Elise was nervous to start her first day at her new job. It was like starting at a new school. Would her work be satisfactory to her “teacher”? Would the other “kids” like her?302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTkMavZAG1
She hated the first day of school each year as much as a child as she hated the first day at new jobs now as an adult. Not that she had had many since graduating college, but still. It was always nerve-racking, especially being the giant introvert that she was.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIArdebudc2
Elise went about her first morning at the local INDOT fixated on the training/instructions her soon-to-be-predecessor was giving her on filing paperwork. Other than all of the governmental b.s. Labeling and micro-managing, it looked to be an exceedingly easy job.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3KMpU1ARw
Elise had spent her first year out of college working at a dentist's office in her hometown. Her employers had been great, the best bosses you could possibly dream of, but she just couldn't stand the sterile smell of the office day in and day out, let alone the noise of the drills, so she had moved on to an attorney's office in the city where she had gone to college at.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunfdFEpIdi
It was quite the opposite of the dentists' office. She was the frontline, the “face of the company”, they called her. She was the first and last person any of the clients saw in their time at the office.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7X2KpGLYt
The other office ladies, if you could call them such, were brutal, constantly telling her to “smile more”, “don't look so irritated all the time”, “who pissed in your wheaties this morning?” and so on. The attorney himself was just as rude, if not downright harassing. One day, it would be.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItv62KNlc9
“Such a pretty face,” he would say as he patted one of her cheeks with his palm. “What are you doing to run these people off?” The next it would be, “Hey, sweetheart. Why don't you run down to the deli and grab me a club sandwich?” he slapped her rear end as he walked away. 302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vVTWqptQz
She may have been young, but she wasn't dumb. Of course, she had nowhere near enough money saved up to sue him, as much as she would have liked to. Needless to say, that job had only lasted a year as well and it took all of the willpower Elise could muster to put up with it for that long. She was tempted to ask for her job back at the dentist office until a former roommate of hers mentioned a job opening in a quaint, but interesting little town located an hour south of where they had gone to school together.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtMaBxYMHH
Painton and the area surrounding it had intrigued her form the first time she visited it as a kid with her parents. It had everything she loved: Small storefronts with inviting displays by local artisans and craftsmen, unique confections and homestyle cooking, and, perhaps her favorite of all, the biggest state park in the state a mere 8 minutes away.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlV353Qikgn
If there was anything her parents had instilled in her as a child, it was a love of nature. They frequented state parks on vacations as a kid and they quickly became Elise's favorite places on Earth. No, she didn't long for such frivolous trips to France or cruises to Cancun. Give her a park with hiking trails and trees and she was happy.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7zapAWpvd
Her experience in Painton thus far had proved as interesting as the town itself. Although she knew, in one way or another, just about every person she came upon in her small hometown of Pascal, instead of being greeted by the usual passive, conservative friendliness of home, the inhabitants of Painton welcomed her into their places of business as if they had known her for years, especially once they had quickly distinguished that she was currently a resident and not just another passing tourist.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4JOjLSKwm
“Hello, dear. How are you today?” they would say.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPIkR7ZrYh
“I'm good, thank you,” she would politely answer, though a part of her hated the automated politeness in her voice that had been instilled in her from years of small town Midwestern life, where everyone pretended not to know everyone else's dirty little secrets.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVjYU50sMF
“What brings you in today?” the shopkeeper would reply just as politely, if not cautiously.
“Oh, I've walked by your store a thousand times as a kid when my parents and I would visit here, but I've never had a chance to actually come in and look around.”
“Oh, and you're getting to visit on your own without your parents now?” they would venture, still trying to feel Elise out without driving her away and missing out on a potential sale.
“Yes, I've just recently moved to the area and couldn't wait to come in here,” she would respond. After that, the atmosphere in the shop would noticeably change, if you were perceptive enough; it was almost palpable.
