This may be the biggest mistake of my life, but at least I was making it.
MAY 20 / 7:03 AM
Ophelia Finlay
THE COOL SPRING mornings were now gone. I missed those. Sitting outside with my coffee enjoying the sounds of the day was so peaceful. Now, the heat was back and nothing about sitting outside with early morning mosquitos and humidity was fun. Frowning, I stood at the large windows of the flat I lived in over the dance studio owned by my best friend, Lila Kate Kerrington. The parking lot was empty now, but in a couple of hours, it would be a busy Monday. The silence of living alone would have been hard to adjust to after Lila Kate had married and officially moved out six months ago, but the truth was she’d been sleeping at the house Cruz Kerrington had bought them for the most part anyway.
I didn’t mind the solitude. I was thankful Lila Kate had agreed to let me lease the place on my own. I loved the location and I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I hadn’t gone back to college after my break. The fact I was turning twenty-two in a few months made that a little stressful if I thought about it too much. Instead I pretended like working at the dance studio was exactly what I wanted to do. I liked my job well enough. I got to work for Lila Kate and that was always fun. Maybe answering the phones, updating the website, stocking the dance store, and handling the class schedules wasn’t an ideal forever career for me but it worked for now.
Besides, it wasn’t like I had a dream to chase. Even as I thought it, the corners of my mouth sank. Why did that bother me so badly? Not having a dream. I should be glad I wasn’t chasing something. Fighting daily to achieve some out of reach goal. I was content.
I drank down the last of my coffee in one big gulp and ignored the knot in my chest that didn’t agree with me. It was an annoying little knot. Always creeping up when I didn’t want it around. Life was good here. No need for me to get restless.
My phone rang and for once I was thankful for the distraction of a call. Normally I stared at it in horror until it ended. My voice mail message would tell them to text me. Which was my preferred communication. I had to answer the calls in the studio all day. I didn’t want to do it in my personal life too.
My sister-in-law’s name appeared on the screen. Bliss was one of the few people who rarely attempted to call me. She knew I liked to text and always did that instead of calling. Not to mention it was early. Snatching the phone up immediately concerned, I quickly said, “Bliss, hey, everything okay?”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded amused. I instantly relaxed. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry. I’m just driving and couldn’t text. I knew you’d be awake getting ready for work, so I figured calling was safe,” she explained.
“Of course. What’s up?” I replied.
“I wanted to see if you were busy this weekend. The house is finally finished with the renovations and the new and improved pool is complete. Anyway, we were going to have a party to celebrate originally, but the Hardys received some bad news last week. Eli’s grandmother is undergoing surgery this weekend and we decided to have everyone over Friday night as more of a support of friends. Everyone needs something to get their mind off of it all. We would love to have you here, to see the house and us.”
Sea Breeze, Alabama was only a two-hour drive away, but I hadn’t been to visit my brother and his wife there in months. They’d been here to visit several times and I’d not found a reason to go back. I had been back only once since their wedding last summer. It was time to visit and getting out of my routine here would do me some good. Maybe the restlessness I had begun to battle lately would ease if I took a little short trip.
I told her, “I’ll be there.”
“Wonderful! I can’t wait to see you. Come whenever you can get away. I’ll have the guestroom overlooking the gulf ready for you.”
“I’ll talk to Lila Kate. We normally don’t have late Friday classes. She does some private classes, but I’m not needed in the afternoon for long. I should be able to leave here by three Friday at the latest,” I told her.
“I can’t wait to see you. If you hear from Phoenix, tell her I’m trying to get in touch with her too. But her phone number is saying it’s not working . . .” Bliss trailed off as if she wasn’t sure if she’d said the right thing or not. My younger sister was a hellion and getting worse with each year. I hadn’t heard from her in three weeks since she showed up here drunk and needed to sleep it off before going to see our parents the next day. How she hadn’t flunked out of college yet, I had no idea. But the phone thing was odd.