For the next couple of days, Valorie would wake up in the morning when the sun would blaze through the window, brew herself a cup of coffee, and then begin the process of going through Pa’s things. For now, she was simply organizing and taking inventory. She made notes about things she wanted to keep, things to throw away, and things to sell. There wasn’t much to go through, but there were various tools that Valorie would have no use for and unlabeled boxes that she needed to sort.
She had worked through some of the boxes in the loft and found that there were old books, clothes, and some tools that he store up there because he had only needed to use them on occasion. She even found her tiny old bed buried in a corner of the loft. Pa had rarely kept something unusable around, so she found this surprising. I guess he felt sentimental about tearing it apart, she thought with a smile.
Going through everything that Pa had owned was a slow process, not because there was a lot to go through, but because Valorie found it to be emotionally taxing. She had always been more of a practical person rather than a sentimental one, but she still found the process of sorting through objects that conjured so many memories of her life with Pa to be draining.
She still had a hard time accepting that he was gone. It seemed that at any moment he might come through the door and make a comment about the weather, the bay, fishing, or the like. Occasionally she would find something and want to turn and call out to him, asking if he remembered it or the memories attached to it. But then she would have to stop herself and remember that no one was there to call out to.
To make the process easier, she would work for bits at a time and then take a break, finding something to eat or going for a walk along the coast. Earlier this morning, Valorie had found a small wooden chest in the loft that she didn’t remember ever seeing before. She had pulled it out and set it on the table before taking a break for lunch, ate the last of Mrs. Meyers’ casserole, and then returned to the chest to look through its contents.
The hinges of the old chest creaked when she opened the lid. Inside she found relatively few items. The first thing that caught her eye was an old film camera. She didn’t know much about film cameras, but she knew enough to know that film could easily be ruined. Not knowing if there was film in the camera, she carefully set it to the side to deal with later.
The next thing she noticed was a leatherbound book. Valorie picked it up, gently leafed through the pages, and immediately recognized Pa’s handwriting. It was a journal. She checked the first entry and found that it just barely outdated her. The first few entries were straightforward documentations. Pa had written about where he fished and how successful he was in fishing, the weather that day, and a list of some supplies he needed to restock. Valorie could almost hear his voice as she read his words. It was the same sort of stuff that he would talk to her about as a child, and she had always listened with keen interest as if his words were the most important words in the world.
She laid the book down with a smile. Besides the book, there were a couple rolls of developed film. “I never knew Pa took photos.”
Valorie pulled a roll of film out and held it up to light to try to decipher what was on the film. It was dusty and a bit scuffed, but she could just barely make out what was on most of the film. The bulk of it appeared to be scenic views of the evergreen forest around the cape and the bay it surrounded. A few of the pictures seemed to have people in them. Although it was hard to be certain because of the small, negative images, she thought maybe she recognized Pa, and perhaps a toddler version of herself.
She smiled and let the film roll itself back up. “You were a man of many secrets, Pa.”
She decided to place everything back in the chest for safe keeping and set it out of the way on the counter for her to investigate further at a future time.
The sun glinted off the clean surface of the glassware from Mrs. Meyers that sat on the dryer rack. It reminded Valorie that she needed to return the dish as well as get some more food for her future meals.
I guess it’s time to make a trip into town.
***
It was a surprisingly pleasant afternoon for a drive into town. Valorie hopped out of Pa’s old truck after parking it outside of Meyers’ General Store.
Cape Town was a small community. Most of the buildings were lying on a single strip through the middle of the town with a few houses tucked behind in short rows. The whole town laid along the curve of the cape that it had received its name from, so on days like this when a gentle breeze blew in from the water, you could take in a deep breath of salty air.
Valorie held the empty glassware in her hand, and an empty bag for groceries hung from her arm as she marched into Meyers’ General Store. The jingle of bells on the handle of the door announced her presence and brought back memories of when Valorie was little and would visit the store with Pa. She rarely had the chance to see places beyond their shack and the land and water surrounding it, so whenever she visited the town to go to the general store and saw people besides Pa, she would walk in with wide eyes and observe every detail.
Valorie walked to the counter, scanning the aisles for Mrs. Meyers, and looked at the open door in the back of the room. There wasn’t anyone around.
