Housecalls Part 2: Back At Home

You may read Part 1 HERE    

The train ride back to the city felt longer than usual. I stared out the window, watching the countryside blur into suburbs, then into the concrete sprawl I called home. Jeff’s parting words kept echoing in my mind. “I make housecalls.“

Was that just a friendly joke, or was he saying something more?

My apartment felt smaller when I got back, the walls closing in with their neutral beige paint and generic artwork. I kicked off my shoes and collapsed on the couch, pulling out my phone. It took me three tries to compose a simple text: Made it back safely. Thanks for today. It meant more than you know.

His reply came within minutes. Glad you came back to town, even if just for a day. Don’t be a stranger, Becca.

I saved his number, my thumb hovering over his name for a long moment before I set the phone down.

Two weeks passed. Work consumed me …. presentations, deadlines, the usual chaos of corporate life. But every time I walked past a tree, or saw someone drinking iced coffee, or passed a street corner that reminded me even vaguely of Saunders Drive, I thought of Jeff.

Then, on a rainy Thursday evening, my phone rang with an unfamiliar local number from back home.

“Ms. Gardner? This is Helen Matthews. We met …. well, we almost met …. at your old house on Saunders Drive?”

My heart seized. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, everything’s fine! I’m sorry to alarm you. Dr. Casey mentioned you’d stopped by. The thing is, we’ve been doing some renovations, and we found something in the attic. A box with your name on it.”

To be continued…..

You may read Part 1 HERE

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