Chapter 19
Almost a mile from Wendy's cabin a happy young man approached a forest intersection of a dirt road and a slightly paved road that led to town.
I want to get her something. His mind went to earlier in the day when she said "I love those little flowers."
She likes those little flowers, but maybe some bigger flowers? For the counter at the shack next to the register, to surprise her when she comes to work in the morning. And maybe a card or something. Or...I know! A picture of the two us in a nice frame for her to keep by her bed? And one for me too. Yeah! That's it! A couple of picture frames. And then print out the pictures of us from her phone or Mabel's.
Whistling, Dipper Pines took the paved fork in the road towards town.
...
Thirty minutes into his shift Nate was writing down in his notepad the license plate of a car he saw parking in the strip mall lot, when he noticed the passengers were not patronizing the local businesses but walking across the street to the Juke Joint, whose parking lot was full.
I'll give them a warning this time. Next time I'll call the tow truck! Ha!
He then took out a yellow security report form and wrote out the warning. They'll think it's a ticket when they first see it. Then maybe next time they won't illegally park.
He slipped the form under the windshield wiper, and then turned around to continue his beat to the rear of the stores to check and confirm the back doors were locked and secure.
Inspecting the alley behind the stores he found a brown bottle on top of a trash can. He suddenly took a stance, knees bent and legs splayed, determination in his face, and then looking both ways he returned focus to the bottle. Like a quick draw cowboy he grabbed his Maglite and flipping it over and catching the lens side in midair, swung the butt of the heavy black flashlight towards the bottle, smashing it instantly in a sparkling explosion.
"Ha! You're messing with the wrong guy!" He blew across the end of the light and slipped it back into his holster and stood up, straightening his shirt collar and belt, and then pulling out the radio called in a mock report without actually pressing the transmit of the radio:
"SHHHH: Headquarters: Perpetrator neutralized. No backup required at this time. Nate out. SHHHH..." He resumed walking, grabbing each door handle and turning to make sure they were locked...
...
Wendy wiped her forehead as she left the kitchen; once the menfolk had food in front of them they no longer took notice of her and so wouldn't mind if she took a bath. She could do the dishes later.
Someday I'll move out. Someday. She closed the bathroom door and started the bath, hot water first to give time it to warm up.
She had already changed out of her dress and leggings earlier to avoid spattering grease staining her nice clothes as she cooked dinner. Now she had only to unzip out of her jeans and pull off a white tee. She added some eucalyptus bubble bath to the water and inhaled deeply. "mmmmm!" When I get my own place I'll make sure it has a bathtub! Maybe...and she allowed a herself a brief fantasy as she now turned on the cold water and began adjusting the temperature. Maybe Dipper and I...if we get married, years from now...we could get our own place...
She imagined a home where they would both come home from their respective jobs, have a nice dinner, and then ...then take a bath...She closed her eyes, smiling. She turned off the water and then turned on her romantic playlist, and then stepped into the bath. "Ahhhhhhhhh!"
She laid back in the tub, and slipped further holding her nose to completely submerge, and then sat back up to lean against the back of the tub in relaxation. The slow tempo music seemed to seep into her soul as she soaked away her cares. What cares? Everything's perfect. This is the happiest I have been in a while. Before him I was like, so stressed out, and now...now everything's easy...
She inhaled the eucalyptus scent and then suddenly the music was interrupted by a brief chime of a notification on her phone, and then the music resumed. She reached over to the towel to dry her hand and then flipped open the phone. "Nate now insane security guard downtown. Wrote my parents a warning." Wendy smiled.
"So he finally got another job! Good for Nate, but maybe bad for Gravity Falls." And she restarted the MP3 player app and set it down to slip back into the bubbles, smiling...
