Just One More

Candace stood in front of the courthouse with its looming facade and overwhelming stature. She felt so small and incredibly alone. This is it she thought. This is the day I leave my little town of Charles Valley, perhaps for good. She wondered how one manages to spiral down from a well liked and respected business owner living her childhood dream, to the entire town despising her very own existence and cheering her incarceration. 

 Her span of 48 years on this earth had brought many challenges. A childhood wrought with abuse, poverty and incredible insecurity led her to leave home at a young age. She found acceptance with the older kids, the party crowd. Nights were spent cruising the town, hanging out at the local bowling alley on Fridays and roller skating rink on Saturdays. This gave her a sense of freedom and excitement she had never experienced. However, before long, Candace found herself pregnant by a much older man. She gave up her partying ways and settled into a life of motherhood. Two years later another child arrived. She worked hard to support her children while her philandering man spent his days boozing, cheating, and breaking the law. Her aspirations of working in the criminal justice field were quickly dwindling. Lacking self worth and any resemblance of a backbone, Candace endured countless years of hollow days and stress filled nights. She found comfort with her church family, doing her best to provide a proper example for her children. It was they, her friends at the First Baptist church in town, who stood as a rock, guiding and providing help to her and her children when her boyfriend was sent to prison for molestation. She didn’t understand why everything was so hard, why bad things happened over and over, not just to her, but now to her children! She tried so hard to be a good person, to do what’s right, and for what? 

Charles Valley is quite a beautiful place to live actually, with its ever changing seasons and the beauty it holds. From silent winter snowflakes to spring flowers, mild summers lakeside to the spectacular fall foliage, Maine is a true vacationland indeed! Tourists come from all over this country that we call the United States of America to enjoy the breathtaking coastline, almost 3500 miles in total, along with the mighty Mount Katahdin inside Baxter State Park. Outdoor enthusiasts have a vast amount of recreation available to peruse from one end of the state to the other. Snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking, world class fishing, hunting, and riding the atv trails are just a small sample of what draws visitors and residents alike to this little slice of heaven. A heaven Candace will no longer embrace for a very long time. 

Eventually life settled into a calm routine for Candace and her children. There was barely enough money to get by, but through the grace of God they made ends meet. One day Candace was in need of car repairs. Being the small town that Charles Valley is, she only had one garage to pick from. Call it fate.

Robbie was a man about her age, dark hair, golden brown eyes and a smile that could lift your spirit instantly. Robbie and Candace carried on some small talk about politics and the local economy since the regions largest employer had just shuttered their doors. Conversation came easy and they made plans to meet for lunch later that week, then again the next. Soon they were in constant companion with one another. Robbie had recently gone through a bad breakup himself and the two were marveling at their good fortune of finding each other, both being transplants to the area. Weeks turned into months and soon they decided to move in together. 

Life continued to improve for Candace when Robbie helped her open an antique shop in town which had been a lifelong dream of hers. They went to countless estate sales and auctions piling up inventory for the store. Business was booming and it seemed life could not get any better. In their free time they enjoyed going to concerts, comedy shows, and spending vacations at the lake. Most of all though, they enjoyed meeting at the local watering hole for an end of the day refresher. 

People came from all over to visit Charles Valley and there were no shortage of characters to swap tall tales with. It was a happy place to be where everyone knew everyone and if you didn’t…you were a stranger but once. Staff became quick friends, business contacts were cemented and lifelong friendships were formed. With kids grown and gone, Candace and Robbie were truly living life to the fullest. Then came the call.

There had been a gasoline explosion at Robbies garage! He had 3rd degree burns over 70% of his body. He was being flown to the burn center at Mass General Hospital in Boston. Over the next several weeks he would endure several blood transfusions and skin graft surgeries all while being kept in a medically induced coma. Unfortunately, Robbie succumbed to his injuries 39 days later.

Candace was devastated. I’ve never been so happy, so blessed. Why is this happening? she asked herself. The next several months were a blur as she went through the motions of daily life, trying to keep both businesses afloat, crumbling to a fetal position night after night. The silence was torture; the four walls caved in around her. She couldn’t be here. She needed her friends, their friends! These people made the lounge feel like home, such as hers would never be again.

There were lots of hugs, a lot of genuine concern. Minutes turned into hours. Candace couldn’t leave, not yet. Friends kept showing up. She started to feel alive and hopeful at that moment, so when the bartender asked if she wanted another, “just one more” was the response. Candace felt a little tipsy, knowing she needed to pull in the reins, but she just couldn’t face that empty sad shell of a home just yet. When the bartender came around the next time, “just one more” was uttered from her lips once again. As the night started to wind down and friends left for home, Candace decided she was sufficiently numb enough to face the night, hopefully falling quickly asleep. After all, it happened just that way so many times before. 

Her mind flashed back to that awful night, the sirens, the blinding lights, the screaming. She blacked out the crash from her fragile mind, blocking the vision of the 80 year old lady being covered by the coroner,  family in the background being held back by police. What had she done? Had she taken the life of a beloved community member? A member of her own church! There was no way to undo the immense pain she caused these people, the same who comforted her in her time of need. 

As Candace walked up the stairs to face her punishment she felt empty. Emotionless. Life will never be the same in Charles Valley. Not for anyone. As the door closed behind her, she asked herself, “What if I had left sooner? What if I didn’t have just one more?”