Finding Utopia

Chapter One:The Beginning

Catherine leaned back in the chair and rubbed her tired eyes. Her three-hour Friday evening shift was almost over and it felt like she'd been there for a full eight. With no customers that night, she wiped down the counters, organized the movies, and played "Plants Vs. Zombies" on her laptop, but felt bored and sleepy in the adult book store. "Thank the gods for my laptop," she muttered as she shut it down and put it back in its case. Her replacement would be there shortly and then she could head up to the bar for karaoke and a much-needed vodka with Diet Coke and lime. She took one last swallow from her water bottle and put it in the mini-fridge for her next shift.

Catherine grabbed the Windex and some paper towels and did one last quick clean-up of the glass showcases that contained glass and metal pipes, High Times magazines, synthetic urine, detoxifying products, and other various items. She glanced at the computer's clock. 7:55. Good, Kendra would be here any minute. One good thing about the lack of customers,Catherine mused. No one came in and messed up the DVDs or magazines. The store looks so nice and clean!

She removed her cellphone from her jeans pocket and dialed the bank's automated line. Good, her check was deposited. She entered the amount in her checkbook register and glanced at the clock again. 8:02. Where the hell was Kendra? She hated it when the young, lazy clerk was late. Especially on karaoke night. Fuming, she texted her former roommate a terse, "Where are you?"

No response.

At 8:07 she called her, but it went straight to voice mail. "Dammit, Kendra, where the hell are you? Get your ass to work. You're late. You have five more minutes and I'm calling Paul."

At 8:15 Catherine called their backup employee, Wade. "Wade, can you come in and work until Kendra gets here please? I really want to get out of here and she's not answering her phone."
"Sure thing, Cathy, I can work until close if she doesn't show up."
"Thank you so much. See you as soon as you can get here. You're the best."

Catherine hung up the phone and then dialed her boss, Paul. It went to his voice mail. "Paul, just letting you know that Kendra hasn't shown up for work, hasn't called or responded to my texts either. I called Wade and he's coming in. 'K, bye!"

Finally, at 8:38, Wade arrived and Catherine gave him a quick hug before making her escape.
"Thank you, I love you!!!!"
"Love you too, sweetie," Wade smiled, he was looking kind of cute in a white tank top and denim shorts.

Grabbing her laptop and purse, Catherine hurried from the store, eager to be on her way.



A warm breeze rustled Catherine's shoulder-length, burgundy hair as she walked slowly up Third Street. The sun was low in the clear, August sky, causing her to squint slightly as she headed toward her favorite west end bar, Edgar's Place, for a night of drinking and karaoke with her old friend, Nina. It was an unnaturally quiet Friday night in Winona. She had seen very little traffic and no other pedestrians as she made the fourteen block hike from the porn store. The downtown bars had looked strangely deserted. Even with most of the college kids having gone home for the summer, you still expected to see some activity on a Friday night.

Catherine smiled. Maybe Edgar's wouldn't be too crowded for once. She was in the mood to do some singing tonight, and if it got too busy, she'd only get two or three songs in. Either way, though, she was looking forward to her night out. Since her divorce, two months ago, she hadn't felt much like socializing. She hadn't felt like doing much of anything, turning into a bit of a hermit. Sometimes, when she was feeling lonely, she missed him. Then, she'd remember all the times he had hurt her, called her names, slapped her, ignored and neglected her. She was better off without him.

She stopped at Huff Street, looking both ways. Odd, still no traffic. The town really did seem a little too quiet, now that she had stopped and noticed it. A general feeling of unease swept over her; a chill ran up her spine.

"Don't be silly," she chided herself. "It's the economy, everyone is broke and staying home is all."

Still, she found herself walking faster, breathing a little harder, feeling just a little bit paranoid.