The Lodge at Whispering Pines

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “Consider it done. So what I remember after Anika yelled and tackled me,” he said, then laughed when I shoulder bumped him, “is Trixie growling, Night having a fit, Elizabeth cowering on the ground, and Anika determined to get between me and Elizabeth.”

  “Man! How crazy!” said Xander.

  “Yeah,” said Miles. “It was one of the more peculiar wake-ups I’ve had in my life. Both lives, actually. Everyone settled down after that though, and we began to talk to Elizabeth.”

  “What was that like?” asked John. “That had to be so weird for you…”

  “It kind of was,” said Miles. “I’d really like to help this girl the way Anika helped me. She’s different than I was though, it’s not going to be easy.”

  “Different, how?” asked Jenny.

  “She’s extremely confused,” I said. “Miles wasn’t confused at all when I met him. He knew what needed to be done to free him, and was a huge help in accomplishing that. But Elizabeth is like off in another world. What she did say was disturbing though, and then suddenly she screamed ‘help me,’ and was gone.”

  Our friends looked as though they felt a chill hearing that, just as I did remembering it.

  “Anika, as confused as she was… was what she said the truth?” asked Miles.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “What did she say?” asked Xander.

  “She was born in 1852,” said Miles.

  “Wait, when were you born?” asked Jenny. “It was around then, wasn’t it?”

  “1850,” said Miles.

  “Is it possible that you knew her?” Annette asked excitedly.

  Miles thought hard, then shook his head slowly.

  “I don’t think so. I really don’t.”

  Good! I didn’t like the idea of some girl from Miles’ past showing up here, even if I was the only girl he ever loved, and even though we’re married… I just didn’t!

  “So what else did you find out?” asked John.

  “Well…” I had to think now. “She was so confused. She kept looking at Miles like she was seeing him for the first time. She was really out of it. She said over and over that he was different, and once she said that Trixie’s different. She said she was supposed to be here, the restaurant was named after her.”

  “No way!” exclaimed Xander. “How?”

  “I don’t know!” I said, wondering that too. “Did the previous owner somehow know about her? But if he knew she really existed, then why didn’t he include that proof in the story he printed up about her?”

  “I don’t know,” said Miles. “It wouldn’t hurt to call the previous owner and ask.”

  “Better yet, let’s see the owner in person,” I said. “That way I’ll know whether or not he’s telling the truth. I won’t, if we communicate over the phone.”

  “Good point,” said Miles. “After we meet with John in the morning to go over system security, that’ll be our next priority.”

  “Could he have been related to her in some way?” asked John.

  “Maybe,” said Miles. “We’ll find out.”

  “In spite of her saying she belongs here, she also said she wasn’t supposed to be here, she’s supposed to be in one piece, and that she’s in fragments.”

  Jenny and Annette looked disturbed. John did too, but Xander looked like that only intrigued him further.

  “Is that everything?” I asked Miles.

  “That’s all I can recall,” he said.

  “What did she look like?” asked Annette.

  “She has long pale blond hair, and she’s wearing a long old-fashioned nightgown with lots of crocheted lace. She has on a bracelet, too. It’s really thick, and encrusted with jewels. She isn’t as transparent as Troy described her, but she isn’t semi-transparent like Miles was. Her eyes are blue and luminous, though. He described them as glowing, and they sort of do.”

  “Goodness, if I ever see her… I hope I’m with you two,” said Jenny, looking anxious.

  “If you’re not, just remember to tell her that Miles and Anika want to talk to her,” he said.

  “How old do you think she looks?” asked Jenny.

  “What do you think…?” I asked, looking at Miles. “Maybe seventeen or eighteen?”

  “Something like that,” he agreed.

  “Whoa, that would mean she died around the same time you did!” said Xander.

  “Do you…think that could be significant?” asked Annette.

