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For me, these changes started when I made the move back to West Jefferson. Back home to where my life started so many years ago. There had been lots of changes to the town since I was last here. As a teenager, I thought leaving here would be the best thing to happen to me. But I’d missed the mountains of North Carolina more than I realized.
If you’re not from a small town, you won’t get it. Growing up here, for me at least, meant there was nothing to do. We didn’t have movie theaters. There were no malls like you saw on TV. Everyone knew your mama and daddy and grandma. The gossip mill worked faster than the newspapers. Lord knows my grandma always knew what was going on, especially if it pertained to the teens in town. Hell, I think she even knew about it before we did it. She was that good.
Walking down the familiar sidewalk, I have my eye on the door to the little antique store. It has a lot of junk in it, but that junk to someone like me, is worth all the gold in the world. I love the rustic charm. The simple elegance. All of it. What I am here for today though, has me smiling. I’d seen an old wagon wheel in the window. I have an idea in my head of what I can use it for and where; I just need to make sure it’s still available.
“Good morning, Mr. Jorgenson,” I call out as I come inside.
The man behind the counter is a legend. If it’s broken, he can fix it. Cars, tractors, go karts. You name it, and he is the man to come to. He walks a little slower than I remember as he shuffles around the counter.
“Tori! I heard you were back in town.” He comes over and gives me a big hug. Old people hugs are the best. It’s like a warm blanket on a cold day.
“I got back about six weeks ago. I came looking for you, but Mr. Claire said you’d gone to Atlanta to see your daughter and her kids?”
“Yes. I had a nice enough time, but I am so glad to be home. There are too many people down there for me. Everyone’s in a big rush to go nowhere, and they give you attitude for everything. If I were a few decades younger…” He holds up a fist.
I snort out a laugh. “No need to get rowdy. Bail isn’t a jar of moonshine and a chicken no more.” The old saying rolls off my tongue. My grandpap always said that. It makes me miss those times even more.
He shakes his head and chuckles. “I guess not. What can I do ya for today?”
“That wagon wheel over there, is it for sale?”
“Sure is. I don’t cotton to holdin’ onto things. If it’s in here, it’s got a price.”
“Great! You wouldn’t happen to have another one, would ya?” I am all but bouncing on my toes right now. If I can get my hands on another one, then I can definitely make my vision come to life.
His brows furrow as he rubs his neck. “I just might have a matching pair, I’m sure I didn’t get rid of them, at the house. That old barn is full of scraps from this or that. What ya lookin’ to do with it?”
“I want to make a raised flower bed for the front yard. I have a circular driveway that has a plot of grass in the middle of it. Figured it needs something fancy in it.”
“You gonna make a bed with the wheels? Won’t the plants fall through the gaps?”
I shake my head, chuckling. “Oh no. I want to make a box to sit between the wheels. It will get filled with rocks and dirt, then I will plant the flowers or greenery in it.”
“Oh, I see. Forgive an old man for his bad thinkin’. Let me call to the house. Rusty should be up and moving by now.”
“I haven’t seen Rusty since I got back. What’s he been up to?”
“He drives the big rigs for a lumber company over in Kentucky. He’s home for a few days to make sure I’m all settled back in, I reckon.”
Rusty Jergenson. Man, that was a blast from the past. In the sixth grade, he kissed me under the oaks by his grandpa’s barn. I’d been so shy then. He was two or three years older than me, so it was a big deal. I hadn’t even had boobs yet. That kiss had been awful, but he’d won me over. However, it didn’t last; a week later, I caught him kissing Layne Winters under that same tree. My eleven-year-old heart had been crushed.
It was also that week that me and four others came down with a bad case of mono. Seems that boy’s lips were everywhere and full of cooties. Trying to explain how I’d gotten sick to my grandma…that was no fun.
The whole lot of us got a good, healthy talking to, that was for sure. As a group. In the preacher’s office at the church. I’ve never been more embarrassed in my entire life than I was that day.
“Victoria?”
I turn to find him watching me. Oops. “Um, sorry, I was lost in the past. What was that?”
He chuckles. “Seems nothing has changed with you. You used to do that as a little one all the time. Your grandpap would be calling for you, and you’d be off in space.”
I couldn't help but chuckle in reply. He had a point.
“I got Rusty on the phone. He’s going out in the barn to look for them. If you want to head on up there, he can load it up for you if you have a truck.”
“Oh, great. Yes, I have an SUV; there should be plenty of room. How much do I owe you?”
“For you, twenty bucks.”
