****************
Stepping out of the small 15 passenger plane, Sara made her way carefully down the long, narrow stairs. The airport was tiny, no more then a few hangers and a squat building that could have been the main terminal. Feeling terra firma under her feet Sara sent up a quick prayer of thanks. It wasn't that she had a problem with flying, she had just never flown in such a small plane before. Actually, she hadn't known a plane that small existed! She and the five other people had suffered through what seemed like an hour of nonstop turbulence. Granted she had been lucky to catch the flight, the weatherman had said something about snow tomorrow.
Taking a deep breath Sara smiled. It had been worth it just to breath the air here. And the trees were huge and green. The airport sat right on the edge of a large forest. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. You would never believe that winter was right around the corner. Having lived first in San Francisco and then in Las Vegas she had never seen anything like it. This was just what she needed she thought to herself as she followed her fellow passengers into the building.
After locating her luggage she sat down on a small bench to wait. She had flown first to Portland and then here, the middle of nowhere. Her final destination was Diamond Lake, where her friend Corinn owned a small cabin. That was in fact why she was sitting here waiting. Corinn was late. She looked up as the door opened but was disappointed when it was only an employee of the airport.
That was assuming she would even recognize her old friend. She hadn't seen her since she moved to Oregon with her husband John. That was barely a year after they finished college. It was hard to believe Corinn was now a mother of four!
As children they had made unlikely friends. Sara he'd been a tomboy in torn jeans and Corinn was always the girls girl who loved to wear frilly dresses and play with Barbie dolls. Somehow the friendship had survived and now Corinn was the only friend she had left from her childhood. Theirs was the kind of friendship that didn't care how long they were apart or how far away the other lived. They had always been there for each other. Wishing she could go back in time to when life had been simple, Sara smiled to herself.
Reaching into her back pack she pulled out a brand new sci-fi by her favorite author. She had chosen it carefully. There was nothing to remind her of her old job or Grissom. No books on forensic science and definitely no magazines on entomology. She had decided on sci-fi rather then romance because well, romances where depressing. Especially when she had failed so badly at it herself.
Sara opened the book to the first page and began to read. Half an hour later she closed it again sighing in frustration. It was impossible to concentrate. It was just too quiet. She was used to the noise of the lab. Greg's horrible music, people bustling from one place to another. The crime lab was almost never silent. Well Sara Ann your going to have to get used to it, she thought to herself.
She was contemplating calling a cab, when finally Corinn blew in the door on a gust of wind.
"Oh, Sara I'm soo sorry!!!!!" she was breathless. There was an accident on the highway traffic was stopped for and hour!!"
Laughing, Sara got up and threw her arms around her friend.
"My god, it's so good to see you!!" she said happily, tears filling her eyes as the years melted away. "You look better then ever. Is that allowed after you've had four kids?"
Hugging Sara tight, Corinn laughed along with her. "It's good to see you too Sara! And what have you done to your hair? It's so short!"
"Mine's short!?" Replied Sara reaching out to finger the boyish cut of Corinn's naturally blonde hair.
"Ok not quite as short as mine, but it used to be so long. I cut mine out of self preservation, Becky, my third. Loves to pull hair, if she can reach it it's gone."
"I can't wait to see them again. I haven't even met baby Dillon yet!"
"She'll adore you, just like the other three! You'll never believe how Matt and Micheal have grown, and there's still no telling them apart!!"
Just thinking about the antics of the seven year old twins brought a smile to her face. "Remember the last time I was here? They put that toy boat in the toilet?"
"And flushed it, yes I remember. It was actually quite accurate except in the cartoon the boat doesn't get caught in the whirl pool!" The two friends collapsed against each other laughing hysterically. Anyone watching might have thought they were nuts, but luckily they were alone in the small waiting room.
After recovering from the fit of laughter Corinn was all business except for the smile beaming from her face. "Now! Lets get your bags into the car before it starts raining," she said hefting the larger of Sara's two bags.
"Raining? But the sun was shining less then an hour ago!" Sara had a hard time believing the weather could change that drastically as she reached for her other bag and her back pack.
"Sara, if you don't like the weather in Oregon, wait a few minutes." Replied Corinn smiling over her shoulder as she pushed the door open.
Sure enough the first sprinkles of rain landed on her nose as they finished loading her bags in the trunk.
********************
"Ok so here's the plan, I'm taking you up to the cabin tonight. You said you needed some time alone to think and that's the perfect place to do it. It's all stocked up on groceries and firewood. There's John's old SUV for you to use if you need it. The nearest town is about half an hour away. There's a grocery store, a gas station, and a couple of restaurants--not what your used to I'm afraid."
Flipping on her blinker and pressing the gas pedal Corinn quickly and efficiently passed a small white car.
"Grandma. " She muttered to herself. "You know one thing I'll never get used to are Oregon drivers? Their just so law abiding and nice. Driving in California is a cut throat business! Here it's like, 'Oh did you need to be in this lane? Be my guest,' and their so slow too! I mean why go 60 when 70 will get you there faster?"
