Fiction
The Town That Jeremy Built
Jeremy was a quiet man. Not the kind of man who gets noticed often. Except for Jenny at Sinker Donuts. Jenny noticed Jeremy. Not that Jeremy noticed Jenny noticing him. Jeremy wasn’t good at recognizing social clues, like Jenny’s personal questions or her smiles. Jeremy lived inside his head most of the time.
One day, after Jeremy left Sinker Donuts, Jenny’s coworker, Wanda, said, “Oh my word. Just ask the poor fool out. He obviously doesn’t have a clue you are interested.”
“I wanted him to think it was his idea, but you’re probably right. I need to do it. Next time he comes in, I’ll ask him out.”
Jeremy specialized in tables. He could build anything out of wood, but he preferred building tables. And he excelled at it. His tables commanded a high price, and there was a waiting list for each one. A gift of a table to his neighbor Dan had kept the two on good terms despite Jeremy’s woodworking shop serenading Dan’s house with power tool sounds all day.
Dan, and his wife Kim, had a precocious five-year-old daughter named Bethany, who liked to wander over to Jeremy’s shop and see what he was working on. Jeremy didn’t mind. Bethany was well-behaved and didn’t touch any of his tools. She only stayed for a few minutes while Jeremy showed her his latest project. He enjoyed the brief interruption and the company.