  “I’ve no idea, but I don’t see how since I’m positive I didn’t know her,” Miles said, and he gave me a funny look. “Remember, Anika? I didn’t court or call on or walk home or associate in a significant way with any other girls, back then. Just you, ever since.”

  I loosened the grip I had on his hand. I didn’t realize I was squeezing so tight.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. Miles pulled me closer and kissed my cheek.

  “I know,” he said softly. “I came back from the dead for you though, and there’s nothing in my past for you to fear.”

  I nodded, then squeezed his hand once. He was telling the truth. He kissed my cheek again, then got back to the delectable cheesecake in front of him, and so did I.

  “So… what will you do now?” asked John.

  “Wait for her to come back,” said Miles. “That’s about all we can do.”

  “I hope she comes back and is in her right mind when she does,” I said. “Otherwise… I can’t imagine how we’ll ever accomplish anything with her.”

  “We’ll find a way,” Miles reassured me. “We won’t give up until we do.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “That’s the truth.”

  Chapter 6

  I woke up when my alarm went off. Miles was gone, walking the dogs probably. I had two cats draped across me, though. We’ve got this huge bed, and do they utilize the space? No. No, they do not.

  I wriggled out from under them, much to their displeasure. They tried to climb on me again, but I sat up and pulled my legs under me.

  “Too bad kids, you’ll have to sleep on the mattress, instead.”

  They both looked disgruntled, but settled down beside me.

  I stretched, then tried to get out of bed. Tried, and failed. I stood up, and walked around its perimeter. I was trapped, by one of Miles’ force fields.

  I appreciated his intentions, but I needed to get ready for my day, and a visit to the bathroom wouldn’t be out of order!

  I pounded three times on the invisible shield. Whatever he was doing, he’d be back soon.

  I sat down to wait. I twiddled my thumbs, then rolled over to the far side of the bed and picked up the book I meant to read before going to sleep the first time, last night.

  I didn’t get far before I heard Miles’ key turn in the lock, and the jingle of dog tags, as he removed their leashes.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, as the force field dissolved, and I got out of bed. “I meant to be back before your alarm went off.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “It didn’t take you long.”

  I hugged him, then made a beeline for the bathroom!

  I showered and dressed quickly, keeping an eye on the clock that hung on the wall. I dried my hair, waving to Miles in the mirror as he came in and sat on the side of the jet tub to wait for me.

  “How was your walk?” I asked, setting the hair dryer aside and reaching for the brush and hair spray.

  “Cold. The snow really came down last night. It’s beautiful, though.”

  “I loved watching it, as we had our midnight snack in the dining room,” I said.

  “So did I,” he smiled, then looked serious. “I talked to Trix about Elizabeth. She doesn’t remember her, either. She’s completely positive that I never knew her, or of her.”

  “Okay. That’s good to know,” I said, setting aside the hairspray and brush, and reaching for my makeup case.

  “Why is she so different from the way that I was?” he wondered out loud.

  “The differences are grea
ter than the similarities,” I agreed. “Let’s list the similarities, what few of them there are. She appears, and disappears. Yep, that’s about it.”

  “Right, even the way she looks is different. She’s definitely transparent like Troy said, although I saw her in color, and I know you did too. Her eyes glow, that’s certainly different.”

  “Yeah. And she’s so confused. She can’t focus, and it’s like she’s got short term memory loss. She kept saying you’re different over and over. I wonder what she sees or senses that makes her say that?” I finished applying my makeup, and turned around. “I’m ready.”

  “Great, let’s go have breakfast. I’m starving, and desperate for coffee.”

  “Me too,” I laughed, and took the hand he held out to me. “Although a latte would be even better.”

  “The Lodge has a machine, and Jenny is a barista, you know,” said Miles, as he picked up my heavy sweater and held it for me so I could slip my arms into it.

  “Oh my goodness, if I thought of that last night—why didn’t you say anything when we were eating cheesecake?”

  I picked up my phone and the extra room key, and put them in the sweater’s pockets. Then I took Miles’ hand again.

