Wanderlust

Wells in the summertime was beautiful. It was beautiful enough to make up for the other 85% of the year where it was dreary, rainy or snowy and almost entirely miserable. Ashlyn knew that there were many places that had a climate similar to that of her beloved hometown, but she also knew that everyone griped and complained about it.

So when late May brought 70 degree temperatures, Ashlyn thought that Wells had hit the jackpot. Winter had been long and miserable so she thought that God had basically blessed them with the early warmth. Or at least it was early according to her Papa Joe who said that years and years ago winter had last 9 or 10 months out of the year. Needless to say, Papa Joe believed every damn thing that came out of Al Gore’s mouth. And Ashlyn didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise nor would she ever argue with her Papa Joe the way that Mandy and her dad did.

Mandy got away with everything anyway. And obviously her dad, not even being blood related to Papa Joe tended to be able to reason with the old man better than anyone. He was about to have his ninetieth birthday and his Alzheimer’s was beginning to take its toll on everyone in the family, especially Ashlyn. There were days when he didn’t even know what his name was, let alone what his children and grandchildren were called. Even though the Rogers family had all lived in Wells together for as long as anyone could remember, this was the roughest and most difficult times they had ever been through. Hard times had fallen on them and it seemed that they had a bad luck streak a mile wide.

Grandma Louise ran a small set of vacation cabins that were located right on the lake and no one had bothered to rent them out for a long period of time. Small towns like Wells just were not where people wanted to retreat to anymore. People wanted the warmth of the sun and the breeze of the ocean. They wanted big sites and big sounds and lots of things to do. But Ashlyn had always felt that the best place for a vacation would be the place where one could just do nothing but relax. But she and her family hadn’t taken a vacation since the accident. It was too hard now. Hell, it was hard just to go to the Wal-Mart that was in the next town over. It mostly fell on Ashlyn to make sure that the grocery shopping was done. And she reveled in the few hours a week that she got to get out of the house. She was the one who got to explore into different areas to get new stock for their own grocery store. She was the one who got to drive the box truck into the next town to pick up new shipments. And she loved it. It was the only thing that kept her partially sane.

“Ash!” Mandy yelled from somewhere in the house, trying to catch her younger sister’s attention from the front porch of their out of place farmhouse. When the accident happened, they had to redo the house so that it was more accessible for Mandy. The wheelchair ramp had been put in long before she ever even got out of the hospital. But the house was still very much the same as it had been her entire life.

“What’s up?” She asked her sister while going to the refrigerator. It was warm enough for her to have some lemonade after a hard day’s work of putting in the order and counting up inventory at the store.

“Someone rented out one of Lou’s cabins for the next eight months. She says it’s some boy, his name is Tom but she won’t tell me anything else. He’s going to be here later today or tomorrow. So we need to go out to the Homestead and clean it up,” Mandy told her sister, reaching for the glass that Ashlyn had poured for her. What Mandy meant by ‘they’ have to go clean was that Ashlyn needed to go up and make sure it was presentable for the guest while Mandy told her what needed done.

Ashlyn nodded and turned back to the sink to put her cup into it before she ran upstairs to shut her computer down. The good thing about having to take care of the shop was that she had a nice enough computer to use for anything and everything. And since her classes were all online at the moment, she was thrilled she had been allowed to purchase the laptop on the business credit card.

“Ready?” Ashlyn asked as she met Mandy in the living room. Another side effect of the accident had been the improvements in the roads that went from the house to the cabins and back. The car and van rarely left the driveway as the Rogers family tended to walk wherever they went. And since the cabins were only a short distance away, Mandy and her sister could walk there.

“Do you think he’ll be cute?” Mandy asked as they went along the path to the cabin that was at the very edge of the lake. It was not uncommon for people to think that Mandy was the younger of the two siblings. Ashlyn had taken on a more mature role in the past few years while she ran the store for her parents, who took care of everything else, while Mandy sort of went back to the years that she had lost.

“I’m not sure, Mandy,” Ashlyn said, grabbing a broom from the closet at Homestead and beginning to sweep the dirt and dust that had accumulated over the winter out the open front door.

“I hope so. I’m not even sure that I remember what a boy looks like,” Mandy sighed as she stared out the window, “And this window definitely needs cleaned.”

Ashlyn sigh mirrored her sister as she set the broom down and grabbed some Windex.

“Here. Give me that. I’m not a freaking paraplegic, Ashlyn. I can clean some windows while you sweep. I may not be able to walk anymore, but I can still use my arms,” Mandy said, her anger coming through, making Ashlyn fumble for words as she handed over the glass cleaner and a rag. Every now and then Mandy went through phases where she hated everything about being stuck in that wheelchair. And every now and then, she made Ashlyn feel ever worse about her being in it.

So the siblings worked in silence for a few more hours until a car parked outside causing them to look at each other. It obviously wasn’t any of the Rogers family since they would have all walked up here.

“Go see if it’s the new boy,” Mandy whispered harshly at her younger sister as she went to put away the broom, dustpan and other various cleaning supplies that were located on her lap. Ashlyn brushed off some imaginary dirt from her jean shorts and walked to the door to see a boy leaning into the trunk of a BMW, obviously grabbing for suitcases.

“Can I help you get your luggage out at all?” She asked, subconsciously leaning against the door frame. What she did not expect was for the boy to pull his head straight up into the trunk lid.

“Oh fuck,” He muttered, bringing a hand to his head as he lowered his head back to the edge of the trunk liner. Ashlyn just brought a hand to her mouth and tried to decide whether or not she should laugh or be embarrassed that she had just inconsequently caused her new tenant pain.

“Are you alright or do you need a Band-Aid or something?” Ashlyn asked, pushing away from the door to walk to the car. The boy just waved his hand which she could take to mean two things. The first being that he was fine and didn’t need her help. The second being that he was hurt so bad that he was unable to do anything but wave. She decided her best option was the second one just because he was renting her grandma’s cottage and she needed to make sure he was fine so that they could continue to get his money, something they needed desperately.

“Are you sure you’re alright, sir? I know a little bit of medicine, but not enough to be of any real service to you if it’s something serious…,” Ashlyn trailed off as she came around the back of the car as the boy picked his head up.

“I’m fine, love. Don’t worry about it a bit, just a bump,” He said, his eyes hidden behind a pair of Ray Bans and his blonde hair an awful mess, “And since I’m probably only a couple years older than you are, my name is Tom, not sir.”

“Ashlyn Rogers. My grandma owns these places,” She told him, stretching her arm out to motion to his cabin and the other 4 that were situated around the 7 acres, “They’re not much. But they’re a good place to hide out for a while.”

“Which is exactly what I need. A safe place from reality,” He said, sliding his glasses up onto his face, making Ashlyn’s mouth drop for a second before she recovered and apologized.

“Sorry. It’s just that famous people don’t come to Wells. But anyway. Before you go inside, be warned that my older sister might freak the fuck out on you. But for now, I’ll just welcome you to Wells, Tom Felton,” Ashlyn said, smiling as she motioned for him to take the lead. He smiled and took a few steps in front of her.

“Thank you very much, Ashlyn Rogers. I think this is looking to be a very promising trip for me,” He said, giving her a very obvious wink, causing her to smirk as she followed him in the house.

Mandy was right. It had been a long ass time since any cute boys had shown up in Wells, New York.