10
Audrey poureda glass of merlot as Frank walked along the edge of the kitchen island and sniffed the air, his tail flicking with each step he took.
“Hello there, old man.” Audrey reached out and ran her hand along his back as a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She’d adopted Frank, short for Frank Sinatra who was another one of her mom’s favorites, and had given the black and white tuxedo cat the name because of his bright blue eyes that rivaled the late crooner who was known for his baby blues. She’d also adopted a mini ragdoll cat, who she named Lucille after Liza Minnelli’s character Lucille Austero who suffered from chronic vertigo or what she called “the dizzies” on Arrested Development.
When she adopted the cats, she was sure that Lucy was going to be the princess or the diva of the duo, but boy oh boy, was she wrong. Frank was whatever the male version of a diva was. A divo?
Both cats had special needs. Frank was diabetic and Lucy was diagnosed with cerebellar hypoplasia, or wobbly cat syndrome, which was the reason she’d named her after the character on one of her favorite shows.
She’d had the cats for nearly seven years now and Lucy ended up being the sweetest most loving appreciative cat Audrey had ever known. She always greeted Audrey at the door. When she called Lucy, she came right to her. She snuggled on command and had a lot more dog-like characteristics than feline.
Frank was the opposite. He only graced Audrey with his presence on his terms. He would only eat his food if she warmed it up for him, otherwise he’d go on a hunger strike. Every night she had to fluff his blanket and lay it out over the end of the bed, or he wouldn’t settle down and go to sleep. And she’d gone through about a dozen different types of cat litter before Frank deemed one worthy enough that he’d relieve himself in it.
They say that rescues are supposed to be grateful because they somehow know that you saved them, but Frank acted as if he was doing her a favor by allowing her to serve him. Which she found ridiculously adorable.
She grabbed her wine glass and lowered onto her overstuffed couch. Her butt hadn’t even hit the cushion before Lucy was beside her. She gave her little girl some love and was reaching for the remote when she got a text from Viv.
Viv: Heading over to the new yoga studio. They are opening on February 1st and they want to offer a special for singles week. The owner offered a demo class but it’s AcroYoga and I need a partner, can you come?
Viv added about ten prayer hand emojis to the end of the text.
Audrey sighed. She’d been looking forward to relaxing and having her glass of wine all day. She was exhausted because the last few nights she’d spent tossing and turning thanks to her embarrassing confession. She hadn’t seen Josh since. He hadn’t come in for his usual coffee and chocolate croissants since the night they’d dined in the dark.
She was also about to start her period, which she was sure was adding to her emotions about Josh being MIA and was having cramps. The last thing she wanted to was to be bent into a pretzel so she messaged her back that she was tired.
Audrey: I’m really tired.
She’d barely sent the text when she heard a horn outside at the same time her phone vibrated with another message from Viv.
Viv: I’m really outside. Let’s go!
Audrey knew that resistance was futile. Her sister wasn’t going to let this go. And maybe a class would be good for Audrey. Maybe it would clear her head. And who knew, maybe it would actually help her cramps.
Audrey: Be out in 5
Audrey bent down and kissed Lucy on the top of her head before heading into her room and grabbing a pair of yoga pants she’d inherited from Viv who got them off some TikTok ad. They were supposed to make your rear look great, but Audrey just liked them because they were a pretty pink color. She pulled on a sports bra, and a loose-fitting tank top. She threw on a sweatshirt, puffer jacket, two pairs of socks and Ugg boots. Layers were the key to living in Hope Falls. She’d learned that lesson the first winter she’d spent here. She’d bundle up to go somewhere, but then be so hot once she got inside.
She was out the door in less than five minutes and when she got into Viv’s Jeep she noticed that the back seat was filled with boxes. She didn’t remember having any big shipments for Brewed coming in. And even if they had, she wasn’t sure why they’d be in Viv’s backseat.
“What’s all this?”
Viv’s face lit up. “It’s singles week swag, baby!”
Viv reached behind her and pulled open a box and then grabbed a shirt and sweats and handed it to Audrey. She held them up and saw that on the front of the shirt was a tiny cupid with an arrow and on the back the words Hope Falls Effect. And on the sweats, along the leg were the letters HFE and a tiny cupid.
Audrey was impressed. “These are so cute!”
“Look at the back of the shirt!” Viv instructed excitedly.
She turned it around and saw that in the center of the back of the shirt she’d put her sister Ava’s definition of the Hope Falls Effect in tiny writing similar to how tour dates are listed on a band T-shirt.
HOPE FALLS EFFECT
Hope Falls:
noun (place)