Chapter II: Curtis

            I am ashamed to admit my first thought at seeing the missing heirloom was there was no chance in selling it if it was missing.  No, I wasn’t planning on selling a gift from my grandma but I was also aware of the potential value.  Which made me acutely aware of the loss.  In essence, I had been robbed! 

            That was my initial human reaction.  But I recovered before making a scene.  I silently regained my composure so that I could exchange the necessary politeness a social gathering required.  This dinner just earned a new obligation.  I was going to have to don the hat of a private investigator to figure out where my inheritance was at currently.  Hopefully, it had just been moved (another hopeful thought) for its safety and was awaiting (one more hopeful thought) me to retrieve it.  I refused to panic quite yet.  Besides, if I threw a fuss and caused a scene the others would question me and somehow probably find out about the value of the figurine.  I mean, it took me less than five minutes on Google.  Again, I must express the fact that the value does not matter to me.  But it might look suspicious.  Better to keep the value to myself and conduct a private investigation.

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Plan C: The Joy of Daily To-Dos

Lizzie watched the passing train and took a bite of her sandwich.  A year ago today she had sat in a bus as it brought her home.  She remembered that day well.  Mainly the overwhelming feeling of failure.  But that was a year ago.  That girl, thankfully, no longer existed.  The year had morphed her into someone else.  Someone who no longer felt the bitter pangs of failure but felt more…what word could describe it?  Successful wasn’t the exact word because she was still a work in progress.  No, what she felt now was confidence.  And she felt pity for that unsure girl from a year ago and wished she could give her some encouragement.  It was a process, emphasis on process, but she felt like for the first time in probably her entire adult life her feet were firmly planted on the ground.  It was ironic that the ground her feet were firmly planted on was in her hometown.  The town she was so eager to leave at one time.

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Plan C: Purpose

            Lizzie stood and watched the train pass.  But this time, she didn’t yell.  She had no desire to yell.  Instead, she simply watched the train with her arms crossed.  A slight movement to her right made her aware she had company.

            It was Matt.  Of course it was Matt.  How did he know she was at the tracks again?  He didn’t bother to speak since she would not have been able to hear him anyway.  She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.  He tilted his head toward the train.  True, last time he found her here they ended up yelling at the top of their lungs until their voices were hoarse.  That was the day she found out about her dad’s cancer.  It was only two days ago but it felt much longer than that.  She felt like a different person.  Despite the bombshell news she actually felt calmer.

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Plan C: The Meeting

            Lizzie took a deep breath and looked at the clock.  It was almost time to meet with her agent via Zoom and yet her father, Chuck, still sat at the kitchen table. Working on a crossword puzzle.  It was as if he had no intention of moving from his spot.  Yet, she needed him to move so that she could talk to her agent without an audience.  She was nervous enough, she didn’t need an extra pair of eyes watching or ears hearing.  Guilt about shooing him out of his own house prevented her from speaking up.  Especially after the doctor’s news they received yesterday.  But she just could not do this meeting with him in earshot and he was the one that insisted that she keep the meeting.

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Chapter IV: Good News/Bad News

            Lizzie rested her forehead on her steering wheel.  She couldn’t move.  Her car was parked downtown facing the train tracks and she needed a train to come by.  A big, loud train that would drown out the scream that was inside of her needing to get out.  This is how she took care of overwhelming problems in high school.  The fact that the last time she remembered coming to this exact spot was when her mom passed away was not lost on her.

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