AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As the sun set on San Jacinto Peak, Gia shielded her eyes and rapped on Jennifer’s front door. Nothing.
A second attempt—louder—brought the caftan-wearing resident to her door.
“Hi, dear! Haven’t seen you in a while—I was beginning to wonder if you’d moved, but your car has been here—”
“Hi,” Gia stuffed her hands in her work khakis. “Yeah, I went to see my mom for Christmas and have been working a bunch to make up for it. Have time to chat?”
“I always have time for you.” Jennifer opened the door wider.
As Gia sunk into the sleek couch, a calico paw darted out from under, then disappeared. Then, again.
“He wants to play! Hasn’t been outside lately and he’s bored. But I can’t have him running up that tree just any old time, especially if his fetcher isn’t available.”
“I’m sorry, buddy,” Gia cooed and wiggled a feather toy she’d found on the cushion next to her. The calico paw became a calico leg, and Galileo emerged, his purrs reaching top volume.
“How was your Christmas?” Jennifer set a serving tray with a teapot, two floral patterned mugs, and what looked like homemade chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table and sat next to her guest. “Tea?”
Was she always prepared to serve tea? Gia would’ve spent 20 minutes putting the tea together, not to mention cookies.
“It was surprisingly good. My mom has a house now, and a new boyfriend, and seems to have her life together, which is a relief. I didn’t know what I was walking into, but it turned out fine. Better than fine, for a change. How about you?”
“That sounds lovely. I watched ‘Casablanca’—as I do every Christmas—and made myself a New York steak with mashed potatoes. I’m too tired to mess with all that turkey and stuffing nonsense. I called a few friends and then settled in early. A fine holiday, if you ask me. Your card was nice. Thank you.”
Gia’s heart hurt when Jennifer told about her holiday. Here was such a sweet woman, and she’d been alone on a day meant for family. She’d brushed it off, but still. “I wish I’d asked sooner—I could’ve stayed here.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, child. I’ve been spending the holidays alone for years. Doesn’t bother me. It’s just a day of commercialism and overeating—I don’t need either of those things! Gene used to make a huge production around Hannukah, but I’m not particularly religious, so I didn’t keep it up. What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be out celebrating another year?”
“Not at all. I’m done with all that shit—it’s not my scene anymore. I’m in for the evening, and I wanted to come talk to you.” Gia cleared her throat. “I have something I need to tell you, but I’m not totally sure how to do it, or if you would want to know.”
As if on cue, Galileo pounced into her lap, stealing Gia’s wind and making Jennifer laugh.
“I can’t imagine anything you’d tell me that would surprise me, dear. I’ve seen it all, and I’ve heard it all, too. A curse of a long life, I guess—the mystery disappears at a certain point.” Jennifer sipped her tea with a raised pinky. So elegant.
“Okay.” Gia exhaled until all the air had left her lungs, and the cat left her lap.
“Cat got your tongue?” Jennifer laughed again. It was both à propos and helped break the ice.
“Good one! Well, I guess I’ll just say it.” Another pause. “When I left here after Thanksgiving, I got really curious about Emily.”
“MyEmily?”
“Yeah, Emily Lorraine Mitchell. I wondered if she was still alive, and maybe in the area? Or if she’d passed and I could learn more about her from an obituary. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for at first—but I got my friend Derrick to help me, and—”
“And?” Jennifer put her mug down.
“And—there were a few false starts; a few wrong turns, but—we found her.”
“You—” Jennifer closed her eyes. The crepe-like skin that covered them was painted with shimmery light blue eyeshadow; eyebrows penciled on in chestnut. Never mind that her hair was silver. “You foundher? You foundmyEmily?”
“Yes. A couple weeks ago. But I wasn’t sure if you’d want to know, or you’d be mad I went digging or who knows what. It was kind of a game until it wasn’t. Until we found her.”
“And you’ve talked to her?”
“I have.” Gia nodded.
“And you told her about me?”
“I did.”
