Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

24. Boondocks

No matter where I go; I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks - Little Big Town

8:21 AM, Sunday, December 26, 2021

"Alison?" Anne asks as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. "Any idea where Chele or my son disappeared to? They're not in their rooms."

In response, the bookstore owner summons Anne to the back door of the shop, opening it a crack so that they can see outside. On the grass of the park behind the inn, two bundled figures are throwing snowballs at each other and laughingly squealing when they get nailed by a return missile. The shorter person, clearly Chele, ducks behind a tree when a round white mass of iciness flies towards her. Peeking around the side of her hiding place, Chele holds her own projectile in her gloved hand. From behind her, Harry grabs her around the waist, causing Chele to shriek. Picking her up, he spins them around, losing his balance and landing on his back with her on top. The heap that is Chele twists around in his grasp. Harry lifts his head, pursing his lips to kiss her just as Chele slams the snowball into his face, jumping up and running away.

A smile breaks forth on Anne's face. "Are they always like this?"

"In Nowhere? Yes, ma'am. They're the cutest couple I've ever seen actually. They make me smile. Any minute they will head over to Lee's for some coffee. I think Chele threw her laundry in over there, so they'll have to go back and move it to the dryer," Alison reveals.

"This town -- it's so..."

"Unique? Weird? Appalling?" A flood of adjectives pours from Alison's mouth as she tries to articulate all of the ways to describe her hometown.

"Interesting," Anne finishes. "A bookstore that's also an inn. A coffee shop that's also a laundromat."

"And the kindest people ever to walk the earth," another voice chimes in, causing the women to jump.

"Liz Guilden! How dare you sneak up on two older women like that!" Alison rebukes.

"Just looking for my best friend," the vegetable grower innocently announces.

"And I was looking for my son," Anne states, "Looks like we got two for the price of one." Holding the door open wider, she steps outside, calling to the two bodies with vapor trails from their mouths as they chase each other around in the snow. "Hey! Coffee?"

When their heads whip around to look at her and Harry waves, Anne feels a certainty in the vicinity of her heart that she hasn't felt for quite some time concerning her youngest. From the side of her mouth, she speaks quietly to Liz.

"Are you in favor of the two of them?"

"Harry and Chele? Hell, yes." The other woman's restrained volume doesn't match her tone or her words. "They belong together, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why they haven't done the dirty yet."

"What?" Confusion clouds Anne's vision. "They've been sharing a bed since we arrived here. I mean, they give every indication..."

"Nope. They haven't taken that step yet. Chele gave me some bullshit about how Harry says he's had physical relationships first with his other girlfriends, and he wants this one to mean something more." The younger woman takes a step on the sidewalk towards the coffee shop as Chele and Harry get closer. "And silly me believes him. How romantic is he?"

The question stays unanswered as the objects of their conversation arrive. Harry hugs his mum while Chele wraps her arm around her bestie and they set off for the laundromat. Or coffee shop. Whatever it chooses to be.

11:47 AM, Sunday, December 26, 2021

"Holy bacon on a biscuit! How did you beat me that time?" Harry asks, setting the paddle back on the ping pong table.