My Twist of Fate Read online

  My Twist of Fate

  R.A. Krauszer

  Mom and Dad:

  Thank you for raising me to never accept no as an answer and following my dreams. I love you!

  To My husband and kids:

  Thank you for loving me and understanding when I get lost in my writing. Everything I do is for you! I love you.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  One

  Adalyn stood in the parking lot of the run-down hotel she had just checked into. It was early evening, and it wasn’t quite dark out, still dark enough though that there were creepy shadows beginning to form. Adalyn wasn’t scared of much, but the dark was one of those things.

  She quickly grabbed her few belongings from the trunk of her rental car. She quickly pressed the lock button twice on the key to set the car alarm. Adalyn made her way to the second floor where her room was, quickly closing the door behind her and locking it. Adalyn dropped her bags and slid down the wall hugging her legs to her chest. She could finally breathe, for the first time in a long time, in the safety of the hotel room behind a locked door. No one knew who she was here.

  Adalyn woke the next morning stiff all over. She had fallen asleep on the floor against the door. After driving all night, the previous night just to get to her destination. She stood and stretched out her achy muscles and began unpacking her outfit for the day. She needed to find a job as soon as possible. Adalyn dressed quickly and made her way to find a cup of coffee. Afterall, she wasn’t staying in one of those hotels that served a continental breakfast.

  After driving less than a block, she found a little diner. She pulled into the parking lot, pulling into the first available parking spot. She quickly counted her money before climbing out of the car. She had a whopping three hundred and seventy-five dollars to her name. She had to make it last until she found a job with a paycheck. She slowly climbed out of the car and headed into the diner.

  Adalyn was greeted by a pretty little waitress.

  “Good morning, just one?” she asked Adalyn as she grabbed a menu.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Adalyn told her, following her to a small table in the corner of the diner.

  “Can I start you off with a drink before I come back for your order?” she asked.

  “Just a coffee please,” Adalyn told her shyly.

  “Coming right up,” she told her, giving her a wink.

  Adalyn was lost in her thoughts when the waitress returned with her coffee and placed it in front of her on the table. She was startled and almost toppled over out of her chair.

  “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, hon,” the slightly embarrassed and concerned waitress told her as she steadied her gently.

  “It’s not a problem,” Adalyn told her quietly.

  “Let me know if you need anything else,” she said before walking away to take care of other patrons.

  Adalyn sat quietly and enjoyed her coffee. She was determined to find a job and make it on her own. She knew she was on this adventure alone and wanted to make it as positive as possible. She would not focus on the negative of not having a job immediately, because she knew she would find one. She had to stay positive.

  After paying her bill, Adalyn walked slowly to her car, enjoying the warm sun on her face. It was now time to return the rental car, so she didn’t have to pay anymore fees. She drove to the car rental place and followed the signs for rental returns.

  “Good morning, returning this morning?” asked the peppy rental agent.

  “Yes, sir,” she told him, without making eye contact.

  Adalyn handed him the keys, along with the paperwork. After a couple minutes of typing, he had her account pulled up.

  “Is the gas tank full?” he asked.

  “Yes, I made sure to fill it up, so I didn’t get charged extra,” she told him, again not meeting his gaze.

  “Then you will have no other charges as long as the car is undamaged,” he told her, looking over her shoulder toward the entrance. He was waiting for his co-worker to return after checking the status of the car. His co-worker walked through the doors and nodded with a smile letting him know that all was fine.

  “Alright then, if you could just sign this paperwork stating that you returned the rental in the condition, we rented it to you,” he asked.

  Adalyn signed the return agreement silently. She was uncomfortable and wanted to get out of her and start her day.

  “Thank you for using us for the rental needs. Think of us in the future,” he told her as he took the contract she had finished signing.

  Adalyn left the rental place and started walking back toward her hotel room. She was feeling edgy and anxious with that interaction. He creeped her out, he was way too nice.

  Adalyn put in a few applications on her way back to the hotel. The first place she stopped was this quaint little bookstore, that she instantly fell in love with. She knew that even if she didn’t get the job there, that she was going to be spending a lot of time and probably money in there. The other places were a convenient store that she had filled up the rental car at before returning it. As well as a few local fast-food places. She realized in that moment that she had hit her all-time low. She was applying for jobs that she didn’t even consider as a summer job during high school.

  By the time Adalyn had reached her hotel room she was exhausted. She took a quick shower and climbed into her bed and took a nap.

  She woke up a few hours later, feeling refreshed and less anxious. She realized that she was hungry. The hotel room of course didn’t have anything to cook on so she would have to find something to eat that was cheap. She walked back to the diner she got coffee from that morning. She knew they were on the cheaper side since she had looked over the menu. But she couldn’t make a habit out of eating out all the time. She had to do some food shopping that wouldn’t require refrigeration or cooking for that matter.

