I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Grey's Anatomy". This chapter will be from Harriet's P.O.V. and will feature her perspective on the new town our favorite family is visiting. As always, thanks for following/favoriting and commenting.
Chapter 21
A Weird Town
Harriet is relieved when they finally get to the mystery town. It's been a very long drive and she's tired of the twins constant bickering. Through the window, she takes in her new surroundings. Harriet spots a few simple stores lining the street and what looks like a diner. Ever since she was little, she's always wanted to eat in a diner. Her mom used to tell her stories about going to her grandfather's diner when she was a little girl. He would give her a chocolate milkshake and a cheeseburger. Harriet smiles as she remembers her mom's face lighting up at the mention of that cheeseburger. Apparently, it had been the best cheeseburger in the world, according to her.
Her dad suddenly comes to a stop and parks the SUV. Harriet's eyes scan the little bed and breakfast and she spots a woman coming out of the building. She would guess she's about her grandma's age, maybe a little younger. The woman walks up towards her mom's side and gives her a wacky smile. Harriet watches in disbelief as her mom jumps out of the SUV and gives the woman a bear hug. The woman's high-pitched screams make her cringe. "My goodness, it's been ages since we've seen you both." Her mom gives her a smile. "Well, we made a promise, and here we are." The woman's eyes move to them sitting in the backseat.
Harriet feels uneasy for some reason as the woman looks them over. "The whole town has been waiting to meet them." Her mom turns towards them. "Come out and meet Mrs. Lynn." Harriet hesitantly unbuckles herself and then the twins from their car seats. She has a really weird feeling about this place and especially about Mrs. Lynn. Other than her mom, she's never met anyone so bright and cheery in her life. Harriet helps Mary and Gabe down from the SUV. She then climbs down behind them and they make their way over to their mom. Harriet glances over at Mrs. Lynn, as she stops next to her mom. Her mom wraps her arm around her. "This is my little nugget, Harriet." She feels a wave of embarrassment wash over her, especially since the woman in front of them is a total stranger.
If it's even possible, Mrs. Lynn's smile grows wider. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, nugget. Can I call you nugget?" Harriet freezes for a few moments, not sure what to say. On the one hand, she doesn't want to be disrespectful to this woman, but on the other, she seems to be a little…odd. Harriet has no idea what to think, as Mrs. Lynn's screechy voice fills the air. "I'm just kidding, honey. Harriet is a lovely name." Harriet just gives the woman a fake smile knowing that her mom would kill her if she said anything right now.
Mrs. Lynn gives her a creepy smile in return and turns to the twins. "And these two are my munchkins, Gabriel and Mary." Harriet watches as the twins simultaneously show Mrs. Lynn their toothy grins. "Well, it's certainly nice to meet you both as well. How about we get you munchkins our famous ice cream sundaes?" The twins start clapping their hands and jumping in the air. Harriet shakes her head at how trusting the twins are of this stranger. All it takes is an offer of ice cream and she's their new best friend.
Mrs. Lynn turns to her mom and wraps her arm around her. "Let's go meet everyone, dear." Her mom gives her a nod and they follow after them without question. As they walk, the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified. She can't explain why, but the last time she had felt this way, was when she went trick-or-treating and had walked past that creepy house. Harriet had been five and this strange feeling had overtaken her. She remembers looking over at that big house, seemingly normal, but the feeling she got by looking at it was unsettling. Harriet had felt so weird about everything that she had refused to go up to the door to get her candy. She had plopped down on the sidewalk, until her parents finally gave up on her, and let her move onto the next house.
Harriet takes a deep breath trying to get rid of the feeling, as they enter the diner. This isn't exactly how she had imagined her first visit to a diner. Her eyes scan the room, and everyone is staring at her with a smile. Harriet averts her eyes quickly, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. She spends the next few minutes in a daze, hearing her mom greeting everyone, trying to introduce the twins and her. "Harriet, honey, are you okay?" She looks up to see her dad staring at her with concern. "Define okay." Her dad gives her a smirk and puts his arm around her.
He leads her out of the diner and they start to walk down the main road of the town. "You know, it took me a minute to get used to this too." Harriet gives her dad a nod, glad that she's not the only one to have trouble with this town. "I'm not like your mom, I don't trust so easily." Her dad stops and turns to her with a smile. "I promise that these people are a little crazy, but their good people." Harriet gives her dad a reluctant smile and tries to get rid of that weird feeling still clawing at her. "Alright, let's go see how many friends your moms made already." She laughs at her dad and the two walk back down the street to the diner. Despite what her dad just said, she still has an unsettling feeling about this place, but she'll try to make the best of it for her parents.