Underestimated (4 page)

the two girls and their parents. I presumed that Lauren was

the older of the two by the graduation picture.

I slipped on my flip-flops and walked across the

road to my own house. My own house, I said, smiling to

myself again. Panic struck once more when I noticed my

front door open. I relaxed almost immediately the closer I

got. I could hear the country music playing.

I looked in the smaller bedroom, and it was empty,

but the walls had been washed, curtains hung, and the

wood floor shined. I laughed when I heard Lauren singing

something about having friends in low places. She was

singing in a deep voice, not her own I was sure. I opened

the door with a grin.

“What on earth are you doing?” I asked, seeing her

on the floor with a bottle of Murphy’s oil soap and a rag.

The curtains were hung there too, and I loved them. The

white curtains with the black, willow tree pattern accented

the gray walls perfectly.

“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. I am used to getting

up at four in the morning for work. I was up by five and

didn’t want to wake you.”

“You should have woken me,” I claimed. “What on

earth do you do that you have to get up at four in the

morning?”

“Lauren and Levi,” she said. Like I knew what that

meant.

“Uh?”

“Oh, sorry I forgot. You’re not from around here,

Lauren and Levi in the morning. I’m a radio host.”

“Really? You talk on the radio?” I asked,

intrigued. “Now I know I have to go buy a radio.”

“Yup, I work from five am to one pm.”

“I bet it’s country too, right?” I smiled.

She didn’t answer and only looked up with a

smile. “I brought coffee over if you want a cup.”

“I do, but I want you to stop this, and come and

drink one with me.”

We sat on the deck overlooking the ocean and

drank our coffee. I was so glad that Lauren was my

neighbor. I loved her already. I wondered why there was

no man, or was there? I should probably wait until I know

her a little better before I ask.

“Are you divorced yet?” Lauren asked, breaking

my thoughts about her love life.

I looked at her with a pensive expression, holding

my cup to my lips.

“Relax, will you already?” she requested. “You

have a tan line around your finger.”

I looked at my finger. Sure enough, she was right. I

wondered if makeup would cover that for a few days or

weeks. How long does it take to get rid of wedding ring

evidence?

“I have never been married,” I said with a warning

look. She laughed.

“Yeah right, okay, Ms. Mystery, but let me inform

you, I will eventually gain your trust and you will confess

all of your deep dark secrets to me. Your skeletons will be

bowing at my feet. ”

I looked at her with a serious expression. “It’s not

that I don’t trust you, Lauren.”

“I’m joking, Riley”

I smiled at her. “How the hell am I supposed to get

down to the beach from here?” I asked, wanting off of the

subject of me.

“There’s a path. I’ll show you, but right now we

have floors to clean.” She stood and patted my knee.

By eleven o'clock, we were finished. I couldn’t sit

still. I was noticeably hyper and wanted my delivery,
now
.

Lauren showed me the path to get to the beach. It

was rather steep and rocky, but nothing that I couldn’t

handle. I should have my house all together by the next

day, and planned to venture down there and explore my

new surroundings.

Lauren never left me. She stayed until five in the

evening until the last picture was hung on the wall. I loved

it, and I loved her. My house was complete, and I only

needed to go shopping for a few odds and ends that I had

forgotten. Food! Yes. I had to do that. If I forgot to get

food one more day, I was going to turn myself into a crazy

house.

I hugged Lauren before she left and thanked her

again.

“I don’t like mushy friends,” she teased with a

warning look. “You are more than welcome. Oh yeah,

what’s your cell number?” she asked, pulling hers from

her back jeans pocket.

“I don’t have one,” I said, and she cocked her

head.

“There

is

a

Radio

Shack

right

beside

‘Reminiscent,’ where you will be working. You should

probably have a phone.”

“I am not sure I want one just yet. I think that I

should wait a while.”

“Afraid of being found?” she asked. I wasn’t about

to answer that one. She left shaking her head as she

skipped across my yard. My yard, I smiled.

I showered and was bouncing off the walls as I

entered my new living room. I couldn’t wait to lie on the

black comfy leather sofa and watch a movie. That was my

plans for that Saturday night. I was going to the grocery

store first, not about to get sidetracked or forget that again.

Then I was going to rent a movie or two and come back,

lie on my couch and eat spaghetti. I loved spaghetti and

Drew had hated it. The only time I would get it was when

he took me to ‘Trattoria da Cesare,’ a famous Italian

restaurant on Las Vegas Boulevard, I mean Carson

Boulevard. I giggled to myself and felt like a giddy little

teenager.

I was home by eight, listening to my new radio and

country music as I chopped the needed ingredients for my

spaghetti. I wondered what Lauren was doing. I should

invite her over for spaghetti. I wished I could call her. I

looked out the front door, and there were no lights on. She

wasn’t home. I went out to the back deck and gazed out at

the moon over the ocean. For the first time in an awful

long time I felt light-hearted and had a new sense of calm.

I would never again worry about what kind of

mood Drew was going to be in when he got home. I would

never again worry about focusing on what I could do to

improve myself so that I didn’t set him off. I would focus

on me for the first time in my life. I clasped my hands

together and pressed them to my lips, almost as if I were

praying and thanking God for my courage to do what I had

done, and be where I was standing. I truly was grateful.

