The Town

Chapter 3: The Town

"You're gay?"

The old lady questioned.

"Yep." I replied, as blunt as I could, but with an undertone that reeked as 'you gotta problem with it?'

Miss Annie just gave a kind smile, eyes shining proudly from behind her glasses. "Well, congratulations on coming out. I know it is a hard thing to do. Now I understand why the hardcore army man didn't take too kindly to the news."

I chuckled slightly and smirked. I like her.

"Yeah. The big bad army man didn't like his little 'feminine' boy."

My mom looked at me with pity, something I hated, before mustering out just a few words. "It's in the past, we're safe now."

Miss Annie gave the two of us a kind smile and held our hands.

"Yes, you two are safe now. So, let's go put the bags you have upstairs in your rooms."

We all stood from the metal chairs and I shouldered both our bags. Miss Annie walked out of the bakery, holding the door for us as we waited outside for her to finish locking up.

"I don't usually lock up this early, but today is special with you guys arriving."

She gave us another smile before going around the corner to the side of the shop, conveniently where our bikes were, and unlocked another door with stairs behind, leading to the condo-type house above the bakery. We moved the bikes to the little room inside, then followed Miss Annie up the nice wooden stairs. The living room looked surprisingly modern considering Miss Annie's sense of decor in the bakery; a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, a leather L-couch with a matching set of armchairs, a reclaimed wood coffee table with identical side tables, and impressive abstract art on almost every wall.

As she took our coats to hang in the closet at the top of the stairs, Miss Annie seemed to notice our slightly surprised expressions from the decor, and explained.

"My son decorated for me after he said I needed to get out of my grandmother's house. All the paintings were created by my eldest granddaughter. She's on a track to be a Creator, with her finishing up high school this year, she'll find a mentor, perfect her craft then go off on her own in this community, probably in another section knowing her."

We hummed in interest at her little story. I was slightly confused on the terms used, but Mom seemed to get it, mostly. It must have been in the packet of information she got when she accepted the invitation to live here.

Walking through the living room we automatically ended up in the kitchen and dining area, both just with everyday decor: granite counters, stainless steel appliances, oak furniture, the works. Miss Annie didn't have much to say about this area.

"Just a simple kitchen and dining area. As you can see, this is an open area, so feel free to watch some TV when you eat breakfast. I get up pretty early to start baking as soon as I can, so I won't wake you two."

We continued into a hallway where four doors lined the walls: two on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hall. Miss Annie opened each door to explain the room, starting with the closest on the left.

"This door here leads to the twin bedroom, there are two twin beds in here. This is usually where my grandchildren sleep when they are here. This next door on the left is the guest bedroom, one queen bed in here. This door at the end is the guest bath, there is a tub that also has a shower head in case you prefer one method over the other. And this last room on the right is my personal room, I have a private bath in case you need to use it and someone is in the other one."