Flight of Fancie

by Linda Rettstatt

  “You’re very organized. And trusting.”

  He grinned again. “You haven’t yet seen the den—my home office.” He stood and began to gather their empty plates.

  “Oh, no. I’ll clean up the dishes. Where are you driving to today?”

  “My parents live in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Just outside of Philly. It’ll take me about six hours. I should be there in time for my mom’s pot roast.”

  Luke fetched Barney from the back yard. Fancie scratched behind the dog’s ears. “Bye, Barney. You have fun in your travels.”

  Fancie followed Luke to the front door where he’d left his packed bags. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me get the job and for this place to live.”

  “You’re welcome for the place to live. The job you got all on your own. Dr. Archer was very impressed.” He opened the door and picked up his bags. “Oh, Kate said to give her a call once you’re settled. I left her number on that list I gave you. She’d like to show you the area a little more.”

  “She seems very nice.” Fancie followed him down the steps and out to his Jeep, Barney dancing around his feet and waiting to be let into the vehicle.

  “She is. Most folks here are friendly, willing to help out any time.”

  “Is Kate your girlfriend?”

  “My girlfriend? No, we’re friends.” He hoisted his second bag into the back of the vehicle. “You have my phone number if there’s a problem. I do appreciate you being willing to greet the students. Otherwise, I’d have had to postpone this visit. Next Friday is my parents’ anniversary and I’m happy I can be there.”

  “Drive safely. Enjoy your visit. Where do you go from there?”

  “Virginia and the Carolinas, back to Georgia, then Alabama and Mississippi.” He climbed into the Jeep and glanced up at the house. “It’s all yours. Enjoy.”

  Fancie watched him drive away, then turned and faced the house. She realized that, in twenty-eight years, she’d never lived alone. She decided to unpack and familiarize herself better with the house, then take a walk around town. She needed to make herself feel as if she belonged here.

  ~

  Fancie walked the two blocks to the center of town. She found a coffee shop and picked up a latte. When she thanked the woman behind the counter, she was met with a curious stare. “Alabama or Mississippi?”

  “Uh, Mississippi. How did you know?”

  A broad smile creased the woman’s face. “Hattiesburg. Been here sixteen years, though.”

  “You’re kidding. The first person I meet in Henniker is from my home state? I’m from Columbus—almost in Alabama. I’ve been here about eleven hours.”

  The woman extended a hand. “Kinley Slater.”

  “Fancie…Francine Hollensby.”

  “Are you visiting?”

  Fancie shook her head. “I’ll be teaching at the college.”

  “You came all this way from Columbus to teach here?”

  “Long story. The short version is that I quit my job to get married. That didn’t exactly work out. I met someone who teaches here and found out about an opening. Here I am.”

  The bell over the door jangled and two young women came in laughing. When Fancie made to leave, Kinley held up a finger and said, “One minute.” She filled the drink orders then turned her attention back to Fancie. “Who talked you into coming here?”

  “Luke Campbell.”

  “Luke! What a nice guy.” She knit her brows together. “How’d you meet up with Luke?”

  Fancie explained about her non-honeymoon trip to Tybee Island. “He is a very nice man to let five women invade his house to use the showers.” Two couples came through the door then. Fancie smiled. “I should let you get back to work. Thanks for the coffee.”

  “Stop by again. We southern girls need to stick together.” Kinley waved and then turned her attention to her new customers.

  Fancie stepped out in the afternoon sun—warm but not nearly as hot and humid as what she was used to this time of year. A soft breeze blew across her face. She walked to the stone bridge that spanned the narrow river and sipped her drink. She was still smiling from her encounter with Kinley, thinking how having another southerner in town made her feel just a little more at home, when a car horn startled her.

  Kate waved from an open car window and leaned across the seat. “Hi. How’s it going?”

  Fancie walked to the car. “Good. I just got here last night and thought I’d take a walk, get familiar with the area.”

  “I’d show you around, but I have some things I have to get done. How about dinner, though?”

  “Oh, you don’t have to….”

  “We both have to eat. I’ll come by around six. Is that good? You like seafood?”

  “Love it. Thanks.”

  “See you then.” With a final wave, Kate drove up the hill past the campus.

  Fancie followed a path around one of the buildings and soon found herself at the covered bridge. Her footsteps echoed as she walked to the center. She stopped and watched a spider busily weaving her web. She was not fond of spiders, but in the outdoors, they often held fascination. Especially the intricacies of the web, the way moisture clung to the fine strands and those same delicate threads could trap and hold an insect twice the size of the web’s owner. Fancie shuddered at this thought.

  For some reason, that web brought Graham to mind. She was still confused by his sudden change of heart. What was lacking in her that made him set her free? Did a spider ever look at a fly and think, Nah, not this one and release it from the web? No, she mused. They simply left their unclaimed prey there to die and dry up until they crumbled. She stood in the middle of the covered bridge alone, tears threatening. She had been entertaining thoughts of how she didn’t measure up, wasn’t good enough for Graham. Perhaps he wasn’t good enough for her. It was time to be grateful she hadn’t gotten caught in a web from which she couldn’t get free and in a marriage where she’d just dry up and fall to dust. That chapter was closed. The next chapter had only blank pages upon which she would write her own story.