My new sense of being was shattered once again

when I heard the loud knock on the door. Would I ever get

used to this? Would I ever be able to breathe and not think

that it was someone there to get me?

I looked out and saw Lauren. She pushed herself in

carrying a bag and busily started talking as she removed

its contents.

“So, I figured I might as well get this myself. It

was pretty obvious that you were not going to,” she said

handing me the new cellphone. “You have to have a

phone, Riley,” she assured me.

“Lauren, I can’t accept this.” I tried to hand it

back.

“Hmm, this looks good,” she said, sticking her

finger in my homemade sauce, ignoring me.

“Lauren!”

“Look, Riley. I don’t know what your story is, and

I am not going to pry. If you ever need to talk I am here,

and you never have to worry about me saying anything to

anyone. Even if you never tell me your story, you still need

a phone. It’s pretty clear that you are afraid of having a

phone in your name, so I put it on my plan. I am not giving

you anything. The phone was free to add a line, and you

can pay me the monthly thirty five dollar payment. Okay?”

How could I argue with that? Why was she, so hell

bent on being nice to me? Not that I was complaining, it

just felt sort of superficial. No. Stop it, Morg, I mean, Ry,

not everyone has a motive.

“Thank you, Lauren. Would you like to stay for

supper?”

“No, but I want leftovers tomorrow. I kind of have

a visitor that I need to get back to. I put my number in your

phone already, in case you need anything. I’m leaving

before you hug me again.”

I laughed and watched her walk back to her house.

There was a guy building a fire off to the side of her

house. I watched as he wrapped her in his arms and kissed

her. I wondered who he was and if he was her boyfriend.

I finally sat down to enjoy my spaghetti and the

movie ‘Wanderlust with Jennifer Aniston.’ I couldn’t

contain my nosiness and peeked through the crack in the

curtains across the yard every now and then. I watched

Lauren lead her friend into her house by the hand around

eleven. She probably wouldn’t tell me about him unless I

asked. I wouldn’t, I mean, it wasn’t like I was sharing any

part of my life with her.

I slept like a baby in my new bed but woke a little

too early, thanks to Lauren. I reached for my new

cellphone on the nightstand and read the new text.

“You up?”

“I am now,” I answered.

“Make coffee, I’m on my way over.”

Okay. I said out loud, forcing myself out of bed. I

didn’t even have time to completely finish peeing before

she was knocking on my door.

“Good morning,” she said, way too happy. I

glanced at the clock, and it was only eight. I wasn’t sure I

liked her much anymore. She walked past me and started

the coffee herself.

“I’m going to brush my teeth,” I said and left her

alone. When I returned she was in my refrigerator,

retrieving the leftover spaghetti.

“Want some?”

“No. Help yourself.” I sarcastically replied.

I sat on my new sofa, and she talked. Not about

anything particular, she was just rattling on about this and

that. I sleepily listened and wished I had slept another

hour while she warmed up my leftovers.

“What are you doing today?” she asked, pushing

my feet off the couch so that she could sit.

There is a chair right there.

“I want to walk down to the beach. Other than that,

I guess I don’t have any. Why?”

“I bowl on Sunday afternoon. Wanna come?” she

asked, sucking spaghetti through her lips.

“No. I don’t think so, but thanks.”

“Come on, Riley, it’s fun. I will introduce you to

some of my friends.”

“I will, Lauren, just not today.”

“Okay.” she replied, and I was glad that she didn’t

insist. I certainly wasn’t up for meeting new people yet.

I dressed in a pair of dark blue wind pants with

two small white stripes, and a white cotton shirt,

unbuttoned overtop of a red t-shirt. I was definitely going

shopping for new clothes. Yes. I did once wear worse

than what I had now, but I had gotten used to the designer

clothing that was a vital part of my life for the past six

years. Somewhere in-between this and that would be

good, I decided as I tied the also used sneakers. I felt

ashamed of myself. I shook my head in disbelief of

wearing someone else’s shoes. There was a time in my

life that my toes cramped, curled in the only shoes that I

had to wear, probably two sizes too small.

I started down the path, holding onto the boulders

as I made my way to the beach. This was surely not what I

had pictured when I thought about living by the beach.

From what I had seen so far, there was no beach. I

climbed and maneuvered my way through the sarsens.

Some of the spaces between the rocks were barely wide

enough to squeeze through. It was probably a good thing

that I was required to keep in shape. Finally, I was in the

clearing. I moaned a disgusted breath when I saw that the

large peak that I had been looking at from my deck, didn’t

allow room for walking. The only way I would be able to

walk north was sprint while the tide gave maybe a foot of

wet sand. I would do it, just not that day. I chose instead to

walk south. The beach was nice, and I decided that I had

found my new favorite place when in a distance I

witnessed a pirate ship. I knew that it wasn’t a real pirate

ship, but with the many sails, it could have passed as one.

The windjammer was moving away from the lighthouse on

a peak in the distance.

I sat on a hard rock and pulled my knees to my

chest. The air was crisp, but the sun warmed my face, and

felt invigorating as I contemplated living there. I closed

my eyes and breathed the sea air and the suns heat into my

lungs. I was here. I did it, and I was never looking back.