Storm on Wildflower Island

by Michelle Files

  With that, they both burst out laughing again.

  “What is going on in here?” Steve walked in, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “You’re going to wake up the whole house.” Steve poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with his wife and daughter.

  “So, what’s so funny?” he asked them, pouring in some sugar and taking a sip of the wonderful cup of coffee in front of him.

  “Well, we were just trying to figure out what we are going to say to people about why we were gone,” Claire answered. “I mean, we can’t tell them the truth. It will take only seconds for them to cart us off to the loony bin.”

  No one laughed that time. They all knew that what Claire said could certainly happen. Would likely happen.

  While they all sat contemplating the future, in walked Sophie. In all the excitement and confusion of their return, Claire had almost forgotten about their granddaughter. Sophie climbed into Hope’s lap and promptly stuck her thumb in her mouth, which made Claire smile. She remembered little Hope being a thumb sucker herself, no matter what she and Steve did to try to discourage it. She was happy to see that Hope had outgrown that habit.

  “Sweetheart,” Hope said to her daughter, “this is your grandma. Can you say hi to her?”

  Sophie turned her head and shyly planted her face in her mother’s shoulder.

  “Oh, it’s okay,” Claire responded. “She and I have plenty of time to get to know one another. What does everyone want for breakfast?”

  “Pancakes!” Sophie turned and squealed as everyone laughed.

  “See what I mean? She likes me already,” Claire announced.

  By the time the pancakes were done and sliding onto the plates, in walked Andrew, and then Sissy. It was the best breakfast Steve and Claire could have imagined for their first day back home in 20 years.

  Chapter 17

  Right after breakfast, while Claire went to take a shower, and the others left the kitchen to get dressed for work. Steve walked out front to fetch the newspaper from the front porch, granddaughter in tow. Though it was a habit of his to read the newspaper every morning before work, something he had done his entire adult life, he just realized that he hadn’t read one in about 20 years. He was woefully undereducated in the ways of the world. He had no idea who the current president was, or anything else happening in the world. It was time that changed.

  As he picked up the newspaper, he noticed someone standing in the yard across the street. A stranger. Steve wondered what happened to George and Barbara, the elderly couple that had lived there for as long as Steve could remember. That man certainly was not George.

  “Hi neighbor!” The man across the street waved.

  “Hi, how’s it going?” Steve was usually a friendly sort, but with everything going on, he really didn’t want to take the time to get to know anyone at that moment.

  “That’s Lyle. He’s kinda weird.” Steve hadn’t even realized that Sophie was standing behind him.

  He turned toward her and dropped down to one knee so that he could look her straight in the face. “Now how do know what weird is? He doesn’t look weird to me.” Steve smiled as he looked into the beautiful aquamarine eyes of his granddaughter. They were the same hue as the eyes of her mother and grandmother.

  “I just know. He’s always waving at us, and coming over to talk to Sissy and my mom and dad,” Sophie explained.

  “Maybe he’s just friendly. We can use all the friends we can get, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know.” Sophie shrugged, and that was all she wanted to say on the subject.

  Steve stood up and turned to wave good-bye at the neighbor. Then he scooped Sophie up into his arms as she squealed with laughter. They headed for the kitchen so Steve could get caught up on world events.

  “Hey Sissy, I saw that there is a new neighbor across the street. What happened to Barbara and George, dare I ask?”

  “Oh, they moved off the island and rented their house out. I guess they wanted to be closer to their kids, since they were getting up there in age. That man moved in a few months ago,” Sissy explained.

  “That’s too bad. I really liked them. We just saw them last week. Barbara was pruning the roses in the front yard,” Steve told her. He thought about what he had just said. “Wow, this whole thing is going to take some getting used to.”

  “Yeah,” Sissy agreed.

  “Aunt Sissy, can I have some orange juice?” Sophie asked.

  “Sure, Baby Girl.” While Sissy got the orange juice and poured a glass for her great niece, she talked to Steve about the neighbor. “You know, that man moved in maybe six months ago and he’s kind of weird.”

  Steve smiled, as that is exactly what Sophie had told him only a few minutes prior. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s just that…well, he seems to always be watching us. I don’t know if he really is or not. I just notice him in his yard a lot and sometimes even watching out his front window. It’s like every time we do something outside, he’s watching. He seems like a nice guy, but it’s kind of creepy.”

  “So, have you thought about the fact that you keep looking over at his place? That’s the only way you would notice that he is even around. Maybe he thinks you are watching him,” Steve offered.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” Sissy had no defense for that. She was spending a lot of time looking at his house to see if he was looking at them. The whole thing was very odd.

  “Aunt Sissy, can I have my orange juice now?” Sophie jumped into the middle of the conversation.

  “Oh sorry. Here you go Sweetheart.” Sissy set the orange juice on the table in front of Sophie.

  “You know, I have talked with Lyle. It seems like he knows a lot about you and Claire,” Sissy told him.

  “What do you mean? What could he possibly know? You said he’s only lived there for a few months.” Steve was perplexed.

