My high school experience had ended in prison. Now, five months later, I was free. However, I had no home base. When I needed him, my best friend was nowhere to be found. My parents hadn't really believed me with all the 'evidence' against me and had moved away due to hostility within the community. They had only moved across the city but had never visited me while I was in prison. I suppose they resented the fact that my troubles forced them to uproot their own lives. I wrote them off after that. I didn't have parents. I refused to go 'home'. Hell, I had no home. Thank the gods that I had a checking account in my name only. My parents used to mooch off me ever since I had a job at sixteen, since they barely made ends meet. So, I had to hide my money from them if I ever wanted to have any left for myself.
I had worked construction in the last summer and was able to save up about four thousand dollars. I knew that wouldn't get me too far in Parker, my hometown, or most anywhere in Colorado. I also wanted a fresh start far away from there. So, the first thing I did after getting released was to buy a bus ticket to California. I figured that would give me the best opportunity to blend in and start over again. Worst case, I could take up surfing and become a beach bum. I laughed at the thought.
On the bus ride there, it did cross my mind several times that California was even more expensive than Colorado. I had to chuckle at my own stupidity, but hey, maybe it was fate. I had to suppress my logical side and only then could I find comfort in that thought. I knew that once I reached California, I would have to move fast. Otherwise, I'd run out of money quickly. As I pondered my destiny, an older lady sat down next to me on the full bus. She must have noticed something was bothering me.
"Well now," she said. "I've seen my share of long faces, but you truly look like the world has come crumbling down around you. Care to talk about it? Sometimes it helps to get things out."
I don't exactly know why, but her suggestion sounded good right about then. It wasn't long before I was pouring my heart out to this sweet older woman. She just had such a pleasant way about her. The bus ride from Colorado was long and by the time we arrived, I had told her my life story and my current troubles. For her part, she had offered to put me up in a spare room in exchange for yard work. Apparently, she had a decent sized property with a lot of groundskeeping that needed doing. She also had the space for me to hang my hat, so to speak. It seemed like a good fit. I readily agreed.
This was the second person that had basically saved me, and neither one had really known me. Why couldn't my own friends, classmates, and especially my parents care about me this much? My older brother had called me every week while I was in prison, despite living in Japan on an internship. He was my only family now. Fuck the rest of them.
I smiled warmly at the lady, Claire, to who I was very thankful. She looked to be in her fifties, and she told me that her kids had moved all around the world and she could use some company. She was so nice, I figured it would be a bonus to hang out with her from time to time. However, I kept my walls up. I could tell someone my life story easily enough but letting them into my heart was on a whole other level.
When we arrived in California, Claire called us an uber while I grabbed her bags. I only had one small backpack myself. I refused to go to my ex-parent's house to gather whatever was left of my things. I figured they may have thrown everything out, anyways. Considering the last time that I saw my ex-parents, they had basically disowned me, I wouldn't put it past them. A friendly guy in a Subaru drove up about ten minute later and after I set the bags in the Subaru's back, he drove us to Claire's home.
I wasn't familiar with California, but I could smell the ocean when we exited the uber in front of a wrought-iron gate, so I knew we couldn't be far from it. I figured it would be a short walk to 'the beach bum life' it this didn't work out. I chuckled inwardly as Claire punched some numbers into a keypad. The massive black gate swung open ponderously. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.
"My daughter insisted on a security gate," she explained. "I think it's overkill, and it makes me feel pretentious."
I liked this woman even more already. I wasn't so sure about the daughter though. Claire led me inside, and the gate closed behind us, just as slowly. When I first saw the property, my eyes grew wide. The house was immense and immaculate, and the grounds were enormous. There were numerous trees past the massive yard. It had a pond and even a stream running through the property with a couple little foot bridges crossing it for access to the backyard. After the dry scrub of Colorado, it seemed to me like a paradise.
"How could you afford all this?" I blurted out before my mind could catch up with my mouth.
"Wow, this is more than I expected," she said to herself, her hand unconsciously going to her face. I thought the reaction was a bit strange for someone simply coming home from vacation. Then she seemed to register my comment. "Oh, hon... I couldn't. We've owned the property since the late eighteen-hundreds. I've been visiting my sister for a couple months while my daughter had the house renovated. I can't believe this. The house must be twice the size it was when I left."
I noticed a trickle of tears flow down her face as she fought to breathe normally. She was clearly overwhelmed. I mentally kicked myself. The entire bus ride had been all about me. I still knew almost nothing about Claire. At least I was learning about her now. I guess I had written this daughter off too soon. Anyone who would do all this for their mother couldn't be all bad.
"Well," she said, sniffling as she fought off her emotions and forced a smile. "Why don't you join me in exploring?"
"Glad to," I replied, smiling back at her. We went inside and looked around the gorgeous house. It had a large kitchen, hardwoods throughout, a living room, parlor, dining room, a full bathroom, and front room. And that was just the main floor. There was a large wooden deck out back overlooking a swimming pool. Apparently, this was new too because that brought on another round of tears and sniffles. There were three bedrooms upstairs and four more bathrooms throughout. A fully furnished basement for working out or watching TV completed the house. It turned out that there was a finished bungalow down the hill. Basically, a small apartment for visitors. This is where I ended up staying.
Claire took me shopping and I got myself a phone and laptop to get started on the plan I had been formulating in my head. Claire gave me the password to their internet account and the apartment had a landline from the house. The speed was better than even my high school's internet. I had no complaints and quickly found my online accounts. And it wasn't just my checking account.
I had numerous stories that I had written and posted on my personal website. I had bought and paid for it with my first paycheck and kept everything I had ever written there. It was technically public but would be hard to find unless someone knew one of the addresses for it. Strangely, the visitor count wasn't where I had left it. At least I thought it had gone up. I honestly didn't keep as close an eye on it as I probably should. Shrugging to myself, I checked and found I had posted over two hundred stories already. It was past time I put some of these stories to good use.
It was slow going, but the days passed happily as I got to know Claire better. Her husband had passed a few years back, but she had five children to keep her company. It sounded like all her children were successful in their careers. What really surprised me was that the daughter she had been talking about was only eighteen. Somehow, Claire's youngest daughter had made enough money to buy all of this for her, and the young woman was barely even staying there. I saw some pain behind her eyes whenever she talked about her, so I never asked anything about her. I only learned whatever she volunteered. Other subjects were happier, so we spent our time discussing those. She was always gushing about the latest suitor that had caught her eye.
I found that she was a little like me and kept her guard up, but for completely different reasons. Claire was concerned that her suitors were only interested in the property and not her. I tried to convince her that she was a very striking woman and any man would be lucky to have her, even if she happened to be dirt poor. I didn't lie, she was very attractive, for a much older woman. I did feel a bit disingenuous as I wasn't personally attracted to her. Maybe if I had been born about twenty years earlier...
