I drove up on to the old cobblestone driveway, hearing the crunching underneath the truck as I turned the keys, turning the ignition off.

I hopped out of the truck, shutting the door that made the most awful squeaky sound, which made me want to cringe every single time. I took a step back and looked at the truck that my dad gave me all of those years ago.

It's a red Toyota truck, that's small and only has a driver's seat and a passenger seat in the cab. It's made of chrome--not aluminum, like other cars, unfortunately--and looks like it's been through hell and back. One clunky pick-up truck that I don't mind driving around too much.

I went to the back and opened up the trunk, letting it fall down. I climbed up on to it and looked at all of the stuff that I had brought with me, that was held down by a lot of bright yellow twine.

"Need some help there?"

Before I could start untying it, I smirked, knowing exactly who's voice that was. I whipped around and saw my father, who stood there with his arms stretched out for a hug.

My father--Dave Rigby--has white hair that's balding in the front, covering the rest of his face. He has a well kept white beard, and for his age, he looked well-built, yet his face didn't, as he had many forehead wrinkles. He wore a yellow and black flannel, with a white tank-top that went underneath his shirt, covering his dad-belly. He also wore dark blue jeans, a black belt and brown combat boots.

"Dad!" I yelled, hopping off of the truck and running into his arms, letting him engulf me completely. I smiled, burying my face into his chest, taking a deep breath, all the while smelling his shirt, that smelled like the outdoors, like I fondly remembered.

"Woah--Hey there El, you're twenty-four, not five anymore," he chuckled, pulling my deathly grip from him apart.

"Yeah, I guess so," I laughed, pulling away from the hug. I turned around to face the truck to start unloading, but as soon as I did, I saw the old house I used to live in. I smiled, admiring the woodwork that covered the house, all of it sort of a maple color, with brick-work to match on the foundation of the house, which laid under a wooden porch, with my mother's old rocking chair.

I smiled at the memories, thinking of almost every happy moment I've had here.

"What is it?"

Apparently, I had been caught in a daze, admiring the house and not realized my dad had already started untying the twine.

"Oh... Nothing," I told him, rushing right beside him to start untying with him.

There was a silence between the both of us, but it was nice. It was a warm, welcoming silence, as in a--Welcome Home--silence.

Finally, I got everything untied and grabbed a few cardboard boxes, walking towards the house.

As I walked, I couldn't help but notice how lively everything was. The sun was brighter than ever, the birds were chirping away, singing many songs. Neighbors were watering their lawns and taking their dogs on walks. It seemed to bring me to a happy state of mind, something I haven't felt ever since I've started college.

"It's very pretty, isn't it?" I asked, opening up the screen door to our house.

He chuckled, almost as if it was a very odd thing to ask. "I don't know why it wouldn't be. Why do you ask?"

I shrugged, making my way to the back of the house to where my old childhood room was. "Not sure. I guess I've been stuck inside a college dorm too long."

I grabbed the handle to the door, all the while trying to balance the boxes, and swung the door open.

Inside, there was that familiar scent of my old room, letting nostalgia come back to me like a roaring wave. Band posters were splattered all over my room, along with my old school achievements, small jackets hanging on a coat hanger near my full-size bed, which was covered in a quilt my grandmother gave to me, made of different colorful patterns and fabrics.

Above my bed hung colorful Christmas lights which adorned the wall, hanging over a bookshelf which was nailed to the wall, holding several miscellaneous objects such as comic books, bobble heads, trophies, actual books, vinyl, and a broken alarm clock that I remember I never bothered to fix.

"Wow," I breathed, letting all of my fond childhood memories fade back to me, as I slowly walked in, setting a few boxes down.

"Yeah, I know. Your room is crazy," he chuckled, plopping down more boxes behind me, near my closet.

"I've been gone for what... Four years?" I ask, squatting down to open a box while pulling out my box knife. "And I don't even remember what my room looks like?"

I hear a distant chuckle from my dad as he exits my room. "Welcome to my world!"

---

Entering the store, I push open the door, hearing the sound of a bell clink as the door opens wide enough for me to step through.

I smile, recognizing the store my dad always sent me to when I was a kid.

In the front, there was a counter with one register, and boxes of candy were stashed under it with a clear casing over it, like in the movie theatres. To the left of the counter, there were aisles of chips, drinks, plates, everything you would need, and then a refrigerated section is located next to that and to the far right stocked bakery goods. There weren't any vegetables or things like that, because those were in the farmer's market.

I remembered this place like the back of my hand, even though I haven't really been here in four years.

"Excuse me, may I help you?"

I cleared my throat, closing the door behind me so it wouldn't slam--as I remembered it would--and shook my head. "Uh, no thank you-"

"Oh my goodness!"

My head popped up and turned away from the door to only face the woman rushing to me, not fully realizing who she was until it clicked with me when she enveloped me in a warm and tight hug. "Oh my god, Martha!" I screeched excitedly, welcoming her hug.

She hugged me tight, squeezing the air out of me until she let go. "El!" She exclaimed, grabbing hold of my hands.

I looked at Martha, remembering my old, childhood friend. Her dark brown eyes were still filled with joyful youth, just as I remembered, yet under her eyes were dark circles, probably from lack of sleep. Her skin was light chocolate, almost caramel color. Her long curly, dark hair was wound up into a bun to keep out of her face, and she wore an apron over her clothes, which concluded of a black T-shirt, blue jean shorts, and a pair of black sandals.

"El, you look great!" She compliments, crossing her arms as if she didn't expect it.

I laughed, looking away sheepishly. "Aw thanks, you do too Martha."

She scoffed, looking around the store curiously. "Well, thanks. People have been commenting on my dark circles under my eyes as if I've contracted some kind of illness, " she jokes, then stops to look at me again, keeping eye-contact.

I chuckle at her joke, only to be left with silence.

"You look great!" She comments again, chuckling.

I shrug, shoving my hands into my pockets. Today I wore short blue-jean overalls, with a white and black striped shirt underneath and sported some bright yellow Vans.

"Yeah, have you not been getting enough sleep or something?" I ask, changing the subject.

"That's exactly it. You see, I have this three-year-old--"

I gasped, letting a huge smile grow on my face. "Oh my gosh! You have a kid?!"

She nods. "Wow, I guess it has been that long, huh?"

I nod, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess it has."

She turned around and waves her hand for me to follow her. "Yeah, she's currently running around and hiding in the store, and I'm trying to find her."

I nod, now looking around for possibly a small child lurking about.

"Prudence!" She calls out, bending down to look underneath a counter.

I smile at the child's name, thinking about how adorable it was.

"Prudence!" I call as well, going behind the register. I skim the area, but just as I am about to exit, I hear a small giggle. Immediately I turn around towards the noise and spot a small child hidden in a corner under the counter, smiling and giggling away. "There you are!" I reach out to grab Prudence--who looked a lot like her mom--but she quickly squirmed away farther than my reach.

I looked up as I heard footsteps coming towards me, seeing Martha walk over, and squatted down next to me. "Hey Prudence, won't you come out and play?" She pulled out a small stuffed animal from her apron: a black and white raccoon with huge plastic eyes.

Prudence gasped, which led me to assume it was most likely her favorite toy, as she came running out her hiding spot and into her mom's arms. I smiled at the sight of Prudence grabbing the raccoon and giving it a tight hug.

"Rocky!" She exclaimed, giving it a kiss on the head.

At that instant, I could feel my heart melt. "Awe!"

"Yeah I know, she's so cute," she says in a sing-song voice, playing with her butterfly clips in her hair.

"Okay Martie, I know you're in here, my cousin is looking for those biscuits that he likes and I can never find them..."

I raise my eyebrow at Martha and she chuckles, picking up Prudence in her arms. She points to herself, indicating that the person was looking for her.

I nodded, understanding. She stood up and I followed suit.

"Sadie, it's over there where it usually is, " she tells her, clearly annoyed.

I turn my attention to Sadie who was a bit curvier than Martha and I. She was Latina--from where specifically, I have no clue--with dark, black hair that was pulled up in a ponytail with a yellow scrunchie. She wore a red and yellow tie-dye shirt that was cut to look like a crop top, gold hoops that reached down to her mid-neck, and short blue jean shorts, and a pair of red flip-flops. And as I continued to look at her, I kept feeling this awfully familiar vibe coming from her...

"El! Hellooo?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as Martha was snapping in front of my face.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, didn't we have Spanish together or something?" Sadie asked, a questioning look upon her face.

I pursed my lips together in thought, wondering if we did or not. "No!" I told her, now remembering. "We had econ together in our senior year. Yeah! We sat by each other but didn't really talk to one another."

Then a moment of realization was present upon her facial expression. "Yes! That's right. We used to cheat together!"

I laughed, remembering how we would scribble tally marks on our shared desks indicating which number and letter it was. "Oh my gosh, yes, " I laughed, shaking my head, then looked at Martha. She was clearly amused. "Yeah, those were good times man."

She nodded, sighing. "Yep... Yep... Say, what brings you back here anyway? I heard from Martie here that once you graduated, you were out of here."

I nodded. "Yeah... I already had a good scholarship offer from Stanford. So I took it and took my flight to California. Then I flew back here so I could see my dad over the summer."

Sadie's eyes widened. "Wow..." She whistled. "Looks like you've got everything set. Stanford... That's crazy man."

Martha smiled. "I know, that's what I said to her. I told her she would have to keep in touch with me, but apparently, she was too busy for me," she remarked, narrowing her eyes at me.

I sighed, feeling guilty. "Yeah, I know. I feel so awful that I didn't keep in touch with anyone from here. Especially my dad. I tried my best but I stayed busy."

Sadie swayed back and forth, unsure of what I said. "I dunno man... Family is more important to me than anything. That's why I stayed here. I found a job down at my cousin's. Well, it's sort of a job. Basically, I cook and clean for him and his disabled wife, and he gives me spending money and a place to sleep. It's a nice deal."

