I picked myself up off the floor and wrapped a bathrobe around my shoulders for extra warmth. I then drug myself back to my room, and proceeded to pull myself together. I laid out the warmest outfit I had, which still wasn’t much, as I hadn’t bought a real coat yet. My light jackets a sweaters were meant for California, not the North East. I decided on a pink turtleneck and a pair of light-wash skinny jeans.
My hair was still a bit messy, but I didn’t care. After a quick touchup with mascara and a little blush to mask the drained look on my face, I threw on the outfit and I went downstairs to join everyone for breakfast. Margaret and John were already seated, and there was a pile of pancakes on a serving plate sitting in between them.
“Good morning,” I said, trying to manage a smile. I could hear my voice crack.
“Good morning,” Margaret said sweetly, “I made pancakes for breakfast. I think I made too many for us, but I wanted to practice making bigger meals since we will be getting new guests in a week.”
“It looks wonderful, thank you”
“What are you up to today?” she asked.
I took a pancake from the pile, placing it on the plate in front of me, and smothering it in warmed syrup, “I think I am just going to take a taxi up to Greentown. I need some fresh air.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she smiled.
John was silent, sipping his coffee and staring off into space. But he offered me a reassuring wink over his cup when he snapped out of it. I wondered what was on his mind.
“John, what are you doing today? Are you going with Emily?” Margaret asked, covering her own plate in pancakes and smothering them with butter.
“No,” he replied, sitting back in his seat, “I’ll just be doing a little bit of this and that. I was going to go through the cellar today and see if we have any decent Thanksgiving decorations. I still need to finish putting the rest of the Halloween decorations away.”
At first I was looking forward to a day by myself. I really needed some headspace to get myself together before having coffee with Sarah. But then I thought of myself alone on the trails in Greentown, and Hector’s words rang in my mind…I will find you.
“Actually,” I said, “I would love for you to come with me, John.”
Margaret giggled.
“Alright,” he smiled, taking another sip of coffee, “I do need to put the decorations away, though. Would you mind if I finished that before we go?”
“Take your time,” I said, relaxing into my chair.
The drive to Greentown was always breathtaking. It was only about 20 minutes away from Maple Creek, but the entire drive was completely made of rolling hills, winding roads, and towering trees. The town itself was extremely small, with only one main road and a few smaller roads leading off of it into residential neighborhoods.
In the center of the town was a small white church with a high-reaching steeple. It was the original church built in the town when it was first settled, and aside from a few updates, it was still in its original form.
Most of the houses were older as well, with many Victorian-style homes built in between the trees, which were mixed in with a few smaller cottages, most of which were well-kept. The cozy homes mixed with the bright fall leaves made the quiet town look more like an oil painting than a real-life place.
“Greentown was always my favorite place to visit this season,” I sighed, looking out the car window as we turned down the main street of the town.
“It’s very peaceful,” John said.
John pulled the car into a parking spot on the main stretch. The street was lined on both sides with brick buildings that contained small-businesses like clothing stores and flower shops. We got out of the car and started walking around aimlessly.
“Let’s take a look in here,” John said, pointing into one of the girly-looking clothes shops.
“Um, okay?”
He walked in a straight line to the back and immediately started rustling through one of the racks.
“See something you like?” I asked.
“I see something you’d like,” he smirked, pulling a hanger off the rack. It was a bright red cold-weather coat with black fur lining on the inside. “You still need a coat.”
“I love it! Great idea,” I smiled, taking it from him and trying it on. It fit perfectly.
After I checked out with my coat, John and I continued our stroll. We bought a bouquet of daisies for Margaret and stopped at a small booth that was selling fresh apple cider. It was hot and spicy, and it helped fight the chilly air of the season. After we had passed all the shops in town, we took a turn down one of the residential streets and admired the beautiful little houses.
“Emily?” John asked.
“Yes?”
“I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve been wanting to ask you…You showed up here with bruises and are going to be here for a few months…and you only use cash everywhere. Is there anything I can do for you?”
I felt my body tighten up at his questions, but after a pause, I decided to answer, “Thanks, John. I’m alright. I’ve been avoiding talking about it because it’s just so painful, and I haven’t really wrapped my head around it yet, myself. I was…I mean, am…married to Hector Jacobson. I’ve been saving up money for a year to leave him because I was tired of being scared all the time. We had one of our usual fights, and the next morning when he went into work early, I simply packed my bags and left.”
John stopped, looking away for a moment. The house we had stopped in front of was a small stone and white wood cottage with a fenced in garden which was full of overgrown rose bushes. Beside the mailbox read a sign that said “For Sale.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at me with a sense of sincere concern.
“I’m alright, or at least, I will be. It doesn’t hurt as much as I expected. It’s just strange. I haven’t been alone in years.”
“You aren’t alone,” he said, giving me a nudge. After a pause his tone lightened up again, “This would be a nice place to settle down, huh?” He pointed to the house.
“It looks like a fairytale. But I don’t have a job right now, and I don’t know if I could afford it.”
