Since Foxton is such a small town it feels necessary to clarify that all the characters in this story are completely fictional. Any resemblances to any real-life persons or events are unintended. This story is merely a tribute to the town I remember and how I imagine it may look like today. With that said, thank you for reading my story. Please leave a comment or rate the piece: it makes this all worthwhile.
***
It was already very late. Our poker night at Cliff's had stretched and I found myself $40 poorer. It wasn't worth being upset over. Not on a clear night like this. Sure enough, clear nights came with a price. The next day wouldn't be as warm as today had been. Still it was nice to see the hundreds of stars.
I'd had a few beers, so I was walking home. Not that it was that far away. It was a ghost town, Foxton, where I lived, with its population of less than 3k. Still, if Officer Marion caught me riding home on a bicycle one more time, it would be a hefty fine.
Therefore, I headed slowly, but safely, toward Union Street. No lights shone in the windows; everyone had gone to bed. No wonder really, at 1 am on a Tuesday.
However, when I did slowly approach my lonely home at the end of the street, something was off. More exactly, it was the Toyota Rav-4 with the weird number plate. I had not seen it before. Slightly drunk as I was, I might've ignored it. But it was too new and way too clean. It stuck out like a sore thumb with its trendy crimson finish. And, oddly enough, it was parked right in front of my house.
But that wasn't the only thing that was off about it. No, it was the girl sleeping inside.
A pretty girl, I thought, clad in a floral dress and cardigan, her blonde hair made up on a big bun on top of her head. There were cute freckles around her nose. Her eye lashes were long, brushing against her high cheek bones. She looked peaceful in slumber, unlike some girls I knew.
I first thought about letting her be, but this was Foxton. She might run into trouble, especially if she had mistakenly thought it to leave her car doors unlocked.
I knocked on the passenger side window.
Almost immediately she snapped awake. Her eyes darted around her, trying orient herself. Then she saw me, waving hello in the window. I had hoped it would've been less of a shock if I wasn't there glaring right back at her through the window next to her. Still, she collected herself quickly and rolled down the window on my side.
"Kia ora, Miss," I nodded in greeting.
"Tena koe," she replied sleepily.
"I didn't wish to wake you," I said apologetically, "but I thought you might need assistance."
She looked at me with her pretty green eyes. Somehow, she seemed a little lost.
"Just hoped to catch Mrs. Greene, that's all," she explained in an accent that sounded faintly American. "She used to live here," she continued, nodding toward the house behind me. "Do you know if she still does?"
"I'm afraid that's now my house," I explained to her. "Mrs. Greene passed away last year. My condolences if you're whanau."
Her lips merely formed an "Oh." But in her eyes, there was neither sadness nor pity. The fact that Mrs. Greene had passed away seemed only an unfortunate fact.
"No," she responded, "I just used to live here with her a long time ago."
"Would you maybe like a cup of tea?" I caught myself offering. "I got a guest room if you'd like to stay the night. It's not safe sleeping in the car."
"I got a room booked in Levin actually," she said.
"Well, then just a cuppa then?" I suggested. It was still a bit of a drive to Levin. Who knows how long she'd been in that car.
"Yeah, I suppose why not," she shrugged. She seemed a little defeated. I wondered if it was all the wasted hours waiting. Maybe she was just too tired to care. After she had closed the window she came out of the car in her summer's dress. At least the night was warm.
I took out the keys from the pocket and unlocked the door to my home, allowing her to enter my humble abode.
Thankfully, in the last few days I had managed to keep the place clean. I rarely had girls come over, unless I decided to throw a party myself. Cassie had left the town months ago to pursue a better life in Wellington. Since then, it had seemed near pointless to keep the place presentable. There was no sex appeal to Foxton. If I wanted to get laid, it would have to be elsewhere.
"You can leave your shoes on. The kitchen's right here." I reflected. "But I suppose you knew that."
She looked around my home absent-mindedly. "Not much has changed," she observed, looking at the floral wallpaper. "You smoke?" she inquired.
"No, I don't."
"Still smells like the old lady's cigarettes in here."
"Yeah," I sighed in embarrassment. No matter how many times I had scrubbed the place the stink would just sit. After the first couple of months, I had simply given up. Just one more reason not to invite people over.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I introduced myself," I told her, hoping to distract her from the rundown of a house. "I'm Ariki Simmons."
Kindly, she looked at me and my extended hand, which she took it with a cordial smile. Her hand was small and delicate.
"Nicole Nebel, nice to meet you."
"If you'd just follow me," I motioned toward the kitchen. Her eyes just kept darting about, making me feel uncomfortably conscious about my living conditions.
She noticed my nervous stare.
"I'm sorry," she giggled. "It's just that it's so very long ago since I was here. Yet this place is almost like I never left. I'm not going to steal anything."
"When were you here last?" I was filling the kettle with water. Miraculously I had found two clean cups in the cupboard. They even matched.
"2008, 2009, around that time." I looked over my shoulder and saw she had remained standing by the doorframe. She toyed with her fingers as she talked, clearly uncertain what to do with herself.
"Just take a seat," I told her, gesturing toward the round table in the middle of the room. "You, eh," I wondered how long she had been in that car. "Have you had anything to eat? I could fix you a sandwich if you like."
Nicole was just propping her bag on the back of the chair she had chosen for herself. Nearest to the exit, I noted. Or maybe it was just because this way she would be facing me. She looked up to me with some relief.
"Quite honestly, I could have a bite."
By all means. "Alright, two sandwiches then."
She didn't seem much of a girl for small talk. She kept on looking about her, wondering at the house that apparently had been her home briefly at some point in her life. She was a nicely built tall girl, clearly athletic. Yet, she somehow managed to look so small and fragile in my kitchen. It worried me some.
"2008, eh? You look about my age. Wouldn't you have been something like 15 or 16 at the time?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Were you here for a summer or?"
"No, I was an exchange student," she explained. "I attended the college here."
"Is that so?" I chuckled, eyeing her with playful scepticism. "How come I don't remember you then?"
She blinked at me a little surprised. "You went to Horowhenua College as well?"
"I sure did. Graduated in 2010."
"Well, the exchange students did kind of keep to themselves," she tried to explain.
"Yeah but you'd think we would've had some classes together."
"You think I'm lying?" With her eye brows raised, Nicole stared back at me incredulously.
