Seeking Happiness

JOLENA

The next morning was Monday, the day that Jolena didn’t have to work, and she slept in late.

When she sauntered to the kitchen to make herself some coffee, she was startled when she saw Joe standing against the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Good morning, Jo, did you sleep well? You want coffee too?” he asked her. He seemed to have a lot of energy; it might be because of too much coffee.

“Joe, you are still home. What are you doing here, don’t you have to go to work?” Jolena asked with a frown.

“I am working from home today,” he told her, while grabbing a new cup and pouring coffee in it.

After he gave the cup to Jolena, he picked up some of the papers that were spread across the kitchen table to make some space so she could sit.

After plopping down on her chair and taking a sip of her coffee, Jolena asked, “Did you call Ava yesterday? What was her reaction?”

Joe sat down across from Jolena and closed his laptop to look at her. “I did. She would love to work there. She is meeting with the head of the clinic next week, to get acquainted. She has some doubts, though.”

“What does she doubt? It’s perfect for her.” Jolena shook her head; she didn’t understand, really. If she got an offer like that, she wouldn’t doubt for a second.

“Well, because of the distance, she would have to move to Miller Creek,” Joe explained. “Traffic is not a joke, and the last miles are all dirt roads without any streetlights, going up the mountains.

“I visited my sister a few times and when it’s dark, it’s really not pleasant to drive there. Ava doesn’t want to move that far and is afraid she will miss us too much. There’s nobody she knows over there.

“And because it’s a closed-off community, there is little known about the people who live there. So, I get that she is hesitant about it.”

“I think I understand.” Jolena thought a second before continuing. She was curious about the people in that community. “You have been there, though. What do you know about these people?”

“Not much. When I wasn’t with my sister, I was hiking in the Grey Mountains,” Joe answered.

“The people there don’t like outsiders. Other than the staff from the clinic, I only met one man who was like the leader. He works here in Litchley; he owns the Anderson Corporation in the city center.”

“Christopher Anderson?” Jolena asked, surprised.

“Yes, you know him?”

“Not personally, but I have heard of him. He is one of the most infamous businessmen in town. He is said to be a hard man, not nice to work with.

“He is making millions, so everyone wants to be on his good side. What would a man like him do out in the country, though? I don’t get it.”

“I don’t know what he is doing there, but he is there more than he is here in the city. He has his staff that sees to his business when he is out of town, and they contact him when he is needed.

“That’s all I know,” Joe said with a shrug. He opened his laptop again and searched through his mess to find one particular paper. “Sorry, I have to get some work done. Can we talk more later?”

“Sure, sorry for distracting you,” Jolena answered as she walked toward the kitchen door. “I am going to the store for some groceries later, do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good, thanks,” Joe said.

Jolena walked into her bedroom to get her keys and her phone. She kept thinking about the community in the forest. She took her laptop and sat down on the edge of her bed to look for information about it.

There was little to know, just some news articles about incidents with wolves near Miller Creek Station.

When Jolena stepped out a little while later, her phone rang. “Ava! How are you?”

“Hey, Jolena, I’m fine, thank you. I was wondering if you’re at home right now. I would like to come over and have a chat,” Ava said, very straight to the point.

“I actually just stepped out to get some groceries. When I get back, I have some time,” Jolena said. “You can come over and we can get some takeout if you like. Like old times, just Joe, you and I.”

“Sounds like fun,” Ava said enthusiastically. “I’ll come around four then. I’ll bring the wine.” “Okay, see you then.”

Jolena was back home an hour later and met Joe in the kitchen again. He was still working on his laptop, with an even bigger mess than there had been when she left.

“Hey, I’m back,” she said. “Ava called. She’ll be over in a couple of minutes to hang out.”

“Hmm, are we going to get some takeout?” Joe asked.

“That was the intention, yes. She wanted to talk.”

They both looked up when the doorbell rang. Jolena walked to the front door and let Ava in. They hugged each other and then stumbled into the kitchen. Ava ran to Joe with her arms wide to give him a bear hug.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t breathe,” Ava complained, smiling. “Don’t squeeze so hard.”

“Ava, my love, I missed you!” Joe teased. “How are you today? Did you think about that job offer?”

Jolena grabbed some glasses, poured soda, and handed the drinks to Joe and Ava.

“I did,” Ava said. “I’ll be going there Wednesday to meet your sister. We’ll discuss the details about the job and then see from there. Your sister seems genuinely nice, by the way.”

