Second Chance Love

Three

Three

That was then, and this is now, April thought as she drove along. She strained her eyes until she finally managed to spot a partially overgrown sign at the side of the road. It announced a turn off to Tanis Lee just a quarter mile farther on. If it hadn’t been yellow in color, she might not have seen it at all. Was the place not visited much? And if that were true, how was this the place that Amelia’s parents had found for the trip? She found the turn-off and made a left turn smoothly onto a road even smaller than the two-lane one she had just been on. She was just glad that it was paved instead of a dirt road.

She sighed, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. She had no idea how far she would have to drive to find this ‘hamlet by the sea', but she kept on. She had to. It was too late to turn around and head back now. She glanced at the sky and saw how dark it was getting. She didn’t think it was supposed to rain, but you could never be sure. She took a few small sips of her water and wiped her eyes on occasion trying to stay awake and focused. At one point, she simply stopped the car (there was absolutely no other traffic), took a clean handkerchief from her pocket, wet it from the bottle, and wiped her face off. It helped somewhat.

An hour later, at full dark, April found herself driving into a small seaside town. She glanced at the store fronts and noticed most of the businesses were closed and dark. Main Street was the main thoroughfare of the town and she drove slowly, looking around for anyone walking or sitting somewhere to ask directions of. The place seemed to be totally deserted. ‘Guess they roll up the sidewalks at night,’ she muttered softly. Then she noticed there was one small place on a corner with lights on. The local tavern apparently. Low music drifted to her on the evening breeze as she passed it. Finally, she spotted a police car – at least she thought that was what it was - parked at the curb with an officer sitting inside sipping coffee and eating what appeared to be a donut. April smiled despite herself as she pulled up next to him, rolling her window down fully as she did.

"Excuse me sir, but where is the bed and breakfast here? Appleton Inn, I believe it's called?" April watched the officer swallow, then turn towards her.

"It's about half an hour outside of town, up on the hill yonder. You're rather late gettin' in aren't ya?" The officer's voice was mellow, but not deep and April smiled.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, but I have a reservation for the next two weeks up there. Do I just follow this road to it? Or will I need to make a turn or two." April waited a minute as the officer set his coffee in a holder and brushed crumbs off his hands out the window of the cruiser.

"Got a better idea for ya. I'll lead you up there. Sally, that's the owner, might not open the door this late at night otherwise. Guests staying there get a key to the front door. We sort of pride ourselves on our privacy and a latecomer is not something we have often up this way. Just follow me and I'll lead ya right to the front door." The officer started the cruiser and pulled off leaving April to follow behind him. Which she did, breathing a sigh of relief in the process. She hadn't realized how much she had missed just seeing another person until now. It had been a long and lonely drive.

A half hours' drive brought them up to a beautiful two-story, white clapboard house that was sitting at the very top of a hill overlooking the sea. April glanced at the brochure. Yep, that was the same house. As April parked in front of the place and turned off her engine, she could hear the waves crashing on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff to the left of where the inn stood. As she stepped out of her car, the front door of the inn opened, and a lady stepped out onto the wraparound porch while tying her robe closed. She appeared to be wearing red plaid pajamas under it.

"Carl is that you? What's going on? Is something wrong?" April watched the lady quietly. She appeared to be in her mid to late 50's, her hair was short, liberally salt and peppered, and she wore glasses. April saw her glance over at her, then back to the officer. He - apparently his name was Carl - got out of his car and waved at the woman. Carl was dressed in a navy-blue uniform of sorts and looked comfortable in it.

"No, no, Sally nothing is wrong. Just found one of your guests arriving in town late and escorted her up the hill for ya." Carl looked over at April. "Can you manage your bags? Or would you like some help." April smiled back.

"Some help would be appreciated. Thank you, sir." April started pulling out the bags she had packed prior to the wedding and picked up what she could, Carl picked up the two larger bags and started for the porch. Sally opened the door for them both and smiled at April, then looked back at the car and frowned.

