A Cottage in Cornwall
Page 9
"Are you expecting a package in the mail?" she asked Ally.
"Ummm...a Versace handbag. A pair of Jimmy Choos I got for a steal online..."
The package was too small for any of those, and there was only a P.O. Box beneath the business name. Keri tore open the brown paper, and lifted the lid of the box inside. A folded map beneath a simple card, one that said:
Keri,
When you look at it each night, know that someone is thinking of you.
Eight P.M., Eastern Time.
After that came a set of coordinates -- for what? A geocache? A business doing a promotional stunt?
It wasn't a road map beneath the note, but a sky chart printed on antiqued paper with dark blue ink. Unfolding it, Keri discovered a sea of stars, familiar constellations and celestial signs. One star was set apart from the others, made bigger and brighter on paper even though it was an ordinary star. It was matched perfectly with the coordinates.
"What is this?" she asked. She turned the card over. No name, nothing. Just the words printed on the front, and the star marked on the map. A business name printed above the post office box, for a service called Send a Star. She'd never heard of it.
"What's what?" Ally called from the kitchen.
"Nothing," answered Keri. She slid the card and map back into the box, and closed the top. Not quick enough, because Ally appeared in the room.
"What's that?" It was pretty rare for Keri to receive packages, except for the occasional sensible clothing purchase, the kind which came in bigger express boxes, not a small paper-wrapped one.
"Um, I don't know," said Keri, vaguely. "Just something somebody mailed to me." She put it aside, opening the envelope beneath it, a warranty update for her laptop.
Ally opened the lid, looking inside. "It's some kind of present." She took out the card, then poked at the map beneath it. "It's a science thing, isn't it?" She wrinkled her nose.
"It's from Paul," said Keri. She was dismissive now that she had an explanation for it. "He was talking about how he wanted to do something special for me. He must have thought of this." Maybe it drew his eye because it had something to do with astronomy, a random thought on his part in the airport or a tourist shop near the shore.
"All I can say is, I prefer jewelry." Rolling her eyes, Ally moved on.