Loveland

Chapter 4

Autumn

It had been about a week since we arrived in Loveland. 

It took us a few days to get everything unpacked and put away. I must have rearranged the furniture 40 times before I was satisfied. I wanted the house to flow. I loved a clean uncluttered house. Where everything had a place. The furniture we had was all new. I mulled over just keeping the set we had but I decided against it. Honestly, I never liked the white leather set Paul had picked out. He claimed it was an "anniversary gift" for me. But he knew it was never something I'd choose. This time I went with something softer. Cozier. Dark chocolate brown. The fabric was soft and comfy. The kind you wanna snuggle under a blanket with someone on. Not that I would be snuggling with anyone other than Aiden that is. 

The little devil walked down the stairs into the living room where I was hanging some photos. 

"Are you gonna hang any of dad?" He said standing behind me. His Nintendo I'm his hand. He took me off guard. I didn't really know if I was or not. I packed them but didn't really know where they'd end up. 

"Do you want me to hang any up? I will if you think we should. What about this one?" I handed him a framed photo of us all at Disney World. We took Aiden when he turned 8. The picture showed a happy family. And for all Aiden knew at that time we were. The reality was, Paul never wanted to go. It meant he had to take off work. And going out of town was always an inconvenience to him if he had to bring us along. We held it together well enough to give Aiden a nice vacation. 

"No don't hang it. I'll put it in my room. If that's cool?" He took the photo from me looking at it curiously. 

"You okay buddy? Something you wanna talk about?" He shook his head. Never wanting to talk about his troubles was so much like his father. I chose to keep that to myself. 

"Aiden honey, if there is anything you wanna know or you're confused about you know you can come t me. Right?" He nodded. I continued "so what's up?  Don't make me tickle it out of you" I knew that would make him smile. I started to come toward him like I was going to tickle him. He held up his hands to stop me but it was too late. I went in for the attack and had him on the ground in seconds before he gave up. 

"Okay okay!!! Uncle!! Uncle!!" He sat up and pulled his knees up and shook his shaggy hair out of his eyes. His handsome features we're gonna get him in trouble one day. I hoped he would turn out completely different than his father. I could only hope. I stroked his hair back off his face. 

"Come on kid. Spill the beans. What's going through that brilliant mind of yours?" 

He sighed like he was so lost in exponential thought. 

"Mom? We came here to start over right? Start fresh where people don't know us? If we're gonna do that don't hang up the pictures of dad." He looked so guilty as be said the words. 

"That's all? Why was that so hard for you to tell me? And why do you look like you just ran over your grandmother's dog?" I laughed hoping to squash whatever guilt he was feeling. 

"Because mom, I kinda feel like we'd be happier if we didn't have to think about dad all the time. But that's wrong because he's my dad. I guess I feel bad that I don't miss him more. It's not like we were important to him or anything. All he cared about was work and his friends." Aiden didn't know how right he was. Paul was never a family man. Unless it was out in public where he had no choice. 

"It's okay son. You do not need to feel guilty for anything. You feel however you need to feel. I'm glad you came to me about this. Is this why you've been moping around the house all week?" He nodded looking through his hair at me. I stood us both up. 

"Son. I want you to listen and listen well. Are you ready?... I want you to go outside. Walk around the block. Find some kids make some friends. Go play get dirty. Let everything else fade away. Okay? Promise me? I took the Gameboy from his hands and turned him around towards the front door. "I'll try mom. But I'm not gonna promise. What if the kids here don't like me either? And hey you should take your own advice. Go out and make some friends mom. Get your own life." As he walked out the door dragging his feet it donned on me that he had a point. I watched him go through the gate and walk around the side until he was out of view. 

"Maybe I do need to get out? But where in the hell could I go?"  I knew absolutely nobody here. Hell, I had just figured out where the grocery store was. We lived just 4 blocks away from the town center. I wouldn't even need my car for most things I could walk. That sounded great. I grabbed my house keys and wallet and headed out the door. I saw Aiden about 3 yards away talking to a dark-haired little girl and two taller blonde-haired boys. It made me smile. I was so happy this was working out. I didn't wanna embarrass him too much but I needed to get his attention. 