  Crossing the bridge, she followed the worn path along the river. She found a fallen log near the water and sat. Knees drawn up, she crossed her arms and lowered her head. The sun pressed a warm kiss to the back of her neck. Something tickled her forearm and she lifted her head to see a small butterfly with nearly-transparent blue wings standing on her arm. She held her breath for fear of chasing it off. “I envy you,” she told the insect. “You know exactly who you are and where you’re going.”

  As if to prove her point, the butterfly lifted slowly from her arm, wings fluttering as it danced around her before heading out across the clear water of the river. Fancie watched until it fluttered out of sight. She stood and brushed off the seat of her jeans before climbing back up the hill into a parking lot behind the business district. The image of blank pages stuck with her. Her story was hers to write. It was time. Time to move on and follow her instincts. New enthusiasm put a spark in her step as she headed back to the house. The first thing she did when she reached the house was to rummage in her boxes and locate the multi-colored glass butterfly she’d purchased in the gift shop on Tybee. She looped the chain over the window latch and watched as the afternoon sun sent a rainbow spray of color around the room. This would be her symbol for new life.

  All the way to New Hampshire, Fancie had the nagging feeling she was running away from something. Now she did a 360 degree turn around the room, dancing in the colorful spray of light, and felt as if she had set off on a migration toward something, a chance to test and trust her own wings.

  Chapter Twelve

  The doorbell rang at six on the dot. Realizing she hadn’t asked Kate how she should dress for dinner, Fancie wore a pair of black slacks and a pale blue silk blouse. Kate stood on the porch with her back to the door. She wore jeans and a tee shirt under a denim jacket with the sleeves rolled. She turned and smiled. “Hi. Ready?”

  Fancie looked down at her outfit. “Am
I dressed okay?”

  Kate laughed. “You’re fine, but if you’d prefer jeans, I can wait. I should have told you we’re going very casual. It’s a little family restaurant on the river a little ways out of town. Tonight’s their seafood night. Shrimp, lobster and all-you-can-eat crab legs.”

  Fancie thought of lobster, crab and drawn butter. “I think I’ll change, if you don’t mind.” She hurried back up the stairs and pulled on jeans and an Ole Miss tee shirt. When she returned, Kate was standing at the door talking to a man on the other side.

  “This is Justin Bridgeforth. He said he texted Luke about moving in a week early.”

  Fancie frowned. Luke hadn’t contacted her about this. She looked from Kate to Justin and back again. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting him.” She smiled at Justin. “Please, come in. I’m Francine Hollensby.”

  “If you just give me a key and point me to my room, I won’t hold you up. I have to unload my car.”

  Justin was tall and lanky, with loose-fitting jeans and a tee shirt bearing a diagram of the human brain. His dark hair curled around his ears and the stems of his glasses. He looked to be in his mid-thirties—not the typical student Fancie expected.

  “I already paid my first month’s rent.”

  “Yes, Luke did tell me that.”

  Kate leaned against the wall. “I don’t mind waiting. Get him settled and then we can go.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Very.” She smiled at Justin. “I’m Professor Jordan. Math. What’s your course of study?”

  “Mental Health Counseling. I’m an Army vet and going for my Masters.”

  Kate nodded. “Well, we can’t have too many of those. Counselors, I mean. Welcome to Henniker.”

  He nodded and stepped around Kate to accept the key Fancie offered. His limp was slight but noticeable. “The gold key is to the front and back doors. The silver is for your room. Luke said you have the third floor.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. We’re just leaving for dinner.”

  “You both live here?” he asked.

  “No, just me.” That realization sent a frisson of anxiety through her. She would feel much more comfortable if Maura, the other student resident, had already moved in. Then she decided she was being ridiculous. Besides, her bedroom door also had a lock.

  When they were in the car, Kate said, “Check your phone. It’s not like Luke to have not let you know to expect Justin early.”

  Fancie dug her phone from her purse. Nothing on voicemail. Nothing on text. “Nope. I’ll text him and ask.”

  A few minutes later, her phone beeped. Luke had responded and Fancie read the message aloud. “Just received his text before yours. R U OK with this?”

  She stared at her phone.

  Kate asked, “Well? Are you?”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She sent a reply. “OK here.”

  “That was pretty nervy of him to just show up and not wait for a reply from Luke,” Kate said. “I wonder how old he is.”

  “I don’t know, mid-thirties. It’s probably in the rental information Luke has. I must have missed it. He’s only a few days early. I’ll calculate the difference in his rent and let him know he needs to pay extra next month.”

  “You’re handling the rent?”

  “I told Luke I didn’t mind. It’s part of our…er…arrangement.”

  “Arrangement?”

  Fancie felt uncomfortable sharing the details with Kate, but she’d already opened that can of worms. “In exchange for a room, I’m helping Luke out by keeping an eye on the place, collecting the rent, forwarding any mail that looks important for him. My parents are offering him hospitality in Mississippi while he does his research.”

