⫸——⫷

"Good morning, Charlie! Ready for a fun shift?"

Eddie stood behind the post office's front counter, a fat grin on his face. You smiled at him, refreshed by his presence. "I sure am," you said, walking behind the counter to where he stood. "Oh... sorry about my appearance. I had a rough night." You brushed a hand over your head.

Eddie brushed your statement off with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, you look great. Speaking of which, I have a uniform for you! Here, follow me."

Eddie walked into the back of the post office, so you followed him. On your training shift, he had given you a tour of the entire office, which was actually quite small, only containing three main rooms — first, the lobby, then the back (where packages and daily mail were sorted) and lastly, the way back (where Eddie did his analytical business on an old typewriter) — plus a bathroom and break room.

Eddie took you into the break room, which was stuffy and small. It was lined with concrete walls and similar floors. The walls were haphazardly decorated with colorful motivational posters. He opened a cabinet and fished through it until he found what he sought. "What size are you, in shirts and jeans?"

You told him your sizes. He gave you a white button up and jeans in the sizes you requested. "Alright, partner. I'll leave you to get changed. When you're done, I'll have you start on the day's mail like yesterday!"

You changed in the bathroom. Back in the main area, you got to work. You assumed that Eddie went to the way back to sort through some paperwork. During your alone time, you daydreamed about Wally.

His conversation with you this morning had left you flustered. It was obvious now that he was flirting with you, if you compiled evidence from the past couple of days, especially last night and this morning. Unless his flirtatious behavior was just him attempting to taunt more secrets out of you, but the events of last night told you otherwise. You recalled his whispered 'stop' when you stared during Julie and Barnaby's karaoke. Though your memories were hazy with booze, you imagined singing with him, his flushed face and his charming smile, his lingering touches and gazes and...

You sighed. Your stomach was twisting in knots. Not good.

Whatever it was, it was both wonderful and terrible. Part of you wished that you had brought up Julie's warning this morning. That way, he would be forced to tell you something. No matter, you always had a second chance. You were not going anywhere.

Or were you? Perhaps you should start again somewhere newer and fresher. You could keep your same fake ID and everything, but you could go live a normal life somewhere else, perhaps in a huge city so that you could avoid spilling your secrets to any outrageously odd men wearing pompadours. A small town like this was proving to be a difficult place to keep a secret in.

A couple hours later, Eddie emerged from his office. You were loading up your tote bag, preparing to set out on your first trip of deliveries. There was not much mail today, so you would only need to make two trips. Eddie audibly sighed, combing his fingers through his hair.

"Something the matter?" you asked him.

"No. I just want to take a break. But I'm completely booked for the day," Eddie said, his usual southern lilt laced with exhaustion.

You set your bag back down on the table. If there was one thing you learned about Eddie since moving here, it was that he loved to work. If he was somehow feeling overworked, it meant that something was wrong. "Do you need help back there with anything?"

"No, no. Thank you, though, you're amazing. I'll get it all handled. I just want to take a quick rest."

"Then take one!" you said, hoisting the tote bag over your shoulder. "Don't let your work ethic get in the way of your health."

Eddie paused.

"Charlie, can I tell you something personal?" he asked you.

For a moment, you were taken aback. Your relationship with Eddie had been strictly work-related up until that question, but the change of pace was not unwelcome. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well... I've been having some relationship problems. It's really throwing me off."

Eddie genuinely appeared distressed. His round eyes were squinted and his burly brows were cinched together in a pained frown. "Oh dear," you said. "Come on, let's sit in the break room for a moment."

The two of you walked to the breakroom and sat at the little table inside. It was a rickety, round metal table with matching metal folding chairs. The atmosphere was not great, but it would have to do.

Eddie then proceeded to tell you about his relationship with Frank, which sent you for a loop. Apparently, the two of them were taking a break right now because they had been arguing about the same little things over and over again.

