Each time the phone rang, Samara silently prayed it was
Derek. Weeks passed, and she had not
heard a word. Several times, she attempted
to call him, but thought better of it and returned the handset to the
cradle. With all modern inventions and
social media, there was no reason why they couldn’t connect. Derek was a unique sort of country boy. He didn’t believe in Facebook, Myspace and
other social media. He outright said,
“It’s for sissies! No real man uses
Facebook! If you want to talk to
someone, pick up a phone!” Well, she was
waiting; no calls. Samara felt he
obviously did not want to talk to her.
Samara was doing her usual dam run, preparing for the yearly
5k race her hometown held; The Hartwell Dam Run. She always kept her cell phone attached to
her hip, for emergency purposes. There
were many tourists in the area, and not knowing who was who, or why they were
there, Samara decided to play it safe.
There had been rumors of flashers, and the sort, but Samara had never
come across any of them. She had been
running across the Hartwell Dam for many years, and never had encountered
anyone remotely suspicious.
It was getting late.
As she headed back across the dam, towards her car, Samara’s phone rang,
startling her. “Hello?”
“Hey, Sammy Poo. It’s
April! We’re having a cookout on the
lake, and I was wondering if you’d like to come. David’s going to be there with his guitar,
and Melanie! I thought I might bring my
nieces and nephew, and a few other friends are supposed to come! We’re cooking hotdogs, hamburgers and ribs. Some of the guys are bringing fishing poles,
and well… whatcha think?”
When April said “a few” friends, she usually meant twenty or
so. Samara wasn’t really in the mood for
entertaining, or being entertained, but she knew she needed to occupy her mind
with some sort of normalcy. For her, being around a crowd of friends was
normal. “Sure, I think that would be
nice! I’m running the dam,” She said
panting, “and need to take a shower first. Whew…” she breathed in and exhaled
saying, “What time, where and what should I bring?”
“YOURSELF Girlie!” April exclaimed. “And, maybe a bag of chips, a drink, and a
covered dish!” April laughed, knowing
she was being silly. “We’re down at
Stone Creek Cove! Bring your swimsuit! It’ll be fun.”
“Alright!” Samara slowed her pace as she reached her
car. “Be there in a bit!” She tucked her phone in the console, and
drove home.
Her house was a mess, or at least it was to her
standard. She knew she was depressed
when she gave into watching television over doing something productive. Samara’s job as an engineer kept her busy;
working long hours, and taking many trips out of town. Samara wasn’t use to the mess. Maybe it was the thought of doing something
fun that ignited a fire, she quickly began straightening the house, wiping down
dusty furniture, and putting away folded laundry. By the time she reached the bathroom, she was
in dire need of a shower. She quickly
removed her tennis shoes, running shorts, bra, and underwear. A quick glimpse in the mirror told her she’d
been neglecting herself. Bags formed
around her eyes, and poor eating caused her lower abdomen to puff out. She glanced over at an Oxygen Magazine, and
quietly said to herself, “Yeah, I know, I know… it’ll get better! I’ll be back in the groove, in no time!”
Samara had made up her mind, to put Derek behind her and
move on. It was what it was. She was going to hang out with some good
friends, and have some fun. No more
sadness, no more depression, no more regrets.
Her biggest regret had been ending her relationship with Walter. She thought she loved him; he was comfortable.
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