Starting Over

Nine

Edited (02/01/22)

***********

6 months later

Her eyes fluttered close the moment she opened the door, the cool morning air kissing her skin. She took a deep, satisfied breath before stepping out of the door, dragging two bags of trash with her. Kaycee was only a few steps away from the trash bin at the end of the walkway when she felt a presence on the other side of the fence separating her and her neighbor's house.

"Good morning, dear!" the familiar, elderly soft tone met her ears.

She quietly sighed, swallowed hard and put out a kind smile before she stood up straight and faced her neighbor. "Good morning, Lia," she replied politely, smiling gently at the old woman.

It wasn't that she doesn't like her neighbor; in fact she does. Lia was her first ever friend she made when Devon found her a house in Pittsburgh, coming over with a fresh batch of caramel cookies to welcome her in the neighborhood. However, she was dreading meeting her in the past couple of months, because dear old Lia always steers their conversation into the same direction.

"Off to work?" Lia asked, her lips tainted red stretching wide, eyes glinting with intent as she made small talk first.

"Yeah. They need me in the bakery today," Kaycee replied.

"Oh, that's nice," Lia paused. "Any plans after work?" she smiled.

Here we go, Kaycee thought, her mind running through a hundred of excuses again. "Errands. I'm running some errands. And I'm going to have dinner with my brother," she said. In fact, she doesn't have any errands to do, and Devon was out-of-state for a month.

"Aww. That's too bad, dear. James is coming over for dinner. I would really love for you to meet him," she said, her tone hopeful.

James is her youngest son that she had been trying to meet her up with, and even suggested that they should go on a date and get to know each other. The truth is, Kaycee just couldn't find herself in a relationship as of the moment; she was perfectly content with everything in her life right now.

"Maybe next time, Lia," she gave the older a polite smile, because she knew that at one point, she's going to meet this James.

"Alright, dear. I can't wait for you to meet him!" The old woman gushed, clasping her wrinkling hands together. "Have a great day, dear!" she said in a high-pitched tone.

"You, too, Lia," she smiled. When the woman was out of sight, she shook her head with a small smile on her lips before she got ready for work.

She couldn't say that adjusting in a new neighborhood, a new city and a new state, was easy. As a matter of fact, she had just completely got used to her new life just three months ago, living with her brother and his girlfriend the first month, and moving into her own home that Devon purchased for her after that.

Purchased, because she saw herself staying there long-term, and possibly forever. It was a nice village, and no one knows her from her previous life. Perfect for the peace and tranquility she had been seeking after years of emotional trauma.

She kept in contact with her friends, though, but she never told them where she is, because she knew they could visit her, wherever she may be, and she wasn't quite ready for that yet. Yes, she missed them, but she had just adjusted to her new life, and the sad reality is her friends are just tangible reminders of the past. It was confusing and overwhelming to her end for she knew they did nothing but to be there for her and helped her to stand every time she fell. But she knew, in the back of her head, that the reason why they reminded her of the past is because they reminded her of him.