Baggage by Kim Davis

Author:Kim Davis
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Published: 2016-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Eric came to my house the following Saturday after work. I unlocked the side door for him when I heard him pull into the driveway. After a few minutes, he didn’t come into the house, so I went looking for him. I found him standing near the foot of the driveway, talking with Gary. Neither man noticed me since they both seemed to be in deep conversation and were speaking in hushed tones that prevented me from hearing what they were saying. I backed away to give them some privacy and was about to return the house when I observed a rather touching moment between the Keener brothers. Gary took Eric’s face in his hands and said something that made Eric nod and smile. Then the brothers hugged. Even though Eric’s brothers often drove him crazy, I envied him for having siblings who clearly loved him very much.

* * * *

Later, after Eric and I had dinner together, we finished a bottle of wine outside on the back patio.

“You know what this yard needs?” he asked, looking over my backyard.

“What?”

“Flowers.”

“Flowers?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it too late for flowers?”

“Not if you get the right kind. Come on,” he said, pulling his key fob from his pocket. “Let’s go shopping.”

Eric drove us to a Home Depot not far from my house, and we picked out a few flats of zinnias to plant in the front and back yards. While he was standing in the long patio check-out line with other shoppers who’d filled their shopping carts with mulch, fertilizer, planters, and other assorted garden items, I slipped away, claiming I was going inside to find the bathroom. But I really just wanted to sneak away to get an extra set of house keys made for Eric.

After Clay moved out, I’d had the locks changed, not because I feared Clay would come to the house and clean it out while I was gone, but because I was angry with him for leaving me. In hindsight, I really should have left the locks alone, considering the amount of money I ended up paying to have them changed. As a result of my impulsive act, I didn’t have a spare set of keys on hand to give to Eric.

Yes, I was well aware that Eric and I had been seeing each other for less than two months, but I trusted him. I knew where he worked and lived, I’d met members of his family, and I liked him…a lot. He’d more than earned the right to have open access to my home, and if I ended up regretting the decision to give him keys to my house, then so be it. I’d have no one to blame but myself.

* * * *

I waited until Eric and I had returned to the house and planted the flowers before presenting the keys. We were standing in the backyard, admiring our work, when I pulled the keys from my pocket and handed them to him.

“Congratulations, Eric Keener. You are now the proud recipient of a set of keys to my house.

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