Page 5 of Lost Memories (Secrets of Mackinac Island 1)

Chapter Three

“You’re not gettingout of it.”

One of Elise’s oldest and dearest friends, Haley, blared the words over the phone several hours later.

“I’m just exhausted,” Elise told her. She had donned a crappy t-shirt from college and gazed longingly at her couch in the den. “Maybe we can go out later in the week when I’ve recovered.”

“No way. Remember in college, when you failed that Calc test and you wanted to grovel?”

“Um. Kind of?”

“And I wouldn’t let you, and we went out and met those actors from One Tree Hill?” Haley continued excitedly.

“Oh, gosh. Yes. I do.”

“And you made out with one of them?” Haley said.

“I remember.”

“What did we learn from that experience?” Haley demanded.

“That not all actors are good kissers?”

“No! We learned that we can’t sit alone in our room, bemoaning our existence. We have to get out. Plus, Mia already made reservations at the bar in Santa Monica, and you know how mad she gets when we change plans,” Haley continued.

“She still doesn’t let me forget that incident four years ago,” Elise admitted.

“Get dressed. Look hot. Who knows who we’ll run into?” Haley said. “My Uber will be there to pick you up in an hour.”

Elise grumbled and returned to her overly-sized closet, now a quarter of the way empty after Sean’s departure. Her head felt loose and wild after two glasses of wine on an empty stomach. A small part of her was grateful for her best friend Haley’s commitment to her mental health; still, she wanted nothing to do with being in public, making conversation, or acting like a human. She wanted to wallow in her sorrows alone.

Elise donned a bright pink lacey top and a skirt that she suspected Penny would say was “a little too short” for Elise’s age. She added some lacey heels and tossed her dark blonde curls in the mirror.Still got it?She didn’t know.

When she opened the door to Haley’s Uber, however, Haley screamed, “You look hot!” which was exactly what Elise needed to hear.

She blushed and said, “Oh, whatever,” as she slipped in beside her and buckled her seatbelt.

“Seriously. I wouldn’t just say that,” Haley affirmed. She tossed her dark tresses and returned her sunglasses to her nose. “Mia said she’s on her way and will meet us there. Apparently, these cocktails are to die for.”

“Good. I don’t want to remember my name,” Elise stated.

Haley shot her a dark look as the Uber cranked forward. “I won’t be like that idiot and tell you it’s ‘the industry.’ I can only say that you’re one of the best screenwriters I know. The world deserves to hear your story. If you give up after that, Rhett guy...”

“Rex, actually.”

“Whatever his name is. If he makes you quit writing, then I don’t know what I’ll do,” Haley continued.

Elise flared her nostrils. “I’m just a bit disheartened. I don’t know what to do with myself. This screenplay was the thing I had latched onto and now...” She shrugged.

The Uber dropped them off at the upscale beachside bar-and-restaurant. Mia, their leggy red-headed friend with dangly jewelry, scanned her phone near the front. Elise’s heart jumped at the sight of her. Haley had been right; having her best friends around had added a touch of pep to her step.

“There she is!” Mia cried. She danced forward and wrapped Elise in a hug. “Haley said she had to drag you kicking and screaming out of that big house.”

“Whatever,” Elise said. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

A hostess arrived to take them to their seats on the balcony upstairs. From where they sat, they had a full view of the ocean and that enormous bulb of a sun, which had begun its evening descent toward the waves. Each of them ordered a Negroni and complimented one another on how classy they were. “We’ve really moved up from the wine coolers of college, haven’t we?” Haley laughed.

Elise had met Haley during their first year of creative writing at UCLA. That same year, Elise had also met Sean, her soon-to-be-husband. Since that year, Elise and Haley had worked together numerous times in a variety of writing rooms and had even collaborated twice on scripts that had very nearly sold. They had met Mia in one of the writers’ rooms about ten years before, and the three of them had gotten on like gangbusters. Since then, Mia had taken a step back from screenwriting to work on her novel, which both Haley and Elise had encouraged her to do, as Mia had a definite poetic side to her that didn’t necessarily translate to screen.

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