John shrugged, “Well if fairytales teach us anything, it’s that anything can happen.”
I couldn’t help but smile, “I almost forgot, what time is it?”
“It’s just past noon,” he said, checking the time on his phone, “Why, do we need to be back at a certain time for one of your art classes or something?”
“Kind of,” I said, putting my hands in my coat pockets.
“Oh?”
“I’m having coffee with Sarah tonight,” I shrugged.
A strange sort of smile spread across his face and I couldn’t quite place his reaction, “Well then, I will be sure to have us back in time for that. Sarah really is a great person. She is so…”
“Beautiful,” I finished his sentence.
He nodded, “Beautiful.”
After another hour or so of wandering and joking about our old schools and memories, we got back in the car and headed back to the B&B. I couldn’t stop the butterflies the whole ride back. I hadn’t been that excited for something in a long while. But it was just a cup of coffee, or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
Chapter 11
I considered touching up my makeup a little before heading out to meet Sarah, but I decided against it. I felt ridiculous after the thought crossed my mind. She would have been coming from work, and what kind of woman would get dolled up to have coffee with another woman?
I left about half an hour before our meeting time, just to be sure I wouldn’t be late since I decided to walk. It was just a little too close to the B&B to get a ride. I arrived early, and she still wasn’t there so I took a seat at one of the tiny round tables in the corner of the café.
There were about a dozen similar tables for two all crammed into a room that really should have only been able to comfortably fit about ha
lf of them. The theme was a mix between ‘brown’ and ‘randomly placed potted plants.’ There were large ferns by the door, hanging plants in the corners of the room, and a baby cactus by the register. The tables and chairs were all brown, and the clock on the wall behind the cash register was in the shape of a white coffee cup.
Sarah walked into the coffee shop a few minutes later with all the grace of a small-town Audrey Hepburn. Her dark curls were wrapped in a loose bun atop her head, and she wore a casual black coat over a pair of gray slacks and an artistic floral scarf. She wore barely any makeup, but she didn’t even need the little bit she had on. She glowed.
Upon seeing me she waved and weaved through the jungle of chairs, dropping her purse from her shoulder and taking the seat across from me.
“Hey, Emily! Nice coat, I love it,” she grinned.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Have you ordered anything yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, is it cliché if I say I’m probably getting a pumpkin spice latte?” she giggled.
“Not at all. I love those, too,” I smiled back.
“Great! I’ll grab us two.”
“Oh, you don’t have to pay for mine.”
“I want to,” she said with a wink.
I felt a flutter in my chest. She walked over to order our drinks and I took a deep breath, looking down at my lap. I tried to gather my thoughts, but before I could she was sitting down in front of me again with a little plastic number 14 that she sat on the edge of the table.
“So, what brought you back to Maple Creek?” she asked, her wide smile still lighting up her face.
“Oh,” I paused, tucking my hair behind my ear, “I grew up here, actually. But I had been living out in California for the last few years. I guess I missed it.”
“Maybe you could show me a few things then,” she said, “I only moved here about three years ago.”
“I’d like that,” I responded, and I could feel a blush lighting up my cheeks, “So what brought you here, then?”
“Well, I’m actually from an even smaller town than this, believe it or not. It’s called Oaktonville. It’s about an hour north of here. Anyway, I went to school to be a kindergarten teacher like I always dreamed of, and I was convinced I was going to teach at the elementary school in Oaktonville. But my family and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, and when I was looking at job postings in the area, I saw this one available. I needed a breath of fresh air, and this was it.”
“I can understand that.”
One of the baristas nudged his way past the chairs with our coffees and placed them on the table, taking our number without a word, and returned to the register. His expression was blank, and ironically he seemed like he could use a cup of coffee.
Sarah cupped her coffee in both hands, inhaling deeply, “Mmm, yummy.”
She was so cute. There was a silence while we each took a few scalding hot sips of our drinks. I set my coffee down, looking up and catching her eye. She smiled with a sigh, and my cheeks turned warmer than my latte.
“Um,” I started, clearing my throat, “So what got you into teaching art to adults if your passion is kindergarten?”
“It’s always been a hobby of mine and I needed extra money,” she shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee.
A bit of foam escaped the lid of her cup and gave her a little mustache of bubbles. She licked it off slowly from her soft pink lips, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she would taste like pumpkin spice. I shook my head, going back to focusing on my own coffee. I felt crazy. I had never thought like that about another girl, and I had to hook my ankles around the legs of my chair to stop myself from springing up from my seat and bolting out the door.
“And speaking of art, you are a great artist,” she said.
“Thanks. I used to do it daily, but it just sort of faded away from my life over time. I was excited when I saw the flier for your class. I’ve been wanting to get back into it.”
“Well, I’m so very glad you came.”
I could feel the butterflies returning to my stomach, and I suddenly found myself standing up from my seat.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Oh, um, yes. I just have…a headache. My head is starting to hurt. I think I better go home and lay down before it gets too bad.”
Her smile dropped and I felt my heart sink, too.
