Serendipity

Sue brushed her hair back over her ear in irritation. Because of the pandemic, she was leery about getting her hair cut. Her normally short style had started cascading into her face like one of those face-grabbing aliens.

Worry replaced the irritation as she thought about her rapidly deteriorating financial situation. The company she worked for had been unable to survive the pandemic and she had lost her job. Now out of work and a dog with digestive issues that required medication and expensive food, she was hemorrhaging money with little coming in. Jobs were limited, resources were limited and government support was far short of what she needed to stay afloat. Another couple of months and she would be unable to pay rent. Worse, she would have to put her aging dog down as he wouldn’t be suitable for rehoming. It was one of the rare times she wished she was still married but her divorce ten years ago had been the only option.

“Oh well,” she thought as she reached to the back of a drawer, “it’s a good excuse to purge. Be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.” If she was going to lose her apartment, then better to start clearing everything out now. Pulling out some papers she hadn’t looked at in years, she noticed a flash of black.

It was a little note book she had from her college days. That was a lifetime ago, few people used these little books anymore, everything is digital, always at our fingertips. Nostalgically, she flipped through the pages, finding names, scribbled notes and fondly remembering people she hadn’t thought about in years. She had loved college with its active social life. Perfect for a young adult.

One name in particular stood out. Steve Graham. Wow. That name certainly stirred some memories. He had scribbled his number in the book for her, after she agreed to go out with him.

She had only dated him for six months but what an amazing six months it was. Neither of them had been ready for anything too serious so had amicably gone their separate ways. Funny how even after all these years she could still remember his intense chocolatey brown eyes and even the thought of him caused emotions to spark.

Shaking her head, “I have to get this done, “she thought. “I don’t have time to think about things long since gone.”

Nevertheless, instead of the recycling pile, she slipped the book to the side mindlessly. Continuing her efforts, no more distractions arose and Sue was able to sort through and clear another shelf.

“Sitka!’ she called. She heard the thump of her shepherd mix’s feet hitting the floor as he jumped off her bed then the sound of nails clicking across the floor as he came to her.

“Time for a break buddy, let’s go for a walk.”

Sue slipped into her jacket and hooked the leash onto Sitka’s collar. With a pat on Sitka’ s head, they were off.

The trail they both loved was a couple of blocks away and Sue breathed in the fresh air, allowing her head to clear. Thoughtlessly, she had wandered towards the center of the quiet street so Sue jumped when she was startled by the sharp honk of a horn. Glancing towards the driver as he navigated around her in his car, she mouthed a sorry.

Surprised, she thought she recognized the driver. It looked like an older version of Steve. Shaking her head, she immediately realized how ridiculous that was. Last she had heard, he had moved to England, the other side of the planet for goodness’ sake. To think that he was back in Ontario and had found his way to the tiny village of Cookstown was a pretty big stretch. His image was stuck in her head because of stumbling across that little note book! “Now I’ll probably see his image everywhere”, she thought laughing to herself.

As she continued down the street, she waved hello to her neighbours Tom and Nancy.

“Hi Sue, “ yelled Nancy from across the yard, “hang on, I have some news.” Tom and Nancy walked quickly across the yard to where Sue was waiting with Sitka.

Tom spoke first, “The house next door to us sold yesterday.”

Nancy gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. “I wanted to give her the news!”

“Really?” Sue asked. “To whom?”

“He’s apparently a computer whiz. I’ve forgotten his name already though,” Tom answered, looking to his wife hopefully.

“Sam something wasn’t it? I don’t remember either!” she exclaimed laughing.

Sue had to laugh. She loved her neighbours dearly but they were notoriously getting names mixed up, including names they had known for years. Aware of their shortcoming, Tom and Nancy laughed too.

“I guess we’ll all find out when he moves in. Do we know when that will be?”

“April 1st ,” Tom and Nancy replied in unison.

“That one we know”, laughed Tom.

“That’s only a month away,” Sue noted.

“I better get Sitka’s walk done, I’m sure he’s looking for dinner by now.” After saying goodbye, Sue walked down the trail then back to her apartment wondering about the man who was moving in. In a village as small as theirs, a newcomer was big news.

The next day, Sue took Sitka for a morning walk and gave him breakfast before sitting down at the computer with a cup of strong black coffee. Staring forlornly at job listings, she sent off some resumes with little hope. Competition for the few available jobs in her field was fierce.

She had lived in the apartment for seven years and had loved it. Fortunately, the rent hadn’t been outrageous, and her job had paid quite well so she had managed to save some money. Otherwise, she couldn’t have lasted as long as she had. It was small comfort to think that so many more people were in a similar situation if not worse. Time was running out though and options were limited. The future seemed increasingly bleak.

