a deep breath along with one last look at the house, then reversed the car and headed toward his parents' house. Since it was a small town, the drive didn't take that long - only seven minutes.  

He pulled up to his parents' one story brown house and parked in their driveway. He grabbed his bag, got out of the car and shut the door. He headed to the front door,  took a deep breath and forced himself to knock on the door. 

His mother, Belle Hayworth, was the one who opened the door. Belle was loved by the locals. She was known as the lady who made the best pies in town. She was a beautiful soul with tan skin and blue eyes. She had wavy brown hair with just a hint of gray from old age. It was easy to see where Hansen got his brunette hair and blue eyes from. 

"Hey honey," greeted Belle, as she opened the door and stepped out to hug her son. 

Belle didn't know what was wrong, but seeing the bag in Hansen's hand and his crestfallen expression, she could tell that something bad had happened between Hansen and Hannah. She had heard rumors about Hannah having an affair with Phil McKeey, their sheriff. She never believed them to be true.

Hansen started to cry and Belle hugged him even tighter. She felt helpless. There was nothing that she could do to fix her son's heart besides being therefor him. 

"She cheated on me, Mom," Hansen said, his voice cracking at the end. 

"Aww honey. I'm so sorry," Belle replied with sadness. She petted his hair, trying to soothe him, then stepped inside and opened the door to let him in. 

"Come inside, I just made breakfast," said Belle. 

"Aww Ma, I'm not hungry. Food is the last thing on my mind," said Hansen as he walked inside the house. 

 "Oh son," she said with a chuckle. "You're eating whether you like it or not."