Whisked Away

Chapter One

Present Day

Lizzie climbed up her stairs to her bedroom.  She just got home from a 16 hour shift and she was exhausted.  Why did her manager pick today of all days to do inventory. Being a head chef at an up and coming seaside bistro involved a lot more than she bargained for.  And with today being the first day of tourist season, she had no room to breath.

 “Hi Cleo” Lizzie cat of 5 years greets her at her bedroom door.  She stops and pets the black and white tuxedo main coon until he decides he has had enough and jumps up and plops himself in the middle of her bed. “Cleo why did I choose this line of work, I am so tired.”  Lizzie pulls out her favorite pajamas out of the dresser next to her bed and throws it on the bed. “Ok shower then bed,  don’t worry Cleo I will feed you first”. Cleo yawns and stretches his gaint paws across the bed and closes his eyes.  

 Lizzie turns on the hot water and get the temperature just right and as she is getting ready to climb into the shower, her phone rings. 

 She looks at the caller ID. “John again! I wish he would just leave me alone. “. She ignore his calls and gets in the shower. John Freman, her ex fiancé, they split up over a year ago.  She caught him with her best friend the night before the wedding in her old bungalow downtown.  ”He must be on the prowl again, Tanya must have left him for that Italian she was always talking about.” Lizzie told herself.  “I am too tired to deal with drama.”

 The hot water runs down her head and she closes her eyes. “I wonder if life was this hectic back in Wild West?” She thinks to herself.  She just watched an old western with her grandfather over the weekend and she longed to live back then.  Life seemed so simple, no body yelling about their order wrong, no zillion cans of olives, or ten tons of coconut milk.  Just simplicity.

 She turns off the shower. Drys off and heads downstairs to feed Cleo.  She pulls the can of cat food out of the cabinet, opens it and puts it in his bowl on the floor.  Grabs a cup for water for herself and leans against the counter and look around.  

 Her own place.  She moved here 6 months ago.  A small 2 story rancher on the outskirts of town. Away from the busy city but close enough to walk to work.  Her kitchen had a gas stove, a refrigerator, a sink with no garbage disposal, she can put one in later, and no dishwasher.  Her parents had one, which seemed to do everything but get the dishes cleaned.  She was hardly home anyways.  

 She set her glass in the sink and thought about when she first saw her home. The big picture windows in the living room stole her.  She always loved lots of windows and the little house had a lot of them.  The living room was connected to the kitchen by a formal dining room where she has her great grandmothers oak table with 4 chairs and a china hutch with her grandmothers china.  

 The stairs were located just outside of the kitchen.  Upstairs consisted of two bedrooms, one which she converted into the cat room with cat trees and towers and all the toys Cleo could play with and her room which was also the master bedroom with a walk in closet.   

 “Ok Cleo time for bed”.  She gathers up Cleo and heads up to bed. 

 “Cleo we need a simpler life.  These long days are exhausting”. Lizzie laid down in bed and was asleep in minutes.   Cleo just purred and curled up next to her and fell asleep too.

Lizzie woke up with her phone ringing. She checks the time. “4 am?  Who for the life of me is calling me at this time of day?”  She checks her caller ID and its John again.

“What do you want?”

“Lizzie, please I need you? Can I come over?  Please, I have no where else to turn.”

“John, no. It’s 4 am and I have a long day ahead of me.  I don’t need or want this.  Just leave me alone.  Good bye.”

Lizzie hangs ups the phone.  And lays back down but couldn’t go back to sleep.  

She looks at Cleo “well I guess I am awake. Let’s make breakfast”

Elizabeth McConnick, also known as Lizzie. Has lived in the small Rhode Island town all of her 22 years of life. She went straight into culinary school right out of high school and graduated top of  her class.  So when  her aunt Martha, Marty for short, opened up her own little bistro and asked Lizzie to help run it, Lizzie jumped on the chance.  Her parents, George and Glenda McConnicK owned their own restaurant for years while Lizzie was growing up and they taught her all there was to know about the restaurant business.  Two years ago a huge fire took their restaurant and two other businesses next to theirs.  Her parents decided to retire and Lizzies Future for taking over their restaurant went out the door.  Until Aunt Marty came around with her new bistro, Lizzie jumped on the opportunity.

Lizzie finished up breakfast and was cleaning up her dishes when someone knocked on her door.  At 6am she doesn’t get a lot of people calling on her, so she peeked out her kitchen door Through one of her picture windows in the living room and noticed that her moms car was parked in front.

“Mom? What is she doing here so early?” She thought to herself as she went and opened the front door “Mom, what brings you here so early?  Everything ok?”

Glenda McConnick, 56 with slighting graying blonde hair with waves going down to her shoulders. 5’7 and slender. Stood there with coffee in both of her hands from the corner coffee stop “I was trying to call you but you didn’t answer, so I thought I would bring you coffee and come see you before you went into work today.”

“OH  I turned the ringer off and left it up stairs. John was calling me again.”

Her mom just shook her head and stepped inside, placed the coffee cups on the table next to the couch. 

“Dad and I are going on a trip this Thursday.  You wouldn’t mind keeping Anthony for a few days for us would you? We have been wanting to take this trip for awhile and since tourist season is barely starting we would like to take advantage before its too busy to go.?”

Anthony McConnick, Red haired and freckled.  Lizzies kid brother. Her parents weren’t wanting anymore kids and he happened. 10 years old and a handful.  He loves the world out of Lizzie. 

“Sure mom, I will.  I will just have to bring him to the bistro with me.  Thursday is the day we prep for the weekend.  And I cant leave aunty Marty dealing with that all on her own.”

“Thank you liz, we will make it up to you”

Lizzie hugs her mom “I know mom, you guys always do”