Adrift

nearby?”

  “Sorry no hotels, but Sarah runs a wonderful B&B. Hang on a second.” Heather barely refrained from diving into her cheeseburger as Maggie turned away and briskly walked over to a table where a couple of women were sharing a glass of wine.

  One of the women was heavy set, with dark brown hair and was dressed in a beautiful purple tie-dyed dress and flip-flops. The other woman was dressed more conservatively in a tan linen skirt suit and low heels.

  As Maggie spoke to them, they both looked over to Heather and she shyly gave them a small wave. They smiled and waved back. Looking up at Maggie the woman in the tie-dye nodded and picked up her wine.

  Maggie returned to Heather’s table with a huge smile on her face. “The lady in the tie-dye is Sarah Gnome and she says she has a room you can rent. It’s past check-in time, but she said that when you finish your dinner just let her know and she’ll show you what she has available.”

  “Wow, thank you. I appreciate you going above and beyond.”

  “No problem, Sarah is a friend of mine and I know that after you finish your dinner you’re probably going to be ready to crash. Driving while tired is never good, especially along this highway. You can never be sure when the fog is going to roll in.” Maggie smiled and headed off to another table.

  The cheeseburger and fries were a decadent delight. Heather couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten something that someone else had cooked and she was sure it probably hadn’t been this good. As the food hit her stomach Heather had to admit that Maggie had been right, even with the two cups of coffee she’d finished she was definitely crashing.

  Maggie returned and asked if Heather would like anything else.

  “No, thank you. That was fantastic.”

  Maggie laughed, “Terrific. I’m glad you liked it, I guess I’ll keep Mario on for a while.”

  “Mario?”

  “Mario is my chef. I know that with a name like that it seems like he should probably be working in an Italian restaurant, but he can sling some mean grub. As you now know.”

  “Oh, this place is yours?”

  “Yep, mine and the bank’s that is.”

  “It’s a beautiful restaurant.”

  “Thanks. Maybe you’ll come back in tomorrow for lunch, then you can try Mario’s Molten Mountain. It’s a huge piece of chocolate cake with a melted chocolate center served in a ring of French vanilla ice cream drizzled with dark chocolate syrup. It is to die for.”

  Heather rubbed her belly, “I can’t imagine having room for that, but by tomorrow I just might be able to squeeze some in.” Heather placed a twenty on the bill tray and said, “Keep the change.”

  Maggie picked up the check and said, “Well, thank you. Now let me introduce you to Sarah.”

  As they approached the table, Sarah quickly finished her wine and stood up to meet Heather.

  “Sarah this is Heather,” Maggie hesitated when she realized that she didn’t know Heather’s last name and she looked to Heather for help.

  “Moore.” Maggie smiled her thanks.

  “Heather Moore. She is looking for a place to spend the night.”

  “Well, fortunately I have just such a place.” Sarah replied. Turning to her companion she said, “Thank you for joining me tonight. I hope you’ll think about my idea.”

  “I will Sarah and I’ll get back to you.” The woman in the suit stood up, nodded to Heather and Maggie and left the tavern.

  “So, big plans Sarah?” Maggie asked.

  “Maybe,” Sarah grinned. “We’ve got to do something to attract more tourists to our humble little village. Maggie, are you going to the council meeting?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it! It’s always good for some drama if nothing else.” Laughing, Sarah bid Maggie a good night. After thanking Maggie, Heather followed Sarah out the door.

  “So, what brings you to our fine village?” Sarah asked.

  “I needed a change of scenery, I drove up the coast, and this is where I landed.”

  “Well I’m glad you stopped. If you have time to sightsee tomorrow, I think you’ll find a lot about our village that you’ll like. We have some cool shops with arts and crafts made by local artisans, such as myself,” Sarah smiled. “But, if nothing else you should take a walk on the beach and see our lighthouse. It’s really beautiful.”

  “I don’t need to be anywhere, so I think I might do just that.” They got into Heather’s car and Sarah directed Heather down a side street to a lovely three-story house painted white with blue trim. A white picket fence enclosed a well-kept front yard. Malibu lighting illuminated a lush green lawn, rose bushes and shade trees. White benches were scattered around the yard as though inviting one to sit down and read for a while. Heather laughed when she saw playful gnomes and gargoyles peeking out from behind various bushes and shrubs. A sign at the front gate sported a cute painting of a gnome sleeping in a hammock and welcoming you to Gnome’s Rest.

