Once Upon...

Coming Home

The restaurant would be open in seven months, the start of spring. He figured it was a perfect time to open. It was nearly the end of August now, and it would be mid-April when it would be fit to open. Flavor Risque would be a smash, he thought. Being from here since birth and being famous would be the reasons, they'd flock and being a great cook would the reasons they'd stay.

It had been only perfect to come back. It had been time. His restaurant in New York City was being run by his best friend, Alonzo, who was also a great cook and he had complete faith in him to keep it going. Flavor Risque in New York City had been for business, to make a name for himself. Flavor Risque here, in Bethany Hills, would be for pleasure. He wanted to settle here.

God knows why. He had plenty of reasons to have gone somewhere else. Hell, he had the memories to have forced him to go somewhere else, but he was here and his restaurant was just his excuse to come back. He'd be fooling himself otherwise.

Naomi was here, somewhere. He'd heard nothing of her since he'd left and at the time, he'd wanted that. His parents had made sure to never mention her. Only now he regretted it. Almost. He planned on going into town and searching for gossip. It was the best way to get any kind of information about anything. Just pretend to be curious about anything and you'd have enough information to start a novel.

He'd get to that. Now, his focus was settling into the large house he'd bought right in town. He remembered it had been a joke between him and Naomi when they'd been dating, that they'd have that house someday. Now, it seemed to just be a sign that maybe they'd be able to be civil. That, he'd be happy with.

Jackson wished he could be romantic and say he bought the house because it reminded him of Naomi and that he'd have her back, but it was all just silly nonsense. He had no intentions of getting back with her just as, he was sure, she wouldn't want anything to do with him. He bought the house because he'd always loved it and it happened to be the only house in the neighborhood he wanted.

His furniture had arrived late that morning and he'd gotten most of it placed where he wanted. He had tons more room here than at his condo in New York City, he'd have to get a few more pieces to fill it up and make the rooms feel full. He'd make do for now until he had time to go to the city and buy up some things.

The kitchen was Jackson's favorite room, for obvious reasons. It had been the best out of the houses he'd looked at. There were only a few things he needed to do in this space, but the kitchen had the most heart and the most inspiration. It was a large kitchen and the appliances had been recently updated and upgraded. It was all stainless steel and the stove was enormous. He'd be cooking a lot in this space. He had a huge family who all liked his cooking and liked to eat. He'd be able to make many things at once and he worked best that way.

With his hands on his hips, Jackson made his way through the kitchen and out onto the back deck. The backyard was very nice, considering it took up two lots, back to back. Trees, which had been planted on the surrounding edges of the property, which blocked a lot of view from the surrounding houses. There was a pool that was, in essence, part of the deck. The back portion of the deck went around half of the pool.

It was a house made for family and he hoped, someday soon he could settle down and enjoy himself. It was one of the reasons, the many reasons, he came back here.

Until then, he was going to settle himself back into town. A place he really hadn't lived in for six years. Nothing had changed, which didn't surprise him in the least. Small towns like this didn't just change, they took lots of time and lots of patience. The people did, maybe, but the places...they always stayed the same.

He decided to go for a walk and start garnering up some gossip. It would make him feel better to know, he told himself.

Heading out towards the center of town, he headed for Frank's Diner, where he had gone nearly every day after school with friends. It had become almost like another home to him. Frank's wife, Louise, was like a second mother to him.

The diner was small, but homey. There was but eight tables in the whole place, half of which were booths. There was six stools at the bar, which was covered in place mats and salt and pepper shakers. It had been painted yellow, which warmed the place and wooden floors were put in, to replace the worn linoleum. The diner had more of a homey feeling now, it had personality and he loved it.

Frank was behind the counter, there was a couple sitting at one of the tables in the back. Other than that, the place was pretty quiet. Looking at his watch, Jackson could understand why, it was two o'clock. It was strange how that should be normal to him after being in New York City and being used to time didn't matter when it came to being hungry. Apparently, it didn't take much to get back into the swing of things.

Jackson took a stool at the counter and grinned as Frank looked up and let out a huge holler. "Jackson Davis, my boy! Louise! Our boy wonder has come home!"

Louise was a short woman, just a few inches over five feet, with a curling mass of red hair on the top of her head. She had a smile just as bright as her hair and her eyes always seemed to sparkle. She was a fun match for Frank, who was a few inches over six feet tall, dark brown hair and the darkest eyes. He was slender and lanky with a gentle face. He was one of the few who knew the story of how Frank, in essence, saved Louise, when he realized she was in a physically and mentally abusive relationship. It was his gentle and patient nature that had saved her in many ways than one.

