Page 12 of Halloween Haunting
As she was led through the restaurant's dining room, where it was busy for the late evening dinner rush, Grace was overcome with the startling sensation of deja vu. Everything about the restaurant’s decor reminded her of that odd dream she experienced, though she wasn’t sure what that meant. Everyonehad deja vu at one point or another, and Grace thought she could recognize the sensation rather well, but there was something incredibly off putting about what happened to her earlier in the day. The feeling only grew to inexplicable heights when her gaze landed on the table with Caroline, and the very woman she had seen having coffee drenched over her.
Caroline squealed as she stood from the table, already rushing to grab Grace’s hand and tug her over. “You girls are going to absolutelylovethis little dove,” she exclaimed. With her hands fixed on Grace’s shoulders, she introduced her to the other two women already sitting. “This is Anna Louise Harper, one of my oldest friends. She works for a lawyer, so you already know how smart she is.”
“We’ve met when I gave her all the information on the Lantern House,” Anna said with a large smile. “And I already love her.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I responded, trying to force a smile. Trying not to look at the woman next to her.
“Andthislovely strawberry is Olivia Brooks!” Caroline said, forcing Grace to finally look at the third woman
Grace’s eyes went wide. She’d been hoping she was wrong, but looking at her took away all doubts. “I-I…”
The thin faced woman gave Grace a gentle smile. A yellow dress speckled with small white flowers delicately stood out against Olivia’s pale skin, bringing out the deep red color within her long curls. Freckles danced across her nose and cheeks before decorating her jutting collar. Olivia glanced around the table, her smile beginning to falter.
“Are you alright?” Olivia sweetly asked.
Anna reached forward, touching Grace’s hand reassuringly. “Don’t look so scared, honey! We are the last people to be nervous about meeting. Honest!”
Grace’s mouth opened and closed but nothing dared to come out. She only stared at Olivia, the dream repeating over and over in the back of her mind. How could she have seen her before knowing her? How could she have known what dress she would’ve worn, down to the white flowers? Down to her characteristically red hair? Grace raised a trembling hand to her lips, covering her mouth as an embarrassing heat rose to her face.
“Honestly,” Grace finally breathed as she shook her head, letting out an airy, breathless laugh, “I think I’m sleep deprived! Forgive me, I had the oddest of dreams this morning and its…its just came back to me all of a sudden.”
Olivia looked intrigued. “What happened in the dream?”
“It’s silly, really.” Grace wished to brush it off but the three women exchanged glances with each other before eyeing her again, their attention not at all wavering. “I-I saw you. Not just you, but you getting coffee spilled over you. It’s the weirdest thing, honestly, and I swear I won't start all new friendships with weird mess-inducing dreams.”
Caroline guided Grace to her seat before retaking her own, sipping at her ruby red wine and watching her friends over the rim of her glass.
“Sounds like the best way to be friends to me.” Anna raised her own fluted glass.
Olivia beamed. “Here, here.”
By the time the waiter came around to grab Grace’s drink order – which remained a classic Vodka Martini, especially after the embarrassing events from earlier – the ladies were engaging her in a vivid conversation about their local postman. It was hardly a conversation she would remember, but that wasn’t the point. They were pulling Grace into their world, inviting her in and hoping she would take the rope. Perhaps it was something so much simpler, but Grace didn’t let herself believe anythingelse. Once the drink arrived in front of her, she was already breathlessly laughing, already eager to learn more, already imagining what it would be like to spend the rest of her life alongside friends like them.
“I couldn’t help but notice how nice your business card is,” Grace said to Caroline after they placed their orders. “Seems like you have a real enterprise going on.”
Caroline laughed and brushed it off, but there was no doubt that there was pride beaming in her eyes. “That wouldn’t be how I would put it.”
“No,” Anna drawled, pointing across the table at her. “She’d just say she’s filthy rich!”
Olivia’s musical laugh followed. “Filthy rich and filthy bored!”
“The Shepard family is one of well-bred entrepreneurs,” Caroline explained as she popped a piece of bread in between her teeth. “It sounds stuffy and uptight, I know, but it’s the truth. Mommy and Daddy brought together their two empires to forge an even larger one. The money flowed and I was sent through life without doing a damn!”
Caroline reached to pluck the business card out from between Grace’s fingers. “Now, the last thing Mommy and Daddy expected was to have a pair of kids who wanted nothing to do with their business. Jack turned to the police department and I have my salons. Neither one of us have had plans to grow our family any further.”
Grace raised a brow, fascinated by Caroline’s words. “Just like that?”
“Like what?”
“No kids, no marriage?” She shrugged, hoping she sounded curious instead of judgmental, which is what she was. “Are the salons enough for you?”
Caroline started to beam, entirely lighting up the room from her beautifully charming smile. There was no doubt that she believed the words she spoke. “They’re more than enough. And you know, I’m not the only woman in Holiday Hollow who is unmarried and enjoying life. Take Olivia, for instance.”
Olivia’s red curls fell over her eyes. “Me?”
“Yes,you,Olivia.”
The cherry haired woman thought about it before she nodded dramatically. “I’m the best party planner around these parts,” she bragged. “I haven’t met anyone who’d outrightly call that a successful career, so there’s that!”