"Well it's a relief after Vegas. It's a madhouse and I'm not just talking about driving. Some of the things I've seen these last three years........."
"Lemme guess, I don't want to know?" Corinn said, making no secret of the fact that she found Sara's job disturbing.
"You definitely don't want to know," laughed Sara, watching out the window as Corinn passed another car. She knew most people would have been terrified by now, but after growning up in California she wasn't easily scared.
"Thanks again for letting me use your cabin Cor. I really need this time to get away, get some perspective."
"Hey I'm not using it. At least someone will have some good out of it. We were there over the 4th so everything should still be in working order. You shouldn't have any problems. There's no telephone as you know. The nearest one is at the lodge, which is about a 10 minute drive. If you need to use the internet there's always the library in town."
"It's perfect for when the 'oh shit I've fucked up' feeling hits."
"What's that?" asked Corinn returning her attention to Sara.
"You know when you do something, but it doesn't really hit you until a couple of days later. I needed to get out of Vegas but any minute now I'm going to realize what I've done and beg you to take me back to the airport. Then I'll have to beg for my job back and tell Grissom...... Well you get the idea."
"Yeah I get it. Don't worry Sara your doing the right thing, and I'm always here if you need me." Taking a hand off the wheel, Corinn reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.
*******************
"Ok, your all set!" Dusting her hands off, Corinn stood looking proudly at her handiwork. A fire was now crackling merrily on the small hearth.
"It's kind of primitive, but I like it," said Sara ,stretching her hands appreciatively towards the flames.
"Sara I hate to say it, but I really should get going. John's probably going crazy by now. He loves the kids, but... he's still a man."
Laughing, Sara pulled her friend in for a hug. "I understand."
"Don't forget that you promised to stop by and see the kids before you head home!" Corinn pulled away wiping the tears from under her eyes. "I really wish I could stay.........."
"Me too, maybe after I've put some of the pieces back together. Ok?"
Understanding her friends need for solitude, Corinn nodded. Standing on tiptoe she gave Sara a kiss on the cheek.
"Talk to you later!" She said smiling unconvincingly.
"I'm fine don't worry, now get home to your family." Sara commanded while pushing Corinn towards the door of the cabin. Standing on the small porch she waved as she watched her friend drive away. And then, for the first time in a long while Sara was truly alone.
It was a strange feeling to know that she was the only person for miles around. In Las Vegas it seemed like you were always surrounded; then again it was just as easy to be alone and surrounded by people as it was to be by yourself.
Stepping out of the small 15 passenger plane, Sara made her way carefully down the long, narrow stairs. The airport was tiny, no more then a few hangers and a squat building that could have been the main terminal. Feeling terra firma under her feet Sara sent up a quick prayer of thanks. It wasn't that she had a problem with flying, she had just never flown in such a small plane before. Actually, she hadn't known a plane that small existed! She and the five other people had suffered through what seemed like an hour of nonstop turbulence. Granted she had been lucky to catch the flight, the weatherman had said something about snow tomorrow.
Taking a deep breath Sara smiled. It had been worth it just to breath the air here. And the trees were huge and green. The airport sat right on the edge of a large forest. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. You would never believe that winter was right around the corner. Having lived first in San Francisco and then in Las Vegas she had never seen anything like it. This was just what she needed she thought to herself as she followed her fellow passengers into the building.
After locating her luggage she sat down on a small bench to wait. She had flown first to Portland and then here, the middle of nowhere. Her final destination was Diamond Lake, where her friend Corinn owned a small cabin. That was in fact why she was sitting here waiting. Corinn was late. She looked up as the door opened but was disappointed when it was only an employee of the airport.
That was assuming she would even recognize her old friend. She hadn't seen her since she moved to Oregon with her husband John. That was barely a year after they finished college. It was hard to believe Corinn was now a mother of four!
As children they had made unlikely friends. Sara he'd been a tomboy in torn jeans and Corinn was always the girls girl who loved to wear frilly dresses and play with Barbie dolls. Somehow the friendship had survived and now Corinn was the only friend she had left from her childhood. Theirs was the kind of friendship that didn't care how long they were apart or how far away the other lived. They had always been there for each other. Wishing she could go back in time to when life had been simple, Sara smiled to herself.
Reaching into her back pack she pulled out a brand new sci-fi by her favorite author. She had chosen it carefully. There was nothing to remind her of her old job or Grissom. No books on forensic science and definitely no magazines on entomology. She had decided on sci-fi rather then romance because well, romances where depressing. Especially when she had failed so badly at it herself.
Sara opened the book to the first page and began to read. Half an hour later she closed it again sighing in frustration. It was impossible to concentrate. It was just too quiet. She was used to the noise of the lab. Greg's horrible music, people bustling from one place to another. The crime lab was almost never silent. Well Sara Ann your going to have to get used to it, she thought to herself.
She was contemplating calling a cab, when finally Corinn blew in the door on a gust of wind.
