Chapter Two
988 Words
The next morning, Mom and Dad met the realtor to get the paperwork started to put the house and the store space up for sale. I decided to walk into town and look around.
"Why don't you stop at the barber shop while you're out?" Dad said as I left. I pretended not to hear him.
I got a few strange looks as the locals passed me.
I must have looked quite out of place in my khakis and Polo shirt. It figures. I didn't fit in at home or at work, and I certainly didn't fit in here. I had packed a couple pairs of jeans. I should've worn those.
I passed a shop that had clothing, so I went inside and looked around. I walked to the boots and was looking at the different styles. The shop owner walked up to me and looked at me with a skeptical eye. He asked if he could help me and I told him I wanted to buy some boots. He showed off a couple of pairs, and I picked a pair of brown ones. I also grabbed a white long sleeved shirt and a blue plaid shirt.
As I left the store, I looked at my phone and saw that it was lunch time. I headed down to Lucille's restaurant and sat down at a table and looked over the menu.
"Excuse me? Philip, right?"
I looked up to see Butch standing in front of me.
"PJ," I said.
"PJ?"
"Yeah. I go by PJ... Philip Junior," I explained.
"Ah. Can I join you, PJ?" he asked, with a smile.
I smiled back and said, "Sure."
"I'm Butch," he said as he sat down.
"Yeah. I remember."
Like I could forget. Butch set his hat down on the seat next to him.
"So, how do you like our town?"
"It's nice," I said truthfully. "Very quiet."
I ordered a club sandwich and Butch ordered a double cheeseburger. As we ate our lunch, we made small talk. I found out that he's 34 years old and took over his business from his dad a few years ago. He told me some really interesting and funny stories about my grandmother.
"We didn't know her very well," I said. "She and Dad didn't get along, but if I had to bet, I'd guess that was more on Dad's end."
"Really? She talked about your Dad often, and about her granddaughter the doctor and her grandson the computer whiz."
"Well, I don't know about 'whiz'," I said with a blush.
"You're just bein' modest. I can tell you're real smart."
"Thanks," I said quietly, blushing even harder.
After we finished lunch, we went out front. Butch put out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. He offered me one and I declined.
"No, thanks. I don't smoke," I said.
"I've tried to quit, but... eh," he shrugged.
He took a drag and exhaled away from me.
"Well, I guess I'd better head back," I said.
"Hey... I'm having a problem with the computer in my office. I can't get it to print. Do you think you could take a look at it? I'll pay ya."
"Sure, I'll look at it. No charge."
"Do you have time right now?"
"Sure, Butch."
We crossed the street and walked to Butch's store. Butch dropped his cigarette butt and stomped it out with his big boot and we went inside. He said 'hey' to the clerk behind the counter. He introduced me to Chris and told him that we'd be in the office looking at the computer.
I followed him into the office and set my shopping bag on the floor. I sat down at his computer and took a look at the laser printer. I went to the Printers control panel and quickly figured out that it was a problem with the port and driver.
I connected to the Net, cringing as the modem dialed up and connected.
"You need DSL, Butch."
"Is that broadband? I don't think I use it enough to need it."
I downloaded the latest driver from the web, and then deleted the printer and reinstalled it. I printed a test page and pulled it out of the printer and handed it to Butch.
"Holy f**k! How'd you do that? Can you try to print from QuickBooks? That's what I use."
"Sure."
I started up QuickBooks and it wanted him to login with a username and password.
He leaned over me to type his password in. His face was right up against mine and he was pressing into my back. My god he smelled good. He smelled like a man. My heart was beating so fast that I was sure he could hear it. He reached around me and took the mouse and went to the reports and brought one up and clicked 'print.'
The printer whirred and within a few seconds, spit the report out. Butch straightened up and grabbed the printout.
"PJ, you are freakin' awesome! Thank you so much."
I smiled at Butch. "You're welcome."
"How much do I owe ya?"
"No charge."
"Okay, then let me take you to dinner tonight."
I looked at him in surprise. His face fell when I didn't answer him back right away.
"I'd love to," I said as I recovered from the shock.
"Great. How 'bout I pick you up at 6? At your grandma's, right?"
"Yeah. That's where we're staying. I'd better get going."
I stood up and grabbed my shopping bag. I wasn't sure what to do, so I reached out my hand. He shook my hand and chuckled. He put his arm around my shoulders and walked me out of the office. His hand slipped down my back and rested on the small of my back as he said goodbye to me at the door. I smiled at him and said 'bye' and then walked back to Grandma's.
- Writer
