Lucky 13 Read Online Free PDF Page B

minutes and then asks for my I.D. before handing it back along with the four bags of items that I just purchased. I thank her for her help and make my way out of the store and back to my car.
    As I load the bags in the backseat, I contemplate my next move. I have nowhere to be, no one to meet. My afternoon is completely open, but I have no idea what I want to do with it. I scan the surrounding stores and spot a bookstore down the block. Perfect.
    After locking the car, I cross the street and make my way through a crowd of people my age and into a coffee shop. I order and wait patiently for my cappuccino. Once they call my name, I push through the crowd again and head toward the bookstore.
    I swear I hear someone call my name, so I stop and scan my surroundings. I take in all the faces, but no one is looking in my direction. Not recognizing anyone, I turn and continue down the sidewalk. Scanning the sidewalk for anyone familiar one last time before I walk through the front door of the bookstore, I cause another bell to ring as I enter.
     
    ***
     
    The sun is about to set and my feet are finally starting to feel a little relief. I’ve been sitting in the gazebo for the last hour, resting and reading after walking around town for the entire day. I ended up buying a handful of books, snagging another coffee, and heading into another clothing store. I now have an entirely new wardrobe for fall. I bought a dozen new shirts, four pairs of pants, two pairs of shoes, the cowboy boots, and two new purses. Not to mention the copious amounts of accessories I bought. Hair pieces, jewelry, scarfs, and so many other things. I spent enough money that my father may actually have a conversation with me about the limit on my credit card.
    None of that matters right now. All I’m thinking about right now is the fact that I’m sitting in our spot, mine and Grandma’s, and I’m about to watch the most beautiful sunset. You would think that with as many of them as I’ve seen over the years I might tire of watching them, but I don’t. No two have ever been the same. No two have ever made me feel the same.
    My phone alerts me to a text message just as the sun sinks behind the horizon. I wait a few beats, enjoying the beautiful sight in front of me, before I dig my phone out of my purse. It’s from my father.
    You missed dinner. Please reply and let me know you’re safe .
    I shake my head at his formality. I know that he wasn’t always this way. There was a time when he was more personable, a time when he was fun. He used to be an energetic, upbeat, and happy person. That part of him died with my mother. Since her suicide, he’s serious and everything is treated as if it’s a business transaction. Even his dealings with me.
    I’m sure this makes him better at his job. I’m sure the Marine Corps don’t mind he is completely focused on them and the job he’s been trained to do. There are times when it doesn’t bother me, either. Most of the time, though, I wish he would ease up, pull the stick out of his ass, and wrap me in a bear hug like he used to.
    Those days are gone, I’m certain.
    I reply that I am on my way home before packing up my things and heading back toward town where I left my car.
    When I arrive home, my father is nowhere to be found. Go figure.
    It takes two trips to get all my bags inside and up to my room. Just as I’m about to close my door, Eloise appears with a plate of piping hot food in one hand, the steam rising and fogging up her glasses, and a diet soda in the other.
    “Thank you so much. That was very kind of you,” I say sincerely as I take the plate and soda from her. Eloise smiles at me and then disappears down the hall toward her room.
    I eat silently in my room, my back propped against the frame of my bed and the television on for background noise. Alone. Again. Grandma wouldn’t be happy about this situation. She wouldn’t like the fact that I’ve seen my father for less than five minutes since