No Boundaries

Andi Massey cut off the garden tiller and sifted through the soil with her gloved hand. The smell of the rich earth tickled her senses and roused memories Andi wished she could erase from her mind. Her mouth went dry when her fist closed around a small rock unearthed by the tiller. In a flash Andi could see the craggy, unshaven face looming before her. The smell of him mingled with the dirt beneath her. She tightened her grip on the rock and could hear the crack of the stone hitting his skull. Andi flinched and felt her stomach roll, threatening to be sick. She drew in deep calming breaths and tried to quiet her demons. She tossed the stone aside, an evil detested thing. She blew out a deep breath and cursed herself for her lapse into the past. She was always amazed at the simple things that still triggered the old memories.

Andi sat back on her heels and studied her work. She felt the dampness seep through her jeans where her knees pressed into the soil. Sweat trickled down her nose, and she brushed it away with the back of her gloved hand. With temperatures hovering around eighty degrees for a week, she wondered why she tortured herself with a garden. But she loved her garden. Her plants and her cat were the things that made her happy. They were the only things she dared love.

She shivered at the memories and tried to shake off the reminder of the life she had lost. These silent musings were becoming a common thing, and Andi had felt a disquiet seep into her life. She was lonely. When she wasn’t working at her pet-supply store or delivering pet food to the elderly clients in town, she spent her time alone among her plants, and for the most part she liked it that way. She wasn’t much of a people person…at least not anymore. She took a deep breath and told herself to stop this self-torture, as she tried to change her line of thinking. The ache of loneliness closed around her chest like a fist slowly squeezing the air from her lungs. That wasn’t her life anymore. She’d moved to the sleepy little town of Norris, Tennessee, to escape all that and for the most part had done a good job. But the memories were something she knew she would never escape.

Andi was suddenly pulled from her thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. She jumped, startled by the sound and the fact that she hadn’t heard anyone approach. An instant later realization dawned, and she turned to greet the familiar voice. An old woman stood on the walk grinning at Andi. Her faded jeans were just a tad too short, her shirt was tucked half in and half out of her waistband, and her unruly hair stuck out from beneath a tattered straw hat.

“You know that’s work, don’t ya?”

“Yeah, some days I do. How are you, Mrs. Peterson?” Andi grinned at the sight of her neighbor. It never failed—if she was outside doing something, Mrs. Peterson was sure to turn up to inspect her work. Nothing got past this woman. She was the neighborhood watch program all in one person.

“It’s too damn hot,” Mrs. Peterson barked.

Andi laughed. “I’m surprised you’re out then.”

Mrs. Peterson harrumphed. “Didn’t think you were going to sneak anything past me did you? I might be old, but I can still look after you, girl.”

“Yes, ma’am. Would you like to come in for some tea?”

“Hell no. I’m going home and having me a beer.” Mrs. Peterson cocked her head, peering at Andi over her glasses with a slight grin.

“All right then, have one for me while you’re at it. Oh, and just so there are no surprises, I’ll be mowing the lawn tomorrow. Just didn’t want you to think I was trying to get one over on you.”

Mrs. Peterson swatted her hand in Andi’s direction. “Crazy girl.”

Andi watched with hands on her hips as the old woman made her way back home. She loved these moments with Mrs. Peterson. She had been one of the first people Andi met when she moved in almost three years earlier. She had kept a close eye on the changes Andi made to the place, and at some point during the long inquisition, Andi had grown fond of their playful bantering.

She sometimes worried that Mrs. Peterson was lonely, living in her big house alone. But despite all Andi’s efforts, Mrs. Peterson would never accept her invitations for dinner, or just a cool drink. She just showed up from time to time, shared a few words, and would leave again.

The more Andi thought of the solitary life Mrs. Peterson lived, the more she realized she had isolated herself in much the same way. She rarely felt lonely, but sometimes the emptiness in her life was like a deafening silence. During those moments she would go to the park or the hardware store just to watch people talk to each other, hear their laughter, and even watch them argue, and that seemed all the interaction she needed.

Now as she watched Mrs. Peterson go, the loneliness settled in again, and she wished she could put the past behind her and have a normal life. Andi shook herself and looked around at her work. Deciding she had done enough, she dusted off her knees, pulled off her gloves, and headed for a shower.

*

Gwen Palmer placed the last box into the U-Haul and closed the door. She had one month to get to her new home, set up some livable habitation, and learn her way around town before starting her new job with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. At forty-five she had decided to start over. When she lost her job in Chicago, she had sold her house, found a new house online, found a new job online, and now she was finally making the move. She needed a change of scenery and a chance to start over.

Her friends thought she was crazy and her family was angry with her for leaving, but she just knew it was the right thing to do. Now that the day had finally arrived, she was filled with anticipation. This would be an adventure. Besides, she needed to get away. She didn’t really have any solid ties anyway—sure, her family was here, and she had good friends, but it just wasn’t enough. The women she dated were not the stick-around type, and she was tired of the transient relationships that were really nothing more than brief interludes or one-night stands. After the debacle with her last affair, she didn’t think she could stay in this town for another moment. She felt humiliated. Miranda had used her and thrown her and her career away without a blink of an eye. She had to make a change, and she might as well take this opportunity while she had it.

Gwen sighed and took another look around the old bungalow one last time, as she remembered family dinners and movie nights and parties with friends. This had been the first place she had felt at home after leaving her parents’ and going to college. But it was time to move on, time to grow up. She wanted a place she could grow into, share with someone, and perhaps have a family. She pulled a worn leash from the peg by the door. “Ready, Zeek?” Gwen asked the large black Neapolitan mastiff, who sat staring at her.

