“Are you unbreakable?” Ellie glared at Kat, worry etched in fine lines around her frowning eyes. “You just went and followed a man, alone, at night, without telling anyone where you were. You then ended up having him chase you, with you running into various backyards, jumping fences, tripping, and getting stuck in a bush! Again, might I repeat, alone, without anyone knowing where you were or what you were up to. What is going on?”
Kat smiled at her friend, and nudged her shoulder. “Well, Harper was with me, and she said she’d bite him ‘real bad’ if he got closer.”
“This isn’t funny! You could have been hurt badly!”
“I know, I know, calm down. It wasn’t the plan, ok. I thought I could just follow from a distance and see where he was going. We’ve got to find out where he is keeping the blackmailing file, Ellie. It’s the only way of releasing the hold he’s got on the town.”
Kat picked up her mug of hot chocolate and inhaled the sweet steam. She had scared herself the night before and didn’t really need Ellie’s well-meaning harangue on top of her own self-recriminations. Leaving Aunt Penny’s house, she’d noticed someone sitting in a parked car right outside Penny’s driveway. The driver of the car had waited until Kat had started down the sidewalk heading for home, then had gone to Penny’s house. Kat had turned around the corner of the block, then had impulsively rushed back and let herself into Penny’s backyard. She’d been surprised to see Penny sitting in the living room, while the light in the main bedroom had snapped on. Through the drawn curtains, Kat could see a silhouette waving his arm about in wide gestures. A few minutes later the man had left, and Kat watched the car pull away. She’d run down the sidewalk and saw the car turn towards the row of hotels on the highway. Kat had then gone home, picked up her own car, and had driven around trying to find the mysterious car. To her astonishment, she had spotted the car parked at the Denny’s restaurant. When she pulled in, she saw the driver, a short man with greying hair that stood out in the street light, shaking hands with the town mayor Mr. Burstable. The men left, and Kat had tried to follow the grey-haired stranger.
Well, Kat thought, “tried” was the operative word. She’d been excited to see the car stop, and thought she had escaped notice when she drove past, turned a corner, and parked her own car. It didn’t take long for her to realize that the hunter was now the hunted, and for the whole “run for your life” thing to happen.
Just then Megs, the friendly waitress at Crumpet Café, stopped by to offer them refills.
“Having a girl’s day out?” She asked “You need to pop over to the Artist’s Connection” she told them. “There’s a new order of hand-dipped beeswax candles and they smell absolutely marvelous. And, uh…” she continued “I couldn’t help but overhear a bit of your talk… you really need to get over to the Artist’s Connection, K?”
*****
A short while later, Kat and Ellie found themselves following Megs’ suggestion and wandering through the Artist’s Connection.
“This is the smell of warmth, comfort and safety. You need to buy it Kat. There’s too much going on in your life right now.” Ellie held a beeswax candle in her hand, and handed another one to Kat.
Kat could picture it now: a small corner of the world with warm honey scent, maybe a crackling fire and a good book. But best of all, free from outside pressures and the oddly persistent voices in her mind.
“Yup, I’ll take 2”. Kat smiled at her friend. Despite all the upheaval that life brought, Ellie was always ready to help Kat through a rough patch.
The two friends locked eyes and giggled while chanting “retail therapy for the win!”.
Ellie turned towards the cash register and noticed a hand-woven afghan in bright bold colours.
“Kat! Look!” she gestured, turned, and tripped over a basket on the floor. Kat rushed over to her friend, who was now sprawled on the floor surrounded by candles and colourful cloth. “Guess I’ll never be a ballerina” grumbled Ellie as she picked herself up and brushed off her clothing.
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