Page 9 of Dreams of Magic

“Are you new here? I know everyone here, it’s a small town you know. And you look familiar, but I don’t think we’ve met. Are you staying with a friend or family?” Kenzie was pretty sure if she didn’t answer, the woman would just keep talking.

Turning to face her, Kenzie did her best to seem friendly, “I don’t live here, I’m just visiting some old property that my family owns.” Kenzie hoped she would let it drop at that.

“Oh, that sounds lovely! We have a nice little town here with plenty to do.” As she was talking the customer in the front of the line finished, and the cashier began ringing Kenzie up next, so she moved to stand in front of the credit card scanner.

“I own a little bakery down on Main Street, you should come by while you’re in town. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Without looking back, Kenzie nodded, pretending to watch the total add up on the screen, “Sure absolutely, that sounds amazing. I’ll be sure to come by sometime.”

The woman looked like she was going to say something else, but then the cashier interrupted, “Your total is $37.84.”

She quickly scanned her card and entered her pin. The cashier put her receipt in one of the bags, and handed them to her, “You have a wonderful day ma’am.”

She smiled at him, then said to both him and the woman who was talking to her, “Thank you, you both have a great day.” Without another word or a backward glance, bags in hand, she quickly walked out to her car.

Kenzie really wasn’t trying to be rude, but she wasn’t ready for people to know who she was and definitely didn’t want to answer any questions. She hadn’t even considered that people might recognize her. Shaking it off, she got back into her car and headed over to the movie store. She really could have walked though, since it was only a block away.

Oh well. It was too hot to walk anyway.

Stepping into the movie store was like a time warp. There were old black and white movie posters on the walls, and it had that 50’s style feel to it. Kind of like those old diners where you can order a milkshake and they bring it to you on roller skates.

It was adorable, and she instantly loved it. Her mom always liked old movies, and this place would have made her so happy.

Then she remembered, her mom had probably come here before. In fact, she could almost guarantee that she had with as much as she loved movies.

Looking around at all the shelves and all the movies, Kenzie could almost picture her mom browsing the aisles for the perfect comedy or thriller. Feeling tears start to gather she quickly wiped them away and walked over to the romantic comedy section.

She just wanted something simple and cute to make her laugh. As she glanced at the options, she was surprised by the variety. She saw one with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway in wedding dresses on the front that looked promising and picked it up to read the synopsis.

Distantly she heard the bell chime above the door signaling someone else had entered the store but didn’t bother to glance up. Then she heard someone say, “Rhiannon?” but they obviously weren’t talking to her, so she ignored it.

As she was reading the synopsis, she heard a whispering off to her right. Finally, she glanced up and realized there was a man and woman staring at her. She looked around thinking they were looking at someone else. But there was no one else in the store except the teenager at the register.

The couple was still staring as if they had seen a ghost. The man gently nudged the woman and whispered something in her ear, but the woman didn’t reply.

“Um, can I help you?” Kenzie asked.

“Rhiannon?” The woman asked her, still staring with wide eyes.

It took a second for the name to register. Rhiannon was her birth mother’s name. She had heard it so few times that it didn’t click at first. But now realized this woman must be mistaking Kenzie for her. Giving her a smile, Kenzie told her, “I’m sorry you are mistaking me for someone else.”

The woman seemed to gather herself before replying, then walked a bit closer, “I’m sorry, what is your name? You look just like a friend of mine who passed, exactly like her in fact. Her name was Rhiannon.”

That surprised Kenzie. She had never seen pictures of her birth mother. Her mom said there were a few at the cabin but she never had one for her to look at. Kenzie was short, with an athletic build, had long curly black hair and light green eyes.

When she was a teenager, sometimes she would get upset that she didn’t look like her mom with the bright red hair and tall, graceful figure. But her mom somehow always made her feel better.

Kenzie studied the woman for another moment, then took a deep breath to try and catch her scent. She had that gentle woodsy scent that all wolves carried. She’d only come across a few, but they all had that same trait.

Answering her was difficult. She still wasn’t ready for this, but apparently, was out of time. “My name is Mackenzie. Rhiannon was my biological mother.”

There was a gasp and she looked over to see the man had a shocked look on his face. Glancing back at the woman, she was also looking at Kenzie with surprise and a deep sadness in her eyes. It made Kenzie uncomfortable, like she needed to get out of there fast. She quickly put the movie she was looking at back on the shelf, then started to ease toward the door.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, but I’ve got to go. Have a good day.” Then she quickly walked out the door and back to her car, climbing in she threw her purse onto the passenger seat.

Dammit, she was not ready for this! What was she even doing here? She started the car and put on her seatbelt, as she did, the radio came on. She reached over to turn it up, it was “Girls just wanna have fun” by Cyndi Lauper. One of her mom’s favorite songs. They used to blast it in the house and dance around together while singing and acting goofy. Ironic timing.

Shaking her head, she smiled and looked up through the sunroof at the bright blue sky.

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