“Hello?” Valorie left the glassware and the empty grocery bag on the countertop and walked around it to peek her head through the door into the Meyerses’ living quarters.
As she stepped through the door, Adan rounded the corner with an armful of groceries.
Too late, they noticed each other as Adan bumped into her, dropping several of the products, including some small cans. One of which apparently landed on Adan’s foot, as a sharp intake of air and a sudden hopping onto one foot indicated.
“I am so sorry.” Valorie stooped down to pick up the objects on the floor.
Through gritted teeth and with his eyes closed tight, Adan muttered, “It’s fine.”
The pained tone of his voice left Valorie wondering if it was actually fine or not.
Adan faced the frame of the door and rested his forehead on it, resisting the urge to bang his head against the door as he continued to hold his injured foot off the ground and took controlled breaths through clenched teeth.
Valorie stood helplessly next to him, holding the dropped items, and observed how he held his foot off the ground. “Ack, I’m so, so sorry about that. Is… is your foot okay?”
Without opening his eyes or removing his head from the wall, he said, “It’ll be fine.”
Valorie looked down at his foot. Without thinking, she said, “Why are you stocking groceries in socks?”
With his head still against the wall, Adan turned to glare at her. “This is my house! Don’t you wear socks in your house?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. I’m sorry.”
He let out a long breath of air, tenderly placed his foot back on the ground, and stood up straight, away from the wall. “It’s okay. Stop apologizing.”
He looked down at the products in Valorie’s arms and back at the ones in his own. “Follow me, will you.”
Valorie stepped out of the way as Adan walked through the door and into the area for shopping. He walked into an aisle and began moving the objects from his arms to the shelf. Then he took the ones out of Valorie’s arms and placed those on the shelf with the rest.
After arranging all the groceries, he turned to Valorie and crossed his arms. “What do you need?”
“Need?” Valorie blinked.
“Why are you here. At the store. Do you need to buy some food?”
“Oh. Oh!” Valorie marched back to the counter where she left the glassware. She spun around to return to Adan and found that he had followed her. She almost hit him with the dish as she spun, but in the last second pulled it close to herself.
They stood inches apart while Adan stared down at Valorie. Valorie was sure that the sharp look in his eyes was asking the question if she fully intended to kill him before she left the store.
“I… I came to return the dish. And to thank your mother and tell her that the casserole was delicious.”
Adan took the dish out of her hands. “I’ll give it to her. She’s out of the house at the moment.”
“Thanks.”
Adan walked back through the back door with the dish in hand and disappeared.
Valorie was left standing in the empty store and noticed her empty bag still sitting on the countertop. It reminded her that she did indeed need to buy some groceries.
“Actually, Adan!” She marched to the back door and froze in her tracks as Adan appeared directly in front of her. “I… I actually need to buy some groceries as well.”
He stared down at her. “Okay. Put what you need on the counter. I’ll ring you up.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Valorie retreated to go search for some food. She picked out a few cans of soup, a loaf of bread, some fresh fruit, and few other things that she thought she might need and placed them on the counter.
Adan leaned against the wall behind the counter with his arms crossed and the tip of his injured foot just barely resting on the ground as he watched her gather her items. Once she had finished, he stepped away from the wall and up to the counter to scan her items.
He pointed his thumb at the empty bag on the counter. “This your bag?”
She nodded.
He placed her items in the bag and pushed it across the counter to her. “Here you go.”
Valorie grasped the handles of the bag. “Uh… I haven’t paid yet, right?”
Adan shrugged. “Mom said you’d be on the house, so don’t worry about it.”
“Oh.” Valorie looked down at the groceries and back up at Adan. “Your mom doesn’t have to do that; I can pay for my own groceries.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
“I… I really can pay for my own stuff! Your mother doesn’t need to care for me.”
Adan sighed. “I said don’t worry about it. Mom is pretty stubborn, and she has a big heart. She fully intends to pay for this.” He looked down at the grocery bag. “Honestly, she’ll probably be disappointed that you didn’t buy more.”
Valorie’s grip on the grocery bag tightened. She had spent so much of life with just herself and Pa, learning to be self-sufficient, that having someone else take care of her felt wrong. “Okay. Tell your mother, ‘thank you’ for me. Again.”
Adan nodded.
Valorie tugged the bag off the counter and lifted it as she said, “And thanks for your help.”
She walked toward the door.
“You probably shouldn’t bother making anything for supper tonight.”
Valorie turned around to face Adan.
He had stuffed his hands in his pockets and was looking off to the side. “Mom told me to bring you something to eat tonight.”
“You don’t need-”
Adan raised his hands in a “don’t get mad at me” sort of way.
Valorie sighed. “Okay.” She smiled. “Thanks.”
A quick nod was the only response Adan offered.
Valorie turned to head out and reached her hand to turn the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened before her. Her empty hand grasped at air as her body continued to move forward. Someone appeared before her, and Valorie jerked herself backwards to avoid running into them.
“Whoa!” The woman on the other side of the door stepped back as she noticed Valorie.
Valorie glanced back at Adan because she thought she heard him laugh, but appeared to be studying the cash register.
The young woman eyed Valorie. “Hi!”
“Excuse me, I’m sorry!” Valorie stepped out of her way and waved her into the store.
“No harm, no foul.” The woman let the door close behind her as she stepped inside. “I don’t recognize you. Are you visiting Cape Town?”
“Um, yeah? I mean, I grew up right outside of town, but I haven’t lived here for a couple years…”
The woman snapped her fingers. “You’re the Gibson girl!”
“The what?”
“The Gibson girl? You were raised by Mr. Gibson in that cabin by the coast, yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” Valorie laughed a little, letting out some nervous energy. “I’ve always just called him Pa. It feels weird to hear his name.”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Her voice lowered as she spoke more seriously. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Valorie hugged her arm to herself and glanced off to the side, not sure what else to say.
“I’m Imani.” Imani extended her hand.
Valorie switched the grocery bag to her left hand so she could shake Imani’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Valorie.”
Imani smiled. “How long do you plan to stay in Cape Town, Valorie?”
“I’m not sure, actually. Maybe a couple weeks.”
Imani nodded. “Well, enjoy your time here. If you need anything, I’d be happy to help whenever I’m around.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“See you around.” Imani turned and strode over to the counter, and Valorie turned to leave, once again.
Adan stepped up to the counter. “How’s it going, Imani?”
“Pretty good, actually. Now that the worst of the rainy season is over, I’ve been out taking more photos. I’ll be out of fixer and developer sooner than I’d like to think.”
Valorie paused in the doorway.
“Unfortunately, we don’t sell that stuff here. But can I interest you in some groceries?”
Imani laughed. “Yeah.”
Valorie stepped toward Imani. “Do you take pictures? On film?”
Imani turned around and leaned back against the counter. “Yeah, I do. It’s a hobby of mine.”
“That’s so cool!”
Imani’s face lit up in a beautiful smile. “Thanks! I’ve been doing it ever since I was little. Kind of took on my dad’s hobby, I guess.”
“Oh wow! Would you, I mean,” Valorie hesitated. “I found some old film earlier today; do you know if it would it be possible to develop some photos from it?”
Imani’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I mean, as long as the film is still in decent shape, we could develop it in my darkroom if you want. Just give me a call, and we can arrange a time to do it.”
“Really?” Valorie felt excitement rise in her. She’d love the chance to see Pa’s photos of them when she was a little girl. “I’d love that, thank you!”
“Yeah, no problem! I love developing someone else’s photos. Always an adventure to see something new.” Imani pulled out a pen from a cup on the countertop and took a sticky note from a stack beside the cup. She scribbled her number down and handed the note to Valorie. “Here you go! I wrote my personal number and my family’s landline. You probably already know that reception is sketchy out here.”
Valorie took the note in her hand that was not holding the bag of groceries and looked down at it. “Thank you! I’ll definitely give you a call.”
“No problem. Actually, why wait for a phone call? What are your plans for tomorrow afternoon?”
“Um… nothing, I guess?”
“Wanna come over to the darkroom around 2 o’clock, then?”
Valorie shrugged and smiled. “Sure, why not.”
“Great! I’ll see you then.”
Chapter Two: End
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