Come Get Me by Michael Hunter

made the decorations herself to save a little money. They
were nothing fancy, just enough to remind everyone there was a
holiday and what one it was. Shaking his head he walked up to the
door.
     
    Hesitantly he opened the door and stepped
inside. He couldn’t help but smile as the door let out a squeal of
protest. It had always done that. No matter how much oil was put on
it, it still squealed. Taking a few steps forward so the door could
close he heard the floorboards groan like an old man under his
weight. That was slightly new. They used to make noise but not so
much. Of course he had gained some weight since the last time he’d
been here so maybe that was it. The place was still the same, he
thought looking around, seeing familiar little knick knacks hung
here and there.
     
    When he was little it’d been a simple little
store where people were always welcomed like family. He hoped
whoever ran the place now still kept that same type of atmosphere.
It would be a shame if it was gone. It seemed like all the places
now were just out to make a buck and screw the guy they were
getting it from. Nobody ever took the time to just talk and ask you
how you were doing and if they did you knew they didn’t care about
your answer. Luckily it seemed Grandma’s hadn’t lost that homey
feeling. So far the only thing he could see that was actually
different was the selection of products. There were a lot more
brand names being displayed than he remembered. The shelves were
literally packed. Everything one might need seemed to be able to be
found here, which was a good thing since one of the big stores was
moving in. If Grandma’s didn’t keep up it would soon find itself
going out of business.
     
    The smell of dust hung in the air just as he
remembered. He could actually see little pieces of it floating in
the stray light. Seeing that he guessed the sun was making a try at
coming out today. Just coming to this place seemed to have
lightened his mood. He didn’t want dark and dreary anymore.
Following the light to where it shone he saw that the floor was
still just a bunch of mismatched boards that looked like they were
replaced on an as needed basis. Over the years this type of repair
seemed to have been done many times if what he saw was any
indication. From the looks of it some had been done recently.
     
    Shaking his head with a happy contentment Jim
wondered when they would finally break down and replace the whole
floor and maybe even the building. They might eventually try to
catch up with the times, but he doubted it. He actually hoped they
didn’t. This place was part of his childhood and he didn’t want to
see it changed one bit. He didn’t think he had to worry about it
considering the pace of the town and the people that lived in it.
They would probably always stay a few years behind the rest of the
world. Nothing had changed in over twelve years so it probably
wouldn’t change for at least another twelve if whoever ran things
now had anything to say about it. Thinking things like that used to
bother him. He used to think the town was useless and wanted out of
it as soon as possible. Now he could almost see himself coming to
enjoy a place like this.

 
    Jim’d almost finished his reminiscing when he
finally noticed one other thing that had changed since he’d left.
He should have noticed it before this. Especially since it was
staring at him like he was possessed. The person behind the counter
was no longer a little, hunched over old lady; now there was a
beautiful woman. A woman Jim had never seen before. And here he was
just standing there looking off into space like he was the village
idiot.
     
    His mother had mentioned Grandma retiring but
she didn’t tell him who’d taken over in her place. Seeing her now
he wished she had. Jim found himself very pleasantly surprised and
yet felt stupid at the same time. He’d been looking around not
thinking he might be being watched himself. Trying to look as if