by Jamie Conner
Just as Megan stepped out of the door of the hotel the bell in the tower chimed five times. Now conscious of the time, Megan's stomach grumbled loudly so she headed back to the market in the square to see what she could find to eat. She bought some bread and sliced cheese and then sat down on the edge of the fountain to eat. Looking at the vendors and shoppers coming and going was like watching a foreign movie with no subtitles, but there wasn't much lost in translation because everyone seemed to be smiling and happy as they greeted each other. The little town felt almost familial.
Caught up in the pleasant scene Megan's mind drifted away from thoughts of Brandi for a moment. She could see why Rachel Durand would fall in love with a place like St. Amelia. The architecture was beautiful, the people seemed friendly and the whole scene made Megan feel like she'd been transported back to a simpler time.
When she'd finished her sandwich Megan decided to be courageous and venture down one of the other small streets leading off the square. The small shops and boutiques were filled with all manner of things — clothes, souvenirs, jewelry, artwork.
Megan wandered down the narrow cobblestone lanes. She had a map in her bag, but the clerk at the front desk had assured her that it was impossible to get lost.
"If you get turned around, just look up and head in the direction of the bell tower," she'd said.
The bell tower. A place to dream.
I'm actually in St. Amelia! She thought as she spun around in a circle with a broad smile stretched across her face.
"That must be a pretty special thought to make you smile like that," a voice rang out.
Megan turned toward the voice and saw a grey-haired man sitting outside of a gift shop. Next to his canvas chair, there was an easel with a sketch pad clipped to it.
Megan blushed a little when she realized the man must have been watching her meander around like an awestruck tourist, but his face seemed so friendly that she didn't let being watched bother her too much.
"I guess I'm just excited about being here," she confessed as she crossed over to where the man was sitting.
"Well, it's nice to know that visitors are happy to be in our little village." He rose from his seat slightly and extended his hand to Megan. "My name is Gerard Laurent."
"My name is Megan. Megan Garrett." She shook Gerard's hand.
"Come, have a seat and let me draw that beautiful smile."
Gerard pointed to a stool in front of his easel.
"How much do you charge for your drawings?" Megan asked somewhat cautiously. Gerard seemed like a legitimate artist, but Megan's travel brochure had warned tourists about grifters who tried to con people out of their money.
Gerard tilted his head first to one side than to the other.
"For you? I think two euro will do. I'll knock it down to one if you tell me what brings you to our little village."
Megan couldn't help but laugh. If Gerard was a grifter he wasn't a very good one a that price. Megan slid onto the stool and ran her fingers through her hair hoping she didn't look like too much of a mess after a day of traveling.
She sat stone still for a few minutes as Gerard's hand flew across his sketch pad.
"So, now for your story. What brings you to St. Amelia?" he asked.
Megan hesitated for a minute. She could just tell Gerard she was visiting random medieval villages, but something in her wanted to tell him the whole truth.
"Well, I'm a school teacher, but ever since I was a teenager I've wanted to be a writer. I was inspired by an author named Rachel Durand. She moved from the United States to St. Amelia in the 1990's and I just found out that she passed away last year."
Megan let out a deep sigh.
"I hope being here — the place where she found so much inspiration — will inspire me to finish a novel I started ten years ago."
"Hmm. Sounds like an exciting adventure. I'm not familiar with your favorite author, but tell me what is it about writing that you love?"
Megan paused before answering the question. "I love the way writing allows me to express a different part of myself. I can create characters who aren't afraid of the things I'm afraid of. They can do all of the things I want to do but can't."
Gerard just nodded his head. "I think I understand. I too used to live in fear of doing what I really wanted to do." He paused and peeked over the edge of his sketch pad. "I taught elementary school in Lyon for more than thirty years, but I always wanted to be an artist. Now don't get me wrong I loved teaching and I especially loved the kids I taught, but there was always a part of me that wanted to draw and paint. I just never made the time to pursue it. When I finally retired two years ago I sold everything I owned and moved here. And now I sit all day drawing stranger's smiles."
Megan was stunned. Something about Gerard's story made her very sad. What would her life be like if she kept working at Eastwood for another thirty years without pursuing her writing? The thought of it made her stomach turn.
"Hey! Where did that smile go?" Gerard teased.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said trying to will the smile back in place. "It's just that what you said really hit home."
"Well, young lady. I have only one piece of advice for you. Don't dream your dreams, live your dreams!"
He tore off the sheet from his sketch pad with a flourish and handed it to Megan.
She almost didn't recognize the image staring back at her. The woman on the page looked happy and determined. Like she was someone who was definitely going to follow the old man's advice.
Chapter 4
The hotel room was empty when Brandi got back from the wedding rehearsal. Megan's unpacked bags were still beside the bed, so at least Brandi knew she hadn't left town.
What a day, she thought as she rubbed her temples trying to let go of some of the stress she was feeling. She still couldn't believe a simple trip to St. Amelia had already been filled with this much drama. She flopped across the bed.
I just have to make it through the wedding and then I can focus my attention back on something easy — work.