  “Good afternoon, how many?” the waitress asked as Adalyn entered the diner.

  “Just one,” she told her. The waitress grabbed a menu and escorted her to a table similar to the one she sat in this morning.

  “What can I get you to drink?” she asked.

  “Just water, please,” Adalyn told her.

  “Coming right up, I will get your order when I return with your water.”

  Adalyn ordered the cheapest thing on the menu when the waitress returned, “I will just have the short stack please.”

  “I will put your order right in. Is there anything else I can get you while you wait?” asked the waitress.

  “I am good, thank you though,” Adalyn told her.

  Adalyn pulled out the prepaid cell phone she had recently purchased. She had no missed calls. She knew she would have to find the local library to check her email. She had also recently set up a new email address as well.

  After enjoying her pancakes and paying the bill Adalyn left the diner feeling accomplished about her day. Now all she needed to do was find the local library so she could check her email.

  It didn’t take her long to find the library. She walked into a small library that felt cozy and warm. She approached the help desk and waited patiently to be helped.

  “Hello, how can I help you today,” asked the little lady behind the desk. She reminded Adalyn of someone’s grandmother. She had this caring quality about her.

  “Hello, I was wondering if there was a fee to use the computer to ch
eck my email,” Adalyn asked.

  “No there isn’t, but there is a time limit of one hour. If you need it longer than that please come back up here and sign out the computer again for another hour,” she explained as she handed Adalyn the clipboard with the sign-up sheet for the computers.

  “Thank you so much,” Adalyn told her as she signed the paper and handed it back to her.

  She made her way over to the computer and turned it on. As she waited for it to boot up, she was tapped on the shoulder.

  Adalyn jumped as she was startled and bit back a scream of fear.

  “I am sorry to have scared you. I just wanted to let you know that I was going to be shelving books if you needed me for anything,” said the sweet grandmotherly librarian.

  “Oh, thank you for letting me know,” Adalyn told her, holding her chest, and trying to calm her breathing.

  Adalyn was finally able to log into her email account. There were two replies from the applications she had turned in. They were from the two fast-food places. Both emails stated that she was not qualified at this time to considered for employment at their establishment, but that her application would keep on file for the next six months. Adalyn felt defeated. What type of person couldn’t get hired on at a fast-food restaurant. She felt like a failure. As she closed down the computer, she decided to wander around the library to find some books to read.

  As she left the library, she was greeted by people on the street as she walked back to her hotel room. She had never seen a town with so many nice people. Everyone said hello or waved as you passed them. It was like out of one of those Lifetime channel movie towns. It was quite strange to her.

  She locked the door behind her as she entered her hotel room. She realized she had been at the library longer than she thought. As she looked at the clock on the bedside table, she realized it was nearly dinner time already. She couldn’t afford to eat out again though. She knew if she continued to do that then her money would disappear quickly.

  Adalyn decided that she would just curl up in bed with one of her books she got from the library and skip dinner. It wouldn’t kill her to miss a meal here and there. Standing at five foot four, Adalyn was not over-weight by any means, but it wouldn’t hurt if she lost a little weight either. She was thin, but in her opinion had a butt that was too big for her liking. She had hips that were on the wider side. But then again, she had no pudge in her stomach to speak of. She didn’t have washboard abs, but her stomach was flat. Her boobs were decent in her opinion, not too big and not too small. Overall, she liked how she looked, but she didn’t feel she was model material.

  Adalyn woke the next morning starving. She had fallen asleep rather quickly the night before, as the day’s events had caught up to her. She checked her phone for any missed calls, which there were none. Not that she really expected there to be any. No one had her phone number except for the few places she had applied for employment at. Which reminded her of the depressing emails she had received the previous day. The thought made her sad; but she quickly shook off the feeling of sadness and went about starting her day.

  As Adalyn left her hotel room, she was greeted by another person staying at the hotel.

  “Good morning,” he said as he passed her on his way to his room.

  “Um, good morning,” Adalyn replied, not quite awake and slightly startled by the male voice suddenly.

  Adalyn made her way to the diner and ordered pancakes again. She decided eating cheaply would be the best option. She was seated in the same area of the diner as the previous day. She had the same waitress as the morning before as well. She quickly gave the waitress her order of pancakes and water.

  As Adalyn sat quietly eating her breakfast, she thought about the things she needed to do for the day. Besides looking for a job, she needed to do some minor grocery shopping. Not that there would be much to shop for.

  “Can I get you anything else, before I go on my break,” the waitress asked.

  “No thank you. I am fine,” Adalyn told her as she pushed her empty plate toward the waitress, also handing her the cash to pay for her meal.

