Two hours later I had the entire cabin uncovered and dusted. One last task on my list, I went for the sweeper I had dug out of the hall closet. It didn't work of course, eleven years of neglect will do that. Ironically, the sweeper wasn't the only thing affected. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten anything all day. I drove straight through lunch and dinner, and I'd been working on the dust ever since. There was nothing in the cabinets worth eating. I don't think even peanut butter can keep for eleven years. I checked my cell and saw that I had an hour before the local market opened, so I decided to unpack and take a shower. It only took me about twenty minutes to hang my clothes in the closet and get the bed linens from the bathroom, so I decided that a long hot bath was in order.
Forty five minutes later, I pulled a pair of jeans and my favorite black sweater on. Quickly I shoved my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my keys. This was gonna have to be quick, I was exhausted. I drove to the market a little too fast, but there was no one else on the road so I told myself it wasn't that bad. Once I got inside the market I wished I'd taken the time to make a list. Grocery shopping on an empty stomach is a bad idea. I knew I was going to buy way more than I need. Oh well... At least I would be eating well, and I still had no idea how long I was staying at the cabin.
After stocking up on chicken breasts, beef, pasta and the freshest possible vegetables for a small mountain town in the dead of winter.. I decided that wine was needed. Lots of wine. I wound my way down the main aisle keeping my head down for the fear of being recognized. I knew it'd been eleven years, but the people here had become family to Mom and me. Small towns never forget you, either. I just really couldn't deal with it right now. The wine aisle was blissfully well stocked and varied. I knew I would be here for a while. I decided to grab several bottles now, since I really didn't want to come back here for a while. A moment later, however, I realized how bad it looked that the majority of my cart was filled with wine instead of food. In line at the only checkout open, I couldn't really back out now. Thankfully, the checkout was uneventful and devoid of any judgmental looks.
Loaded up in the car, I headed back to the cabin.. slowly this time since it was snowing steadily again. The town that was close to the cabin really wasn't that much. Just a main street square with an ancient courthouse in the middle. Mom told me when I was really young, that the courthouse had been built as a one room schoolhouse, but as the town grew they built a new school and kept the old one as a meeting place. Gradually it became their courthouse and the town still had weekly town meetings every Sunday after church... which was also held in the same building. It used to creep me out that this place was straight out of Little House on the Prairie.. but this time around it was comforting. Finally a place that didn't expect EVERYTHING from me. I pulled up the drive to the cabin then.. and noticed that there was a motorcycle parked in front.
The first thought through my mind was: who would drive a motorcycle up here in this weather? Then came the second thought: maybe I shouldn't have come up here alone....
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