Chapter 2,

A New Land

Ashley packed her belongings through the night. It wasn’t hard. There were only a few things she wanted to keep. She packed her clothes, unsure how well they’d do in Montana. There were pictures of her with friends she’d lost over the last year and trophies won in track ages ago. They’d be left behind. It didn’t feel like her life anymore. She took her new flute and packed it alongside her mom’s. The small framed photo of her mom went in last. She fell asleep easier that night with the ghostly echoes of her mom’s music in her ears. The peace didn’t last long.

In her dreams, dark specters floated around the house, pulling at her mother’s memory. They were safe now that she was gone. Black, sightless eyes gazed at her. Turning on every light in the apartment, Ashley would sit terrified until the sun rose. It was four in the morning. Her plane didn’t leave until eleven. She nodded on and off until she couldn’t stand to wait any longer. The taxi arrived at seven. Relieved, she grabbed her two large bags and left.

Ashley froze for a moment as the door lock clicked in place. It occurred to her this would be the last time she would ever hear its sound. Once she walked down the hall, she would never come back. Biting her lip, she tried to not let her emotions take her over again. Ashley put the key in her pocket, grabbed both bags, and headed for the stairs. She was going to be strong. She could handle this. A small tear ran down the side of her cheek as she let the door slam behind her of their apartment building.

The taxi driver loaded both of her bags into the trunk as she got in. He knew they were headed to the airport and they didn’t speak further. She put in her headphones and listened to music. Thirty minutes later she thanked the driver, tipped him handsomely, and headed into the airport.

It was huge. It didn’t help that she’d never been in an airport before. Ashley was glad she already had a ticket because she had no idea where to go. Once she found her gate she wasn’t sure what to do. Her plane didn’t leave for hours so she sat in one of the chairs and waited. The only thing that gave her any energy was thinking about her dad. Her mom had always told her that her dad was dead. Now that she was gone, her dad was suddenly alive. She didn’t even have a picture of what he looked like. All she had was a name. Alex Jameson. A terrifying thought crept into her head. Did he know she was coming? He should. Did Ms. Sorrel give him a picture? These weren’t comforting thoughts before her first flight.

There weren’t many people on her flight. It was the middle of the week she reasoned and it was kind of an odd location. Ashley sat down and found she had the whole row to herself. She tried to relax and think about what flying would be like. The thought gave her a little bit of excitement, but it was stolen away by something terrible.

A girl was squealing a few rows behind her. When Ashley looked back she saw a little girl, probably no older than six. She was excited and giggling about her first plane ride. Her mother laughed as she tried to keep her in her seat. Their excitement was infectious to everyone nearby and they were all smiling. Only Ashley was affected in the opposite way. She was going to a place because she’d lost her family. She looked forward and tried to ignore the giggling child, but it was no good.

“Is everything okay?” asked a stewardess.

“Yeah.” Ashley wiped her tears away, but they kept coming. The stewardess stayed by her until Ashley waved her away. “I’ll be fine.” Ashley moved to sit against the window and put her head up against it. She wished she could stop crying and she wished people would stop staring at her for it. She put her seatbelt on and closed her eyes. Exhaustion could take over for now. Her eyes flickered and the world disappeared for her even as the plane began to move. The growing pressure from takeoff was a much welcomed blanket.

The plane rattled suddenly and shook Ashley awake. She sat up quickly and looked about. Her remorse was momentarily shoved aside as concern took over. The ground was moving outside of her window and she figured they must still be taking off. Then her eyes opened a little wider when she didn’t recognize any of the buildings. Were they landing?

“Now arriving,” said the pilot over the intercom.

Ashley shook her head and looked at her ticket. Great Falls, Montana. She’d slept through take off and the flight? How long had she been asleep? She looked again outside her window and saw a city and landscape she didn’t recognize. There were mountains, cloudy skies, and a city far smaller than Sacramento.

It took another twenty minutes for the plane to come to a stop and let them off the plane. Ashley stood up with a great stretch and grabbed her bag. The plane emptied at a slow rate and Ashley found herself trembling as they left. The giggling girl from before was right behind her. She tried to not think about it and walked as fast as possible.

