Page 60 of Traces Of You

“I don’t know any other way.”

She looked as if she was losing weight. Or maybe it was from being in his shirts when he saw her often after work. She was swimming in them, but he’d have it no other way.

She wore a Ridgeway Orchard T-shirt now. No jacket and it was cold out.

“You drove over, right?”

She looked into his eyes, her smile bright. “Yes. It’s too far to walk with this box.”

“And too cold,” he said.

“I was thinking of going to the outlets one day to get a few things. Not sure when, but putting it out there.”

“If you want to hold off until this weekend, I’ll go with you.”

“I can’t ask you to go shopping with me, Ford. That’s too much.”

“Maybe I need a few things.”Or just want to spend time with you.

“Really?”

“I could use a new pair of workout sneakers.” He’d been telling himself that for months.

“We can talk about it.”

“We will,” he said. “I’ll call you later tonight.”

“I’ll be waiting,” she said shyly and left.

“Watch yourself.”

He turned to see his father standing in the doorway. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Famous last words,” Clay said, moving in and going right for the food.

Ford didn’t have the energy to argue with anyone. They wouldn’t listen anyway.

16

MAKE WAY FOR THE FUTURE

“Do you want me to run over and get the platter and bowl from the mill?” Reenie asked a little before three.

The last of the customers had left twenty minutes ago and she’d just cleaned all the tables and put the last chair on top so she could mop the floors.

“I can run and get them,” Brooke said.

“Nonsense. You’re getting dough ready. I’ll run over as soon as I mop and then it will dry and I can put the chairs down when I get back.”

“I’ve learned not to argue with you,” Brooke said. “Not when your mind is set.”

Reenie grabbed the bucket in the back corner next to the closet holding all the cleaning supplies.

She was up front and pushing the stick around, the curly thick material sloshing as it went.

There was something oddly calming about cleaning a floor. Most people wouldn’t understand, but to her, watching the dirt vanish and the surface shine again felt symbolic, like restoring order to chaos.

Wiping away the past to make way for the future.