"Hey, Aiden!? I'm gonna go for a walk. You good?" He looked relieved I guess because I refrained from calling honey or snicklefrits like I usually do. 

"Yeah, mom I'm good. Just gonna play ball for a bit!" The little dark-haired girl was adorable but was taller than Aiden. And he was tall for his age.  Goodness her parents must be giants. Poor thing. I started walking towards town a little nervous if I'm being honest. I was never good at meeting new people. I was typically an outgoing person but years of Paul constantly telling me I was "just too much sometimes" made it harder now to actually try. But my son's words played over and over in my head. "take your own advice mom. Go out and make some friends". My son was a smart little s**t sometimes. 

As I walked into town I noticed that while it was small and simple it was beautiful. There were small businesses and mom and pop stores all around. There were a few chain restaurants and stores on the outer parts of town but the center was something out of a storybook. The lantern street lights lined either side of the road. String lights hung over top from roof to roof. The grocery store was small but had all the necessities. A Cafe sat at the corner of Pine and Church and even though it was 10:30 in the morning on a Tuesday the place was full. People sat outside enjoying their brunch. I thought they might give me a strange look. Some stranger walking around town staring at people. But instead they offered kind smiles or slight nods. It was a pleasant morning. 

 As I walked out of the grocery store, holding my small bag with all the fixings for chili, I saw an old building across the way that looked dilapidated but was clearly in use. It said "The Grand Marr hotel" as I was studying the building I ran face first into someone. A pretty blonde holding a small red headed baby girl. All dressed in pink. 

"Oh my God I'm so sorry. I'm such a spaz. I didn't see you there." I offered the best apology I could but I could tell she wasn't upset. She had a sweet smile and a round face. She adjusted the baby on her hip and shook her head. 

"Oh honey it's fine. No worries. Hey... You must be new around here. I've lived in Loveland my whole life and I've never seen your face. What's your story?"  This was all new to me. I lived in Franklin my whole life and never had to meet new people. But I had to try. If Aiden could do it so could I. Plus she seemed nice. 

"Yeah hey I'm Autumn Cooper. Just moved here with my son. We're from Georgia. Sorry I've been a little distracted this morning. Trying to find my way around the place." The little baby held out her hand toward me. "wow! Georgia!? No wonder you got such a kickass tan. This is Pennsylvania honey. Tans like yours usually cost money. I'm Beth Anne Carmichael. And this little beauty is my youngest, Brianne. My other 3 boys are playing at the diamond up the road." She pointed in the direction of the diamond while we walked slowly on the sidewalk. 

"Oh okay. My son went with some of the neighborhood kids to play ball too. I hope he's doing okay."

She put her free hand on my shoulder and reassured me "oh don't worry. Neighborhood kids have played at the diamond for 40 years. They're safe here. We all kinda look out for each other around here. What's your boys name?" We talked as she stopped in front what looked like a flower shop. She unlocked the door and ushered me in. 

"His name is Aiden. He's 10. Is this your flower shop? Ugh all these beautiful flowers around I would never leave." She set the baby down in a high chair behind the counter. 'yeah it's mine. Me and my husband bought it from the previous owners when they retired. Surprisingly it does pretty well. Don't worry about your son. My boys are out there and their 10 and 12. They'll keep an eye on him."  She eased my nerves without even trying. I liked Beth Anne already. I leaned over to smell a potted petunia.

"You like that one? Take it. Keep it watered for a couple more weeks. But it will need to be in the ground soon. I think it would be pretty in your yard. The old Donaldson house right?" She said with a proud smile on her face. 

"Yeah how did you know?" I asked. 

"Autumn honey this is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Folks can't cut a fart without it making the front page. You'll soon find out" ive never heard anything so eloquently put in my life.