Chapter 2
2222 Words
two
CALISTA
October Present Day
My heart races and sweat drips down my temple even with the chilly air that arrived in our small Alaskan town this morning. The path around the lake isn’t as busy as it usually is, which I’m grateful for because today is not a day I can field nosy townspeople’s questions about the wedding of the decade that’s happening in only three weeks. Everyone is abuzz about my best friend Aubrey’s wedding to the hot young lawyer who grew up in the neighboring town of Sunrise Bay.
As I move from a jog to a walk to head back to town, I spot my old soccer coach, Uncle Jamie. I try to turn around quickly to do another lap to avoid him. Besides, it’ll help with all this anxiety I have about Rylan returning to town.
We have a big family. Now that all the original nine Bailey kids have married and have their own children, I can’t walk through the town square without running into at least one of us.
“Calista!” Uncle Jamie shouts with his Scottish accent and waves before I can sneak away.
I take out my earbuds. “Hey, Uncle Jamie.”
He goes in for a hug, but I wave him away since I’m so sweaty. “How’s the knee holding up?”
I shrug.
“Do you want me to grovel?” He doesn’t bother with chitchat, but if he did, I’d be more suspicious.
Uncle Jamie’s new quest is to persuade me to coach soccer at the sports complex he co- owns. He wants the girls to have a female coach and thinks I can help them develop their skills and give insight on what it’s like to be a female athlete. It shouldn’t be any different than being a male athlete, but no one’s naive enough to believe that. Take Rylan and me for instance. We trained together since we were six and our paths went two very different directions with two very different opportunities.
“I told you, I just don’t have the time.”
He holds out a box of Sweet Suga Things donuts. “Here. Last box.”
“Aunt Sedona will kill you if you give it to me.”
He chuckles. “Probably. But it’s worth it. There’s no one in the area even close to as qualified as you are.”
I blow out a breath. “I’ll tell you what. Let me get through this wedding and then we’ll talk, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“Man, after everything I’ve done for you.” He winks and opens the box.
Damn, they look delicious. I shake my head. “Nope. I have a bridesmaid dress to fit in.”
“And a lad to show what he’s missing?” He arches a dark eyebrow.
I think Uncle Jamie feels comfortable talking to me about my issues with Rylan because he’s been entwined in our story from the beginning.
“Those days are over.”
He looks at me with kindness I want to scratch off his face like a feral cat. “We both know the two of you will never be finished business. Even if…” He shakes his head. “I look forward to you letting me know after the wedding.” He opens the donut box again. “Take one.”
“Nope. I need to work on my willpower. I’m going to jog another lap.”
“Yer gonna give yerself a stress fracture.”
“I’m good. Promise. See you later, Uncle Jamie.”
I jog away, knowing my uncle means well, but I haven’t kicked a soccer ball in almost three years and my life is perfectly fine. Sure, it hurt like hell when I figured out that the game I’ve loved all my life gave me the middle finger, but finding my backup career was hard enough. Yeah, I went to school for accounting, but I never thought I’d use it. I intended to play soccer until I retired. But life didn’t go that way.
I slow my pace and wonder if I should just start running in nearby Winterberry Falls where no one really knows who I am. It’s a newer town in the midst of modernizing from a fishing and hunting town, rebranding to bring in younger people. At least that’s what Buzz Wheel said when they reported about it.
I’m finishing my run, still worrying about having to face Rylan in only two days, when I spot a pair of women waving in my direction. Upon closer inspection, I recognize them as the grandma gang—Jean and Alice from Northern Lights Retirement Center.
I’m not in the mood for them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re sweet ladies. Alice is Aubrey’s grandmother and still dyes her hair red in an effort to make herself look younger, whereas Jean is full-on gray, but the darker gray. But even though I don’t feel like dealing with whatever they’re bringing to my doorstep, I promised my great-grandma Dori that I’d visit them once she was “dancing in heaven with my great-grandpa.”
It was hard for the whole family the day she passed. Of course, she made it to one hundred years and one day old—she was adamant that she’d be over one hundred years old when she went.
Everyone was upset, but Uncle Kingston reminded us all of a conversation he’d had with her at her ninetieth birthday party. She said that whenever it was her time to go, it was okay, because she’d had a good long life full of love and was ready to spend eternity with my great- grandpa.
My family The Baileys had a big celebration of her life, and it was as if a queen had died. But I guess in a way, one did, because Great-Grandma Dori was like the queen of Lake Starlight. My family went into overdrive donating to the city on her behalf, so you can’t go anywhere without coming across a plaque that says the item was donated by her and my great-grandpa.
When I reach Alice and Jean, you’d think they were the ones who ran five miles from how out of breath they are.
“Oh, thank goodness we found you,” Alice says, her age-spotted hand holding out an envelope. “We’d been waiting by your apartment, then went over to get a donut at Greta’s and got sidetracked because she was out. By that time—”
“For Pete’s sake, just give it to the girl.” Jean takes the envelope out of Alice’s hand and shoves it into mine.