Returning to sorting out unnecessary items helped keep her depressing thoughts at bay. For the most part. Looking at sentimental artifacts and having to make the decision of whether to keep them or discard them became challenging. She eyed the little black book that she had set aside, unable to understand why she couldn’t just toss it into the recycling bin. She had lost touch with almost everyone in the book a long time ago as people’s lives took different directions. Of those she stayed in contact with, she had the information stored on her phone and tablet.

Thoughtfully, she held the book in her hand for a moment before putting it down again. Sue picked up her cellphone and called her friend Sarah, her best friend from college. They hadn’t spoken in several months but it might be fun to share the find and reminisce.

“Hi Sarah! It’s Sue. How are you?”

“Sue!” Sarah exclaimed, “It’s so good to here from you!”

The two women chatted for a bit, catching up on each other’s lives before Sue mentioned finding the little black note book.

“Wow”, said Sarah, I haven’t thought about college in years.” Her two grown children had been attending college but came home to continue their studies online due to the pandemic.

“Do you remember Steve?” Sue asked.

“Nooo, wait! Steve Graham?”

“Yes! Do you know what became of him? Last I heard he was in England but that was many years ago.”

“You are ahead of me”, said Sue. “I didn’t even know that much. Dan might know, do you remember Dan?”

“Of course I do! How could I not?” Dan and Sarah had been together all through college but broke up shortly before graduating. She had met Geoff who was to be her future husband at a part time job and she completely fell in love.

“Well, we reconnected on social media a couple of years ago. I can ask him if he knows. He’s a huge social media junkie.” Sarah laughed.

“It’s ok, I was just curious“, replied Sue.

The two women chatted for a few more minutes before saying goodbye.

After hanging up the phone, Sue grabbed Sitka’s leash. “Come on Sitka, let’s go to the convenience store. I need a hit of chocolate to keep going through everything.”

She walked to the corner and tied Sitka’s leash to a post. “I’ll be back in just a minute”, she told the dog.

Walking through the familiar aisles, she spotted her favorite bar and impulsively grabbed a bag of chips for later. She headed over to the cashier to wait her turn.

A voice behind her asked, “Sue? Uhmm Sue MacLeod?”

Sue turned around and saw those eyes she had lost herself to so many years ago. Even with a pandemic mask on, she knew who it was.

“Steve! Oh my, I am so surprised to see you here of all places.”

“I’m moving back to Ontario.” He replied, “I just bought a house here, I wanted to stay away from the city and this area seems perfect.”

Realizing it was the house Nancy and Tom told her about, she said, “The one on Franklin, right?”

“That’s right, how did you know?”

“It’s a small village!” Sarah laughed.” I didn’t know you had bought it though. I’ve lived here myself for seven years.”

“I’m so happy I’ve met someone who can show me the area. That is if you are willing to help?”

Sue smiled despite her mask. “Of course, I would be delighted to help.”

Patting his pockets, “I left my cell in my car! Let me run out and get it so I can get your contact or can you send me a text so I get your number?”

“Sorry, I was just popping out to grab a couple of things so left my cell at home.” Sue replied. “I have an idea, I was going to grab a lottery ticket anyway, how about we split on one, cut it in half and scribble our information down on the back.”

“What? Really? Ok!” Steve laughed.

Over the next week, Steve and Sue texted and chatted back and forth. Sue was excited and a little nervous to see what would happen once Steve moved here. He too was divorced but only a year ago. He wanted a fresh environment and because he could work from home, he could live anywhere in the world.

Sue woke up one morning to the phone ringing. Someone was calling regarding her resume and wanted to set up an interview time. They loved her solid work history. Excited, she set up the appointment. “This is going to be a fantastic day!” she thought.

She fed Stitka and took him for a walk before thinking she should run to the convenience store and grab some milk for her cereal. Thankfully, she always stuffed her wallet into a pocket.

She grabbed some milk and pulled out her wallet and noticed the half ticket she had put back once she had entered Steve’s number into her phone.

“I know this only has the barcode on it but can you still scan this ticket?”

The cashier took the ticket and put it under the scanner. Bells started dinging.

“Free ticket?” Sue asked.

“Nnno, “ stuttered the cashier. “It says you’ve won just over $40,000.00 dollars!”

“What?”

The cashier repeated what he said then told her she’d have to have the whole ticket to claim the prize.

Still stunned, “My partner in this has the other half. Wow!”

In a fog, Sue paid for the milk then went out to get Sitka. She could hardly wait to get home and call Steve to tell him they had just won $20, 000.00 each.

“I knew it was going to be a great day, “she laughed.