"Oh, Sara I'm soo sorry!!!!!" she was breathless. There was an accident on the highway traffic was stopped for and hour!!"
Laughing, Sara got up and threw her arms around her friend.
"My god, it's so good to see you!!" she said happily, tears filling her eyes as the years melted away. "You look better then ever. Is that allowed after you've had four kids?"
Hugging Sara tight, Corinn laughed along with her. "It's good to see you too Sara! And what have you done to your hair? It's so short!"
"Mine's short!?" Replied Sara reaching out to finger the boyish cut of Corinn's naturally blonde hair.
"Ok not quite as short as mine, but it used to be so long. I cut mine out of self preservation, Becky, my third. Loves to pull hair, if she can reach it it's gone."
"I can't wait to see them again. I haven't even met baby Dillon yet!"
"She'll adore you, just like the other three! You'll never believe how Matt and Micheal have grown, and there's still no telling them apart!!"
Just thinking about the antics of the seven year old twins brought a smile to her face. "Remember the last time I was here? They put that toy boat in the toilet?"
"And flushed it, yes I remember. It was actually quite accurate except in the cartoon the boat doesn't get caught in the whirl pool!" The two friends collapsed against each other laughing hysterically. Anyone watching might have thought they were nuts, but luckily they were alone in the small waiting room.
After recovering from the fit of laughter Corinn was all business except for the smile beaming from her face. "Now! Lets get your bags into the car before it starts raining," she said hefting the larger of Sara's two bags.
"Raining? But the sun was shining less then an hour ago!" Sara had a hard time believing the weather could change that drastically as she reached for her other bag and her back pack.
"Sara, if you don't like the weather in Oregon, wait a few minutes." Replied Corinn smiling over her shoulder as she pushed the door open.
Sure enough the first sprinkles of rain landed on her nose as they finished loading her bags in the trunk.
********************
"Ok so here's the plan, I'm taking you up to the cabin tonight. You said you needed some time alone to think and that's the perfect place to do it. It's all stocked up on groceries and firewood. There's John's old SUV for you to use if you need it. The nearest town is about half an hour away. There's a grocery store, a gas station, and a couple of restaurants--not what your used to I'm afraid."
Flipping on her blinker and pressing the gas pedal Corinn quickly and efficiently passed a small white car.
"Grandma. " She muttered to herself. "You know one thing I'll never get used to are Oregon drivers? Their just so law abiding and nice. Driving in California is a cut throat business! Here it's like, 'Oh did you need to be in this lane? Be my guest,' and their so slow too! I mean why go 60 when 70 will get you there faster?"
"Well it's a relief after Vegas. It's a madhouse and I'm not just talking about driving. Some of the things I've seen these last three years........."
"Lemme guess, I don't want to know?" Corinn said, making no secret of the fact that she found Sara's job disturbing.
"You definitely don't want to know," laughed Sara, watching out the window as Corinn passed another car. She knew most people would have been terrified by now, but after growning up in California she wasn't easily scared.
"Thanks again for letting me use your cabin Cor. I really need this time to get away, get some perspective."
"Hey I'm not using it. At least someone will have some good out of it. We were there over the 4th so everything should still be in working order. You shouldn't have any problems. There's no telephone as you know. The nearest one is at the lodge, which is about a 10 minute drive. If you need to use the internet there's always the library in town."
"It's perfect for when the 'oh shit I've fucked up' feeling hits."
"What's that?" asked Corinn returning her attention to Sara.
"You know when you do something, but it doesn't really hit you until a couple of days later. I needed to get out of Vegas but any minute now I'm going to realize what I've done and beg you to take me back to the airport. Then I'll have to beg for my job back and tell Grissom...... Well you get the idea."
"Yeah I get it. Don't worry Sara your doing the right thing, and I'm always here if you need me." Taking a hand off the wheel, Corinn reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.
*******************
"Ok, your all set!" Dusting her hands off, Corinn stood looking proudly at her handiwork. A fire was now crackling merrily on the small hearth.
"It's kind of primitive, but I like it," said Sara ,stretching her hands appreciatively towards the flames.
"Sara I hate to say it, but I really should get going. John's probably going crazy by now. He loves the kids, but... he's still a man."
Laughing, Sara pulled her friend in for a hug. "I understand."
"Don't forget that you promised to stop by and see the kids before you head home!" Corinn pulled away wiping the tears from under her eyes. "I really wish I could stay.........."
"Me too, maybe after I've put some of the pieces back together. Ok?"
Understanding her friends need for solitude, Corinn nodded. Standing on tiptoe she gave Sara a kiss on the cheek.
"Talk to you later!" She said smiling unconvincingly.
"I'm fine don't worry, now get home to your family." Sara commanded while pushing Corinn towards the door of the cabin. Standing on the small porch she waved as she watched her friend drive away. And then, for the first time in a long while Sara was truly alone.
It was a strange feeling to know that she was the only person for miles around. In Las Vegas it seemed like you were always surrounded; then again it was just as easy to be alone and surrounded by people as it was to be by yourself.