Silence, For some it's petrifying, for me today as I sat out on the back steps looking out at The dark ocean it was perfect. The only sound I could hear was the sea bashing the rocky coast mercilessly. I stretched and went to get dressed. I slid on my favorite pair of faded denim shorts, a gray shirt, and my trusty docs. James never let me wear these, he always said it made me look like a whore, but so what if I did? I'm old enough to pick out my own clothes, and I'm old enough to look like a whore if I damn well, please.I smiled as I left the house and what I wanted to wear. I still had about five thousand dollars left and today I'm after groceries, a couple of outfits, and I'm going to get a job. I put on my sunglasses to cover the black bruise that is no longer covered with thick makeup and I started my trek to town breathing in the salty air, it felt shorter today and somehow lighter. I wandered through town admiring the antiquity of the architecture and soon I found myself in front of a small little coffee shop.
"Hi, welcome to the Drowsy Poet, What can I get started for you today?" The chipper blonde asked from behind the counter.
" I need the biggest blackest black coffee you can sell me."
"Yeah, of course, coming right up." She replied while pouring a large cup. "So, you're not from around here are you?"
I flinched feeling uneasy at her forward question.
"Man, is it really that obvious?" I asked with a deep sigh.
"You're in Camden; the population is a little under five thousand. Call it small-town intuition." She replied sliding my coffee towards me. "I'm Charlie."
"Mylana, it's nice to meet you," I said giving her a small smile.
"So, are you here to stay?" She asked with hazel eyes full of curiosity.
"For a little while, it's gorgeous. I'm just not really the settling type" I lied hoping she wouldn't try to dig any further.
"I would leave this coffee shop wasn't holding me here," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I want to see the world, but my mom got sick last fall and I have to run the shop. I've been saving to runoff to Norway for years and that's starting to become more of a dream."
I wanted to reach out and squeeze her hand, but I refrained so it wouldn't be awkward. My heart hurt for her, I knew what it was like to lose a parent. It was the worst pain I've ever felt by a long shot. James and Tammy had nothing on what their deaths made me feel.
"I know what it's like losing a parent. So, if you ever want to talk I'll be here." I expressed. "I don't have a phone number but…"
I thought really hard, the more people I let in my life the harder it was going to be to run, however, she needed a good friend right now. The way she spilled her guts to a person she barely just met told me that she had no one that wanted to listen.
"I live about a mile outside of town, 102 W. Bay Ave."
Her eyes lit up at this "you'll never know how much that means to me." She replied with a huge smile. "So if you don't mind me asking what is it your mom or your dad."
"Both" I replied feeling my heartache for them.
"How? Why?" She stammered tripping over her words a bit.
"They were in a boat wreck off of Australia in the Pacific."
She walked around the counter and wrapped her arms around me and I returned it even though it felt weird. This town was full of huggers, she gave me a tight drawn-out squeeze, and when she finally let me go, she gave me a sad smile.
"The same goes for you. If you ever need to talk. I'm usually here."
We chatted for a little while longer set our goodbyes and I headed out to search for some clothes. I hated how close I was letting people get to me, but at the same time, I felt at home, like I belong for the first time since my parents passed. Not that this would fill that void but the love that these people were showing me warmed my heart. After walking nearly a block I came across the clothing store. I felt like a kid in a candy store I haven't been shopping in forever. So, I loaded up my arms and bought entirely too much. The next thing on my list was groceries, so I walked to the familiar Camden general.
"Look who decided to stick around."
"I guess Camden grew on me." I said with a small laugh.
"The bus left you didn't it?" He asked with a smirk.
"No!" I exclaimed and mock offense. "Okay, you caught me, the bus left me stranded, are you happy?"
He laughed a deep hearty laugh and then got really serious as if he had come to the realization in the midst of his laughing.
"You have somewhere to stay right?" He questioned in a protective tone.
"Yeah, I uh found a rental in the paper. Sandy Rogan really saved my ass." I stuttered at his intensity.
"Good, yeah she's an amazing lady." He said with a relieved smile.
I nodded and began wandering around the store and grabbing groceries I needed, mostly quick meals and of course coffee. When I arrived at the counter he began scanning my groceries and bagging them up for me.
"It's gonna be $102.29."
I pulled out the wad of bills from my pocket and handed them the amount and tried grabbing up all of my stuff fumbling with it attempting to fit it all in my arms.
"Let me help you, do you need a ride?" He asked genuinely concerned.
"What about the store, won't your boss be mad?"
"Boss? I haven't had one of those since my dad retired, I'll just close it for the day."
I was surprised by his answer, he was going to close the store just to get help me get a couple of things home. What a gentleman, but I couldn't let him do that. He would be losing half a day's money to take me a mile down the road.
"No, you can't do that."
"Yeah, I can and I'm going to." He said taking over half the bags from me.
"But, I don't even know your name. You could be some crazy psycho serial killer!" I exclaimed trying to stop him, But it was already too late, he was loading my stuff into the bed of his old blue truck. He then opened the passenger side door and gave me a smile that made me weak in the knees.
"My name is Blue Jennings, as for being a serial killer I guess you'll just have to find out." He replied with a light laugh.
"MyLana Evans, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," I said with a small smile as I slid into his passenger seat.
"So, Miss Evans where to?"
"102 West Bay Ave."
"That's an amazing view you're probably paying an arm and a leg for that place!" He questioned.
"It's not bad at all."
"She must've given you a hell of a deal. Plus the privacy is to die for." He said as he backed out of the empty parking lot.
"She is a really good lady and I'm going to leave it at that." I replied with a short laugh "Speaking of Mr. tour guide, do you have any idea where I can get a hold of some paint or flooring, maybe some decor?"
"I do, as a matter of fact, there's a home improvement store in West Haven, it's about a 45-minute drive. I could take you if you wanted." He offered in a nonchalant manner.
Why is he being so nice? The dynamic of this town never ceases to confuse me. Everyone is so willing to help even if they don't know a thing about me.
"If you don't want me to that's fine." He mumbled scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"I don't see what it could hurt, I can give you some gas money," I said reaching for the wad bills in my back pocket, but before I could cut me off.
"No, I offered."
"I owe you for driving me out here anyway." I pushed trying to hand him the money.
"Just let me do this for you, people can do nice things for you without there being consequences or debts." He said as he turned into my gravel driveway.
"Well, then you just let me do something for you. There's gotta be something I can do for you."
"Well, now that you say it, my friends and I are having a little get-together tomorrow night out of the secret spot on the beach, and I kinda need a DD." He said with a deep chuckle.
"I can't drive a standard!" I exclaimed
"Then I can teach you tomorrow morning, The stores closed on Saturdays anyway."
I contemplated for a minute, I haven't been to a get together since my 12th birthday, so it might be fun. What could go wrong?
"Sure, sounds like a plan."
"I'll see you tomorrow bright and early then Lana."