  Sarah smiled at Heather as she opened the front gate. “Welcome to Gnome’s Rest also known as home sweet home.” Sarah led Heather up onto the porch and in through the front door.

  They entered a large living area with overstuffed chairs and couches arranged around a central fireplace. Heather approached the fireplace to look at a painting hanging over the mantel. The painting was a dark and moody image of a lighthouse perched on a cliff above large crashing waves. The beam of light from the lighthouse tried to pierce a fog that was rolling in toward shore. Standing on the gallery of the lighthouse looking out into the ocean was a willowy figure of a woman in a billowing dress. The woman had been painted so that she looked almost transparent. The overall mood of the painting was desolate and yet somehow beautiful.

  Heather was so absorbed by the painting that she jumped when Sarah asked, “What’cha think?” Patting Heather gently on the shoulder Sarah smiled, “Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Who is she?” Heather asked gesturing toward the woman in the painting.

  “That’s our village ghost.”

  “Ghost?”

  “Yeah, she is a piece of Crescent Bay’s history, a very sad story. But it’s too late for ghost stories; let me get you checked in.”

  Heather filled out the necessary paperwork and signed the register. Sarah showed her to her room and left her to settle in.

  Heather looked at the big bed and let out a sigh of exhaustion. All she wanted to do was crawl under the fluffy comforter and pass out, but she knew she’d hate herself in the morning if she didn’t do her usual routine. Entering her en suite bathroom, she went through the process of removing her contacts and brushing her teeth. Afterwards she found herself laughing, as she rummaged through the hodgepodge of stuff she had packed.

  She realized that not only would she be sightseeing tomorrow, but she would also be shopping for some necessities. Pulling out an oversized sleep shirt, she rapidly dressed herself for bed and finally crawled under the big comforter and turned off the light.

  3

  She was walking along a foggy beach and up ahead of her walked her dad. Heather called out for him to wait up, but he never looked back, he just kept walking. The fog swallowed him up and she couldn’t see where he had gone. She began to run to catch up to her dad calling out for him to wait but it felt like she was moving in slow motion. She fell to her knees sobbing, not understanding why her dad wouldn’t wait up for her. As she knelt there, feeling abandoned and confused, Heather realized that she could hear another woman sobbing. She tried to see who was crying, but when she had knelt on the ground the fog had surrounded her in a wet blanket of white and she couldn’t see more than a few inches in any direction.

  The crashing of the waves became louder and louder until all she could hear was a constant roaring of sound. Just when she felt that it couldn’t get any louder, there was a thunderous crash. The sound was so loud that it made Heather cover her ears and look frantically around for its source.

  As Heather cringed on the sand she realized that even with
her hands covering her ears, she could still hear the woman’s sobs. The sobbing got louder and louder until it was all that Heather could hear.

  Heather jolted awake and sat straight up in bed. Seeing the sunlit room around her, she realized she had been dreaming. She raised her hand to move her hair out of her eyes and was shocked to find her cheeks were wet with tears; she had been crying in her sleep. She felt battered and depressed. Ah great, she thought, no matter where you go, there you are. The quote started her laughing. Yep Buckaroo Banzai and me. God I’m a mess. Might as well get up.

  Dressed in jeans and a tank top Heather headed downstairs to see what was for breakfast.

  Sarah was bustling around the kitchen humming. Heather smiled when she recognized the song as, Food, Glorious Food from the play Oliver!. The kitchen smelled of fresh brewed coffee and pancakes.

  “Good morning,” Sarah said.

  “Thanks. How’d you sleep?”

  “Ah not so good, but it’s got nothing to do with your beautiful home. I’ve just been having a rough time.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe a good breakfast will start your day in a more positive way.”

  “I’m willing to give it a try.”

  “Then have a seat.” Sarah placed before Heather a generous plate of pancakes with a side of bacon followed by a big mug of coffee.

  “I think I could get used to this,” Heather laughed.

  “Well, we have an extended vacancy, so you’re welcome to stay a while.” They both laughed and settled