by C Farren
“Santa!” the girl cried. She ran off and started talking to Camden, who engaged her in conversation.
“She’s called Paula,” said Benedict, smiling at his daughter. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” She was too embarrassed to ask so he said, “Paula’s mother, Liz, and I were best friends in college. She was gay. A few years back we decided to have a baby together, and that little cutie was the result.” He looked a little uncomfortable as he added, “Liz didn’t take to motherhood. She left after a few months. I haven’t seen her since.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Wren. “You must miss her.”
“Every day.”
She never thought she’d share such an emotional moment with a criminal drag queen. He looked vulnerable and sweet and the dimple on his chin made her want to reach out and touch him.
So she did.
Benedict grinned. “You’re fondling my chin.”
Wren pulled her hand back. “No! I mean I didn’t mean to. I...”
“I don’t mind. Your hands are soft.”
She wanted to giggle. She wanted to blush. She knew if she did either, then it would tell him she was interested in him, which she wasn’t. She could never be attracted to this man. It was partly his fault her father was in jail. He ran illegal card games and goodness knows what else. She would be an idiot to find him fascinating and handsome.
I’m an idiot.
“I really need to get back,” said Wren, trying her best not to look at him. His eyes were so pretty. “I’m busy and I need to do... something. Something important.”
“Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” he asked.
She stopped with her hand on the door handle.
“No,” she answered. “Sorry. I’m... dating someone else.”
“When that fails, you know where to find me.”
She hated that smugness in his voice.
“How do you know it will fail?” she demanded. “Am I that awful that you’d assume my new relationship with fail?”
“I wasn’t assuming anything,” he said. “I was just hoping, is all.”
Wren tried her best to stop it from forming, but it did – she smiled. She pushed the door open and almost ran across the road back to the Metropolitan.
Chapter 5
For the next few hours, Wren sat in the Metropolitan, going through the accounting books on Garrett’s laptop. They were in good shape. The man clearly had an eye for math. She wasn’t entirely sure yet how to pay taxes and so forth, but she’d find out. She knew running a business was going to be complicated. A few tax forms were not going to put her off.
Wren closed her eyes, the strain in her forehead painful. She’d overworked herself today. She didn’t have to do everything all at once, yet she was excited to have things fully functional as soon as possible. She couldn’t wait to be running the place, serving coffees, being her own boss.
She stood and stretched, ready to find Gracie and give her a cuddle. Her metallic chair fell back and hit the back wall, making a small hole.
“Damn,” she vented. “This’ll cost a fortune.”
She inspected the hole, wondering if she could fix it herself. It couldn’t be that hard. All she needed was some plaster and a tin of paint. She’d decorated her own house easily enough.
“What is that?” she muttered.
She kneeled down and pushed aside some plaster. She looked through the hole. There was some sort of hidden room. It had likely been blocked off for some reason.
Maybe there’s a skeleton behind there.
She laughed, but she’d never count out anything so macabre ever again. She had seen two dead bodies herself in the past couple of months.
She quickly phoned Jordan. Maybe he would know. “I found this hidden room in the Metropolitan,” she told him. “Anything I should know about?”
“Oh, that. Mom had this little stage built because she wanted bands and stuff to play in the coffee shop, but they decided against it in the end and walled the area off. I myself thought it was a good idea.”
“It is a good idea.”
He hung up, saying he was going to a party, and she said goodbye. Wren started to think about the hidden stage. Would this be something to separate her tenure as owner from Garrett’s? Could she actually turn this coffee shop into something more, a little music venue for indie singers and bands?
I’m getting really excited now.
Wren knew she could do this. All she had to do was hire someone to knock down the wall. She didn’t have much money left in the bank, but she’d find a way. There had to be a way. She knew this could work.
Gracie was sniffing at the hole in the wall. She started pawing at it furiously, seemingly making a game out of it.
“Stop that,” Wren told her. “You’ll just get plaster dust all over you.”
The cat stopped and turned to look at her. She meowed and walked away, her tail held up high. Wren knew it meant Gracie was displeased with her.
The doorbell jangled, and Keegan walked in. He was in his deputy’s uniform, though it did look a little crumpled that morning. That wasn’t like him. He always ironed his uniform. His dad, the sheriff, was a stickler for decorum.
“A little bird told me Jordan had given you this place,” he said.
“Fiona is a complete gossip,” said Wren. “Sit down. I have something to tell you.”
He sat down and said, “I know about Lenny. Wanda called me last night to warn me. It was nice of her.” He hesitated before adding, “I dreamed about him all last night. We were together, and married, and he’d never gone to jail. We lived in this big house and there were these faceless children running around and we were happy and still in love. I woke up crying my eyes out.”
She reached across the table to take his hand. His fingers were shaking.
“You still love him,” Wren stated.
“Of course I do,” Keegan admitted. “I never stopped. I’m not sure I know how. I’ve known him ever since I could remember. My first memories are of Lenny. He was my first crush, my first boyfriend, my first love. How can I forget that?”