“What? Did you think you weren’t getting to go?” Gwen smiled down at the dog who had been her constant companion for the past five years.

Zeek tilted her giant head to the side as if she wasn’t sure what was happening. But recognizing the word
go,
she jumped up and placed her large paws on Gwen’s shoulders. Tongue lolling, she happily nudged Gwen’s chin with her nose.

Gwen laughed. “Okay, okay, I take it you’re ready.”

Taking one last look around, Gwen gave a quick salute to the house and closed the door, leaving her past behind her.

Ten hours later, she pulled into the drive and took in the view of her new home. She was surprised to find it looked in better shape than she had anticipated, based on the photos. But then again, it was dark outside. Who knew what surprises she would find, moving into an eighty-year-old house?

Zeek picked her head up from her makeshift bed on the bench seat to peer out over the dashboard. She sniffed feverishly.

“What do you think, Zeek?” Gwen ran her hand over Zeek’s floppy ears as she studied the house with some trepidation. When she realized she was still sitting in the truck five minutes later, she laughed at herself. “What do you say we go check it out? Feel up to exploring after that long drive?”

In answer Zeek tried to shake herself, which didn’t work out so well, since at 140 pounds, she took up most of the truck’s cabin space. She stood and nuzzled Gwen’s ear, breathing hot dog breath into her face.

Gwen laughed. “Okay, get off, you big oaf.” She opened the door and climbed out of the truck, holding the door open for Zeek. “There you go, girl. Let’s see what our new home is like.”

The keys were in the lockbox attached to the door. Her realtor had given her the code at the finalization of the purchase. She punched in the code to retrieve the key. When the box opened, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Relief washed over her—she was definitely in the right place. She slid the key in the lock and heard the faint snick as the tumblers fell into place and the doorknob turned. Swinging the heavy wood door wide, Gwen stepped inside. Her fingers fumbled for a moment, searching for the light switch on the wall by the door. The sudden glow made her blink before her eyes adjusted to the light, and she settled on the view of the room.

The door opened to an average-size living room. The room was barren of course, and Gwen took in the beautiful hand-scraped wood floors and the dentil molding wrapping the ceiling. She guessed at least five layers of paint coated the delicate details of the woodwork and silently cataloged the many hours of labor ahead of her. Although the work would be tedious, she looked forward to making the house her own and bringing it back to its former glory.

“At least there’s no wallpaper,” she said, patting Zeek on the head.

Gwen made her way through the house and noted various repairs and updates to be made, the most substantial being to the kitchen. Besides the absence of appliances, this would be the best time to do the renovations to the floor, cabinets, and well, everything. She raked a hand through her hair as she scanned the room. She estimated the space to be about 200 square feet. The rectangular layout would be great for setting up a more user-friendly cooking space and separate dining area. The floors were covered in brittle vinyl flooring with large chunks missing in several places. Gwen leaned down until her knees popped in protest, tugged on a loose edge of vinyl, and pulled up a small section. The subfloor looked okay but would likely need some repairs as well.

Overall, Gwen was pleased. The house was cozy, with enough room to grow. She walked through the kitchen to the french doors and pulled them open. A large wooden deck wrapped the length of the house and around one corner. In front of the doors, the deck stepped down onto a smaller platform before turning to the right and stepping down onto a paved stone patio. At the bottom of the decking was a complete outdoor kitchen. The space was amazing, and she had to forgive the former owners their neglect of the interior renovations when she saw the amount of work that had gone into creating this outdoor oasis. The light from the house cast furtive shadows across the lawn, and Gwen could make out the tall custom privacy fence surrounding the backyard. This was one of the selling points as it provided the perfect place for Zeek to roam without Gwen having to worry about her getting into too much trouble with the neighbors. On cue, Zeek lumbered by, her nose to the ground as she took up patrol, thoroughly assessing every inch of the open space.

Gwen took a deep breath of the cool night air and felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. She listened to the still night and reveled in the silence, grateful to be far away from the push and demands of the city and memories of Miranda. She didn’t know how she had managed to convince herself that Miranda loved her, that they were working toward a future together. The signs had been there all along, but she had chosen not to see them until it was all too late. She had paid the price for her indiscretion, far beyond the loss of her job. Gwen shivered as the memories and the pain still shimmered through her, filling her with disappointment and regret.

She hadn’t doubted her decision to move. Not really. When Miranda had seen to it that she lost her job, Gwen decided she wanted to be somewhere where no one knew her. Maybe if she started over, there could be more to her life than work and one-night stands. Her best friend Holly was convinced she was having a midlife crisis and had lost her mind. Peter, her friend and colleague, had been the only one to support her move. He had seen the games Miranda had played with her life, and he knew what they had cost Gwen. Peter had come over with boxes, a bottle of red wine, and pizza from her favorite pizza dive.

Go
, he had said.
It’s a big world out there and it’s calling to you. Your family will forgive you once they see that you’re still close enough for them to invade if they need to. What’ve you got to lose? Go somewhere that bitch can’t touch you.

She had hugged him and kissed his cheek. He had been her voice of reason. She knew he wouldn’t say anything he didn’t mean, and she loved him for it.

Zeek bounded up the steps back onto the porch, her tongue lolling and eyes bright, luring Gwen out of the past and back to where she belonged. She smiled down at the dog, pleased to see she was happy with her new surroundings. “Come on, Zeek, let’s get started.” Gwen swatted the dog’s behind and turned to go back inside to begin the task of assembling a place to sleep.