There’s some weight to it, so it’s not just a letter. I look at it. “Is this something for Aubrey? The wedding?”
They exchange a look.
“Just read the note and follow the instructions. You’ll get more answers tomorrow,” Alice says.
Then they hightail it, fast walking back to the streets of Lake Starlight—or as fast as women their age can walk.
I stare at the envelope. It has my name written on the front. I walk over to a bench that has a dedication to my grandparents on it, sit down, and slide my finger under the flap to open the envelope. The heaviness I felt inside is a key. There’s a small notecard-sized letter with it. I’m pretty sure it was typed on a typewriter, or at the very least is in the font of a typewriter.
I hold up the card to inspect it further. I’d bet money it’s from an actual typewriter.
Tomorrow 9am
27 Cottagewood Dr.
Lake Starlight, Alaska
Cryptic much? If I weren’t fairly sure the grandma gang was trained by Rylan’s Grandma Ethel and my Great-Grandma Dori before they died, I’d be worried I was going to be murdered.
Shoving the key and the note into the side pocket of my workout leggings, I walk through town. Instead of heading to my apartment, I go to my dad’s restaurant, knowing he’s open for lunch and will be there.
I walk in the door off the back alley and smile when I see Dad at the cutting board, chopping away while the television above is lit up with a soccer game. The man was all baseball and still is, but my playing made him a soccer fan, which always means he has to choose what to watch in October, baseball or soccer playoffs.
“Hey, Dad.”
He drops the knife, scurrying to find the remote. I rise up on my toes and kiss his cheek. I notice the gray around his temples is more prominent these days as I’m pulling away.
He grabs the remote, but I put my hand on his. “Leave it. It’s okay.”
Rylan plays for Chicago, but they were kicked out of the playoffs the first week, which is why he’s now going to be here three weeks before the wedding instead of two days before. I had hoped he’d pop in and out of town like he did for his grandma Ethel’s funeral last year when he never even spent the night.
“Are you sure?” my dad asks, looking concerned.
“It’s exciting, no? The underdog Charlotte is still up there, but Chicago lost first round.” I shake my head and prop myself up on his counter.
He goes back to chopping onions, not one tear streaming down his face. Must be years of conditioning. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought Chicago was a shoo-in, but they didn’t seem on their game. No one was really commanding them on the field.”
What he means is that Rylan wasn’t commanding them. He’s the center midfield and he was really off his game the other night.
“Yeah. I wonder what could’ve thrown him off. I mean, the man played the day after his grandma died and scored the most goals and assists in one game in the history of the team.”
My dad shrugs. He likes me to think he doesn’t care about Rylan, that after we broke up, Rylan was put on his s**t list, but we both know that’s not true.
He puts the onions in a dish and starts on the peppers. I jump down to join him, heading to the sink to wash my hands. After I’ve put on my apron, I take a few of the peppers and grab a cutting board and knife. I can’t cut as fast as my dad, but any help is help.
We work quietly for a minute, my mind wandering before I ask, “When Great-Grandma Dori arranged for you and Mom to get together, what did she do?”
He momentarily stops cutting and I regret asking because talking about my great-grandma always brings a tinge of sadness to the room. I’m about to tell him to forget my question when he starts chopping again.
“Don’t go thinking I didn’t fall in love with your mom the minute she arrived in town with you.” He winks, and I roll my eyes.
I’m the product of a one-night stand. My mom had to track down my dad when I was eighteen months old. They were strangers to one another, but they fell in love. It’s like a one-in- a-million story, considering they lived happily ever after.
“I know. The minute she set foot in the restaurant, you knew.”
He points his knife. “Exactly. But G’Ma D just… she had this sly way of making sure you never tripped over your own feet.” He places the knife down and turns around to lean against the counter. “I can’t speak for my siblings, but losing our parents as young as we did… all of us were in different stages of our lives when the accident happened, and I think we each developed our own hang-ups. Mine was that I never wanted anything serious with a woman until I was completely established. Figured I had so many years and my career was the most important thing to me. It’s not like G’Ma D locked us in rooms until we fell in love, she just gently pushed and then she’d…”
A smile comes to his lips. It makes me smile, remembering her too.
“She’d tell you a story about her and Grandpa, or maybe my mom or dad, something that turned on the light bulb and made you get your head out of your ass.” He stares at his feet for a second then turns around and chops peppers. “Why do you ask?”
The letter and the key practically burn a hole in my pocket. I’d love to be forthcoming with my dad. He’s my number one cheerleader, but I need more information first.
I shrug. “Just wondered.”
He turns off the television as if knowing soccer reminds me of Rylan. He probably assumes I want to get back together with him, that this wedding will be another shot after how many before. Another press of the button and his hard rock music belts out of the speakers. I guess that’s the end of our conversation.
- Writer
