Better Off Single

By Vicki H. Cutler

After she has some bad experiences with men, Dana Winger is resigned to settling for the life of a single woman. Optimistic and not one to sit around having a pity party, she gets involved in community service, friends, and her job. Life seems to change for the worse when she has a less-than-appealing run-in with both a skunk and a handsome man named Scott Harrison. But it all may end up being a blessing in disguise as new opportunities start to crop up for Dana.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Happy Valley Bookstore
• Release date: May 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458151902

Book preview

Better Off Single

Vicki H. Cutler

Published by Happy Valley Bookstore at Smashwords.

Copyright 2011 Vicki H. Cutler

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

Fat! Fat! Fat! Dana chanted aloud as she walked briskly along the road to meet her goal of two miles in thirty minutes. I hate fat! She remembered again the depressing doctor visit a few weeks ago.

I'm afraid you're about 40 pounds overweight, Miss Winger, her doctor told her when she had gone in to see him about her back pains. Walking is the best exercise until you get your weight under control. You've got to walk at least four or five times a week, as briskly as you can. Time yourself and try to cut a minute or two off your time every day. And of course, you know you'll have to diet. I'll have my nurse give you some pamphlets on dieting and some stretching exercises to take home with you. Your back has a slight birth defect and it will give you trouble all your life if you are overweight and don't exercise to keep it limber.

Dana hated to diet. Food was such a comfort. She had been plump since fourth grade. By high school it had become a concern so her mother had taken her to a counselor. He had gently asked if she had suffered any sexual abuse as a child, explaining that often an overweight person envelopes themselves in a barrier of fat to avoid being victimized again.

Dana hadn't been sexually abused. She just liked to eat. It didn't hurt anybody and it provided some comfort to her feelings when people treated her like she was invisible. She hated it at parties or at church when she was talking to someone and out of the blue they interrupted her and either talked about themselves or called to someone else. Was she that boring to listen to?

Her mind whirling with remembered snubs, she arrived back home. Checking the time, she felt a little sensation of pleasure that she had finished three whole minutes sooner than yesterday. It was probably because she had gotten so mad thinking about all the slights she had endured. Maybe I'd better think of something to be mad about every day to give me a charge of adrenalin, she smiled.

It wasn't in Dana's nature to be angry, though. She had a naturally laid back and forgiving personality and usually thought the best of people.

Entering her house, she looked at the dishes in the sink and the papers strewn around the small living room. I'd better get busy and clean up a little. This place is a mess, she told her cat, Cruiser. He was black and white and reminded her of a police squad car.

Dana loved her little cottage and land. It was situated on a back country road at least a quarter of a mile from any neighbors. While not having the personality of a budding hermit, she did enjoy the privacy she had here. There were rarely any unexpected visitors except the occasional Jehovah's Witnesses who were easily gotten rid of. The only salesmen that came to ring the doorbell were Girl Scouts selling cookies. No jarring sounds of unceasing traffic or the sirens of emergency vehicles disturbed her sleep. There were only three other houses on the entire road. She knew her neighbors, but they kept pretty much to themselves.

She had moved to Illinois from Michigan after realizing that college just wasn’t for her. She wanted to get away from home, not because she didn’t love it on the farm, but because she wanted to be independent. Her parents were disappointed that she had dropped out after one year, but they supported her desire to try life on her own.

She had searched advertisements for jobs in this small town area on a whim. Ever since she and her dad had passed through on the way to some farm show or other, she had been impressed by the beauty and fertility of the farms. She was very happy to find a job in nearby Ilion that didn’t require a degree and found that she could live frugally on her small income.

It was nothing short of really good luck that Dana had heard about this small house and 5 acres for sale. She did volunteer work at a nursing home and one of the regular visitors had told her she was selling because she was growing older and feeble and needed nursing home care herself. Dana couldn’t believe the asking price and asked her parents for the loan of a down payment. The deal was done and she had moved in over a year before.

It was only a two mile drive to work where she had started about three years ago as a file clerk for a trucking company. She liked the people there and they were happy to have her. She got along best with older people and most of the other workers had been there for years. She had steadily progressed from file clerk to invoice typist and then to accounts receivable and customer service. It was an adequate job with reasonable pay but not very challenging.