  “All I know is that he was asking a lot of questions about the two of you, like whether I thought you were really dead, and maybe you just took off. He wanted to know if I had heard from you at all. This is a small island. Pretty much everyone knows about your disappearance. Believe me when I tell you that people still talk about it, even after all this time,” Sissy explained. “I can’t go anywhere without people bringing it up. It’s like they have absolutely nothing going on in their lives.”

  “Yeah, I guess people are innately curious about things like this. It’s going to be very odd when we actually go out into town and stuff, and people see us. I can’t even imagine how that is going to go,” Steve told her.

  “How what is going to go?” Claire walked into the room and caught only the very end of what Steve had said to her sister.

  “Oh, hi Sweetheart,” Steve said to his wife as he gave her a quick kiss.

  “Yuck.” Sophie scrunched up her face.

  Claire, Steve, and Sissy all laughed.

  “Your sister and I were just talking about what things are going to be like when we go out,” Steve told Claire. “What are we going to tell people?”

  “I have no idea,” Claire responded. “It’s going to be obvious to people that we don’t look 50 years old. And, they know we left the kids and someone was convicted of killing us. I wouldn’t even know how to respond to any questions. I guess we need to figure it out though. I don’t want to be caught off guard.”

  Sissy thought for a moment. “How about you don’t explain anything to anyone? It’s really none of their business anyhow. Just say that it’s personal and you had no idea until recently that someone was convicted of killing you. If they ask why you left the kids, or why you look so young, just tell them to mind their own business. I know that sounds harsh, but seriously, what else can you possibly say?”

  “Well, you have a point there,” Steve replied. “You know, I like it. I’m just going to ignore rude people that just want to be nosey. It’s our business where we went, and why. And I’ll just leave it at that. Sound good to you, Claire?” Steve looked directly
at his wife.

  “Yeah, I guess. I’ll just tell people I would rather not talk about it. Hopefully that will work. But, you know the people on this island. Sissy herself said that they are still talking about our disappearance. You think they will just let our return go? I have a feeling that we are going to be the source of gossip for a very long time,” Claire told everyone.

  “Yeah, there’s no way of getting around that,” Sissy told them.

  “Maybe we should move off the island. I know that sounds drastic, but if we move to another state, no one will know us. Problem solved.” Steve looked at the others for their reactions.

  “No,” Claire spoke up. “I don’t want to move. Hope is here. Our new granddaughter is here. And, maybe Dustin will be here soon. You understand, right?” She spoke directly to Steve. “It wouldn’t be fair to us to have to uproot our lives just because we don’t want to explain things to people.”

  “Yeah, you are right. We just got back and we need to get to know everyone again. We’ll stay. We’ll figure something out,” Steve replied.

  Just then, Hope and Andrew walked into the room. Hope kissed her daughter on the top of her head. “We have to get to work now,” Hope told everyone. “Mom, Dad, I’m so happy that you are back home. I’ve missed you so much. I’ll see you for dinner, okay?”

  Claire and Steve nodded.

  “Where do you work?” Claire asked, as she realized that she knew next to nothing about her daughter’s life. That would have to change.

  “At the Wildflower Inn. You remember it, don’t you?” Hope asked.

  “Of course we remember it. We were just there for lunch a couple of weeks ago…or a couple of decades ago. Well, you know what I mean,” Claire tried to answer.

  “Yeah, I know. Hey, I have an idea. Come to the Inn for lunch today. I’m debuting my famous stuffed mushrooms. You’ll love them,” Hope told them.

  “Your famous stuffed mushrooms? Sounds great,” Steve told her.

  “Well, they aren’t famous yet. Today is the first day I’m serving them. But I have high hopes.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” Claire told her. “See you in a few hours,” she told her daughter as Hope left for work.

  Andrew left at the same time. He was an accountant for several businesses in town and was quite busy at work.

  Steve got up to make a phone call. When he returned several minutes later, he sat down at the table with his wife, her sister, and their granddaughter.

  “I just called to inquire about Sam. I wanted to find out who to talk to about his incarceration and how we can get him out, seeing as he obviously didn’t kill us,” Steve told them.

  Claire leaned in toward him. “What did they say?”

  “They told me that he had served his time and was released several months ago and that was all they would tell me.”

  “Well I guess there’s nothing you can do about it now,” Sissy offered.

  “No, I guess not. But I think we should try contacting him, don’t you think?” Claire asked.

  “And say what? Sorry you spent 20 years in prison for killing us,” Steve replied.

  “No, I don’t know. But maybe something like that. Or we could at least talk to the sheriff or a lawyer, and try to get his name cleared. I think we at least owe him that,” Claire told him.

  “We don’t really owe him anything. We are not responsible for him getting arrested. We didn’t do anything wrong. But I see where you are coming from. I can make a few calls at some point. But right now, I just want to concentrate on Dustin. We can figure out what to do about him at lunch, okay?” Steve said.

  “Yes, we can do that,” Claire replied.

  Chapter 18

  Promptly at Noon, Steve and Claire pulled into the parking lot of the Wildflower Inn. Sissy and Sophie had a couple of errands to run that morning, so they arrived a few minutes before Steve and Claire did and found a nice table, close to the water.