I could feel my eyes widen as she continued to talk. She talked so fast, I'm not sure how I understood everything.

"Is that why you were here for those biscuits?" Martha--well, now Martie--says to Sadie, with an amused look.

Sadie facepalms, groaning, "Aye, dios mío! Gracias mi amiga. I'm going to get my pay cut today if I don't get los bizcochós!"

Martie laughs, as so do I as we see Sadie quickly run to grab the "bizcochós", slamming the fridge door shut.

"How much?!" She asks in a panic.

Martie waves it off, bouncing Prudence around in her arms. "It's fine, you don't have to pay for it. "

Sadie gasps and smiles. "Gracias mi amor." She quickly gives Martie a kiss on the cheek, as well as Prudence before scurrying out of the store with several cans of biscuits in her arms.

After watching... Whatever that was, I turn to Martie giving her an exhausted look. "Is she always like that?"

She laughs, nodding. "I'm afraid so. But she's one of my best friends. She's always helped out with Prudence. She babysits her when her usual babysitter is out, " she tells me, turning her attention to her daughter. "Isn't that right? Isn't that right?" She says in a silly baby voice, making Prudence laugh.

I smile at the two. "Well, I guess I should get what I came for. I came to get some snacks for my dad and I to snack on when I realized all we had was his homegrown vegetables."

She laughed, going behind the register. "Well, pick out whatever you want. I'll give it to you for free since it's your first day back. Plus I don't think it would seem fair to make you pay if I didn't make Sadie pay."

I smiled, really appreciating the nice gesture. "Thanks! I appreciate it. "

I quickly turned away to pick out a few snacks, but not too many simply because I knew she would have to pay for them.

"Here we go, " I say, plopping down the snacks and pulling out my wallet. I grab ten dollars and plop them in the tip jar nonchalantly.

Martie takes out a notepad and writes down the amount of how much she owes, then gazed over to the tip jar, letting her jaw drop. "Girl, you don't have to do that."

I shrugged. "It's fine. It's my... Payment for saying I'm sorry?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh Lord. Here," she hands me my paper bag filled with my snacks. I chuckled as I didn't realize how fast she already did it. "Just take it. "

I smiled at her. "I love youuu!"

She laughed, bouncing her daughter in her arms. "Leave El!"

Triumphantly, I laugh and exit the store, with more of a pep in my step.

---

I finally arrive home, taking the brown bag inside the house, plopping them down on the table, starting to unload.

"Well, what took you so long?" My dad asked, turning off the TV to come to help me unload.

"Yeah, I met a few old friends there. Martie--Uh, I mean, Martha works at that store now. I completely forgot her dad used to own that store, " I tell him, grabbing some snacks to put in the pantry. I open the pantry and see it almost bare, most likely because my dad can't do anything except make sandwiches and spaghetti.

"Oh yeah! She's got a kid now, ya know? She's also still married to her high school boyfriend, which I thought was quite sweet."

I smile cheekily at that, thinking about how that seemed like something she would do. She always wanted to have a "high school sweetheart".

After we unload, we popped some popcorn and sat down on the couch watching Breakfast At Tiffany's. Something my dad and I always did. We sat and talked while the movie was going on, quoting it quite frequently.

My eyes wandered the screen, watching with pure enjoyment until I felt my eyes getting droopy, and then falling asleep.

---

Riiing! Riiing! Riiing!

Being started awake, I almost fell off the couch, no longer being able to see my surroundings because the TV was shut off, and the night sky didn't support any light anyway.

"Damn it, " I groan, huffing.

Riiing! Riiing! Riiing!

"Okay, okay, I hear you, " I grumble, making a beeline to the landline.

Quickly I pick up the phone, careful not to get the chord tangled. "Hello?" I answer, wondering who was calling at this witching hour.

"Heyyyy! Is this the residence of Eleanor Rigby?"

I groan as I hear the familiar Latina's voice echo throughout the phone, making my head hurt. "Yeah, it is, " I grumbled.

"Well, " she scoffs. She must've heard my annoyed tone. "If you're not busy," she mocks in a sassy tone. She continues, "Then maybe you would like to hang out at the bar with Martie and I tomorrow? I liked your vibe today so I thought you were cool. It's gonna be chill, they got pool, bars, good food, live music, or if nobody is live, then they have jukeboxes with amazing songs and-"

I sighed. "Okay! Yeah, I'll go. I don't have anything else to do. What time?"

"Eh... Seis?"

I nodded, rubbing my forehead. "Yeah, sure. That'll work. Just, next time don't call me at..." I pull out my cellphone from my back pocket and tap the screen to reveal a bright, unwelcomed, light. "Two in the morning, okay?" I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

I can hear her giggle on the other end. "Okay yeah! Sorry about that. Good night, er, good morning!"

"Yeah, good night," I chuckle, putting down the receiver.

I rub my forehead again, making my way to my bedroom. "Dios mío."