I am a child of the country and grew up near a very small town, so that life was
familiar to me. As for coming up with the town, I knew it had to be southern,
and there is no state more southern that Georgia and old southern charm. There
is a LilyAnn in everyone’s high school. The smartest, prettiest girl who made
everything look easy and garnered all the awards, then never quite figured out
how to transition that success into adulthood. I wanted to write about a woman
like that who found a way to put the past aside and step into her own.
Lily was busy putting up new stock, mostly oblivious to the customers coming and
going. She opened the top on another box of painkillers, checked to make sure
the unit price was the same as the shelf price, and then began sliding the
bottles into place. She heard footsteps coming down the aisle and absently
stepped to the side to let them pass as she continued to work. Instead, the
footsteps stopped and then someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, lady. Where can I find Band-Aids and alcohol?”
She turned around and for a split second lost the ability to speak. It was T. J.
Lachlan in all his manly glory. Black hair, brown eyes, and a shade of a dimple
in his right cheek. Then she caught herself and quickly answered.
“Next aisle over, about midway down,” she said.
He nodded without even meeting her gaze and walked away.
Lily felt his disregard and accepted it, but it didn’t make her sad. In fact, it
reinforced her intent. She hurried to finish shelving because it was almost her
quitting time. As soon as she was through, she carried the empty boxes outside
to the Dumpster, grabbed her things, and waved good-bye to Mitchell as she went
out the door.
The air was chilly, but she’d had the foresight to wear a warmer jacket today.
When she passed the fitness center, she wouldn’t look at her reflection. This
was just day one; no time to start judging progress. As soon as she got to the
corner she crossed the street and, instead of heading home, went to the Piggly
Wiggly.
Gladys Farmer had been a checkout clerk at the supermarket since LilyAnn was a
kid. She couldn’t imagine the place without her. When Lily walked in, Gladys saw
her and spoke, just as she did to everyone who came in, even while she was
scanning groceries for another customer.
“Evening, LilyAnn.”
“Hi, Gladys,” she said, and headed toward the produce department pushing an
empty cart.
She began loading it up with vegetables she liked to eat raw, then vegetables to
cook, and finished up with a couple of different kinds of fruit before moving to
the meat department. She chose a big bag of frozen chicken pieces and a small
ham, which was leaner in fat than red meat, and it was already cooked, which
served her purpose, too.
After adding skim milk, high-fiber cereal, and a dozen eggs, she was good to
go. She had a moment of regret for buying so much stuff when she remembered she
was on foot, but she kept moving toward the front. She wheeled into line at the
checkout to wait her turn and hadn’t been there long when someone wheeled up
behind her.
“Well, hello, LilyAnn. Long time, no see.”
Lily turned around and stifled a groan. Polly Winston, her high school nemesis.
“Hi, Polly.”
Polly eyed her old schoolmate with a satisfied smirk. LilyAnn might have beaten
her out from being crowned Peachy-Keen Queen years ago, but she’d gone to hell
in a handbasket afterward. The blond bombshell of Blessings High was overweight
and dowdy. God was good.
“How’s your little mama doin’?” Polly asked.
“Just fine. She and Eddie are coming home for Thanksgiving. It’ll be great to
see them again.”
Polly smirked. “I guess it was hard to see your mama move away, leaving you behind.”
Lily wanted to slap that look off her face, but resisted the urge.
“Actually, it wasn’t hard at all. Mama was real sad after Daddy passed. I’m glad
she’s happy again.”
The smirk slid a little sideways, but Polly persisted.
“I guess. It’s a shame you never managed to get over Randy Joe and all.”
Lily arched an eyebrow. “Why, whatever gave you the idea I was still grieving
for Randy Joe?”
The smirk was gone. Polly frowned. “Well, you didn’t marry or even date anyone
else. I just assumed—”
Lily interrupted. “Now Polly, you know what they say about the word ‘assume.’ It
makes an ass of you know who.” She giggled for effect. “Actually, I just never
found anyone else in town interesting enough to bother with. By the way…how’s
Darrell? I heard he had another wreck. Is he okay? My stars, I’ll bet your
insurance premiums are through the roof.”
Polly’s mouth opened, but she was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. Not
only had LilyAnn just stood up for herself, but she’d also done a fair job of
bitch-slapping Polly right back for that dig without touching a hair on her head.
“Uh… Well, I…”
“Oh. Gotta go. I’m next,” Lily said, and wheeled her cart right up to the
counter and began unloading her groceries.
LilyAnn was so mad she was shaking, but she wouldn’t let on. She carried on a
conversation with Gladys as she paid for her things, but didn’t remember a
single word of what they’d said by the time she got outside.
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