  “Because, dear, it would have guaranteed that you wouldn’t get any sleep for the rest of the night. And if you’re fidgeting, I don’t get much sleep, either.”

  Miles opened the door of our suite and locked it behind us.

  “Still don’t believe I’ve built up an immunity to caffeine, I see.”

  Miles pressed the button for the elevator, and the doors swished open.

  “No, honey. I do not.” I laughed at his serious expression, and he smiled. “I read Chad’s email this morning on the way out to walk the dogs, and talked with him on the way back. That’s why I was late.”

  “What did he have to say?”

  “The program that’s in use, is archaic.”

  “Can it be updated?” I asked.

  “It’s so ancient it isn’t supported any longer, so we’ll replace it. That’ll make everyone’s job easier. The next time we ask Troy to stand in at the check-in counter, he won’t be so nervous. Not after he sees how easy the new system is, anyway.”

  “You probably already know what we’re going to switch to,” I said.

  “Chad couldn’t say enough about the system used at our hotel in Glen Haven. I’ll get John’s input, then go with that, more than likely.”

  “The previous owner cut a lot of corners,” I commented.

  “He probably didn’t have the funds to do all of the upgrades that we’re going to. He was making a nice profit, though. If he wanted to, he could’ve done more.” Miles stopped and looked at me in concern. “Am I taking over too much? This is your internship, after all… I’m so used to running our other businesses, and we were in crisis for a while there, yesterday. I didn’t stop to think. You might be wanting to make these decisions yourself.”

  “You’re fine,” I assured him. “You’re asking for my input. If we didn’t own the Lodge and it had a manager, I wouldn’t be the one making any of the decisions. I’d be learning from the expert. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “Okay, good,” he said, relieved.

  The elevator reached the ground floor, and we stepped out into the corridor. Nodding to Chad, we walked past the entryway and into the lobby on our way to Elizabeth’s.

  At this time of morning the Lodge was still asleep. Our restaurant wasn’t open for breakfast yet, and the boutiques and gift shop weren’t open, either. The fire was burning bright in our fireplace, though. It would continue to be fed until warm weather returned in late spring.

  We reached Elizabeth’s and let ourselves in. Miles led the way to the small private dining room where we would have breakfast.

  “We’re the first ones here,” I commented, as Miles pulled out my chair for me.

  “We’re a little early, in spite of me keeping you from getting up with your alarm,” said Miles, looking at his watch.

  “You weren’t that late, and I appreciate you making certain nothing could disturb me while you were gone. In the future though, you might include the bathroom in your force field.”

  “I’ll do that,” Miles said, and kissed me.

  “I wondered if you were ever going to get around to that,” I said. He laughed, then kissed me again.

  We looked at the menus that lay on the table, and soon a waiter arrived and brought Miles coffee. He brought me a latte! Chef was totally going to end up our highest paid employee. He deserved it!

  “Hey guys,” said Xander, as he and our other friends entered the dining room.

  “Good morning,” smiled Miles.

  “Any more excitement during the night?” asked Annette, as they each had a seat.

  “No sign of Elizabeth,” I said, as I enjoyed my latte.

  “Trix says that I didn’t know her though,” said Miles. “In spite of the timeframe similarity.”

  “You’ve like got the coolest dog ever, man,” said Xander.

  Name after name after name began to fill my head, as the truth that there were many coolest dogs in the world and Xander apparently knew an awful lot of their names, spoke rapidly. Oh my word, how long is this going to take? Enough! I screamed inside my thoughts, and it stopped.

  I looked up. Everyone was staring at me. I looked at Miles.

  “Honey… are you alright?” he asked, his eyes filled with concern. He felt of my forehead.

  “Did I say that out loud?” I asked. “I must have, the way you’re all looking at me.”

  “Yes,” said Miles, still concerned.

  “Sorry, Xander said what he did about dogs, and all these dog names started filling my head. It kept going on and on, and I wanted it to stop.”