“Do you need a ride or anything?” she asked.
“That’s okay. The fresh air will do me some good,” I said starting to make a bee line for the door with my coffee in hand. As I my hand touched the handle I looked back with the biggest smile I could muster, “Sarah?”
She spun around in her chair, “Yes?”
“I had a wonderful time. I’ll see you at art class in a few days. Thank you so much for the coffee.”
Her smile returned, “I look forward to it. Anytime, Emily. I hope we can do this again sometime.”
I nodded and walked out the door, my gaze up towards the moon that was already showing up in the sky. It was a beautiful evening, and I knew I wouldn’t be getting much sleep. I had a lot to think about.
Chapter 12
I spent the few days between the coffee meeting with Sarah and the next art class lying in bed and searching my thoughts for the answers on what to do next. I even considered praying to God a few times, decided against it. I wasn’t fully sure what exactly it was that I was trying to figure out.
Was I having some weird mental breakdown because of the stress I was under? Was I a lesbian, or a bisexual, or whatever I would have been called? Or perhaps I was thinking about it all wrong, and I did just want to be friends with her, and my brain was simply admiring her beauty and her friendship.
I stared up at the blank white ceiling while memories flashed in front of my eyes like movie scenes being projected on the white sheet of a drive-in movie theater. I saw Hector, raising his hand to me for the first time. I saw myself crying on the bathroom floor with a knife in my hand. I saw myself forcing a smile to our coworkers when they gushed over what a lovely couple we were at the company parties. But clearer than all the other images, I also saw myself boarding that plane.
I had left my old life of pain in search of one filled with hope and happiness. And although it hadn’t been with the vision of finding someone to love, I knew one thing for certain: Sarah made me happy. Just the thought of her smile lifted a weight from my chest and I melted into the bed. I didn’t know if she felt the same, but I knew I had to at least try. I wasn’t attracted to Sarah because she was a woman, but because she made me feel more like a woman.
I threw the covers off of myself, finally feeling energized again at the thought of the art class that evening. I picked out a black V-neck sweater and a pair of jeans. I even threw on a tiny pair of diamond earrings. I practically flew down the steps to join Margaret and John for dinner before class. I was starving.
“It’s alive!” John chuckled over a sandwich.
“Oh, good. I was getting worried. You were so quiet all weekend, Emily. Would you like a sandwich as well?” Margaret asked.
“Yes, please,” I answered, taking a seat across from John. Margaret disappeared into the kitchen.
“You are looking chipper today,” John commented, raising an eyebrow.
“Art class tonight,” I shrugged.
“Oooh,” John winked.
“Iced tea?” Margaret asked bringing in a thick, neat sandwich on a paper plate and setting down an empty glass.
“Sounds good,” I answered. She hurried back into the kitchen and came out with a pitcher, filling my cup.
“Now,” she started, taking a seat beside me, “John was telling me you might have plans to move back here permanently?”
“Yes, it’s one of the decisions I am working on making over the next few months. Also, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, Miss Margaret.”
“Don’t worry about it, dear. I only saw you once at a school function. But it was John that
actually reminded me who you were, and that you had grown up together. Now, onto you moving here. Have you thought about where you might want to work?”
“I’m not really sure. My only real experience is as a secretary, but with this being a small town, I’m not sure how many positions like that would be available,” I said, taking a sip of my tea.
“Well, I’ll keep on the lookout for you then. We would love to have you stay here in town. You have been a blessing for John. He hasn’t smiled this much in a while. He has really needed a friend,” she said, standing and going back into the kitchen.
“And what are you doing today, John?” I asked.
“Oh, just fixing this and that. Getting everything ready for the new people. And, speaking of things that will be happening soon, I am going to a play at the school next week. Would you like to go?”
“Sure, sounds like fun.”
He nodded and went back to finishing his sandwich. The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. I did some laundry, picked up my room, and tried to keep busy until it was time to go. I made sure to leave a few minutes early so that I could walk around the block to ease my nerves on the way to class.
The class had the same students as the last one did. And this time, I had brought some paper and pencils of my own. Not even a minute after I took my seat, Sarah burst through the door to the gym. She had a bulky black duffle bag slung over her shoulder and the thick curls of her hair were pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her mascara was a bit smudged and she was panting a bit as if she had literally run to class.
“Hey guys!” she huffed, “Sorry I’m a bit later than usual. But I have a really cool surprise for you today. I know we always do drawing and painting, but I brought some supplies today so we can shake things up a bit. We are going to try sculpting! Specifically, we are each going to sculpt a tree.”
“A big tree?” one of the older ladies asked, squinting at Sarah through her purple glasses.
“No,” laughed Sarah, “A small tree. I’ve brought pieces of cardboard to build them on, some wire and popsicle sticks for support, and polymer clay to build them.” She unpacked each of the items onto the table as she explained, “Oh, and here is a bag of bright fall leaves. I picked them up from outside. I thought it would add a nice natural touch if our trees had seasonal leaves on them.”
Maple Creek Page 4
