Day 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing…except Mrs. Taylor.

Warning: None for this chapter. Maybe some nasty stuff in later chapters. I’ll let you know.

Enjoy!


Harrison didn’t pay attention to where he was going. He just walked around, trying to clear his head. The fact that he had hit Davis didn’t sit well with him and he knew that Tru was likely to chew him out for it more later. Not like it really matters. I’m the screw up, right? He turned quickly as someone said his name.

“Harrison? Is that you?” An older woman approached him, weighed down by quite a few groceries.

“Mrs. Taylor! Hey…what are you doing all the way out…?” He stopped as he noticed his surroundings for the first time. So old habits die harder than I thought. He smiled at the older woman and took her groceries from her. “Why don’t you let me run these up for you, alright?”

The woman blushed. “You’re such a good boy.” She led him upstairs to her apartment and opened the door for him. “Right over there, honey.” She pointed to her kitchen.

Harrison smiled as he set the groceries down and started to pull them out to put away for her. He knew that the woman was well aware that he could walk through her place in the dark without tripping over a thing and that he had put away her groceries for her dozens of times with…No, I’m not going there. He finished his task and then went back out in the living room. “Everything is put away for you. Can I do anything else while I’m here?”

Mrs. Taylor studied the boy. Too young to deal with the things he’s had to, but I don’t suppose he’s going to complain about it. “Young man, you can sit for a moment and talk with me. Just watching you zip around here is making me lose my breath.” She grinned.

Harrison rubbed his hair with his hand, causing the spiky blonde points to bend a bit. He sat down and rubbed his hands together, looking around at any point that he could. Mrs. Taylor’s eyes were easily avoided until her gnarled brown fingers snapped in front of his face. “Wha-What…um…Yeah…”

“Hmph…I think that you have way to much on your mind, Harrison. I don’t like that. I spend all my time talking to you and you weren’t even listening.”

He was about to apologize profusely until he saw the twinkle in her eye. He wagged his finger at her as a lopsided grin spread across his face met by one of her own. “See, Mrs. Taylor? You almost had me. I should have known that you could never be mad at me.” He straightened his jacket and leaned back. “After all, we both know that my charms work wonders on beautiful women.” He winked.

“Glenna, young man. I prefer it if you’d call me by my first name. We’ve known each other too long for such propriety. I remember when Tru would help me with my groceries. She and Lindsay would…” Her voice trailed away as she watched her young visitor’s face pale. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything painful.” When Harrison waved off her apology, she continued. “When I heard that Lindsay was getting married, I assumed it was to you. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.”

Harrison looked up at her and frowned sadly. “I never thought that you wouldn’t support me, Mrs…I mean, Glenna.”

She shook her head. “It isn’t that at all. Look, I sometimes see things that others don’t. I suppose it’s a gift to make up for the curse of old age. I’ve lived here for a long time and Lindsay was a great neighbor. Meeting Tru was nice enough. She’s a pleasant girl. She’s ambitious. Too ambitious. She’s running from something, just like you. Lindsay has told me about your mother’s death and your father’s indifference and I can understand why you would close yourself off from the rest of the world. I don’t think that anyone has really gotten close enough to really hurt you. Even Lindsay. It’s a sore spot now, but that will fade nicely in time. Tru doesn’t seem the type to ever let you know if you need to worry about her or not.”

He laughed. “You seem to know an awful lot about my sister. She just doesn’t trust me.” His voice dropped and he looked down. “Not that I blame her.”

Glenna stood up and pulled Harrison’s hand until he got up and went with her to the door. She hugged him and sighed. “You have to stop that. You’re a good boy. You just need to find out what life wants from you and what you want from life.”

“Easier said than done, but thank you for the encouragement. It’s nice to know that someone believes in me.”

She squeezed his hand and then opened her door to stare at her previous neighbor’s door. “Everything is gone from there now. It’s unlocked. Why don’t you go in there and wrestle with a demon or two. If you need me, yell, and I’ll come running with my broom to knock the hell out of them.”

He grabbed her in another quick hug. “Alright. Maybe I’ll give it a try.” He walked out into the hallway and turned back to return the smile that the older woman gave him as she shut her door to give him some privacy. He walked up to Lindsay’s door and nearly knocked before he remembered that there wasn’t anyone to answer. Summoning up his strength, he placed his hand against the smooth surface, trying to feel the weight of the memories behind the thin door. “Okay, time to face up to what’s happened and where you are. No time like the present.” With that, he opened the door and walked in.