"Is it seriously still raining?" I asked aloud. Marley the cat rolled his head in my direction, and opened one green eye. I stared at him for a moment, expecting a response. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when I didn't get one.
The clock showed 9:15 am, which meant if I didn't leave now, I would officially be late to the Crappy Cup. And I was still in my pajamas. This day had not started out on the right foot.
"Dammit, Darla. You knew I needed to work this morning, where the hell are you?"
My roommate and best friend, Darla, had decided that she needed to leave at the crack of dawn to run errands, which included not only the use of my car, but it was also her turn to do laundry, which meant that I was left with slim pickings in the clothing department.
Refusing to wait any longer, and having to risk dealing with a lecture from Handsy, I stomped off to my room in search of something that resembled a suitable outfit.
Five minutes later, I emerged in my worst nightmare. Black yoga pants, and one of D's Disney princess t-shirts. Not only was it a crime against the universe to wear yoga pants to anything but yoga, but to be an adult in a child's extra large, pink and purple sparkly Cinderella shirt was just torture. Maybe I should just call in sick. I mean, I WAS starting to feel nausceous all of a sudden. But I needed the money. My bank account was in the single digits, and my Subaru was in desperate need of new tires.
"D, you are so going to pay for this." I mumbled to myself as I grabbed my jacket, tote bag, purse and umbrella and ran out the door.
The Happy Cup was only a few miles from our apartment, and not a bad walk on a nice day, but it was pouring down rain, and I was miserably out of shape. I considered taking D's Vespa, but figured my outfit was already pushing the limits of my sanity, and being seen on a hot pink scooter with matching helmet was just more than I could take. Therapy just wasn't in my budget at the moment.
So I sucked it up, and took off at a brisk pace. I was already late, but figured the sooner I arrived and explained the situation, the better Andy might take it. As much as I hated it, I needed this job, and let's be honest, I wasn't exactly irreplaceable.
About halfway to work, soaked to the bone, and contemplating all the ways Darla was going to pay, something caught my attention. There was a park I hadn't noticed before. Just a small one, no playground equipment, more of a garden. I slowed my pace and found myself suddenly mesmerized by the incredible beauty of it. Massive trees that had to be nearly ancient surrounded a small clearing. In the center of that clearing was an ornate wooden gazebo. Without even realizing it, I made my way towards it to get a closer look. The detail work was beyond impressive, and it looked very old. How had I never noticed this before? I passed it twice a day. It must be new. But nothing here looked new. As a matter of fact, it looked older than anything I had ever seen. The designs in the wood on the gazebo reminded me of Celtic knot work, or something from The Lord of the Rings. Stunning, and obviously hand carved. I ran my hand across the pattern, and could have sworn I felt something akin to electricity run up my arm. I pulled my hand back, and looked around for an explanation. But there was nothing. No lights, nothing that even required power. And it felt warm to the touch. Even though there was no sun to speak of, and it had been raining for two days.
I was snapped out of my zombie like daydream by the vibrating and ringing of my phone in my pocket. Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine made me groan, since it was the ringtone I had set for when work called me. "Shit." was all I could say. Hitting answer, I tried my best to sound apologetic "Hi Andy, I swear I'm on my way. Darla took my car this morning, so I had to walk, and I'm almost there." I spit out, hoping he'd take pity on me and be sympathetic.
"Not to worry, Brookster, Andy called in sick this morning, so I'm covering his shift. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. It's dead in here, so don't stress." I had never been so relieved to hear Jackson's voice. "Oh thank God! Have I told you how much I love you, Jacks?"
Jackson's deep chuckle filled my ears, "Yeah, yeah... so you say. But I have yet to see any proof of that."
"You will, I swear. I will totally be on bathroom duty for the rest of this week." I promised. "I'll take it. Now get your ass here, so I can fill you in on the latest Handsy gossip." Jackson said before hanging up.
Laughing, I put my phone back in my pocket. Turning to go, I swore I caught movement from inside the gazebo out of the corner of my eye. Spinning around, expecting to see someone there, I was surprised to find it empty, and I was still alone inside the park. Shaking my head, I left the clearing, and headed back towards work. I couldn't help but notice that it felt noticeably cooler once I got past the tree line, and I was overwhelmed with what I could only describe as a feeling of homesickness. "I am losing my damn mind." I said, and took off at a jog for the Happy Cup.
Twenty minutes later, I finally made it to work. Taking off my jacket, and reaching for an apron, I caught Jackson's open mouth stare. "Do not say a word. I know I look ridiculous, but Darla took all the laundry this morning, and it was either this or my Halloween costume from last year."
"I might have gone with the costume." Jackson responded, tossing me a rag.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time."
I started wiping down the counters, while Jackson filled me in on the latest and greatest Handsy Andy stories. But I was barely listening. I couldn't get my mind off of the park, and that beautiful gazebo. "Hey Jacks, when did they put in that park on the corner of Clover Street?"
Jackson turned to me with a strange look "What park? There's no park on Clover."
"I guess it's not so much a park, as a garden, but it has these huge trees, and a gorgeous wooden gazebo in the center. On the corner of Clover and Stone. I never noticed it before, so I figured it must be new."
"Brooke, there is no park, no garden, and certainly no gazebo on Clover Street. I jog up and down Clover every evening, and there is nothing but an empty lot at that intersection."
At this point, Jackson was looking at me like I'd lost my mind, and I was starting to wonder if I had.
"You must be getting confused, and thinking of the park on Grable." he offered.
"Yeah, that must be it." But I knew I wasn't confused. And Grable Avenue was on the other side of town...
To be continued...
(Stay tuned for Part 3 of the story.)
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