Wren didn’t know what to say. His relationship with Lenny mirrored her own with Alex, though they’d taken a while to get there (including a date with Keegan where he admitted he was gay and in love with Lenny). Things with Alex had of course exploded as spectacularly as that of Keegan’s with Lenny.
“How did he seem to you?” Keegan asked hopefully.
“He seemed his usual jolly self,” said Wren. She mused about their meeting a bit more, thinking about details she’d missed. “But he was also deeply, deeply sad as well. I think he tried to hide how much prison had changed him.”
“I’m determined not to see him. It’ll be too hard.”
Wren didn’t believe him, but she knew he’d try. Keegan liked to torture himself when it came to Lenny.
“I better go,” said Keegan, standing up. His creased was uniform was creased. He cringed. “Dad is going to kill me for this.”
She said goodbye and he left. Wren turned back to the laptop and searched for a contractor who could knock down the wall. There weren’t any local to Snowflake Bay. A few years ago, they had a local handyman, but he’d moved to Florida. He’d been good friends with her father. They liked to drink together and play card games.
I only hope this new man doesn’t charge too much.
She was about to phone up the contractor when the doorbell jingled again, and Kerry came in. She was carrying the plastic cups that Wren had brought the coffee over in earlier. She had glitter on her jumper and bags under her eyes. She looked like she wished she was anywhere else.
“Gran threatened me with disinheritance if I didn’t bring these back,” said Kerry, plonking the cups on the counter. She looked around the place, appraising it. “I’ll be glad when this place re-opens. There’s not really anywhere for me and my friends to hang out in this pit of a town.”
“What about the youth center?” Wren
inquired.
Kerry grimaced. “That place shut down ages ago. Rats or something.”
Wren returned focus to her laptop, looking through past invoices. A minute later she looked up to find Kerry still standing there, tapping her fingers on the counter. She looked anxious about something.
“You knew Uncle Lenny, right?” Kerry asked.
“I grew up with him,” Wren told her. “We were really good friends. I suppose we still are. Time will tell I guess.”
“Is he really the monster everyone in my family makes him out to be?”
“If you know what happened, then you know it was an accident. Perhaps you should talk to him about it.”
“Mom would freak if I talked to him. She’s already warned me not to go near him.”
Wren indicated for Kerry to sit down. She had a story to tell.
Wren began. “Back when we were about twelve Keegan, Lenny, Alex, Miranda, and I stole a small boat at the pier. We wanted to sail to Dragon Island and see if it really was haunted like they all say. On the way there we started playing around and I fell into the ocean. I couldn’t swim. Your Uncle Lenny rescued me.”
“Are you saying he’s not a bad person?” Kerry asked.
“I’m saying you have to make up your own mind. Now go home. I have work to do.”
The teenager made her exit. Wren hoped she’d given her something to think about, though she herself wasn’t quite sure what.
Five minutes later the doorbell rattled again. Wanda came in. She was carrying a Tupperware box and she was wearing a woodland scene apron streaked with flour. The smell of freshly baked scones wafted over to Wren.
“You baked!” Wren declared, grinning.
Wanda placed the box of pleasures on the table. “I thought I’d treat you. I know how hard it is running a business for the first time.”
“That’s right. You used to run this place as a bakery before Garrett bought it.”
“Sometimes I miss it, but then I tell myself it wasn’t worth the anxiety.”
They ate the scones with fresh butter and whipped cream. They were so delicious that by the time they were finished she’d eaten four of them and she was feeling a little nauseous. It was worth it. Sometimes you had to have a little of life’s luxuries.
“Has Lenny visited you?” Wren asked. “Not that I’m being nosy or anything. It’s just I talked to him earlier.”
“He has,” said Wanda. “But I wasn’t surprised. He told me he’d be getting out on parole a week ago.”
“Chelsea and her husband were arguing about him at the toy store. I don’t think the rest of the family are as happy as you are.”
“Then they’ll have to get used to it. I’ve forgiven him.”
Wren wasn’t sure she totally believed her. Maybe she’d tried to forgive him, but it must be hard, especially when forgiving him meant tearing the family in two. Wanda was a person who got her own way though. She knew that the old woman would find some way to bring peace to her clan.
“Do you think I’m silly for letting him stay?” Wanda asked.
“No,” said Wren. Then she added, “You know Lenny is one of my oldest friends, and I love him to bits. But I’m not sure I could forgive so easily.”
“I’m a religious woman. Forgiveness is part of the whole Christian thing.” Wanda ate a bit more of her scone. “It was hard to forgive him, but I know it was an accident, and I know Lenny is going to hate himself for the rest of his life for what he did. He’s paid enough. We’ve all paid enough. It’s time this family healed and became one again.”
Eleven years ago, Lenny, Chelsea and their sister Belinda had gone to a concert in the city. On the way back Lenny, a little tipsy, had crashed the car and Belinda had died. Lenny had been tried for vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
“Thank you for these scones,” said Wren, changing the subject. “They really are the best in the world. I tried making scones once, but they ended up harder than a brick.”