“She is,” Joe said, after he had taken a sip of his drink. “Will you be going on your own? Do you want me to go there with you? The roads in Miller Creek are very dark at night.”

“That is not really necessary. I can sleep there and come back after breakfast the next morning.”

“Well, I hope you will like it there. The woods there really have something magical about them.”

Jolena finally joined the conversation as she said, “I wish I could come along. I could really use a little outing to get rid of a bit of stress. From what you say, it must be nice to explore the woods.”

“It is nice to hike there, yes, especially the trails that go up the Grey Mountains. But only when it’s light. When the sun’s not shining, it can be very mystical there,” Joe said, followed by the rumbling of his stomach.

He patted his stomach. “Are you guys hungry, because this guy definitely is. Should I order already?”

“Sounds good,” Jolena said, and Joe picked up his phone and walked out to call for food.

“Would you like to come?” Ava asked Jolena. “Do you think you can get two days off from work?”

“I don’t know,” Jolena sighed. “I could really use some time off. But I don’t want to be a burden. I am not invited after all.”

“I’ll ask Adina. I could tell her that I don’t feel comfortable traveling alone,” Ava suggested. “I could use some mental support, and the travel would be more fun as well. Taking Joe wouldn’t be as fun, I think.”

They smiled.

“I will call my manager tomorrow morning. I hope she’ll give me some time off,” Jolena said.

It was incredibly early Wednesday morning when Jolena’s alarm rang. Normally she would hit the snooze button a couple of times before she got up, but not today. She quickly got up and got herself ready for the day.

She filled a backpack with some clothes, shoes, and the toiletries she needed. She also took her phone, her wallet, and her keys and put them in a small handbag. Yesterday, she’d asked for two days off and, surprisingly, she got it.

She informed Ava, and Ava made all the arrangements. They were going by train instead of by car, and they would be picked up by someone from the community.

Joe wasn’t really happy with her going with Ava instead of him, but he understood that she really needed it.

The train ride was very relaxed. They talked about Jolena’s love life or, rather, the lack of it. Ava told Jolena that she really needed to go out more often. She thought Jolena needed to see more of the world.

When they arrived at Miller Creek Station, the station where they had to get off, it was gray and drizzly outside. The station was small and looked a bit rundown. It looked like it wasn’t used much.

The station was surrounded by the woods; everywhere they looked, there were big, tall trees. In the distance, they saw the massive Grey Mountains. Big, strong, majestic, and indestructible. As if they were trying to touch heaven.

You could only feel submissive when you looked at them.

At the end of the platform stood a tall muscular man. When they got closer, he stepped forward, stretched out his right hand, and introduced himself.

“Good morning. My name is Danny. You are Ava and Jolena? I am here to pick you up and take you to Miller Creek.”

“Hi, I am Jolena.” She took his hand to shake it.

“Ava,” Ava said, and she shook his hand as well.

He stared at her for a moment, still holding her hand. “Mate,” he whispered, but Ava and Jolena didn’t hear it.

“Well, you can let go now,” Ava said with an amused smile.

“Er, yeah, sorry.” He seemed a little bit distracted, nervous almost, and his cheeks turned red. He quickly turned around and walked them to a black SUV.

The girls didn’t notice his nervous behavior as they handed over their suitcases and he threw them in the trunk. Then he opened the front door and stepped in behind the steering wheel.

“Fasten your seatbelts, please, and hold on tight,” he said. “It will be a bumpy ride.”

His gaze was on the road as he tried to avoid the big holes in the dirt road, but sometimes his eyes shot to the right where Ava sat. “How was your train ride?” he asked.

“It was fine,” Ava answered. “It was actually extremely comfortable. There were hardly any people on the train. And there weren’t any delays, either.”

“You were very lucky, then,” Danny said. “On this part of the track, there are delays almost every day.”

“Why is that?” Jolena asked curiously from behind.

Danny tensed a little, but not enough for the girls to notice. “There are a lot of feral wolves around here. They hang around on the tracks and, therefore, cause delays.”

“Wolves?” Ava asked, surprised. “Will we be seeing them?”

“Maybe, but it is not very likely,” Danny answered.

“Are they dangerous?” Jolena asked.

“Some are, some are not. You can’t tell. The wolves around the station are definitely dangerous, but there are some farther into the woods that are amicable.”

They drove for another half an hour before seeing a big white brick building appear through the bushes.

“Is that the clinic?” Ava asked enthusiastically.

“Yes, it is, actually. It was recently renovated. It looks good, right?” Danny said proudly. “We will visit it later, but first I will show you where you’ll be staying.”