"Are you Mrs. Martinburg? April Martinburg?" Sally looked at her questioningly. "Where is Mr. Martinburg?" April sighed as she put her things down near the desk inside. The lobby of the bed and breakfast was like a normal living room other than the front desk. It was roomy with a couch or two. The colors here were in greens and blues. A very nice combination of them at that. They were soft colors that tended to sooth. April looked at Sally again. This was the moment she hadn't been looking forward to.

"I'm sorry. I called and talked to a man earlier, and I thought he was going to tell you. The wedding got called off, so I choose to come alone. My last name is still Summers, I'm afraid. April Summers." She smiled at Sally as Carl looked on, having set his load down as well. "I hope my staying here alone won't be a problem?" As she waited for Sally’s response, she looked around a bit more. The walnut colored wainscoting looked old but was polished to a soft shine. The couches and chairs looked soft and comfortable.

Sally watched April for a long moment as she walked over to her, then smiled, shaking her head. "Not at all. Carl, can you take those things up to the blue room, top of the stairs? Think you can manage that?" Carl picked up the two he had carried in and went up the slightly curved staircase, grumbling good naturedly. April watched him for a minute. He didn’t seem to be in the best shape. "My nephew usually helps out with that, when he is home that is. He was held up tonight though. That’s why I sounded a little panicky when Carl drove up.” Sally smiled. “April, you come sign in and I'll give you your key. I don't bother locking the room doors till I have guests in them. Makes it easier to keep them clean." She led April over to the small counter, gave her a pen, turned a guest book in her direction, then stepped behind the counter and got the key. She handed two keys to April and smiled again. "This key is to the blue room and this one is to the front door down here. In case you are out late, you understand. I try to go to bed early, since I have to get up early and make breakfast." The room key had a blue plastic cover around the top. "You just make yourself comfortable and sleep in if you like in the morning. Normally I have breakfast set out by seven am, but I tend to leave some things out till nine, later if someone asks for it. If you do miss breakfast and want something, let me know. Lunch is served from twelve to two and dinner between five pm and seven pm. I don't like setting exact times but have to at least try to keep to a routine. Not that anyone keeps to it anyway. If you have any special diet requirements you can let me know those tomorrow."

“Thank you.” April smiled, signed the register, picked up what she had carried in and went up the stairs. Carl was just coming out of the blue room as she got there. He nodded to her and went on down the stairs. April could hear him and Sally talking as he went out the door. Their laughter drifted up to April, just before she heard his cruiser door slam and he drove off. April went into her room, closed and locked the door before looking around.

Blue room was right. The walls were painted a very soft pale blue, the color of the sky on a sunny day almost. The curtains at the windows were white with soft blue flowers scattered over them. The floor was covered in a thick dark blue rug with a few white scatter rugs beside and at the foot of the bed. The furniture itself was white with blue trim. The dresser had blue handles and the bed had an intricate rose pattern carved into the headboard that was etched in blue. The bedspread matched the curtains. An armoire in the same color scheme stood sentinel in a corner. The bed was a four poster with curtains that also matched the ones at the windows. It was a beautiful room and had April feeling a lot better about her decision to come. She found she had a small bathroom of her own which, in most bed and breakfast inns, was not normal. Someone had wanted this place to be special. Usually, you had to share a bathroom with all the residents. Briefly, she wondered if there were other residents.

After the excitement of the day and the long drive, April was worn out. She quickly unpacked what she needed for the night and a change of clothing for the morning, got a fast shower, then climbed into bed sighing with relief. The mattress was the sort that you could snuggle down into. Very comfortable. Just as she started to drift off, she heard a car engine that seemed vaguely familiar. Grudgingly rousing herself out of bed, she went to the window and looked out just in time to see a man climb out of a black pickup truck and walk to the inn. The same truck that had passed her earlier in the evening? It certainly looked like it from this distance. But if it was, how is it that it was arriving after her? Where had the truck gone before coming here? Was it another lost soul who had bypassed the turn-off to Tanis Lee and had had to back track? Or was it the missing nephew Sally had mentioned? Shaking her head as she yawned, April went back to bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the fluffy pillow.