Forgotten Wolf

6 Unexpected Visitors

TGIF? I think not.

It seems like anything that can go wrong is. After the second night of next to no sleep; not that I can remember the last time I slept well, I'm a functioning zombie. Barely at that, and apparently, I'm irrationally grumpy too as I'm currently taking out my frustrations on a water spigot that just won't stop leaking.

A truck pulling in snaps me out of my meltdown over the defiant tap to see it's Trish. "Fuck," I groan as I glance at my phone. It's now four in the afternoon and I haven't got anything ready for her.

Gravel crunches under Trish's feet as she walks over from her truck. "I was thinking up a smart ass thing to say the whole walk over here but seeing as that tap has you on the verge of tears, I think I'll just hold onto that for later." She pauses at the barn door, pursing her lips as she looks around before settling back on me. "Bad day?"

"Ugh, the worst! It seems like everything I try to do is frickin' doomed today! Everything from dropping the eggs when I made breakfast to the fucking tap that just won't stop, mother, fucking, leaking," I yell, kicking the tap for good measure. "I'm fucking exhausted and can't get anywhere near a decent night's sleep!" I flop down next to the tap with my back against the wall while I bury my face in my hands.

"I can see that. Why can't you sleep?" Trish asks, not hiding her concern.

"I keep jolting awake, and even when I'm asleep the whole time, I'm whirled around trying to make sense of scattered dreams. I wake up more tired than when I went to bed." I pinch the bridge of my nose as my irritation grows. "Also, I lost track of time and shit's not ready for you. I'm sorry. I'll drop it off at the market in the morning."

"Relax, you've got yourself all worked up. It's fine. Breathe, there's lots of time," she assures me.

I take a deep breath and force myself to relax at the reminder.

"You sure you don't want a hand? I mean, I've got about an hour before I need to go home..." she offers.

"I'm good. Think I'll just wrap up here and call it a night before something else can happen. Go on, I'll be fine."

"I'll set up in the morning and when you get there, we'll pull the pre-orders and you can take off." Trish pauses on her way out and squeezes my arm. "Try to get some rest tonight, eh?"

Once she's gone, I stare at the defiant leaky spigot and say, "Fuck it," opting to turn the water off at the front of the barn. I'm not capable of basic plumbing in this state.

With the night winding down, I pack up for the market tomorrow, eat some leftovers, shower and turn in before anything else can go wrong.

-----

After another restless night filled with fragmented dreams, I get cleaned up and head over to the market, half an hour late.

"Rough night?" I hear Jude say as he makes his way over. I simply nod and grab the nearest stack of crates. Jude silently grabs the next stack and carries them over with me.

"Shit dude, you look rough," Trish says as I glare at her. "I take it you're still not sleeping? Coffee?"

"Nope, same old. Also, hard no–that stuff is gross." Not even my zombie state can make coffee sound appealing.

She shrugs at my insult to her beloved coffee and starts to dig through the crates. Professional as always, she makes quick work of sorting the produce and flowers I brought.

At that moment, just to mess with me a little more, the rez's dark SUV pulls up. "Ugh, for fuck's sake, most of their order is still in the truck. I'll get it asap," I say to Trish, hoping she'll run interference.