She didn't need the aggravation of a challenge right now, though. It was going to be enough to change her eating habits and see if she could melt some of this flab away.

Dana woke up the next morning earlier than usual. The late June air was still cool because the sun had not come up yet. She was tempted to stay in bed until the alarm went off. No! she chided herself. Get up and get your walk over with while it's cool. The temperature is supposed to be in the 80’s today.

She dressed in cut off jersey shorts and a tee shirt and pulled a brush through her long, straight brown hair. It was so nice not to have to worry about her appearance every minute out here in the boonies. Grabbing a book, she set out on her hike. At first when she started her walks in May, she had enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the birds. The small creatures that ran in the long grass at the edge of the road were fun to watch. The sunshine had been warm and delightful, but after a couple of weeks, she had gotten bored. When she found herself hating to make the effort to get out and walk, she tried to think of ways to keep interested. Dana had discovered that books were wonderful to read while walking. The road was paved and smooth and there were no chuck holes she could stumble into while engrossed in the story.

Deep in her book, she missed seeing the rock that a passing tractor had thrown into her path. Stepping on it with the side of her foot, her ankle twisted badly and she fell hard onto one knee then toppled over onto her side. She skinned her elbow and hand but ignored it because of the agony in her ankle. Groaning in pain, she writhed on the hard roadway for a few seconds to try to endure the sharp throbbing. After a few minutes some of the pain eased, the nausea passed, and she could finally feel her knee throbbing too. She brought it up to see the damage and it was covered in blood.

Dana had fallen just before the crest of a small rise in the road and couldn't see the oncoming car until it was almost on top of her. She heard it just before it came over the hill. Panic erased the pain as she threw herself flat and rolled out of the way. Her speed was such that it carried her not only over the narrow shoulder of the road but down a steep embankment into a ditch before she could get control. Through a daze, Dana heard the tires of the car screeching as the driver braked to a stop.

Coming to rest on her stomach, she raised her head to get her bearings after the dizzying roll. Looking directly into her face and only a few feet away were the beady black eyes of the other occupant of the ditch. The skunk was not happy. Its tail was raised ready for action. Dana knew that the slightest movement might set it off. She froze, all sensation of pain gone from her mind as she confronted this new hazard.

What happened? a male voice called from above. Are you all right?

The unexpected noise was enough for the skunk to make up its little mind. It whirled, tail high. Dana screamed in desperation and frantically ducked her head, but the creature spewed his load of incredibly noxious spray directly at her.

The skunk took himself off nonchalantly while Dana began retching and gasping for air. She dragged herself a little way up the embankment to try to escape the worst of the fumes.

After the first wave of wretchedness had subsided, Dana became aware that the man watching her was coughing also and had a handkerchief to his face. Realizing that there was nothing that could be done for her without the man smelling as bad as she did, she cried, I'm all right! You can leave. Her voice came out in a rasp from the horrible skunk oil filling her throat.

Your leg is bleeding! You've been hurt! Let me help you! the deep voice called. He was reluctant to get closer as the putrid odor enveloped him, but Dana could hear his footsteps as he began the descent to her.

No! Get out of here! I'll be fine. There's no sense in both of us getting covered with this stuff. Dana choked and tried to rub her eyes clear. The stench was so overpowering that she couldn't see the man through the tears. She choked and gagged and tried to spit the worst of it out of her mouth. He must be crazy even offering to help someone who had just gotten sprayed by a skunk!

The man backed off a little as if visibly pushed by the odor. I'm not leaving until I'm sure you're all right, he called through his handkerchief, firmness in his tone.

I just stumbled and fell on my knee, Dana answered, twisting the truth so he wouldn't feel obligated to help her up. I live just down the road, she said, waving in the general direction of her house. I'll go home and get this cleaned off as soon as I can see. Stay away. There's nothing you can do. She was mortified enough without worrying about him being coated with the reeking odor.

Can I go get something for you? Water? Anything? he asked.

No, water won't be enough. I have some cans of tomato juice I'll pour over myself. That's supposed to get rid of the smell. I'll be fine. Go ahead and go. Dana tried to control her retching. She pulled herself to a sitting position but didn't get up for fear that he would notice her twisted ankle and insist on helping her. She just wanted him to go away so she could suffer in peace and hobble home without an audience.