  “I see.” Kate kept her gaze forward on the road. “Convenient.” Changing the subject, Kate asked, “Have you been to the coast?”

  “No, but I intend to drive over there before classes begin. I’ve been to the ocean in Georgia and down on the Gulf, but I hear the New England Coast is very different.”

  “It is. Rocky, mostly. Not the white sandy beaches you’re probably used to. Some parts of New England have beaches like that, though not the white sand. We should go one day.”

  Though Fancie had planned to spend a day on her own exploring the area, she didn’t want to offend Kate by refusing her offer. “That would be fun.”

  What the restaurant lacked in décor it made up for in cuisine. Fancie sat back in her chair, wiping her fingers on the towelette the waitress had provided. It was the third one she’d used. She looked down at the paper bib dotted with buttery splotches and grinned. “Glad I changed my shirt. I swear I always have to take something home with me. I’m one of those ‘you can dress her up but you can’t take her out’ people.”

  Kate laughed. “I’m the opposite. I’m the ‘you can’t dress her up’ type.”

  When the bill came, Kate snatched it up. “My treat. Remember?”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “It’s fine. Besides, now you owe me one.” She winked and handed the waitress a platinum card with the bill. “There aren’t that many people our age around here who aren’t students. I try to stay away from those relationships. They never end well. I hope we can be friends.” She added a tip to the receipt the waitress brought and said, “Ready to go?”

  Once outside, Fancie drew in a deep breath. “It’s a beautiful evening. This time of year in Mississippi, it’s still hot, humid and the mosquitoes are biting.”

  “This must be quite a culture shock for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, New Hampshire is so different from Mississippi, isn’t it? I mean, you just said so.”

  “The climate is different. Y’all speak with an accent. But beyond that, people are people.”

  Kate laughed. “We speak with an accent? You all have the accent.”

  “If you’re going to say y’all, say it right,” Fancie admonished.

  “You’ll?”

  “Ya. All. But the first ‘a’ is silent. Y’all.”

  Kate shook her head. “I think I’d better stick to my Yankee accent or I’m sure to offend someone. Well, you I suppose. I think you’re the only southerner in Henniker.”

  “Not true. Haven’t you met Kinley Slater? She runs the coffee shop.”

  “Kinley doesn’t count. She’s lived here for years.”

  Doesn’t count? Like living here for years would whip the Southerner right out of her? “I won’t tell her you said that. Where we come from, once a Southerner, always a Southerner.”

  “Should I be worried that the South will rise again in Henniker?”

  “Some of us are still certain we might win the Civil War, given time.”

  Kate turned on the radio and sang very loudly and off key when the song Happy came on. She smiled and, said, “Come on. Sing.”

  Just like that, the mood shifted again. Fancie belted out the words, “…because I’m happy.” And she was.

  Fancie used the computer in Luke’s den to check email. Her laptop was dead and she’d yet to find the charger. After she shut it down, she browsed the bookshelves—classic literature and history. A mantle over the fireplace on the far wall held several framed photographs. She studied them, trying to figure out which of the children was Luke. She narrowed it down to one of two boys who looked to be almost the same size and age. Then, in one of the pictures of the boys standing with an older man and holding fishing rods, she noticed the lopsided grin.

  She startled at the sound of footsteps outside the door.

  “Excuse me,” Justin’s said. “I didn’t have time to shop for groceries. Is there a chance I could make a sandwich? I’ll replace the food tomorrow.”

  “No problem. I have plenty in the fridge. Help yourself. There’s a bag of chips on the counter and I made iced tea. It’s sweet, though.”

  “Thanks. So, what classes are you taking?”

  Fancie smiled. “I’m no
t. I’ll be teaching Creative Writing.”

  “I’m sorry. You look too young to be a professor.”

  “Thank you.”

  He grinned. “And I probably look too old to be a student.”

  “You were in Iraq?”

  “Afghanistan. Two tours.”

  “Thank you for serving.”

  He continued to lean on the door frame and stare at her. Her senses heightened. “Do you need anything else?” she asked.

  “No. Thanks. I’ll just make a sandwich and go back to unpacking.”

  She breathed in relief when she heard Justin ascend the stairs. From the bookshelves she pulled a copy of The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. In the kitchen, she filled a glass with water and then headed to her bedroom. She locked the door behind her.

  Fancie woke to sun glinting between the blinds. She had a department meeting at eight and hustled to the shower. She glanced at the stairs at the far end of the hall and to the closed door at the top. Justin could still be sleeping or he could have already gone out. If he’d left, he’d done so quietly. After a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal, she grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door.

  The walk to campus got her blood pumping. Students had begun arriving to settle into the dorms and other apartments in town. They lugged suitcases and boxes from the trunks of cars, nodding to Fancie as she passed. Kinley swept the sidewalk outside the entrance of her shop. She stopped and waved, giving Fancie a broad smile. Fancie waved back. She was starting to feel at home here. This was a transition time for her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was transitioning from or to, but knew there was a purpose in her being here beyond teaching a class.

  Dr. Archer greeted her warmly when she strolled into the administration office. “Miss Hollensby, so glad to have you with us.”