“Thank you for giving me someone to talk to,” Wanda admitted.
Wren smiled. “It will get better. I promise.”
Her words were followed up the sounds of screeching car tires. Wren looked out to see a car driving towards the front of the toy store. It blared its horn. She screamed out but it was too late—the vehicle smashed into the building.
Chapter 6
Wren stopped on the edge of the road, uncertain what to do. The car was half inside the toy store. The top half of the building groaned precariously, like it was about to collapse at any minute. The car horn blared. People were screaming. Smoke drifted up from the car engine.
“My family are in there!” Wanda screamed.
Wren held the old woman back. “There’s nothing you can do.”
She was already on the phone to emergency services. She wasn’t sure what would happen or how quick they would arrive. They’d never had an emergency like this in Snowflake Bay before.
Another scream came from the car. Wren made a split decision and raced across the road. She couldn’t allow someone to die when she had the power to do something.
Kerry was in the driver’s seat. The seatbelt was tight around her chest and the front window was shattered. There didn’t appear to be any blood. She tried to open the driver’s door, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Are you hurt?” Wren asked. “Kerry?”
Kerry shook her head. “No, but I can’t get my seatbelt off. It’s stuck!”
Wren leaned in through the window. She tried pushing the seatbelt release button but it wouldn’t work. She even tried pulling on the seatbelt itself but she wasn’t strong enough. She felt useless.
Wren looked inside the destroyed toy store. There was masonry and dust everywhere. She couldn’t tell who was inside.
“Wait there,” Wren commanded.
She took a deep breath and headed into the store. There was a Nutcracker letter opener behind the counter. She’d seen Delia using it earlier. It would be perfect to cut the seatbelt.
“Hello?” Wren called.
She pushed through, moving aside the wrecked remnants of the Christmas display. Rudolph the baby reindeer hopped past, running into the street. She ignored him. He seemed fine.
Someone coughed to the side of her.
“Wren?” Benedict called.
She turned to find her new neighbor sprawled out under what appeared to be a large wooden beam. Dust choked her. She knelt down and grasped his hand.
“Can you move?” she asked.
Please be okay.
“I think my leg’s trapped,” he said, wincing in pain. “Where’s Paula? She was with Santa when all this happened! You have to find her!”
“I’ll move you first.”
“NO! Find Paula!”
He started pushing the beam himself. She tried to stop him at first, but he told her once again to ignore him and find Paula. Wren left him to it, knowing he was strong enough. For a drag queen, he had muscles like a discus thrower.
She tripped over a ruined toy house, scattering its tiny furniture. She fell face first into what remained of Santa’s throne, now shattered. There was a hand grasping at her from under more wooden beams.
“Uncle Camden?” she asked, fearing the worst.
The fingers of the hand moved, and someone groaned.
“I’m here,” Camden said. He coughed a few times. “Some shelves fell on me. I don’t think anything is broken but I can’t hear Paula. She’s under me. I managed to shield her.”
“I’m fine,” said Paula. “Santa’s belly is pressing on my legs.”
Wren couldn’t help but laugh. She started pulling the shelving away until eventually her uncle was revealed. His perfect red Santa suit was covered in dust. He looked like he’d fallen in a vat of flour. She helped him, and then Paula, to their feet.
“Where’s Daddy?” Paula asked. “Was it an earthquake?”
“Your dad’s over there,” Wren directed. “But try
and get out of here before the whole building collapses. It’s dangerous in here.”
Paula nodded and did what she was told. What a remarkable child.
The ceiling groaned above them. More dust rained down. Wren shielded her eyes, coughing.
“Where’s my wife?” Everett called.
Wren went to find him when the ceiling heaved. She leapt to the side just as a huge chunk of ceiling came down. A woman screamed in terror. Everett called out something and cried in shock.
Wren pushed around the newly fallen debris, finding Everett cradling a body in his arms. It was Chelsea. She wasn’t moving.
“Let me check her,” said Wren. She felt for a pulse and sighed with relief. “She’s alive. Get her out of here before the whole place comes down.”
“Where’s Mom?” Everett asked. “And Lenny?”
“Lenny was here?” Wren asked.
Everett nodded. “It doesn’t matter. He was here.”
He carried Chelsea away as Wren started to panic. She couldn’t see or hear anyone else. There was Paula shouting at her father, and the ceiling creaking, and Uncle Camden talking to Everett. There was no sign of Delia or Lenny. Were they buried under rubble? Were they even alive?
“Wren!” Lenny called.
She grinned and ran to him. He was crouched down behind the back door, which had fallen and shielded him from some of the destruction. His head was bleeding, but he appeared to have escaped almost unscathed.
“What are you doing here?” Wren demanded.
“I wanted to talk to Chelsea,” Lenny admitted. He gasped in pain as he put his hand to his head. “She didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Let’s get you out of here,” she told him. “This place isn’t safe.”
He nodded and staggered away, leaving Wren on her own. The others were calling for Delia, ignoring her advice to stay out of the building. She couldn’t blame them. They were worried.
Where could she be?