  “And it did?” asked Miles.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Okay, well… if you need to stop the truth again, you might warn us, or move to an isolated location first,” said Miles. “Take me with you, though.”

  “I’ll do that,” I laughed.

  The waiter brought us our breakfasts, then left.

  “How did he know what you wanted?” I asked.

  “We stopped by the kitchen on the way here,” said John.

  “We saw you through the doorway as we came in,” said Annette.

  “Kissing,” said Xander. “Of course.”

  “What a great idea,” I said, and Miles laughed, then kissed me as Xander groaned.

  “Alright fine, I left the door wide open for that. I’ll lay off for now…” he said, and Jenny laughed.

  We focused on eating then. We all had places to be and things to do in order to keep our Lodge operational, and time was counting down.

  “Ready?” asked Miles.

  “Yes,” I said, finishing my latte.

  “We’ll see you around,” Miles said to our friends, and he and I adjourned to our office.

  “The files look fairly well organized,” I said, as I flipped through them.

  “That’s fortunate,” Miles replied. He sat at the desk making a list of all that we needed to accomplish, and then prioritized the items.

  There was a tap on the door, so I reached over and opened it.

  “Come on in, John,” said Miles. “Have a seat and tell us what needs done, and how we can make that happen.”

  John did have a seat, and he and Miles proceeded to discuss all things related to the Lodge’s website, data security, and transitioning to the system used by our other hotels. Two hours later, John sat down behind the desk to begin implementing their plans, and Miles and I said goodbye for now, and left.

  Miles began tapping numbers into his phone before the door closed behind us. I waved to Annette, and followed Miles through the door in the counter and toward the doors of the Lodge.

  “Coats,” said Miles, as he turned sharply and guided me back to the elevator. “Hello Ron, it’s Miles Bannerman. Yes, I’m sure you were expecting my call. Probably surprised you
didn’t hear from me sooner, but I thought you’d appreciate a call during business hours rather than the middle of the night. As a matter of fact my wife and I have met Elizabeth. She paid a surprise visit to our suite last night. No, I’m not calling to renege on our deal. I wouldn’t sell the Lodge back to you for twice what I paid. That isn’t the reason for my call. I would like to meet with you, though. I’m certain anything you can tell my wife and me about Elizabeth will help us to determine how to best help her on her way. It’s likely to be more than we know now. I see. Tell you what, Ron. I won’t bring a lawsuit against you for failing to disclose the Lodge’s resident apparition as long as you meet with my wife and me, today, the sooner the better. True, there is a chance I wouldn’t win. It won’t hurt me either way the court decides. How about you? Are you really willing to take that chance? It would cost you a lot more than thirty minutes of your time, and that’s all I want from you. Very good then. Would you care to meet here, how about lunch at Elizabeth’s? I didn’t think so. Fine then, the coffee shop on 6th Street and Vine Avenue. We’ll see you there in thirty-five minutes.”

  I bit my knuckle, desperate to hold in the laughter until Miles was off the phone.

  He smiled, ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket, then pressed the elevator button as my pent up laughter burst forth.

  The doors opened and Miles guided me inside. I laughed all the way to our floor.

  “You’re a tough negotiator, Mr. Bannerman,” I smiled, as the elevator swished open once we reached the top.

  “Thank you, dear,” he smiled back, as he unlocked our door and I laughed again.

  Miles grabbed our coats out of the closet and we said a quick hello and goodbye to our pets, then we were on our way.

  “Need anything from the apartment while we’re in town?” Miles asked as he drove. Reaching the base of the mountain, we entered the Glen Haven city limits.

  “Not that I can think of,” I said.

  “Then we won’t bother stopping by today,” said Miles. “Early next week we will though, so we can check on the progress of our apartment’s garage.”

  “I’ll probably think of something I need by then,” I said.

  Miles wove through traffic, and parked in the conveniently available space in front of the coffee shop. He opened my door and helped me out, and we went inside.