The Art of Starting Over

Colt sat down next to his sister, slung his arm around her shoulder, and sighed happily. Hayden noticed Devorah shrink into herself, almost as if she didn’t want the attention from her brother. Her fingers played with the condensation on her glass, and she kept her eyes on the table.

Hayden had never considered himself a violent man, but he wanted to maim Chad Campbell for what he was putting his wife through. No one, not even the vilest people in the world, deserved to be treated the way Chad and his mistress had treated Devy.

Chad’s attitude or disposition was par for the course. Back in high school, he was a jerk. A rich prick who thought he owned the school and never got in trouble for any of the shit he pulled. One time, he and most of the football team TP’d the trees in front of the high school. Everyone in town knew it was Chad, but the administration refused to believe he would do anything of the sort. Instead, the entire team received marks on their school discipline records. Hayden had a hard time explaining it on his college applications. Had he come forward, he would’ve been branded a narc and would’ve been the pariah of the school. Since he didn’t come forward, he was branded a disobedient student. He couldn’t win.

The one person who knew Chad was responsible was Sheriff Crowley. He was onto Chad’s bullshit.

The waitress stopped by the table and took Hayden’s order and then returned a few minutes later with his beer. Hayden took a long sip and then studied the label.

“I can’t believe you have your own brew.”

Colt smiled brightly and let out a little chuckle. “It’s a dream come true.” Colt looked at his sister and shook her shoulder. “Right?”

“Yeah,” was all Devy said.

“Devy, what do you do for work?”

She shook her head and readjusted in her seat. “I organize estate sales.”

“That’s a thing?” Her profession shocked Hayden.

“It’s a lucrative thing,” Colt said. “You wouldn’t believe some of these people, just handing their keys over to her.”

“It’s not like that, Colt.” Devy looked up and met Hayden’s gaze. “People don’t want to deal with their parents’ belongings. They go in, take what they want, and the rest is up for sale. That’s where I come in. I’ll go in, organize the house, and make sure everything is out in the open and marked. I’ll advertise the estate sale and run it. Then, whatever’s left over gets donated to people in need. I make sure to focus on women’s and children’s shelters, veterans.”

“I’ve seen signs for estate sales, but I had no idea that’s how they worked.”

Devy nodded.

“And this pays well?”

She shrugged. “It’s enough, or it was. Chad took care of our finances and often made comments—”

“Snide ones?” Colt interrupted.

Devorah nodded. “I know I made good money in Chicago, but it isn’t going to be enough to maintain the lifestyle Maren and I had there.”

“Don’t worry, the old man isn’t going to kick you out.” Colt bumped his shoulder into hers and then looked toward the bar when his name was called. “Be back.”

As soon as Colt left, silence fell upon Devy and Hayden. She barely looked at him, choosing to keep her eyes on the table.

“You know, not all men are like Chad. Most men worship their spouse and treat them like queens. They don’t cheat, and they definitely don’t do so with the best friend,” Hayden said before he could stop the verbal vomit.

She glanced up, and he saw the tears build in the corners of her eyes. Instantly, he hated himself for bringing it up. He had no right. He and Devy were barely friends.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “You’re not wrong, but it doesn’t take the sting out of things. I just . . .” She took a deep, shuddering inhale and shook her head. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Probably nothing.”

“Clearly something, if he cheated.”

Hayden wanted to tell her men like Chad did whatever they wanted without consequences. He bit his tongue instead. Devorah would believe whatever she thought about Chad, regardless of what Hayden or Colt said about him.

Conor and Maren returned, both red faced and out of breath.

“Dad, they have the Whac-A-Mole game. Maren and I tried to get the high score, but we couldn’t do it.”

“I’ll ask my uncle to make it so we can have unlimited play,” Maren said proudly.noveldrama

“Every kid’s dream,” Hayden said, and then he looked at Devy. “Do you remember the arcade?”

She nodded. “Friday night was unlimited night. We used to spend all night there, just being kids.”