She knew it was kind of pitiful that work was the thing she ran to when she was stressed. As much as she'd been trying to deny it seeing Megan, along with watching Sophia and Renee today, had stirred up some feelings that Brandi didn't know she had.
Was a relationship something she was really ready for? Something she really wanted? She looked over at Megan's bags. She felt a twinge in her heart as she remembered how she'd felt in high school when she and Megan spent time alone together at her house. Even before the kiss, Brandi knew there was something special about Megan.
She wasn't a cool kid. In fact, she was pretty honest about how awkward she felt at Eastwood, but Megan didn't seem to care about being popular at school or dressing a certain way. She was just okay being herself. Brandi had envied that about her.
Brandi let out a big sigh and closed her eyes. Maybe she just needed a nap before dinner. Maybe sleep would clear her head and then she'd be able to figure out what to do next. Maybe Megan would come back soon so they could talk some more.
Brandi nodded off in a haze of maybes.
***
Brandi felt the warm water splashing around her ankles as she stepped into the hot tub. She had a firm grasp on Megan's hand and lead her into the water behind her. Once both of their bodies were submerged under the warm bubbles, Brandi pulled Megan's body toward hers. She looked into Megan's eyes and felt a sense of calm, unlike anything she'd experienced since her mother died.
This was where she wanted to be — in Megan's arms.
Their bodies floated freely in the middle of the bubbles, skin occasionally touching as they moved their arms and legs only enough to keep their heads above water.
Brandi reached out and ran her hands down Megan's back. She wanted more of the silky feeling of Megan's wet skin. It was so soft.
When her hand touched the top of Megan's bikini bottoms she ran her hand down the wet fabric cupping Megan's butt. She pulled Megan's body closer to
hers letting her legs fall on either side of Brandi's waist then, with Megan's legs splayed open Brandi hooked one finger under the elastic in one leg hole of her swimsuit. She ran her finger around until she could feel a wetness that didn't come from the water. This is what Brandi wanted. This is what she'd been waiting for. As she reached her finger into Megan's warm center she pulled her head close so they could kiss. Fingers and tongues danced in ecstasy and Brandi knew she was home.
***
Brandi woke to the sound of her cell phone chirping. Her body was still trembling from the dream and she could feel the wetness between her legs that made the dream seem all too real.
"Hello," she said, trying to make her voice sound a little less like she'd just been dangling on the edge of a dreamtime orgasm.
"The decorating committee is driving me crazy!" Franco, her friend, and interior designer bellowed.
Brandi sighed.
Franco and Brandi were both on the Board of Directors of Le Sanctuarie, an organization that provided food, temporary shelter, and job training for homeless LGBTQ youth. For the past three years Franco had handled the event decor for the organization's major fundraiser gala, but this year he was trying his hand at delegating the task to a committee. It obviously wasn't going to well.
"Do you know those people actually wanted to use fake flowers in the centerpieces! Fake plastic flowers! Not only are they hideous but they're environmentally toxic. How would I be able to show my face if I allowed that sacrilege to take place?"
Brandi just sighed. "I think you are well within your rights to object to environmentally unsound decorations."
"Thank you. That's what I thought. I just wanted to run it by someone before I called an bit their heads off." He paused for a moment.
"And what's wrong with you? You sound sad."
"Nothing. I'm okay. I guess." She took a deep breath trying to shake off the memory of Megan in the dream. "It's just there's this woman…"
"Oh, good grief! You haven't even been there for twenty-four hours and you've already managed to meet someone and screw things up in that short period of time?"
"No it's not like that," Brandi protested. Although her track record did make it reasonable for Franco to be alarmed. "The hotel was overbooked and I ended up having to share a room with this woman I used to know. It actually would have been a funny coincidence if it weren't for the fact that I broke her heart back when we were in high school."
"Are you serious? Franco exclaimed. "Who runs into an ex in a foreign country?"
"Me, I guess," Brandi said equally baffled by her luck.
"Is she still cute?" Franco asked. "You know you're a sucker for cute. Beautiful you can resist. Sexy just makes you horny and possessive, but cute, that my friend is your Achilles heel."
Brandi started to object to Franco's analysis of her, but when she thought about it he had a point. In Brandi's mind cute usually went hand in hand with smart and fun and that's what she was drawn to the most. In high school, Megan had been cute in an awkward kind of way with her glasses and no frills style of dressing. The adult Megan had ditched the glasses, but she still dressed in a manner that made it clear that comfort was her first priority.
"Yeah, she's cute," Brandi confessed.
"Well, try not to mess things up by sleeping with her on the first night, okay?" Franco teased.
The thought made Brandi flashback to her dream.
"I don't think there's much chance of that happening. She kind of hates my guts."
"Oh, since when has a little hatred stopped you from getting laid, my dear? I thought make-up sex was like an Olympic sport for you."
"Whatever!"
"Don't whatever me, Brandi Turner. I know you. Picking up women is like breathing for you. Your problem is you haven't met a woman who takes your breath away!"
***
The restaurant was already buzzing with wedding guests when Brandi arrived. Quite a few people who weren't in the wedding party had come in this evening to take advantage of a destination wedding get-a-way so close to home. The sign at the door indicated that the restaurant was closed for a private party so Brandi expected nothing but friendly faces in the room — that is unless Megan was inside.
