Hazel in the Demon's Den

Hazel had seen the time when Marissa showed her the website. It was a little after 1 PM now. There was enough time to venture a little further down the road before she needed to head back, make a grocery list, and order everything.

Whipping it out, she saw three missed messages. The first one was sent at 12:08. 'Hey Hazel, what have you been up to this morning?'

The next was at 12:24 and read 'Don't tell me you wandered off into the woods by yourself and forgot your phone'

The third was sent at 12:39. 'My lunch is over but please text me so I know you didn't get lost in the woods whenever you get it'

Did she seriously seem like she had such a terrible sense of direction? Then again, she supposed that it was a valid concern since she didn't know anything about living in the mountains. She might have to ask him more about things to do and not to do when he got back.

'I did not get lost in the woods. I went on a walk and met a couple of your neighbors, Marissa and Cara Lansing' she sent back. As expected, he didn't reply.

Hazel continued down the road, humming to herself. This 'neighborhood' really was different than anything she had ever seen. After walking for roughly two miles she had only seen three houses, including her own.

Everywhere else she had ever lived had been so crammed with houses that people hardly even had backyards. Out here the whole world was your backyard. Granted, that backyard was also shared with a variety of wild animals. Who knows what was hiding in all that overgrown grass?

Checking the time again, Hazel headed back to Will's house. She made an inventory of what was in the fridge and pantry and thought about what sort of meals she planned on making this week.

She made sure to add marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers to the list. Billy had told her about s'mores. She had always wanted to try them but never got the chance to go camping.

The only reason she even thought of this was because she had seen a fire pit in Will's front yard. She was going to fulfill a childhood dream even if she had to sneak out and do it in the middle of the night by herself to avoid embarrassment.

Once the groceries were ordered, Hazel changed out of her exercise clothes and into a pair of capris and a red and white striped tee shirt. She tapped her fingers against the kitchen table until her phone buzzed, letting her know that Marissa was here.

In the car Cara proceeded to tell Hazel everything she had seen on the nature walk before switching immediately to the plot of her favorite movie, involving mermaids who have to rescue a lost dolphin. Marissa seemed apologetic but she didn't mind one bit. It was kind of fun listening to the kid go on and on.

They picked up Benji and Nathan first before heading into town. They both complained but their mom shut them up by promising to make chocolate chip cookies when they got home.

It took them a moment to realize there was another person sitting in the front seat.

"Who's this?"

"Why is her hair pink?"

"Nathan Lansing, we do not ask people why they dye their hair," Marissa said sternly. "I'm so sorry, Hazel."

Hazel shrugged. She was used to comments about her hair. It was the life of a person with unique dye choices.

"Boys, this is Mr. Sheffield's wife," she continued. "She hasn't lived in Utah for very long so make sure you're welcoming."

"Okay, Mom," they chorused.

Hazel wasn't sure how Marissa knew she wasn't from Utah until she remembered their earlier conversation about the snow. That probably made her stick out like a sore thumb.

"How did you meet Will, anyway?" she asked. "You never said."

Oh boy. It would be horrible to explain to this normal little family that she had literally met and married the man in the space of a few hours. Lying would be the better option at this point but she had never been good at making things up on the spot.

"We met when he was on a business trip," Hazel improvised. That much was actually true. "We hit it off and decided to keep in touch. Long distance is such a pain so we decided to get married since I can work from anywhere."

"Right, you mentioned that you work from home. What do you do exactly?" Marissa asked.

"I'm a comic artist," she said, feeling relieved that the topic had turned to something she could talk more about.

Benji seemed particularly interested in this fact. "Comics? Like Superman?"

"Nah, I draw girls' romance comics."

He wrinkled his nose in disappointment. "Oh."

Hazel did her best to stifle her laughter. Poor kid's dreams had probably just been crushed. His reaction told her that he really loved Superman.

They pulled into the pickup lane at the grocery store then and Hazel stepped outside to show her ID. It still read Hazel Dixon, as did the credit card she used to pay for the groceries online. She needed to get that changed since her neighbors already knew her as Hazel Sheffield.

The employee helped her load up the trunk of the car and sent them on their way a few minutes later. Marissa was right; this did save a ton of time. She would have to remember to do this in the future.

The Lansings helped her carry in all of the groceries when they dropped her off and Hazel thanked Marissa profusely for her help. She replied with a bright smile.

"Any time! Those of us who live in the middle of nowhere have to stick together. Let me know if you ever need anything and say hi to Will for me!"

"I will, thanks!"

Hazel immediately set to work putting away the groceries. She wasn't sure how Will normally arranged his fridge and pantry but she did her best with the available space.

Once that was done she ate about fifty grapes because it was too early for dinner but she hadn't eaten since 9 AM. Hazel thoroughly regretted it afterwards. No one should eat that much fruit in one sitting. Ever.