Re-Arranged

Chapter Ten

For a day smack dab in the middle of summer in her hometown, it smelled of freshly watered earth. Her cab driver had informed of the unseasonal storm they had had the previous night. The absurd turn in weather felt equal measures of welcoming and ominous.

It had been over twenty years already since she had last showed up here. No, wait – she showed up for Ted's two eldest ones' weddings. If not for Frank's ill-health, she would have very much liked to attend dearest Kelly's wedding too.

"Good man, do you object to me smoking?" Katherine asked, looking into the rear-view mirror.

His blue eyes met hers in the reflection. "No problem, ma'am. But you will have to not mind the open windows then."

"I quite welcome it," she replied. Unzipping the outer pocket of her handbag, she retrieved a polished wood cigarette holder, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as the windows rolled down. She crossed one arm over her abdomen and leaned back into the seat, taking a long swig from the narrower end.

The cabbie eyed her every now and then through the mirror, and finally asked, "Do you visit here often?"

"Well," Katherine began and paused to release smoke through her matted maroon lips. "Often is... about right." It was, compared to her original teenage plan of never returning once she left. "This is my hometown after all."

"Oh! How great is that!"

She shrugged and looked out the window. "You tell me."

His clipped, choppy laughter filled the air. "Oh, come on. It's not so bad here."

"Depends where you're sitting, if you ask me."

He considered it for a second before nodding his head. "I guess you're right, ma'am."

Katherine shook the soot out the window and smoothed out the skirts of her teal dress over her knees with her free hand. "How long have you been driving a cab?"

"I think I lost count of the years." He appended the reply with his laugh and added, "At the start, I remember clearly how I used to keep the count of the days I worked. Very diligent about it. Very. When I first lost count, it was hard to come back to the habit."

"What made you lose the count?"

He glanced into the mirror and caught her eyes. They were devoid of curiosity, or the kind of interest people showed which bordered on meddlesome. Her eyes were just... looking at him. It threw him off.

"I... uh, I had a kid. Did not get round to driving for a couple days. When I did, wondered if I should continue where I stopped or include the days lost. In the end, I just lost more days without coming to a decision and I gave up." He shrugged. "Did not seem important anymore."

"I see."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

Trees, highways, crosswalks, pedestrians, animals, other vehicles passed by the windows in speeding streaks of colour and light. Only the buildings prominently stood out. Watching so many new ones standing tall, Katherine went back in her head to gouge out exactly how many years later she had stepped foot here.

Last was her namesake's wedding, which was way before young Kelly married. That would be... almost eleven years now.

New neighbourhoods had developed in the meantime, she realized as she passed by billboards advertising new community apartments and street signs that had not existed before.

By the time the cab stopped in front of the destined house, Katherine was sure her hometown no longer was the one in her memories. She had not cared in her previous visits to notice anything. There had been no reason to. Frank had been an engaging company and worth returning with to their shared home, far, far away from this place.