“And your dad would circle the parking lot every thirty minutes.”

Devy chuckled a bit. “He was spying on me.”

“Grandpa spied on you?” Maren asked.

Devorah nodded at her daughter. “Yep, and he’s going to spy on you too.”

“Ugh, no way. I’m going back to Chicago.”

Devorah’s reaction was slight, but Hayden saw the grimace.

“I’ve never been to Chicago. Right, Dad?” Conor asked.

“Nope, sure haven’t, bud.”

“You can come to my house in Chicago,” Maren told him. “My dad will say so.”

Hayden watched the back-and-forth between the kids, all the while trying to gauge Devy’s reaction to Maren talking about her dad.

“Are you going back to Chicago?” Conor asked. If Hayden wasn’t mistaken, he sensed some desperation in his son’s voice.

“Yep, my daddy said I can come live with him when I tire of small-town life.”

This got Devy’s attention. “He said that?” she asked her daughter.

Maren nodded and smiled brightly, as if everything was okay.

Devorah said nothing. She picked up a paper napkin and began shredding it into small pieces. Thankfully, they were saved when Colt and the waitress appeared with their food. For the most part they ate in relative silence, with only the kids talking or Colt occasionally asking Hayden about his return to Oyster Bay.

“Permanent,” Hayden told him. “I liked Wyoming, but it was time to come home.”

“I’m sorry about your wife,” Colt said.

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if people knew around here or not.”

Colt nodded. “Your dad comes in a lot. He mentioned it when he said you were moving back,” he told Hayden. “You know if it wasn’t for your dad, I’m not sure my home brew would be so successful. He’s one of my best customers. Always has been.”

“Yeah, that’s how I found out you bought this place.”

“My dad likes beer,” Conor blurted out. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Hayden said. “But you also don’t need to broadcast it, and it’s not like I drink beer all the time.” In fact, he hadn’t even finished the one the waitress had brought him earlier.

“My mom likes beer too,” Conor said, as if everyone at the table needed to know. Hayden grimaced at Conor’s use of the present tense. He didn’t have the heart to correct his son, but he also needed to change the subject.

“Not now, Conor.” Hayden’s voice was stern, and it sent a message to his son. There were some things you didn’t talk about in front of strangers. Not that Colt and Devorah were strangers, but the others sitting near them were.

Conor opened his mouth to say something but closed it quickly. Hayden was thankful Conor was sitting across from him so he could give him a pointed look. It wasn’t that Conor couldn’t talk about his mother and her passing. Hayden wanted him to do it in the comfort of their own home, where the walls held secrets and didn’t spread rumors.

They finished dinner, and when Hayden tried to pay his bill, Colt waved him off. Hayden still put cash on the table for the waitress. She deserved her tip, regardless of the meal being on the house.

“Thanks for the company. It’s really great seeing you both again,” Hayden said to Colt and Devy as he motioned for Conor to slide out of the booth.

“See you tomorrow, Maren.”

“Bye, Conor.”

“Stop by anytime,” Colt said, while Devy remained silent. Hayden hadn’t expected her to say anything. He suspected Maren’s comment about her father was weighing heavily on Devorah.

Outside, Conor and Hayden climbed into the truck. Hayden started it and sat in the parking lot for a minute before backing out of his spot. They didn’t have far to go, and in hindsight, they should’ve walked. He wanted time to think about how to approach the topic of Sofia’s death but didn’t have time before he’d be at his parents’. This being a school night, Conor needed to take his shower and get to bed.

Hayden turned left when he should’ve gone straight.

“Don’t we live the other way?”

“Yeah, we do. We’re going to drive around a bit.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No.” Hayden sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want you to talk about your mom, Conor. You should talk about her. She loved you very much.”

“Just not the way she died.”

“The thing is, bud, people won’t understand, and I don’t want them to get the wrong impression of your mom.”

They drove by Maren’s house. Hayden pointed it out.

“Maybe Maren and I can walk to school together.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll talk to her mom.”

“Maren said her mom is sad.”

