It didn’t occur to me until way later that Shambles and I held hands all the way to his shop.

* * * * *

Sunny and Shambles drove an old VW van and lived in a log cabin that was powered by two windmills. Every piece of land surrounding their cabin either had newly planted flowers or vegetables planted in it and they had a fledgling grape arbor. They told me they turned on the hot water heater half an hour before they needed hot water and turned it off when they were done. And we ate on the floor because most of their furniture was big pillows or bean bags.

They were also immensely kind, extraordinarily generous and Shambles had a gift in the kitchen – and not just with baked goods.

When I told them about my journey to Carnal, they both nodded as if in complete understanding.

Then Sunny said, “We so get that, Petal. That’s how we both felt the minute we drove into town.”

“It wasn’t anything,” Shambles went on. “It was just this feeling, this strong feeling, we both had it and it just screamed, here!”

“So we stayed here,” Sunny finished on a sweet smile, leaned forward, took my hand and squeezed.

They drove me home and, full of their good food and the homemade wine they brought from Austin, Texas where they used to live, I fell right to sleep.

But I woke up in the middle of night, as usual, but it wasn’t because I heard Tate saying I was fat and old. It was hearing his deep voice saying, “She’s mine.”

Tossing and turning and not able to get to sleep, I got up, booted up my laptop and sent my parents and sister another e-mail, telling them I thought I’d found my new home and telling them a little bit about Ned and Betty, Jim-Billy and Sunny and Shambles.

Still not sleepy after I sent my e-mail, I got up and looked out my window to the parking lot. There were two Harleys, an SUV and an old station wagon in the lot.

It was after three in the morning but I figured most people didn’t sleep light like me and swimming wasn’t loud so they wouldn’t hear me. I changed into my suit and went to the pool, slid in quietly and did my laps. I was getting better mostly because I was pushing myself not to take breaks, just to go slower and keep on going. I eeked out fifty laps with only two rest periods and then pulled myself out of the pool.

When I did, I heard a Harley idling somewhat close but that wasn’t unusual in Carnal so I didn’t even look. I just toweled off, pulled on my sweatpants, wrapped the towel around my hair, grabbed my flip-flops and sweatshirt and ran-walked to my room.

After my shower, I fell straight to sleep.

* * * * *

The Saturday shift with Wendy was a revelation.

Her energy didn’t come from sucking it out of the atmosphere. Instead, there was so much of it, it filled the air and jazzed Dalton (our bartender that day) and me right up with her.

The three of us had a blast. I found Dalton had a dry wit and didn’t mind leaving the bar to help us collect empties. Wendy was hilarious and didn’t mind shouting across the bar any thought that came into her head and she did this often (thus her having the idea I join her at a boot camp from which ensued our shouting back and forth and her finally talking me into it). Usually, though, these were just wild ideas that made Dalton, me and all the patrons laugh (not that me doing a boot camp wasn’t a wild idea, I just didn’t know it at the time). She also didn’t have an issue with full on making fun of Tonia and Jonelle and even did an impersonation of both of them, each lasting at least ten minutes, which again had Dalton, me and all the customers in stitches.

Krystal showed up at four thirty looking her usual angry that the earth was still rotating but Wendy didn’t change her behavior one bit and the great vibe continued regardless of Krystal imitating a wet blanket.

Jonelle showed at a quarter after seven and Wendy agreed to stay on until Tonia waltzed in so I gratefully took off. Saturdays were very different than normal days and this included there being five times as many people in the bar. I was run off my feet and, as much fun as I had, I wanted to get home.

I was walking back from the grocery store where I bought some deli meat, bread, diet pop and fruit when I saw Tate pull his Harley into Bubba’s.

His head turned my way as he rode in so my head tipped down and I studiously examined my feet as I kept going.

Thankfully, he was in the building by the time I walked passed Bubba’s (I peeked).

I went to the hotel, made myself a sandwich, ate an apple and then took the champagne to the reception desk where Ned was sitting.

“Betty still up?” I asked when I walked in, holding up the champagne and I saw his big grin light his face.

“I’ll go get her,” he said.

“And glasses!” I called after him as he walked away.

“Glasses!” he called back.

Then Betty, Ned and I sat in reception, drinking champagne and playing Harry Potter Clue. They were both big Harry Potter fans, each had read the books and seen the movies so many times they lost count (their words) and, being a fan myself, the Clue game was fabulous.

Betty eventually had to hit the sack so I chatted with Ned for awhile, said my goodnight on a smile and then headed back to my room.

* * * * *

I woke in the middle of the night and since the swimming thing worked so well the night before, I did it again and pushed myself harder, doing fifty laps with only one rest.

I was thinking about how pleased I was with my effort as I toweled off and went to my room. Therefore, I didn’t notice the silent man watching me on his silent Harley that was parked on the side street butting the hotel and couldn’t have known he’d been doing it for fifteen minutes.

* * * * *

Working with Tonia on Sunday was a lot less fun than working with Wendy. Krystal was on and Tonia was an hour and a half late. When she showed, Krystal surprised me by not saying a word, just giving her a glare that should have burned two precise laser holes through her head. Tonia ignored this totally and I soon noticed she was good at ignoring a lot of things, including me, who she didn’t say so much as “boo” to, and her customers, unless they were good-looking.

The good-looking ones she spent a lot of time with but not bringing them drinks. No, standing by their tables flipping her hair around or leaning into her hands and pressing her br**sts together and swinging her booty this way and that (I’d seen Wendy do that the day before and now that I saw it, live and in person, I thought Wendy’s impersonation was spot on and even more hilarious).

Fortunately, Tonia ignoring her customers worked for me because all the rest of them eventually got fed up with it and moved to my section and since I wasn’t a crap waitress, I was very busy but I also got great tips.