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Giggles seize me despite my fear. “I’m going.” The door is still open as far as possible, and I pull it toward me a tiny bit so I can peek through the crack between the hinges. Nobody is waiting behind it to grab me.
My living room is empty, and I can see into the kitchen as well. “So far so good. My TV is here, and my laptop is sitting on the coffee table. I don’t think I’ve been robbed. I’m going to check the other rooms.”
“Stay ready just in case,” she warns.
I’m grateful I left my shower curtain open and don’t have to suffer that terrifying moment of whipping it aside hoping not to see an axe murderer. It only takes a peek into my little bathroom to see it’s not occupied.
One more room to go. My bedroom door is open. Everything appears to be how I left it and I start to relax a little.
“Nobody in the bathroom or bedroom, but I’m going to check under the bed and the closet.” My closet door is ajar. Keeping a clear path between me and the bedroom door, I reach, yank it open, and jump back like a lion might be waiting to pounce on me. Nothing but my clothes and boxes.
Retreating back, I bend down on one knee to look under the bed. “Oh shit.”
“What? What happened?” Silver cries.
“There’s a huge spider under my bed.”
“Bitch, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“I’m sorry.” Relieved laughter pours out of me. “There’s no one here. And it doesn’t look like anything is missing.”
“Thank goodness. I can’t believe you went in. I’m over here about to pee myself on your behalf.”
“Everything’s fine. Sorry I had to drag you into it, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Don’t be silly. You can call me anytime. We’re friends. Just don’t tell my mom I let you go in alone or we’ll never hear theend of it. And get yourself a gun, for fuck’s sake.” Someone calls her name in the background, and she adds, “I have to go.”
“See you at work. Thanks girl.”
Once we hang up, the silence around me feels thick, probably because my adrenaline is still high. An inspection of the front door shows me the latch doesn’t catch well. If it’s unlocked, you barely have to press on it to swing it open.
Finally, I relax. I’m confident it was only the wind because who breaks into a place, doesn’t take anything or touch anything? I’m glad I didn’t call the police and I’m grateful for Silver because today would’ve been far more terrifying without her. It’s good to know I have a friend here.
I’m not due at work for another hour, but I’m too keyed up to sit here. The urge to look over at Arlow’s is too strong to resist as I get into my car, but there’s no one in sight.
A stop at the grocery store for some fruit and other cobbler ingredients kills some time before work. The peaches don’t look nearly as appetizing as the fresh ones so apples will have to do.
Silver is filling in for Misty who was supposed to work tonight and I’m glad to have her company. “Everything still cool?” she asks, dropping her voice a little too late as her mother walks by. It takes me a second to realize she’s asking about my cabin door being open. The second time I had the life scared out of me in the last few hours.
Mona glances over at us in time to see me nod. Before she can question what we’re talking about, I ask her, “Do you know where the property line runs between the cabin and the neighbor beside the graveyard? Like once you get back to the creek?”
“There aren’t any markers out there as far as I know, but the little bridge is his and everything to the west of it.” She looks at me over her glasses. “Has he been behind your place? If he’s giving you trouble…” Her expression finishes the implied threat and brings a smile to my face. This woman takes no shit.
“No, if anyone has a complaint, it’s him. I wandered into his peach orchard and sort of helped myself.”
“I definitely don’t own an orchard,” Mona says with a chuckle, pulling out her phone.
“In my defense, the trees were nearly bursting with fruit, some of it rotting, and the grass was long. I thought it was abandoned to grow wild.”
“He probably won’t notice any missing then,” Silver says, emptying a mixer.
“Catching me in his orchard with a bag full to make a cobbler may have given me away.”
Both of them stop what they’re doing to stare at me. “Was he angry?” Silver asks.
“No. He said it was all right.”
“So, you met him?”
