by Sarah Biglow
She checked her phone, expecting a text from Chris letting her know he was waiting out front. No new messages. “Come on, where are you?”
Kalina busied herself packing up the cake and pulling on her jacket but still no word from Chris. Finally, she sent him a text. ‘Are you on your way? We will be late.’
Still no response.
This was not the way she wanted to spend her Thanksgiving but she couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed that he was suddenly ignoring her. Finally, she pulled on her coat and stowed her phone in her pocket for safekeeping. Time to brave the storm.
Torrents of water buffeted her all the way to her car. She practically dove into the driver seat; the cake container almost landed sideways on the passenger seat. She let out a breath—air condensing in front of her—and started the engine. She set the wipers on high and waited for the heat to kick in before she pulled out of the driveway and turned left down her street.
Her phone began to ring loudly halfway to Jillian’s house. “Great.”
Her mood already on edge, she pulled over to the side of the road and yanked the phone free. Chris’s number flashed on the Caller ID. She hit ‘Accept’ and put the phone on speaker so she could keep driving. “Hey.” She did her best to keep her tone neutral.
“I am so sorry, Kal.”
“You can meet me there. That’s fine.”
“I don’t think I can make it.”
“You promised.” It came out as more of a whine than she’d intended.
“I know. I wish I could be there, believe me. But I got called out to the beach for a case. I swear I will find a way to make it up to you.”
She took several breaths before she responded. “Fine. I get it. You have to work. You can’t choose when dead bodies turn up.”
“Please don’t be mad at me. I told the guys I was off today but Jimmy called last minute and said he needed my help on this one.”
Kalina’s anger softened a touch at the young officer’s name. He was a good kid but eager to impress. She also wasn’t above gently grilling him for information when she needed something. But that hadn’t happened in months. She was trying to stay out of police matters. She was a comic book shop owner, after all. “Okay. I’ll pass on your regrets to everyone.”
“Thanks. I love you.”
She smiled. “I love you too.”
Easing to a stop at a crosswalk, she hit ‘End’ and set her phone aside. Her sister’s house loomed up ahead on the side of town farthest from the beach. Jillian had insisted on staying local but when AJ had come along she’d wanted a yard too. Somehow, Kalina’s older sister got exactly what she wanted. She was lucky that way. Even getting pregnant right out of college, Jillian managed to make it all work.
Through the downpour she spotted her mom’s car in the driveway. She pulled up beside it and braced herself for the short trek to the front door. Pulling the hood of her coat up over her face, she grabbed the cake container and darted from the car. Thirty seconds later, she was safely inside the front hall being greeted by her nephew, AJ.
“It’s really coming down out there,” he said and took the container so she could peel her soaked jacket from her shoulders.
“It’s insane. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned to snow later tonight.” She leaned against the door to kick off her rain boots and put on her flats.
AJ lifted the lid of the container and took a sniff. “Where’s Chris?”
“Working. He got called away on an urgent case.”
“Lame.”
“Behave yourself,” she chided and quickly finger-combed her hair so she looked presentable before her sister appeared.
“AJ, put that in the kitchen,” Jillian ordered. She stood a good four inches taller than Kalina and she’d inherited their mother’s wavy curls and light brown hair.
No one would have ever accused them of being siblings, and yet they’d shared a bedroom until Jillian had gone off to college. They weren’t especially close these days but Jillian seemed pleased that Kalina was keeping AJ out of trouble.
“Sorry I’m late … and dateless,” Kalina muttered.
“It’s a hell of a storm out there. I’m just glad you made it over safely.” Jillian’s facial features softened and she pulled her sister into an impromptu hug.
“How many glasses of wine have you had?” Kalina whispered.
“Shut up.” Jillian pulled away but smiled. “Do you want red or white?”
“Whatever’s open,” Kalina said with a dismissive wave.
“Red it is.”
Kalina followed her sister into the kitchen. Her brother-in-law, Daniel, stood by the stove dutifully stirring their mother’s homemade gravy. He was a decent guy. He’d stuck with Jillian and married her after he’d gotten her pregnant. They seemed to have a solid marriage now. She had to give them both credit for sticking it out and really building something in the years since AJ came along.
“Hey, where’s Mom?” Kalina asked, accepting the glass of wine Jillian hastily shoved into her hand.
“Living room. She’s … not handling things well today.”
Kalina excused herself with a nod towards the living room and disappeared. Her mother sat on the couch, staring out at the storm. She settled in beside her and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, Mom. How are you?”
“Fine, sweetheart.” She didn’t look away from the window.
“Mom, come on, it’s me. I know you miss him. We all do.”
Her mother turned to face Kalina with tears already staining her cheeks. “I thought I would be okay, having you girls with me. I’m so sorry.”
Kalina set her glass down on the table and wrapped her mother in a hug. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about, Mom. You have a good cry.”
They sat together for a few minutes in silence, the only sound the occasional murmurs from the kitchen and the hammering of the rain outside. Kalina briefly wondered where her nephew had disappeared to but her curiosity died when a loud knock echoed from the front of the house. She didn’t move, unsure whether it was a knock on the front door or if it was just the weather raging. When the sound came again—this time a more distinct knocking—she extricated herself from her mother’s embrace and went to answer the door. A woman—maybe in her early forties—stood on the front porch, purse clutched to her chest. Her hair was matted to her scalp from the rain.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Jillian.”
Kalina turned toward the kitchen and called, “Jillian, there’s someone here for you.”
Her sister appeared in view and immediately raced forward. “Come in, come in.”
Kalina stepped out of the way, letting Jillian dote on their surprise guest. She waited to be introduced but in all of her fussing Jillian seemed to have forgotten the rest of the family. Even AJ had appeared—from his room it turned out—to survey the commotion.
“You want to introduce us, Jill?” Kalina asked.
Jillian blushed. “Sorry. This is Savannah Hennessey. We went to college together.”
Savannah stood shivering and dripping on the welcome mat. “It’s actually Chase now. Thomas and I got married a couple years ago.” The mention of her marriage brought tears to Savannah’s eyes and her lower lip quivered. “I think something awful has happened to my husband.”
Coming May 2016
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Find out more here: www.sarah-biglow.com
Also By This Author
Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries
Toil and Trouble
Pains and Penalties
Stand Alone Titles
Unplanned
Archangel Rising: Volume 1
About The Author
Sarah lives in Massachusetts with her fiancé. She is a licensed
attorney and spends her days combatting employment discrimination as an Investigator with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
She is a self-professed TV junkie and in her spare time (what’s that?), she runs a TV recap blog with her best friend (and sorority sister), Jen.
You can connect with Sarah on Twitter @SBiglowWrites or by joining her newsletter on www.sarah-biglow.com
For those TV-obsessed souls, you can head on over to the recap blog: www.more-tv-please.com. You can also follow the blog on Twitter @MoreTVPlease and check it out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoreTVPlease.