Sorry I didn't post yesterday - so that means a double post today!
Chapter 2: Renee and the fire
Seven months later! A certain song is getting national airplay now.
Renee was in line at Publix. She didn't usually come to the store so late in the day, but she'd been so busy getting the house ready that she'd lost track of time. She regarded the magazine covers as she looked for a copy of People magazine. One rack held Woman's World Weekly. The toothy brunette featured on the cover, not nearly as photogenic as Bella, proclaimed she had lost 15 pounds with watermelon!. Next to it on display was a copy of US magazine. Its cover shot caught her interest. A broody, male celebrity of some sort, on the handsome side, stared out into the distance, not out at the reader. The caption was tucked into the rack, and before she could pick it up to read it, the line moved. Those sad eyes, there was something about that lost gaze that stuck in her memory. It continued to haunt her as she left the store. Only an hour or so till she had to leave for the airport.
Next,she stopped at the pumps; she wasn't going to let herself run out of gas this weekend. She even checked her oil, feeling very accomplished. Renee did not notice the song playing on the speakers as she checked over her car.
She saw a blue beanbag giraffe in the basket by the cashier window. It looked like the one her daughter had-the very one from her baby picture. As she drove home, she remembered the last time she'd seen that giraffe. She'd left the house with the oven on. The oven was busy, baking a birthday cake. It wasn't even for her family; it was for a neighbor who raved about her German chocolate cake and had asked her to bake one as a favor. She'd forgotten the coconut flakes for the frosting, so while the cake was in the oven, she'd run over to Thriftway. Once there, she'd run into Charlotte and they'd chatted for a few minutes. It was pleasant until she'd realized she needed to get back to the house to meet the school bus.
The fire trucks whizzed by her on the highway, while she pumped her gas, just as they had that day in Forks, when she'd waited for the bus to greet Bella. The smell of smoke had met them as they turned the corner for their street. It was coming from their house. It was an electrical fire; the kitchen was destroyed as were the two rooms above. The smoke smell had permeated the rest of the house for days.
There is no good way to tell a five year old that all their toys and books are gone. Just as there is no good way to tell your daughter the reason you are so glad for her visit is to share a possible diagnosis.
The oven was off as she left the house for the airport. She'd double-checked.
The information board showed that her flight had landed and the baggage would be on carousel four. Just then, looking toward the moving bags, she caught sight of a brown ponytail and a set of determined shoulders.
"Hey Honey, hope you had a good flight."
ALRIGHT - as soon as someone presses the button, I'll post the next chapter! TTFN Reb