Ashley stepped into the baggage claim section of the airport and waited for her luggage to arrive. She had to get that and then…then she wasn’t sure what to do. She could only hope her mystery father was in the airport.

“Ashley?”

Ashley gulped loudly. Why was it every time she thought something, the world seemed to respond? She turned around to the kind, English accented voice behind her. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and short dark hair with a matching goatee. Both his coat and pants were a nice material and he had a very clean look about him. He was smiling, but his eyes said he was sad.

“I’m your father.”

“Hello.”

She wasn’t sure what to do. This man was her father, a man she’d always wished she could meet as a child. Yet now that he was here, she wasn’t sure how to react. These weren’t exactly the best circumstances to meet under. She didn’t even know his name. He started forward for a hug and she flinched. He stopped and gave her a sad smile again. Instead of finishing his move for a hug, he held out his hand.

“My name is Alex Jameson.” She shook his hand. It was very rough. “Shall we get your bigger bags?”

She just nodded and he led the way further down the baggage claim. He surprisingly didn’t say any more to her. She’d expected an avalanche of questions and greetings, but he kept fairly quiet. Her two big bags came out and he took them up easily. He slung one over his shoulder and rolled the second behind him. Ashley had packed those bags pretty heavy and was amazed at how easily he carried them.

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Ashley shivered a little as they stepped outside. The weather was not cold, but it was definitely cooler than California. Her body was prepared for scorching summers with the sun beating down. In Montana, the weather was still cool with a nice breeze. They made their way into the small parking lot and stopped next to a black truck. It had a large cab and an extended back with a big toolbox in the back. Her dad put her bags in the backseat and then held the door open for her.

They didn’t say anything until they’d left the airport and were on the freeway. Ashley just looked out the window at the strange scenery. She could see large mountains in the distance and open fields everywhere. As they started to leave the city, the number of buildings shrank dramatically. It was like they were going out into the country.

“It’s about a two hour drive back to my house from the airport,” Alex said suddenly. “It’s a small town on the mountain called Reiner.”

“How small?”

“Pretty small, a lot smaller than Sacramento for sure. I think your school only has about 200 students in it.”

“Wow. That is small.” She looked at Alex and tried to figure him out. He didn’t seem like the quiet type to her. “So what do you do?”

“I’m a contractor. I do all types of construction in town and a little out of town. It’s usually just the little stuff like fixing up a house or business to make sure it’s ready for the snow, but I’ve worked on making some of the bigger buildings in town too.”

“So if something breaks in the house, I just need to find you,” she joked a little. He smiled.

“I’m a pretty good handyman.” He looked at her with those same depressed eyes she saw at the funeral. She turned her head away and looked back out the window. She was so sick of seeing that look.

“It’s good to finally see you Ashley, but I’m sad that you’re here.”

“Me too.”

“I wish you could’ve visited under different circumstances. I can’t be your mom, but I will be there for you however you need me. I promise you.”

“Thanks.” She said the words almost bitterly, but didn’t care enough to apologize for her tone.

“It’s not easy to start over once you’ve lost someone.”

“I’m sure.”

“Ashley, I want to tell you this before you meet anyone. Right now, a lot of people are going to try and tell you things because you’re hurting. They may tell you they understand what you’re going through or they feel your pain. If you get angry and think that they don’t, I just want you to know that you’re right.” Ashley looked back in surprise. Alex looked very serious. “Almost nobody knows what you’re going through. Don’t let anybody ever tell you they understand unless you truly believe them.”

“And you understand my pain?”

“I do. I’ve seen a lot of terrible things in my life and lost a lot of good friends before it was their time. There are many bad ways to deal with pain and I’ve tried almost all of them. It’s not right to suffer alone like you are. It’s not fair. Nobody should have to.” Ashley wanted to be angry and say her pain was hers, but she believed him. There was something about the tone of his voice and the look of his eyes. That look she hated wasn’t reserved for her right now. His eyes stared away into the distance as Alex tried to remember better times.

“Who did you lose?”