The conversation made you recall Poppy's gossip. She had said something about Frank and Howdy during the painting lessons. It was starting to seem like any couple that she imagined being together was doomed to drama and failure.

"The main thing that is distracting me is just not being able to talk to him," Eddie continued. "I haven't spoken to him in days. I hate it."

"Well, first of all, I'm sorry. Relationship troubles suck, I know. It's good that the two of you are taking time off, but I really do think you should talk to him. If you are struggling this much being away from him, maybe it's time to own up and reconcile," you said.

"Normally, I would," Eddie said, his face etched with thought, "but I was talking to Poppy and it seems like... apparently, uh... Frank has been hanging out with Howdy. And, whatever, I know Frank wouldn't go behind my back and... do anything, but it makes me worry that maybe I'm not the one for him."

You did not say anything for a while. The tote bag full of mail was still hanging on your shoulder, weighing you down. You were supposed to be roaming the neighborhood delivering things right now, but Eddie needed advice. You just did not know what to say.

"I'm sure everything will work out," you said gently. "Go talk to him today. I'm sure he wants to talk to you, too."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do. How long have you guys been together?"

"A while. Almost two years."

"Yeah," you said, nodding. "Talk to him. He seems... now, I don't want to cast any judgement here. But he seems like a stubborn guy." This much you gleaned from his sour behavior at Wally's house. "So he's probably waiting for you to make the first move."

Eddie chuckled. "He is very stubborn," he admitted. "You're right, yeah. I should talk to him. Uh, thank you. I'm sorry I poured all that onto you. I guess I needed to get it off my chest."

"No, that's okay." You smiled. "I'm always happy to listen, and help where I can."

With that, the two of you left the break room. You wished him luck, bid him a temporary farewell, and walked outside.

The air was cool, as usual. Winter was sure to come soon. Dead leaves rustled in their trees and over the pavement, searching for their place of rest in the grass for when the snow began to fall. You walked into the nearby housing complex, which included Wally and Julie's homes, and began to deliver everyone's mail. Everyone had mailboxes, so you did not have to awkwardly knock on the door and hand people their mail, which was good.

Eddie's conversation made you think about your own romantic relationships. In the past, you had some crushes, even a couple relationships that got pretty serious, but nothing wild. You were single at the time you moved away, and you still were now.

You absently wondered if Wally had gained romantic interest in you. Yeah, he was obviously flirtatious, but did he actually want to be with you, or was he just toying with you? You did not know which option you would prefer to be reality. Sure, having a boyfriend was not so bad, but Wally in particular was a curious option. If you were actually going to consider being in a relationship with him, you had to make sure that Julie's warning was a hoax.

It was true that he was always on your mind. Nearly a week had gone by, and every day you were either hanging out with Wally or thinking about him. But that did not mean you really liked him. Most of your thoughts were centered around paranoia and curiosity; only some of the nagging thoughts involved anything remotely romantic.

You finished your first round of deliveries swiftly. You returned to the post office, took a fresh batch of mail, and delivered it to a separate neighborhood. Once everything was done, you spoke to Eddie again — he thanked you for the advice once more and gave you some cash for your first two shifts. You said goodbye and told him to let you know how his talk with Frank went.

⫸——⫷

The motel was quiet when you entered your room that night.

You indulged in all of your usual night time activities, including making dinner. You stored the cash from Eddie in the nightstand, tucking it beneath your books. It was not enough to make a down payment on a house, but it was a start. The cost of living was astonishingly low here, so after a couple more weeks, you would be ready. And with the job, you had enough to continue buying motel rooms and food in the mean time. Speaking of which, you would need some more groceries soon.

Once you were ready to sleep, you decided to make sure your front door was locked. It was then that you noticed the tiny yellow slip of paper on the ground in front of your door.

Someone must have slid it under the door frame, but who? You plucked the slip between two careful fingers. There was one sentence on the front in red ink, and nothing on the back. The sentence read:

'I saw the news.'

⫸——⫷