"Hey, Brandi!" Renee was waving from a seat at a long table in the center of the room.
Brandi walked over and slid into a seat next to her friend.
"Where's Megan?" Sophia asked peering over Renee with a sarcastic smile.
Renee cut her eyes at her fiancé.
"What? Is it a crime for me to ask where her roommate is?"
Renee just shook her head and looked at Brandi apologetically. Of course, neither Renee or Sophia knew what had happened inside the hotel room between Megan and Brandi.
"I don't know where Megan is, Sophia. She wasn't in the room when I got back from the wedding rehearsal."
"Oh." Sophia's smile dropped. "Okay."
"Renee, would you please tell your bride to be that not everyone is looking to get hooked up at her wedding. No offense to marital bliss and all, but some of us are just fine being single."
"Humph," Sophia snorted in disbelief. "I don't buy all that I love being single stuff. It's highly overrated."
"Leave Brandi alone, Sweetheart. Everyone can't be as lucky as you were to find a catch like me."
Someone at the table clinked a knife against their glass and the two women leaned in for a kiss.
When the conversation around the table picked up again Renee inched her chair closer to Brandi's and whispered in her ear.
"I'm not really buying your happy and single routine today either. What's gotten into you? You've been kind of moody ever since you checked into the hotel." Renee paused. "Does this have something to do with your roommate?"
Brandi just shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't want to talk about it. She'd done all she could to apologize to Megan and if she was still mad then Brandi would just have to ignore her.
Just as most of the guests were finishing their meals Sophia spotted Megan walking through the hotel lobby.
"Hey, Megan!" She shouted loudly. "We're in here."
Brandi thought she saw the look of a trapped animal crossed Megan's face, but it vanished under a smile as she walked toward the restaurant door. She watched Megan scan the crowded room.
"Come sit over here, Megan. There's plenty of room at our table."
Brandi watched Megan glance from one end of the long table to the other and then choose the empty seat that was furthest from where Brandi was sitting.
Brandi watched Megan as she sat down.
"Sorry I'm late," Megan said softly.
A waiter appeared behind her. "Can I get you anything, Madame?" he asked pointing to the pre-selected menu options written on a small card in the middle of the empty plate in front of her.
"Umm, I'm not very hungry right now. Maybe I'll just start with a cappuccino."
The waiter looked down at her with a stone face.
Gwen, one of the bridesmaids sitting to her right explained the waiter's reaction.
"In France, we don't really drink milked coffee after breakfast," she warned with a wink. "We can be downright snobby about it."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Megan looked up at the waiter with an apologetic face. "Maybe just some regular coffee then."
The waiter twisted his lip and walked away.
"Looks like you've been shopping," Sophia said attempting to bring levity back into the room.
Megan had tucked a few small bags and what looked like a rolled up poster under her chair.
"Yeah, I went for a walk around the village and picked up a few souvenirs for my mom and some friends back home.
"Were you shopping for any special friends?" Sophia asked. Her tone was about as subtle as a locomotive.
"Soph," Renee said with a warning tone in her voice.
"What? I'm just trying to get to know our new friend."
The woman was unstoppable.
"So what broug
ht you to St. Amelia?" Renee asked, cutting off anymore relationship centered questions from Sophia.
"Oh. I… I'm a writer and the novelist who inspired my career used to live here."
"Hey, you must be talking about Rachel Durand," one of the guests named Cindy chimed from a seat close to Brandi.
When Megan turned to acknowledge Cindy's comment her eyes briefly met Brandi's and then darted away.
"Oh, I love her work," Sophia interjected. "All those novels set in beautiful places from the past. It's all so romantic."
Renee put her arm around Sophia. "You just love, love, don't you?"
"You'd better believe it! It's what makes the world go round." Sophia waved her hands in the air like she was spinning the globe on her fingertips.
Brandi had to laugh at Sophia's habitually romantic thoughts. If she was fake it would be annoying, but she really bought into the whole finding true love thing. Maybe that's why she was able to find Renee. Because she believed it was possible.
"Do you write historical fiction like Durand?" Renee asked.
"Well, I'm working on my first novel now, but most of what I've written in the past were just short stories and poems that I published on my blog."
"Ooo! I'd love to read some of your work," Sophia exclaimed. "What's your blog address?" Sophia asked.
"It's just my name. MeganGarrett.blognow.com. Real easy to remember."
"I'm going to look it up later, Megan. Maybe one day I'll be able to say I knew you when," Sophia beamed. "Of course Brandi will always be able to say I knew you first."
The look on Sophia's face was a clear indicator that she was about to launch into another one of her exploratory questioning session.
"I think that's my cue to hit the dance floor," Brandi whispered to Renee.
The DJ was just starting to spin and only a few woman had stepped onto the dance floor at the far end of the restaurant.
Brandi didn't care. She didn't even stop to ask anyone else to dance. She just wanted to get on the floor and move her body — hoping to dislodge some of the tension she was feeling.