“Wonderful! Is there anything in particular you're looking for? How do you like Painton so far?” And so it would go. Elise had only been there 3 months and already it felt more like home than Pascal ever had.
Elise looked up at the analog clock hanging on the wall. 11:35. It was almost time for lunch.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVReZjPRSR
Her new place of employment was tripping her out so far. Business ran much the same as one would where she grew up, but the colorful workers from Painton made it that much more interesting.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWzNQRNGoA
Other than her trainer, she worked with a jovial heavyset woman who seemed none-too-concerned about her obesity as she ate some mini donuts at her desk right before lunch, offering the first glimpse of her self-deprecating humor.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3E2LGRr0p0
“Guess I wouldn't be this way if I'd lay off things like this, huh?” she smirked before shoving another tiny donut in her mouth. Yet she wore a wedding ring on her left hand. For some reason, this gave Elise hope.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FGQCysaGM
She knew she was pretty, deep down somewhere in her psyche, at least, but she was never one to act on it. Elise had had, what she thought, at least, a serious boyfriend for two years of high school, but no other guy had grabbed her attention in a meaningful enough way since then to warrant her affection and time. Perhaps it was partially due to the way she was, a somewhat hopeless romantic, though she would never admit it. Or maybe it was all due to Jeremy wrecking her.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFBMKZMQJY
Jeremy had gotten more handsome as his time in high school wore on. He used to be so humble, though Elise always thought he was handsome....Long before the other girls in her school seemed to notice. But it had gone to his head. He heard the whispers. Jeremy heard the rumors. “So and so wants to fuck you.” “So and so thinks you're hot.”302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbkYiC4Baz
The real problem, perhaps, was that Elise had not changed at all, at least to her knowledge. She was still shy. She was still not that outgoing. But Jeremy was. And he had dumped her for some slut on the cheerleading squad.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHLfWLtVnh
She wasn't just saying that because she was mad or jealous about Jeremy breaking up with her, though she was, at the time, of course. Ashley Swinson was known to get around, the “high school bicycle”, so to speak. It made Elise physically sick to think about them being together.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaS731GnkZ
She had thought, foolishly, that she and jeremy would be together forever, get married after college, pop a few kids out. The whole shebang. Wrecked. That was all...302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eIVhIraty
“Hi, there. You're the new girl, right?” a man, probably only in his 30's, but with a noticeably graying beard, spoke to her. He wore the typical gray INDOT hoodie along with a gray beanie, his jeans looking slightly dirty for only being halfway through the work day. Elise broke herself from her reverie. 302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHjp8EZ5Ag
“Y-yes,” she stammered, shaking his outstretched hand and scolding herself for stuttering. Something about him instantly struck her. She tried to act like a normal human being.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOV1TPcx4h
“My name is Elise,” she offered, smiling internally for not stammering this time. 302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElFDkj6xpJ
“That's a pretty name,” his smile reached his eyes. They both seemed to realize at the same time that they were still holding each other's hand. Each of them awkwardly let go, quickly.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisTauo62AR
“My name's Danny. I work on the road crew. But don't let that make you think poorly of me. I'm really ok compared to these other guys,” he hiked a thumb behind him, indicating his co-workers that were slowly filing in through the front office door. Elise gave a small smile, but couldn't help averting her eyes.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVLsMIrdYE
He was handsome, but maybe not obviously so to most people. She found him handsome, anyway. His dark eyes held warmth and humor, not hardness. A sliver of thick black hair stuck out under the back of his hat. His lips were almost pouty, not too thin, not too full. A thought blossomed in Elise's brain before she could stop it. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him and willed herself not to blush, unsuccessfully, as the image flashed through her mind.302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsjPtmucGi
“Anyways, it's nice to meet you, Elise. See you around,” he smiled at her genuinely. 302Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1qswBMxqg
She knew it was probably silly, but she felt something new and exciting on the horizon beginning to bubble up within her.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
