Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller(28)

There were things to tend to, oh yes, and the list was only growing by the day. She’d arrived in Nebraska with so many questions and curiosities that needed attention and to this point they’d all been neglected. It was so unlike her. She was usually the woman who took charge and got things done. God, for the last seven years, that’s all she’d done at work. And yet, here she was in a new town, a new state, and something had changed. Instead, and she was quick to admit to herself that it was the truth, she was letting herself be distracted by Mr. Nick Fielding.

Sarah picked up her phone from the small dusty night stand next to her bed. I really should do some cleaning, she thought, and then dialed Nick’s number. Before she reached the last number, however, she stopped, hung up the phone, and placed it back in the dusty outline she had pulled it from.

“Sorry, Nick,” she said out loud. “A girl’s gotta do some things for herself sometimes.”

Soon, she was headed out the front door with her keys jingling in her left hand. There was a chill in the air and the sky was grey, but only a small dusting of snow was visible on the grass. She bent down and raked her fingers through the frosted blades of grass and picked up a small handful of clean white snow. The cold felt good against her skin. She smiled. Maybe I’ll be able to make some snow angels soon. There were things to tend to first. Moments later, she hopped into her truck and headed down the dirt road towards town. After a good night's sleep it was time to do some exploring on her own.

●



Sarah pulled into the angled parking stall in front of the Homewood Public Library. She’d decided that this was a great jumping off point, plus she’d wanted to walk down the small town’s quaint Main Street ever since she’d first left L.A. It was something that she’d never done before, and she liked that.

The sign on the Library door read “closed.” Sarah looked again and found another sign that said they’d be opening up at 10am that day. She looked at her phone. It was 9am.

“I guess I have time for some coffee then.” She said with a smile.

Sarah strolled down Main Street, taking in all the signs and window shopping some of the local spots. The buildings were all of a similar old-brick design, with one large paned window in the front and a number of small windows on the second floor. There was a drug store, Frank’s Barber Design, The Vet’s Club, the Flower Shop, and then she spotted the sign she’d needed to find, “Home Brew. Your Local Coffee Stop.”

“Perfect.” She said, and walked inside.

Immediately she was surrounded with the warm comforting aromas of fresh ground coffee beans, and the pleasant sounds of laughter and conversation. It was a stark contrast to what she’d experienced in the last few days. It made her long for her local coffee shop back home, and that made her think of her best friend, Emma. She missed her. Damn, I forgot to call her last night, Sarah’s scolded herself.

“Good morning, honey.” Greeted the round lady behind the counter. “What can I get ya?”

Sarah smiled and looked up at the large menu on the wall behind the woman. She was pleasantly surprised by the number of options on the menu. “I’ll just take a large coffee. But what am I smelling right now?”

The round woman laughed and turned toward the back counter. On top of the counter were six freshly baked pies. “I just pulled these babies out of the oven, honey. Would you like a slice?”

“For breakfast?” Sarah asked comically and then nodded her head yes.

“Apple or blueberry?”

“Apple please.”

“Ok, honey. One slice. Coming right up!”

●



Sarah sat at a small round table and looked out the window sipping her coffee. There was still almost half the slice of pie left, but she had forced herself to stop. The wind outside had noticeably picked up. Dead leaves whisked down the sidewalk and the street sign was wobbling to and fro.

“Is this seat taken?”

Sarah, visibly startled, turned from the window and found herself staring up at an elderly man in tan overalls and a Farmall Tractor cap. He was gesturing towards the empty seat at Sarah’s table.

“No. No, go right ahead. I was just about to leave.” Sarah replied.

“Well, don’t let me run you off. I just always sit here is all. It’s my spot.”

Sarah smiled at that and motioned for him to sit. The man smiled back and sat down. His eyes immediately went to the window as he brought his hot coffee to his lips and then cleared his throat. She thought he was about to say something, maybe ask her where she was from or what she was doing in Homewood, but he didn’t say a word. Sarah turned back to the window herself. They both sat in silence like that for quite some time. Each watching the wind blow the leaves down the sidewalk, and following the random cars that crept up to the lone stop light down the street.

The man was the first to break the silence. “My name is Richard. Good morning.”

Sarah was again surprised by the interesting, old man. “Good morning. I’m Sarah. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thanks for letting me sit down. My friends call me “Red” sometimes. But I’ve always just liked Richard.” He took a sip of his coffee, and then continued. “Sarah is a good name. There’s a lot in a name, ya know... coffee here is good.” Richard cleared his throat. “Would you like to go for a walk?”