04

Spraying half a can of deodorant over herself to mask the lingering smell of sweat, she tied her brown hair in a knot at the base of her neck and finding a notepad in the kitchen, took stock of what she needed to purchase. At the top of the list was cleaning supplies and she added some food, only writing down the essentials. She’d worry about filling her pantry once she was settled in. Once the list was finished, she grabbed the home phone to ring Alice. She’d shut down her mobile account, afraid Daniel would be able to track it, so now this phone would be her only life line to the world.

Finding Alice’s number from her emergency contact list, she dialled the number. She knew Alice wasn’t fond of her being without a mobile, but Norah wouldn’t be deterred. On the fourth ring, the call went through.

“Ray Jones speaking.”

Norah smiled at his mannerism. “Hello Ray Jones, speaking this is Norah Jacobs speaking.”

“Norah !” He sounded relieved. “Alice will be annoyed she missed your call. She’s just gone to the library. Did you have a safe trip ?”

She played with the phone cord. “Yeah, there were no problems.”

“I take it you found the place okay then ?”

“I had some local help.” She thought of Olivia. “I don’t think I would have found Jack otherwise.”

“Ah, Jack.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m sending some money through today for furniture. There used to be more, but Jack has a tendency to go down there when the place is empty and burn pieces when he’s on a bender.”

“Ah, that’s not comforting to hear…”

Ray laughed. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t come down when people are staying.”

“How can you be okay with him just burning furniture ?”

He sighed. “When it comes to that place, Jack and I are on the same page. We don’t like it but we keep it because it’s a good investment. Furniture is easily replaced and if it makes Jack feel better, then I say let him. Just a word of advice ; don’t lash out on anything expensive. Once you’re gone, it will probably get burnt.”

“Duly noted.” Norah still couldn’t believe he was okay with Jack burning furniture but then she’d never gone through what they had been through, so she couldn’t judge.

“If there are any problems, don’t hesitate to call and don’t worry about that bastard, Daniel. We’ll keep an eye out for him.”

She felt tears beginning to form. She loved Ray and Alice. “Thanks, Ray.”

“No problem. Sorry Norah, I’d love to chat more but I’ve got an appointment to head to –“

“Not a problem. You get going and send Alice my love.”

“Will do. Talk soon.”

“Bye.”

Placing the receiver back in the cradle, she grabbed her list and headed out the door. At the mention of Daniel, she just wanted to crawl back into bed and wallow but her neurotic need for a clean house, and more importantly, a shower made her get in her car and head into town.

Reaching the road, she saw that the entryway was difficult to see even in the daylight. She was surprised she’d caught a glimpse of it last night, the edge of the road was covered in long grass and the gate was so small, if you didn’t know it was there it would be easily missed.

As she neared the wharf, in the daylight the town appeared quite charming. The wharf went far out into the water, many older gentlemen lined the walkway, their fishing rods dipped in the water as they waited in silent contemplation for a nibble.

A restaurant sat at the end of the main street, large glass windows providing a beautiful view of the ocean. Many people were already sitting at the outdoor tables, the rain from last evening a forgotten memory as the sun promised a good day. Turning onto the main street, people walked along the streets, some leading dogs and up ahead, she saw a sign for the Twilight Café.

It was a blue wooden board with white cursive writing and a star over the ‘i’ where the dot should have been. Pulling into an empty car park, she headed for the blue door, caffeine a high priority on her list. Without it, she would be brain dead by lunch time, and zombie Norah was no fun to be around. A bell chimed as the door opened and she saw Olivia look up from behind the register, her face splitting into a grin.

“Norah ! How are you ?” She called out through the doorway behind the counter. “Hey Gail, this is the new girl I was telling you about.”

A woman with bright red hair peered around the corner and shot her a smile. “Heard a lot about you, Norah. First coffee is on the house.”

Not one to say no to free coffee, Norah accepted.

“So, what’s your poison ?” Olivia asked. Today her ash brown hair was braided down her back, blue eyes full of energy and she wore a black short sleeve shirt and shorts.

“A latte, in the largest cup you have.”

“Are you sitting in ?”

“Sure, why not.” Eyes travelling over the glass cabinet of pastries, she selected a spinach filled croissant to nibble on. Taking a seat near the window, she took a better look around the café.

The walls were a cream white with baby blue moulding. Big open windows let enough natural light in and artwork hung around the shop, many depicting images from the town. Looking up, the ceiling was covered in fairy lights and she hoped she would get to see them at night, it would look beautiful. The chairs were made of big heavy white painted wood and the cushions a deep blue. They were comfortable to sit in and Norah had a feeling she had found her new writing place.

Near the counter, she saw a sign she had missed. It read, A warning : all those who quote or reference the Twilight series as a joke will be forced to pay the sparkle tax. A jar was placed below the sign, filled with dollar notes and she grinned.

Pulling out her list, she added some food to the grocery section as she waited. Coffee and chocolate topped the list as she’d learned that both were important to her writing process. Without them, nothing got done.

“Here we go,” Olivia placed her coffee and pastry down with a smile.

The smell of caffeine rose from the cup and her body began to relax from the comforting scent. “Thanks, Olivia. Did you get home okay last night ?”

Olivia waved her hand. “Yeah, it was fine. Rylan was here, apparently he called it off with his girl, that’s why he took off. She was a real clingy type and had been avoiding him for a few days because she knew he wanted to end it. She must have missed him though and called him. He had an opening and he took it, hoping that by doing it in a public place would mean she wouldn’t go bat shit crazy, which she still did by the way. It was hilarious.”

Norah took a sip of coffee. “Damn that’s good. Still, he shouldn’t have ditched you.”

“True, don’t worry, he got what was coming to him.”

A customer walked in and Olivia smiled before going to take their order. Eating slowly, Norah doodled notes for her story on the edge of her list until the food and coffee was gone and she had run out of room.

Next time don’t forget the notebook, she reminded herself. Olivia was making a coffee and she walked over. “Can you tell me where the supermarket is ?”

She looked up from the coffee machine. “Sure, just walk up the block and you’ll see a pathway of trees. If you follow that to the end, the grocery store is right there. It’s only a three minute walk.”