Page 15 of Day Break

When I finally returned to my home state after graduating at the top of my class at Harvard, I breezed into a prime position at one of the biggest law firms in Seattle, where I still worked today.

As I pulled into the convenience store parking lot, I saw a woman in gray pants and a dark blue hoodie step out of the store and glance around as if she were looking for something. For some reason, I watched her walk towards the edge of the parking lot and step into the telephone booth.

It wasn’t strange to see someone on the island using the old phone. It was probably the only pay phone for a hundred miles. Still, there was something about her that made me want to watch.

The way she held herself reminded me how long it had been since I’d gone out on a date. It wasn’t as if she walked provocatively. But even though her clothes were worn and a little dusty, there was a natural beauty about her that caught my attention. It was like stopping to appreciate the shine and glow from a raindrop as it fell in the sunlight.

My eyes followed her until my grandfather’s old truck pulled into the parking lot next to my car. I climbed out to greet him.

Just like every time I saw the man, his frailty shocked me. I rushed over to help him climb out of the driver’s side door and instantly wondered if he should be driving himself.

“There now,” he said, patting me on my shoulder. “I can manage well enough on my own. Thank you.”

I dropped my hands, knowing better than to oppose my elder’s wishes.

“Yes sir.” I followed him up the wooden stairs. He moved slowly, as if each step pained him.

How many times had I been in the convenience store in my youth? My cousins Phillip and Derrick and I would ride our bikes up here when we were bored. Sherry and Tiffany would try to keep up with us on their pink bikes.

I smiled at that memory and my heart ached. I longed to return to those simple times as we stepped through the glass doors.

It didn’t surprise me to see Jessie McGould still sitting behind the counter of the store, working on her word puzzles. What did surprise me was that she didn’t look a day older than when I’d been young.

Back then she had been a bored teenager sitting at her parents’ business. She had green hair and nails now, but otherwise she hadn’t changed much.

When we passed through to the diner area, I noticed her eyebrows draw up slightly with recognition. I decided not to give her a chance to catch up and followed my grandfather into the diner quickly.

Grandfather chose a barstool near the doorway, and I sat next to him. He looked comfortable enough, as if he’d been there many times since returning to the island.

I wanted to ask him how he was, if he had hired someone to look out for him, but we just ordered our drinks and remained quiet.

But then I heard Rod Clarkson’s voice. As memories of all the times the larger boy had bullied me flashed in my mind, I watched the now much larger man use his size to intimidate the woman I’d seen outside moments before.

He scared the woman so much that she’d dropped her loaf of bread and her face had paled.

I don’t know what made me jump up from my seat and storm the few feet towards Rod and bark out, “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size for once, Rod?”

Maybe it had been the sheer look of terror in the woman’s eyes. Or maybe it had been because, despite that, she’d raised her chin just a little, enough that I knew she wouldn’t have backed down from a fight if Rod had been her size.

Most likely, it was the memories of all the times Rod had used his size and strength against me, and I’d had no one to stand up for me.

Now, I knew that I could probably punch Rod out, even with his larger girth.

I was no longer the skinny teenager. I was a twenty-eight-year-old man who spent hours in a gym and a boxing ring each week. I no longer feared bullies.

The blonde woman took advantage of the distraction and rushed past Rod straight out the door. I was so occupied watching her go, that I missed the first swing aimed right at my head.

Rod’s punch had my head snapping back quickly, and I tasted blood. That just pissed me off. Not because he’d caused me to bleed, but because I had dropped my guard, something I’d told myself I would never do again.

I easily dodged his second blow. The man moved like he was in molasses. He raised his thick arms and pulled back as his fists bunched. His swing was so wide that it lost most of its speed and strength by the time it passed three inches in front of my face.

I smiled as I ducked the next blows, easily dancing away from the man’s reach.

“You’ve gotten slow in your old age,” I teased. Rod’s face turned beet red. “You should just give up your lifelong career of being a bully.”

“I hit you once and I’ll easily do it again,” Rod barked back.

“You sucker punched me,” I said with another smile as I swiped the blood from my lip. “It won’t happen again.”