Chapter 5 #2
Bryant’s eyes sparkled as he turned his gaze to her. “Most of the people in Holiday Hollow were born and raised here.”
“Like you.”
“Like me.” Bryant looked away when he laughed again. “I’m sure you’ll be the talk of the town in no time.”
Grace sighed. “I’m not sure if that’s something to look forward to.”
“Don’t worry.” He leaned forward, his eyes mischievous and youthful. “We don’t bite.”
Though everything about his demeanor made her think he was simply teasing, Grace couldn’t stop the unpleasant feeling of someone watching her crawl across her frame.
She tried to brush it off with a laugh, but the sound was wispy and unbelievable.
In the same breath, her phone rang and vibrated in her pocket, jutting into their conversation.
Bryant smiled warmly. “You should take that.”
“T-Thanks,” Grace murmured as she turned, retrieving her phone and pressing it to her ear in the same breath. “Hello?”
“Grace Baker!”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Caroline Shepard. Good morning! I didn’t take you for an early riser.”
“Me?” Caroline laughed sharply into the speaker. “Every morning begins with a mile run around town, Gracie. Maybe you can join me on one?”
Grace rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I went running.”
“It’s never too late for a new habit!”
“I suppose not, but –”
“We’ll plan a run soon, won’t we?”
Grace sighed again and was left with a smile on her face.
She couldn’t remember the last time she breathed so easily, when so many things made her feel seen in more ways than one.
It was just a run, but it meant that she was being thought of.
She was being considered, and that was more than what she had experienced for the last few decades of her life.
“I guess if something is chasing me,” Grace replied.
Caroline giggled with excitement. “We’ll need to get together to talk all about your first night at the Lantern House! I’ve already bragged about you to all my girlfriends and they are determined to meet you as soon as possible.”
“R-Really?”
“You say that like you aren’t absolutely fascinating!”
“Well, I –”
“Now, now, Grace Baker,” Caroline interjected, “are you or are you not the famous tire-changer on this side of the equator?”
Grace’s laugh echoed through the quiet woods, startling a few nearby birds. “You’re right,” she joked. “Excuse me. I am the famous tire-changer.”
“Perfect! Then you’ll come out to meet my friends for dinner, won’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Caroline clapped on the other side. “You won’t believe how excited I am! I’ll text you the details, okay? Ta-ta!”
As her new friend hung up, Grace found that her genuine smile was lingering on her lips.
There was a sort of life that radiated off Caroline, even when she wasn’t physically around.
It pushed through the walls Grace once held up with all her might, crumbling any sort of mask she carried.
Suddenly she was more than excited to meet more strangers, to forge new relationships, to have even more beginnings to remember for the rest of her life.
Grace spun around, already eager to tell Bryant about her upcoming plans.
But he was gone.
The chairs were both empty, the guitar taken along with him.
For a second Grace found herself simply staring at the spot he was once in, trying to convince herself that he had been there in the first place.
Disappointment was starting to string through her heart as she watched, so she headed back inside, not daring to let it bring her down.
There was nothing to be disappointed about, anyways.
Was Grace not the one who just signed the papers to end a long marriage?
She couldn’t even remember the last date she had that wasn’t with Chuck.
Where did a relationship fit in? She shook her head and shut the back door firmly behind her.
Grace hurried to her bedroom, already beginning to consider what she would wear.
First impressions were pivotal, after all, and she had always put on a good face when it came to meeting new people.
Caroline’s friends could turn out to be Grace’s friends, if she didn’t make a total fool out of herself.
She plucked a purple dress from her closet, one that had always managed to pull compliments out of strangers.
The fabric was form fitting around the heart-shaped bodice before flaring out into a delicate skirt around her waist. Casual and flattering, just what she needed.
Grace went to hold the dress in front of her mirror when a blinding white light struck across her vision, like an exploding lightning bolt. The world around her snapped away, and as if she was suddenly planted in front of the television screen, Grace watched an unfamiliar scene unfold.
There was a group of women sitting around a table at a quiet restaurant.
Out of all the faces, Grace spotted Caroline amongst them, and stared uncomfortably at her own face looking back at her.
A waiter passed by the table before tripping over his own feet, losing control over the round tray of scalding coffee he carried.
The mugs tumbled onto one of the women in particular, a small framed lady with fiery red curls and an unforgettable yellow dress.
Laughter turned into a scream, and then, to nothing.
As soon as it crossed over her vision, the image faded.
Grace staggered across the room, her knees knocking into the foot of her bed.
She tumbled forward, landing against the soft mattress with a humph.
“What the…” she whispered into the comforter, blinking rapidly.
The feeling of it was fading, but the image remained like a fuzzy photograph behind her eyelids.
Migraines weren’t all that unfamiliar to Grace, but she hardly remembered experiencing anything like that before.
She had the odd sensation of being ripped out of a dream, forced to be wide awake after being plunged into the deepest moments of slumber.
Grace regained her balance and straightened back up. “You’re fine,” she repeated while tugging on her dress. “That was strange, but strange things happen to delusional women in their forties.”
As she gathered her purse and headed for the door, Grace passed by the Lantern’s watchful eye and shook her head, the feeling of deja vu haunting her with every step she took.