“I can’t say I lost my own parents because I never knew them. I grew up as an orphan and never knew a real good family life. When I turned eighteen, I didn’t have many options so I joined the military. It was the best times of my young life and I grew to have a family of sorts there. Unfortunately my company saw action. Not all of us came home from those fights.” Ashley nodded and felt he didn’t have to say any more than that. It wasn’t the same loss, but they knew the same type of pain.

The rest of the drive was filled with small talk. She learned little bits about the town and what it had to offer. It seemed to be a halfway point between the mountains for people traveling through. The mountains were also a tourist attraction for hikers and nature lovers who explored its many trails and sights. Out of all the things they talked about, Ashley’s mother never came up. She didn’t want to talk about her mom right now and thankfully, neither did Alex.

It only took a moment to see that Reiner was going to be very different from her home. The streets were nowhere near as crowded and neither were the buildings. People here actually had room to spread out here. The neighborhoods were small, the houses almost classically gorgeous, and there wasn’t a single apartment building. They weren’t flat either, which was a weird comparison she’d never thought of before. Here all the houses had tall slanted roofs with large overhangs over the doors.

Alex’s house was in a small neighborhood not too far from the middle of town. When they parked and headed inside, she could tell it was very different from most houses she’d ever been in. The entryway was its own little room filled with coat hangers and boots along the wall. It also appeared to be the only room in the house with a tile floor. The room led into a hallway which connected the rest of the house. On the right was a good sized kitchen and on the left was a living room. There was a bathroom next to the living room and next to that was Alex’s room. Alex took the lead and headed up the stairs at the end of the hall.

“My home is a bit small, but I haven’t had anyone but myself for a long time. I converted the upstairs into a living area for you. It used to be my office, but it should work out nicely for you.” Ashley sighed and she expected a tiny little room still filled with his things. When they got upstairs, he opened a door for her.

“For you.”

Ashley was stunned. The room was bigger than any room she’d ever had. Anything Alex had up here had been cleared out and replaced with furniture for her. There was a queen size bed next to the wall, a large desk, and a stand with a TV on it nearby. The closet was open and had more space than she had clothing. There was a large window that showed the street and the mountains beyond.

“Wow,” she said quietly.

“Everything should be here,” said Alex. “If there is anything you need, we’ll get it later. There’s even a bathroom next to your room so you don’t have to share the one downstairs with me.” Ashley put her backpack down on the bed and admired the room. It almost felt too big, but she figured she’d get used to it. “What do you think?”

“It’s twice as big as my old room.”

“Well try not to get lost in it.” Ashley shot Alex a smile and he set her bags near her bed. “Come on, I want to show you the rest of the house.”

“I already saw a lot of it.”

“Well indulge me a little. Once you know all of the house you can come unpack.” He pointed to the door next to hers. “Bathroom. Inside there’s a closet full of towels and everything else. Next to it is another little room I have. I keep that room for guests and if the big room bothers you, you can have this one.” The guest room was about the size she was used to, but she shook her head. She’d take the big room.

“Downstairs we have the other bathroom. There’s my room. The living room is pretty basic. We’ve got a kitchen and we’ll need to go shopping for what you like.” There was a small table in the kitchen with two chairs. Ashley thought that was a bit strange considering connected to the kitchen was the dining room with a nice table in there.

“I usually eat at the little table, but I have the dining room in case I actually have people over. You can get to the backyard from there. I’m not much of a gardener I’m afraid.” Ashley looked out the window to see a good size backyard, but it only had a few trees in it. Alex waved her back to another door in the kitchen.

“This leads into the garage. I don’t usually use it except in the winter. It’s mostly for storage and tools. We also have the basement over here.” He pulled open a door and revealed a staircase heading down. “I moved my office down there.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Would you rather live in the basement?” chuckled Alex. “I think you need more space and light than my papers.” They headed back inside and Alex waved his hands around. “What do you think?”

“It’s nice.” She looked around and tried to accept it. This was her new home. She didn’t think it would feel like home for a long time. “Do you mind if I unpack now?” He gave her a curt nod and she left him in the kitchen.

In her room, she closed the door and looked at the wide empty space. This was going to take some getting used to.