Finding Ms. Right Box Set

Chapter 3-3

The McConnell house wasn’t too far from where Edie lived, which was unusual. Her work took her all over Richmond and its surrounding counties, and it wasn’t unheard of to drive an hour or more to reach some of the more remote locations. At least she didn’t have to get on the interstate and fight the morning commute. The only traffic she had to contend with were Henrico County school buses as they stopped every other block to pick up children. As she waited for a handful of little tykes to climb onboard, she muttered to herself, “They never stopped this much when I was going to school.”

Back in my day, she thought with a grin. When had she gotten old? It must have crept up on her, because her college days seemed like a few years ago, no more. But she remembered seeing an e-mail not too long ago about a high school reunion—it’d been one of the messages that made its way into her trash folder. Quickly she did the math. Had it really been twenty years?

And did it really matter? She felt better than she had in a long time, mentally as well as physically. She had her own business, she had a small savings, she had plans to maybe vacation on the shore somewhere in the next few months. What more could she possibly want?

Someone to share it with, the voice in her mind whispered. Someone to love.

Edie shook that thought away. Romance wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and she knew that first hand.

She followed the school bus down the back roads towards the McConnell house—it wasn’t until she finally pulled off on the right street that she remembered there was an elementary school in the neighborhood. She would have to find an alternate route on school days, or risk running behind schedule while waiting for the kids to get onboard. Buses really hadn’t stopped as frequently when she was younger; Edie remembered having to walk several blocks to the stop, and none of the other kids waiting there lived on that street, either. Was that a safety feature, or were kids too lazy to walk too far anymore?

Five minutes later than she had estimated when she’d left her house, she slowed to a stop in front of the McConnell place. There were already two cars parked by the chain-link fence fronting the property, and the trashcans on the curb left no room for Edie to squeeze in, too. So she pulled into the empty driveway, same as she had the only other time she’d visited. Then Mr. McConnell had been home—she checked her paperwork; his first name was Michael. The missus was out at the store then, the kids in school. Mr. McConnell had explained that, most days, his wife’s van was parked in the driveway, but she could park across the street once the renovation began. “I’m sure you’ll want to pull your trucks up here,” he’d said. “The double gate opens wide enough for you to pull all the way into the backyard, if you need to.”

They might. The front porch wasn’t in too bad of shape, but the gutters sagged and a large patch of shingles had blown off the roof at some point. No use trying to match them—there was enough money in budget to redo the entire thing.

Cutting the engine on her pickup, Edie gathered the papers back into her portfolio and climbed out of the cab. Let’s get to work.

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