  Adalyn made her way out into the early morning sun, enjoying the feel of it on her face. She thought she remembered a grocery store near her hotel. She was grateful for the short walk back to the hotel, even if it would be a lot of groceries.

  An hour and a half later, she sat on the bed after putting her meager grocery haul away. It mainly consisted of crackers, water, bananas; things that didn’t need to be refrigerated. She decided she would go back into town and see where else she could apply for a job at. She was determined to make the most of her job hunting.

  *****

  As dinner time approached, Adalyn was dead on her feet. She had walked around applying to a few of the local businesses, spent some time in the library to which she realized there no emails, and then she spent some time in the small park enjoying the scenery. The more time she spent in the town of Willow Haven the more she fell in love with it. She was finally beginning to feel like her decision to move here was a good decision.

  Adalyn sat on her bed to remove her shoes before getting something to eat and staying in for the rest of the evening. She planned on curling up with one of her books from the library after finding a movie to watch while she ate her dinner.

  Two

  Adalyn woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She stumbled out of bed and just missed it. So, she gave it a minute to see if whoever it was would leave a voicemail. She brushed her teeth as she waited. Just as she was finishing brushing her teeth, the chirp sounded on her phone alerting her that there was indeed a voicemail. She tried very hard not to get nervous as she walked toward her phone and entered her code to listen to the voicemail.

  “Hello Miss James. This is George over at the Book Nook. I am calling you in regard to your recent job application you submitted. I am eager to meet with you and discuss the employment opportunity. Could you please stop by at your earliest convenience?”

  Adalyn jumped up and down with excitement at the possibility of employment. Especially at the quaint little bookstore. She fell in love with it when she went in to submit her application. She found it difficult to leave because she felt at peace while she was there. Reading was always her escape.

  Adalyn had been in Willow Haven for a week and was already heading into the place she hoped to make her permanent job. The little bell chimed over the door as she entered. She was instantly enveloped in a peace and homey feeling. She made her way to the front counter where she found George unpacking some boxes of a recent order.

  “Good morning. What can I do for you this morning?” George asked as she stopped at the counter.

  “Good morning. I’m Adalyn James. You called me this morning. I am sorry that I missed your call. You asked me to stop by at my earliest convenience, so here I am,” she told him.

  “Ah, yes, I thought I recognized you,” he said giving her a grin.

  “I don’t want to keep you from your work, I apologize. Should I have called before coming?” Adalyn asked feeling bad for interrupting his work.

  “Don’t you worry your sweet little head about it. You did exactly as I requested. I am the only one that works here. As you can see though, I am getting up there in age and am needing some help around here,” he explained, putting her mind at ease.

  “If I am being honest, I would absolutely love to work here. I instantly fell in love with the shop when I came in the other day. I am slightly obsessed with books and reading,” she admitted, a blush touching her cheeks.

  “Well, I am glad to hear that, but I have one concern to discuss with you before I officially hire you,” he told her.

  “What is that concern?” she asked slightly panicked.

  “The address you put on your application. It is a local hotel in the area. A rather rundown hotel at that. Would you mind telling me why you put that as your address,” he asked, concern etched across his face.

  “I put that as my address bec
ause it is currently my address,” Adalyn said, feeling bad about her situation.

  “I see,” is all he said, for several seconds.

  “I need to know that if I hire you to help out here that I can depend on you. I need to know that you are going to make it to work on time, without excuse,” he told her.

  “That wouldn’t be a problem at all. I don’t want to stay there for any longer than I have too honestly. I would like to find a studio or something that I could afford once I get on my feet.

  “That is where the issue lies young lady. Any money you make here, which isn’t a lot by the way, will go straight back into the hotel fees. It would be an endless cycle,” he told her, as she squirmed under his watchful gaze.

  “Well, I really don’t have any other options at the moment,” she explained, once again feeling bad about her situation.

  “I may have a solution if you are willing to hear me out,” he told her with a small smile.

  “I’m listening,” she told him, unsure of what his solution could possibly be.

  “I have a small one-bedroom furnished house around the corner from here. It has been uninhabited for the last few months. I would be willing to let you stay there rent free until you get on your feet. It would honestly help me out because it would keep the pipes in working order, as well as not sitting there empty,” he told her.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Adalyn told him, trying to hold back the tears she felt spring to her eyes.

  “Well, if you say yes, it will truly help an old man out. I would know that the place is being taken care of. It would also be less of a commute for you. I couldn’t help but notice that you walked here this morning,” he told her.

  “I currently do not have a car, you are correct. Why would you help me like this, you don’t even know me?” she asked him.

  “I have a good feeling about you. I also can see that you need a little help. You seem to be starting over and I am in a situation where I can give you a little bit of help. That is if you will accept it,” he told her, his eyes silently pleading with her.