"My Jacksy! Come here and give me a hug."

She came around the counter and he nearly swallowed her in his arms. "It's so nice to see you again, Louise. I've missed you."

"Oh, don't get me going! I have pies to make!" She patted his cheek. "It's so nice to see you home again, Jacksy. You've done good for yourself and we've been so proud! We'll be the first in line for that new restaurant of yours." She smiled at him and headed back into the kitchen.

"You should see her little photo album she has of things she's gotten on the Internet and in the newspapers."

"How are the kids? Grandbabies yet?"

"Daniel finally has his PhD and he has his own practice here in town. He married about four years ago and they have a little boy named Kyle, he's two and I've figured on his third birthday we're gonna go fishin' for his first time. He wants to go now but he wouldn't be able to do much. Probably end up flopping himself in the water." Frank began to rub down the counter. "Samantha finally married last spring and she's expecting in about four months, they're going to have a little girl, naming her Greta Louise." He grinned as he talked, proud as anything, Jackson could tell. "Then there's little Debra, she just turned a sophomore in high school, high honor roll and all that. Has smarts like the rest of em, from their mother."

Debra was their late in life, surprise baby. Louise had been told that after Samantha, she couldn't have any more kids, due to some complications during delivery and because of that, Louise had never gotten her tubes tied or used birth control. He still remembered when Louise found out she was pregnant and he still didn't think there has been a happier woman on the face of the planet.

"That's great. Scott just got married a couple of months ago. I was wondering when they'd tie the knot, they've been dating since high school." Scott was Jackson's younger brother, by a year.

"I was going to ask about him. I haven't seen him around lately."

"Yeah, they moved to Rochester. He got a better job there and she did as well, though she hadn't been looking to."

"Want your usual?"

Jackson grinned. "Sure! It's been a long time since I've had one of your rootbeer floats."

"Well good, it'll make having one all the sweeter." He went about to making it and Jackson figured it was a good a time as any to ask about Naomi.

"So, uhm, I was wondering if you'd heard anything on Naomi?"

Frank went still for a second. "You really want to know?"

Oh boy. "Yeah, I do. We had something, Frank."

"Well, you can say she's becoming the uh, how shall I say this, the town crazy. Everyone thinks she's gone loopy since her parents were murdered. I personally don't think so. Louise goes and visits her a couple of times a month. I think it's the only interaction she has except through her business and that doesn't count, not really." When Frank finished the float, he put it up on the counter.

"About a year or so after you left, she actually offered herself, if you know what I mean, to the lead detective of the case. It didn't take long for the entire town to know about it either. It was after that you hardly saw her around. She comes down into town once or twice a month and that's only because it's further to Leigh, than it is to here. Before that incident, she was down in town every other day. I think she just had a breakdown.

"Louise tries to get her to move out of her parents' house and into somewhere that isn't that house, but Naomi has it in her head that she has to imprison herself in that damned house with all of the memories. I think she tortures herself more than any of the town folk do. That's just me saying it though. She's as close to us as you are, it hurts Louise to see her as she is. Some people eventually move on after something like that, but not Naomi. She won't let herself live for a goddamned second until those bastards are behind bars for life."

Frank threw the dish cloth he had in his hands into the sink. Gone was the happiness and the pride that had shown in his eyes, it was now replaced with this anger and frustration. "She's just so goddamned stubborn."

"Tell me about it. I couldn't pry her from this town. I wasn't going to take her originally, until after the accident. She needed to get away, but she fought tooth and nail."

"Miserable business, it is. If I were you, I'd try and steer clear from any of the old biddies around town. They'll tell you she'll be the next serial killer and that she was the one who killed them and she'll kill us all and I'm serious as sin."

Part of him felt as if he wished he hadn't asked. When he left, he thought it was her choice she didn't come. Her choice that she'd ended their relationship. Her choice they hadn't communicated since the day he left six years ago. Now, he felt as if it was his fault. He gave up on her, to deal with all of this by herself.

"Don't you go feeling guilty, Jackson." Frank stared at him and Jackson could only sigh.

"I can't help it, Frank."

"She's done a lot of this to herself and it's not as if people didn't try. Her friends all stopped going to visit her or calling, because she never came to the door or answered her phone. She isolated herself. I'm surprised she let Louise."

"I know, but Naomi was always stubborn. She always thought she knew what was right."

Frank laughed softly at that. "That she did."

Jackson knew that he still cared for her. It might never be what it was, but if he could at least be a friend, he'd be happy with that. He knew she needed someone to help her get out of his funk. He couldn't let her throw her life away.