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Chapter Nine
The next morning, whenElise awoke, she was reminded of long-ago breakups, days when her heart had been kicked so hard in the metaphorical shin that she had to remain in bed for hours-on-end, watching television and eating ice cream.“You’re allowed to grovel,” her mother had told her. “As long as you never allow yourself to grovel for too long. No man is worth that.”
Rhonda came to check on her around one-thirty. Through the crack in the door, she said, “I haven’t even seen a hair of you, and I was worried. Are you hiding out? You normally get up early, walk the island, even in the cold, wind and rain.”
Elise laughed sadly and dragged a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not up for it today, I guess.”
Rhonda shifted her weight anxiously. “I wonder. Did something happen with that handsome gentleman last night?”
Just a small island woman hunting for a bit of gossip.
I won’t give it to her.
“He’s just a friend from LA,” Elise offered. “I imagine he’s long gone, back to the mainland.”
“Oh, dear. Such a long way for such a short trip. Anyway. I got a bit bored this morning, hunted through my freezer, and found the frozen zucchini from my garden. I baked you up this loaf of zucchini bread. I know you like to eat on the healthy side, but...”
It’s perfect “feel bad for yourself” food.
“That’s so sweet of you,” Elise said. Unfortunately, tears sprung to her eyes as she accepted the gift, along with a little tub of butter and a knife. “You’re way too kind to me, Rhonda. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Rhonda beamed as she turned back and shuffled down the stairs. Elise clipped the door shut, removed the still-slightly-warm zucchini bread from the foil, and sliced herself off a piece. After she added the slightest slab of butter, she took a delicate bite, closing her eyes at the moist interior, the simmering spices and sugars and savored the taste in her mouth.
“Well. Back to bed,” Elise said then.
But for some reason—maybe because of that hope and love behind Rhonda’s eyes, Elise didn’t return beneath her sheets. She instead burrowed herself into her screenplay again, deciding to shrug off the memory of Matt and Wayne and Sean and focus on her one, true goal: to sell a screenplay again and to watch her vision come to life on the big screen.
It was the most delicious feeling in the world.
That afternoon, Tracey texted about a DNA test appointment off the island.
TRACEY: We girls could go together tomorrow morning. Make a day of it. I need to get off this rock anyway. Even if you aren’t my sister, you would be doing me a favor. ; )
Elise laughed at that. It was true, wasn’t it? Even if she wasn’t related to Tracey, or to Cindy, she was so grateful for the sister-like comradery. She’d had enough of men, at least for the time being.
Tracey and Cindy waited for Elise in the Bloomingfeld foyer the following morning, just after ten. Both sisters were dressed immaculately: Tracey in a gorgeous taupe raincoat that swept to her knees, and Cindy in a black peacoat that made her look just as classy as any woman from New York. Their makeup was on-point, and their hair very nearly put Elise’s to shame.
“Look at you,” Tracey breathed as Elise approached. “I told Cindy. Our California sister has style, grace and what was the other thing?”
Cindy rolled her eyes and swatted a hand at her sister. “Don’t mind her. She’s decided she’s obsessed with you.”
Elise laughed. “I appreciate the sentiment. In all honesty, I was just thinking about how great you two look and worried I wasn’t up to snuff.”
Tracey snapped her fingers. “On-screen capability,” she said. “That’s the other thing. You’re always writing the stories behind the scenes. But you should be up front and center.”
“No way. That was my mother’s thing, and now it’s my daughter’s. It managed to skip a generation.”
“Well, it didn’t hit any of us. I guess we don’t have those genes,” Cindy said.
“We have enough drama without the script,” Tracey said. “Let’s get off this island.”
Unbelievably, it was now October 1st. Outside, a drizzle fizzled out across Main Street and peppered across their umbrellas.
“Do you want to stop to see Wayne and Michael?” Tracey asked both of them as they neared The Grind. “I’m sure business is slow, what with the season and the weather.”
“No.” Elise said it much too quickly.
Both sisters gave her an incredulous look.