  When Steve turned off the car, the two of them sat, staring straight ahead and not moving to get out of the car. They were both terrified. Though the island was their home, and had been for many years, they were strangers to everyone. Complete strangers were made of them over the course of a simple three day weekend.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” Claire admitted, while looking toward the cafe. Her body began to visibly shake while she sat there.

  Steve reached over and took her left hand in his. “You can do it. We both can. Take a deep breath and let’s get out of this car before we change our minds.”

  They both opened their car doors simultaneously and met in front of the car to hold hands. They both needed that comfort for what they were about to face. Steve and Claire were about to come back from the dead and knew it was going to be the hardest thing they would ever do in their lives. But they resolved to face the world together. They both knew that they could do anything as long as they were together.

  “Let’s go through the Inn first, so Hope knows we are here,” Steve suggested.

  As they walked into the Inn, they went unnoticed. At least it wasn’t what they expected. They walked up to the front desk, where a pretty blonde teenage girl was working.

  “Hello. My name is Piper. Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you. I was wondering if you could tell Hope that her parents are here to see her?” Steve replied.

  Piper’s eyebrows shot up. “Um, sure.”

  Piper picked up the phone and called the kitchen. She knew the story of Hope’s parents, of course. Everyone on the island did. She had no idea they were still alive though, and did her best to hide her shock at the fact that they were standing there, right in front of her. It didn’t work though, Steve and Claire both saw the look on her face. Piper thought that Claire looked like she could be Hope’s sister, not her mother.

  “Aren’t you the ones that…” Piper started to ask, but was interrupted mid-sentence by the arrival of Hope.

  Steve and Claire were both relieved that they didn’t have to answer that particular question.

  “Hi. I’m glad you could make it,” Hope told them. “I’m making something special for you. Sissy and Sophie are already there, out on the deck. Go on through the bar there to the cafe and I’ll be out there shortly to see you. I’m busy, so I can’t have lunch, but I’ll stop by for sure.”

  “Okay, see you in a few,” Claire responded, giving her daughter a quick hug. She would never tire of doing that.

  Steve and Claire headed through the bar, toward the cafe. They could feel a few eyes on them. Claire thought that it felt like eyeballs were literally boring into her back. It was ridiculous, of course. Even macabre, Claire thought. A shudder ran up her spine.

  They both noticed the bartender openly gawking at them, and whispering to her friend. They didn’t know either woman, but they knew that they had been spotted. Steve just ignored them. Claire wondered if they were simply recognized due to all the publicity surrounding their disappearance, or if the town gossip mill was already on high alert regarding their return. Could that have happened so quickly? she wondered. They had just arrived to this future the night before.

  Steve and Claire found the table easily, though it was quite busy at the cafe.

  “Sissy,” Claire glared at her sister as she sat down, “did you tell anyone about our return? People are staring at us.”

  Sissy looked down at her menu. Shame written all over her face. “Yeah, I just told a couple of people. I told them not to tell anyone.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Claire was furious. “It’s obvious that your friends didn’t keep their big mouths shut.”

  “No, I’m sure it’s just because everyone knows about your disappearance. Now they see you walking around. You are bound to be noticed.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. Whatever.” Claire looked out toward the ocean. “I just have a really bad feeling that this whole thing is not going to go well. And it’s definitely not going to blow over soon.”

  Steve
just sat there and let the sisters work it out. There really was nothing that he could add to the conversation. Instead, he turned his attention toward his sweet little granddaughter and they talked about the water, and the whales, and any other topic she was interested in. He had only known about her existence for less than 24 hours, but he was already in love. He didn’t get to be around to watch his own kids grow up, but he made a decision right then and there, that no matter what, he and Claire weren’t going anywhere. They would be there for Sophie. If that meant never going on another vacation, then so be it.

  Once the sisters were done arguing, the four of them ordered lunch. Hope stopped by briefly and personally served them her stuffed mushrooms. Except for Sophie, they all raved about the mushrooms.

  “Yuck. Can I have mac and cheese please?” Five year olds were not really the target audience for mushrooms of any kind. Everyone at the table laughed. Sophie didn’t seem to notice, or mind. She kind of liked being the center of attention.

  “I’ve got to get back to work. You all have a great lunch. Love you.” Hope flitted off toward the kitchen.

  “Wow, she really turned out great. You did a wonderful job with her,” Claire told her sister, with an apologetic look on her face. She didn’t want to argue with her only sister. They hadn’t seen each other in 20 years. Sort of.

  “Thanks. But I can’t take all the credit. She is pretty great all on her own.” Sissy meant it too.

  In that moment, the two sisters completely forgot what they had been arguing about and hugged. Both of them had to wipe the tears from their eyes when they parted.

  “Why are you crying?” Sophie asked her great aunt and grandmother. “Here, you can use my napkin.” She handed it to Claire.

  “Oh thank you, Sweetheart. We are fine. Just silly sister stuff,” Claire told her.

  Claire dabbed at the corner of her eyes again with the napkin that Sophie had given her. Then she took a couple of bites of her food, while she composed herself.

  “Grampa,” Sophie said, making Steve smile. “Look over there. It’s Lyle. I told you he was weird.”