What an understatement. Hayden wished there was something he could do to help. While they were both going through a loss, the situations were entirely different. He’d lost his wife, whereas Devy’s husband had violated their vows. Hayden didn’t have experience there, and it wasn’t like he could tell Devy that everything would be okay. She was going to have to learn how to coparent with someone who’d slept with her best friend. He wasn’t sure he could get over something like that.

“Yeah, bud. She is.”

“Maren said she’s getting a new mommy.”

Ouch.

“I’m not sure about that.” And it wasn’t something he planned to ask Devorah about either. That was the last thing she needed from him. “But let’s not bring it up in front of Miss Devy. Okay?”

“I don’t want to make her sad.”

“No, we don’t want to do that.”

Hayden turned down another street, and, glancing at his son, he saw a little boy caring about a woman he barely even knew. He was a good boy, dealing with his own loss, and yet he found time to care about others.

“Baseball tryouts are this weekend,” Hayden reminded him. “We need to head into the city and get you some cleats.”

“Okay. How far?”

“It’s like forty-five minutes.”

“That seems far.”

“It’s not bad. Pretty easy drive. We can go to a couple of the stores, grab some lunch. Have a guy day.”

Conor shrugged. “Maybe Maren can come.”

“Sure, bud. As long as it’s okay with her mom.”

Hayden turned down their road and into the driveway. He parked, shut off his truck, and stared at his childhood home. He had every intention of splitting his time between his parents’ place and his camper because he needed space and time to think without any interruptions. His parents, though, wanted him to stay at the house, as did Conor. So Hayden stayed.

They walked in and found Lee and Darcy sitting at the island, eating pie. Last night it was cake. If his mother kept it up, Hayden was going to start looking like his father.

“Hi, Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Hi, honey,” Darcy said as she kissed his forehead. “I missed you after school. How was your second day?”

Conor shrugged. “Still boring.”

Lee guffawed. “School is never boring. I’m sure you learned something.”

Conor smiled and rolled his eyes. “I learned I still have a couple more tests to take to see where I’m at in class. But Maren has to take them, too, being as she’s the new kid also.”

Lee looked at Hayden with wide eyes.

“Head up and take your shower,” Hayden told Conor.

As soon as they heard the water turn on, Lee turned to Hayden. “Crow’s granddaughter?”

Hayden nodded.

“Huh, I heard Devorah was back, but I had no idea she brought her daughter. Crow must be beside himself. I’ll give him a call later,” Lee said.

“That poor woman. The situation was a hot topic at my Crafty Cathys meeting.” Darcy shook her head.

“Again?” Hayden asked. “Didn’t you talk about the whole thing enough yesterday?”

Darcy waved his comment away and handed him a fork from the drawer. He didn’t take it, far too pissed off with what he was hearing. “People talk, Hayden. It’s not like I can stop them. I just can’t believe Chad would do something like that. He was such a good kid.”

Even my mom is blinded by Chad Campbell’s charm.

Hayden couldn’t believe his mom hadn’t let this go from the day prior. “Do me a favor, Mom. When you hear people talking about Devorah, tell them to knock it off. She doesn’t need this. Not from the place where she grew up. She needs women to rally around her, not talk about her behind her back.”

Hayden didn’t give his mom a chance to say anything and walked out. He needed fresh air, and once he got outside, he found himself walking down the road until he came to Main Street. He paused on the corner. He could turn around and go back; he could cross the street, head back to the Lazy Lamb, and get lost in a bottle or two; or he could go right.

He went right and walked the couple of blocks to Sheriff Crowley’s house, surprised when he came up to the fence to find Devy sitting on the front steps with a bottle of whiskey next to her.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she said.

“I’m sorry Chad did this to you.”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh.

Hayden kicked a pebble with his shoe. “If you drink that”—he motioned toward the bottle—“can you promise me you won’t drive?”

Devy looked down at the bottle and then at Hayden. “Is that what happened to your wife?”

“Yeah, it is.” He nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”