The man coughed again, wanting to leave quickly but feeling obligated to help her. What made you stumble?

A rock, I think. I was reading a book and didn't see it.

You ought to look where you're going! I thought I had hit an animal, he yelled. You scared me to death! Now that he knew he hadn't been the cause of her accident, he reacted with anger.

Well, you shouldn't drive so fast! she retorted back. Now get out of here! I don't want you to get this smell on you. I don't need anything! I’ll be fine.

Her eyes finally cleared enough so that she could see his vague form walking away. She kept still until she heard the motor start and the car leave. Raising her face to the sky Dana let out the pent-up bellow she had been suppressing all this time. She howled over and over, venting all her pain and frustration to the heavens, confident that no one could hear her. When she was through, she felt better, but it didn't improve her situation. She still had half a mile to limp on a twisted ankle before she got home. At least the first agony was over and she could move a little easier now.

Hauling herself painfully on her bruised hands and one knee up the slope to the road, Dana stood and gingerly put some weight on the ankle. It hurt immensely but she managed to limp a few steps at a time toward home. She realized she had forgotten the book that had been lost on her mad roll down the hill. She looked around and found it nearby. That was lucky. It was an exciting story and she wanted to finish it.

She came upon a fallen branch that worked as a walking stick and that helped a little. Hopping when it became too bad and resting often, Dana made her way down the road towards her house. She prayed that nobody else would drive by and see her predicament. She couldn't face the embarrassment of having someone see her like this. Limping and reeking of skunk, her eyes still running and blood dripping down her leg, she visualized the pathetic picture she must make.

I'll never get the smell out in time to go to work. I'll have to call in sick, she thought as reality hit and she began to think about dealing with the ordeal she faced. They'll die laughing when I tell them. Especially the guys in the shop. I'll never live this down.

Nearly half an hour later she finally reached her house, trembling from pain and exhaustion. Dropping onto the porch steps to rest, Dana philosophically accepted her situation. Bad things happen. It was her turn for them to happen to.

Employing a technique she had developed as the result of a lifetime of accidents, unusual illnesses, and general bad luck, Dana put herself in her future mode. It was her habit, when things got bad, to project her mind a day or a week into the future and think what effect the present discomfort would have then. The pain will be gone, she told herself. So will the smell. Nothing will be left but the memory. I'll be able to laugh at it by then. It will be a big joke. I'll write about it in my journal.

Not wanting to spread the terrible stench through her house, Dana realized that she had to ask someone to come and help her a little. The previous owner had installed a phone in the garage luckily, so she used it to call her friend, Andrea. Explaining her plight, Dana encountered maniacal laughter and the first of what she knew would be many mocking comments. Andrea was sympathetic but she had a nasty sense of humor.

She got some of the same treatment when she called her boss at work and explained what had happened. After he had stopped laughing he agreed that her malodorous presence wouldn’t add much to the office moral and she could take the day off. It wasn’t a busy day and they could manage without her.

While she waited for her friend to arrive, Dana got out a garden hose and disrobed to her underwear behind the house to shield her from any passing vehicles. She scrubbed her face and hair as well as she could in the cold water but didn’t have soap outside so she couldn’t tell if it had helped the stench any. At least her eyes cleared up so she could see and she could breathe easier. The knee burned when she washed off the blood but it wasn’t a bad cut, mostly just a scrape. It felt better after she picked a few pieces of gravel out of the skin.

Andrea drove in a few minutes later and jumped, laughing, out of her car. Raising a box, she called, I brought the beer!

Beer? You know I don't drink beer! Dana protested from the bush she was trying to hide behind.

No, silly! The beer is for the skunk smell. I told my dad about what happened to you, and he said they always used beer on their dogs when they got sprayed by skunks. It worked wonders.

I'll try anything, Dana conceded. This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

Chapter 2

Don't come close to me, Andrea, Dana cautioned her friend. I am pretty disgusting right now.

I can tell! Whew, you reek all the way over here! What do you want me to do? I called in at work and told them I'd be a little late so I can stay for a while.

You're a life-saver, Dana sighed. "I don't know what I would do without you. You always rescue me from whatever I've gotten myself into. This is the worst so far, though, isn't