Page 31 of Chasing Sunsets

Sadie stopped at a cross street and waited for the traffic light to change.

“I feel like I’m losing everything,” Karen admitted. “I can’t figure out how to go forward.”

Sadie didn’t know how to go forward either with her unraveling life, but she shared what she’d done the last six months. “Take one day at a time. One hour. One moment. One second, if necessary.”

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Gandhi

Chapter Ten

Sadie woke on day three, her body sorer than yesterday. She forced herself to get up and prepare for the day, finding the circles under her eyes more pronounced.

Please let today be the worst I feel.

After she and Zack ate breakfast and were wired up with their microphones, the instructions handed to them sent them on a two-hundred-mile ride to Corpus Christi. Sadie slept most of the way, thanks to Zack offering to drive. In Corpus, they solved their way out of an escape room in less than thirty minutes, and he flew a flight simulator while she cooked a gourmet meal at a five-star restaurant. Tasks completed, they’d arrived at Bob Hall Pier early in the afternoon.

Their hotel hallway was filled with shops. Her eyes caught on a sign at a spa.Complimentary massages to Chasing Sunset participants.She had plenty of time for one before they returned to the pier for the sunset shot of the day.

After a shower, Sadie entered the spa. Vibrant colors danced in this place—hot pink, electric green, highlighter yellow—so much so it hurt her eyes. A young girl at a tiny reception desk by the door pointed to her shirt. “Are you here for a complimentary massage?”

“Yes, please.”

“Certainly. We’re offering fifteen-minute sessions.”

“Perfect.” Sadie signed her name to a waiting list.

“Take a seat and listen for your name.”

“Sadie,” Lowell called from the waiting area. “Come sit by me.”

She sat in the chair beside him.

“When I saw the free massage sign, I stopped before even going to my room. Nanette is here too.” Lowell drank from a glass with clear liquid and a floating cucumber slice as he motioned to another lady searching a magazine rack. “She and Floyd arrived at the hotel and walked in with us. I dragged her here. If I’d known you planned to get one, I would’ve found you instead. She’s cranky.”

Slow as a sloth, Nanette approached them. She looked as sluggish as Sadie felt.

“Lowell,” a woman beckoned from the hallway opening.

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