From the City to Simmons

"Yes, I know, we all've gotten ten minutes older since I saw you last. But they're here now and they're ready to sign. So stop your complainin'," Roger told him.

Harold chuckled. "I think your nerves are making you jumpy, Roger. Hope you didn't pack all your pills and send them on ahead, looks like you could use one. I was going to say that I'm glad to see everyone."

Carrie and Harold had spoken a few times over the phone during the week prior, ironing out whatever details there were to iron out. The actual paper work that they were doing during their current meeting didn't take long. Carrie produced a cashier's check, Roger and Chris signed a few documents. That was that. Harold inspected the signatures and added a notary stamp, which he initialed himself.

"That's interesting," he began. "I see your middle name is Elvis."

"It's not all that interesting," Carrie told him. "As a matter of fact, I say we should forget that you ever mentioned it and never bring it up again."

"I was just going to say that the name used to be much more popular, you don't see it around much these days. Everything's in order. You have your copies, I'll file these with the county clerk in the morning and we'll transfer the business license and help you get set up with the bank. Other than that, deal is done, everyone." Harold stood and went around the table shaking everyone's hand.

"Like I told ya on the phone, Manny can keep things runnin' down at the diner while you settle in. He's a good man, and he's be a good one to keep around, even if you plan on makin' some changes. I can't tell you how pleased I've been to meet you folks," Roger told them.

They returned his sentiment and wished him well. Whereas they had more papers to fill out in the morning and a huge van to unload, he was headed to Colorado. They made plans to meet Harold for breakfast and bid the older gentleman a goodnight. Then, they found themselves alone for the first night in their new home.

Tina and Carrie brought some stuff in from the cars while Chris built a fire. He didn't know if it was just the novelty of it, or what, but he enjoyed the thought of being able to start a fire right in his own living room. They built a little camp in there with sleeping bags, not finding the thought of hauling the bed upstairs and setting it up all that appealing at the moment. Tina made them some hot chocolate and they sipped it while sitting in front of the fire.

"Almost doesn't seem real, does it?" Chris asked.

"Like we're on a vacation to some far-off cabin in the woods," Carrie agreed.

"Like a permanent vacation where we all have a ton of work to do for the rest of our lives," Tina added.

Chris grimaced. "Don't bring me down, woman."

"I'm not trying to bring you down. This is a wonderful place and there's no where else I'd rather be than here with you two."

"That's better. Me, too," Chris agreed.

*****

Despite the fact that they were having their dreams realized, it was a tough adjustment from city life to their new ones in Ohio. That first spring was toughest on Chris. With significant help from manager Manny, it didn't take him all that long to get a handle on the diner. What plagued him was a lack of sleep and what sleep that he did get was filled with images of Jorge. Tina and Carrie did their best to comfort him, but there was little they could do but keep him company while he lay restless and awake.

Things gradually began to get better for him as spring threatened to turn to summer. The diner turned it's first quarterly profit under his ownership and he was able to get a reasonable amount of sleep at night. They celebrated the success of the business by buying themselves gifts. Chris got a dog. An adopted, mixed-breed mongrel puppy from the pound that he named Hank, after an old dog that he once knew. Carrie got a lawn tractor that she faithfully put to use at least once a week to keep the grass at bay. Tina's present was more expensive and complicated than the other two; she got the pony that she had always wanted.

They actually ended up with two ponies. The fellow that sold them the first one convinced them that a pony would not do well alone. They needed another animal to keep them company, and what would be better than another pony?

"Aren't you the one supposed to keep it company?" Chris had asked Tina.

"I will, but I can't all the time," Tina had pointed out. "We can't raise a lonely pony."

"I want a pony, too," Carrie had pouted.

Chris had relented, feeling as though the girls had once again worked together to get what they wanted out of him, though he did threaten to put pony burgers on the menu if they proved to be too difficult to take care of.

Things had taken an air of normalcy for them in Simmons until one sunny Sunday morning. The diner was only open for half a day on Sundays, and Manny ran it for them. Chris and Carrie were inspecting the garden while Tina was taking some feed to the ponies. They didn't need much while there was grazing to be done, but she liked to give them a little treat every day. Carrie spotted her, bent over by the corner of the barn.

"What's she doing?" Chris had asked.

"I think she's throwing up."

They trotted over to see what was wrong, asking her if she was all right.

"I don't know what it is. The last couple of days when I've gotten up I feel like my guts are rotten. I'll be okay," she assured them.

"Why don't we take you inside so you can lay down? You might have the flu or something," Chris suggested.

"I might know what it could be," Carrie began as they walked back toward the house. "Have you taken a pregnancy test lately?"

Realization struck Tina and she whipped her head around to face Carrie. "No. My last period...I don't know. Oh my god, I might be pregnant!"

A quick trip to the drug store and a subsequent doctor's visit proved Carrie's intuition to be correct. They were going to have a baby, the last piece of the puzzle to complete their new lives. Or the first of the last pieces, they hadn't decided yet. What they did decide was that Simmons was a good place to start their family, and whatever convoluted route it had taken the three of them to end up there together, it was worth it.