Realistic or Modern No Place Like Home

[Willow Pillow]

Molly Moore just ended a four year relationship.

I don't think I can do this anymore.

When he asked what that meant....

I think we should just be friends.

Four years. Never did she think those words would come out of her mouth, but they had. And now here she was...saying them right out of her mouth. And the worst part? There was a sense of relief that it was finally over as soon as it was said. If someone asked her a few months ago if that would ever come out of her mouth? The very idea of it was crippling back then. There are thoughts that clench the inside of your throat where you struggle to breathe...and once upon a time...that was one of those thoughts. It's funny how time changes things. Maybe the worst part of all of it was that he agreed. The look of defeat and resignation that hung on his face said it all.

There would be no fighting to save the relationship. No grand gesture of Ryan Locke asking her to stay....he was done, too. It left her wondering, were they both tired or had she been the one putting all the effort from the start? She was too numb to explore the feelings of it. Just...that it was the new reality. She was about to change her job, move across the pond and change everything but...

I think we should just be friends

Escaped her mouth instead. Deep down in her heart, she knew there was no going back from there. So with a heavy heart, she kept her head held up high and boarded the plane. The tears were reserved for the flight and the composure was kept in tack when she stepped off the plane. The dream was dead. It was time to return to her studio flat in the heart of Boston, take off her shoes as she walked in the door, her void of a cat to find her as soon as she entered and just...cry it out...maybe for a week.

The bowl of icecream was prepped, Netflix was turned on. She pushed play on her answering machine and -

"Ms. Moore, this is Officer Bowling from the county of Bellarose. I'm calling to inform you that there was a major car accident that resulted in the death of Patrick and Susan Moore....

Everything else was white noise. The message went on for some time, but all Molly could do was look at her screaming cat sitting on the couch demanding to be loved after a month of neglect...

"Guess we're driving to Illinois, Bubba."

 

[Krista]

The Sweet Tooth was a bakery that Emily worked hard for many years to open. Blood, sweat and many, many tears. She had to the town and an angry then-but-now-ex husband. This bakery had been her dream since she was little. She loved baking but she really loved it the look on peoples face when they ate something she made. When she was younger she would sell her goods at the local farmers market and it was pure joy to see the express of love when they ate her goods. So she fought tooth and nail, saved penny she could and accepted her parents investment.

There was a huge party when she finally opened the Sweet Tooth, everyone had been invited and everything was free.

Now she gets up at 4 am every morning so she can take care of the pigs (Hamm, Pumbaa, Hogzilla, Chewbacon and Hamlet), their dairy cow (Trouble), the hens (Hen Solo, Marshmallow, Meggatron and Bon-Bon), their gelding Outlaw, the goats (Grandma, Mama, Wendy, Scarlett, Sabrina, Miss Daisy and Casanova), the farm dogs Daisy and Duke and finally Pudge the farm cat. She had a routine down so it was pretty quick going through it.

Once the farm animals are taken care of she sets out the muffins for mom and dad (she calls momma and daddy) so they actually eat something and then head to the bakery to get started for the day. She usually makes it in about 5 or 5:30 am, depends on how cooperative the critters are that morning. From here she starts making the yummies for both the store and for deliveries.

There were days that she wished she would give in and hire someone to help but then she remembered how much she didn’t trust people and threw that thought away. Maybe she could see if momma wanted to come in and help, they had just been talking and she had mentioned that she wanted to do some busy work. This would be great busy work for her. Win-win situation!

Emily planned on talking to momma about it tonight when her and daddy got home from their running today. They were going to go get feed for the critters and food for the humans and a bunch of other things so they would be home this evening.

--- Some time later ---

The Sweet Tooth was running relatively smoothly. Deliveries were delivered by a high school boy who wanted to make extra money. He told Em that he was trying to save up for a truck, it was a used truck but he had fallen in love with it. So he came in every morning before school and then come in after school to make the runs. When people put their orders in she made sure to tell them when the deliveries would be made and for the most part people didn’t mind.

12:48 pm Em walked over to the front door of her store and turned the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, like she did every day so she could eat lunch, and headed to the kitchen. As soon as she grabbed the handle for the fridge there was a knock on the front door. She ignored it because the sign said closed. So she opened the fridge and pulled out the sandwich she made last night and set it on the counter.

The knock came again, this time louder. Emily ignored it again.

Pulling the sandwich from the bag she set it on the counter and turned to go back to the fridge to grab the miracle whip. The knock came louder and longer, then heard someone call her name. Apparently they didn’t get the hint.

Leaving the kitchen she walked back to the front of the store towards the door. Emily shesitated for a moment when she saw the detective at the door. Why would he be here? The cold hand of dread settled in to her bones, she didn’t know why but she really did not want to open that door.

Turning the lock of the door she pushed it open and looked at the detective. “Emily Moore?” The deep voice asked. Furrowing her brows she nodded. “Yeah, thats me.” The man took a deep breath. “Can I come in? There is something I need to talk to you about.”

For a second she had the strongest urge to shut the door, lock it and pretend he wasn’t there because she really didn’t want to know what he wanted to tell her. Her blood was cold at this point. She pushed all that down and stepped back, letting the man inside. Once he was inside she shut the door but didn’t lock it.

Crossing her arms Emily looked at him and waited, she wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence.

“I am so sorry to have to tell you this but your parents were in a really bad accident and didn’t make it.”

Em stopped listening. The world went cold and the world went deaf and blind. She didn’t hear him anymore. She didn’t see him anymore. All she could see was the light grey wall in the little sitting area of the bakery.

He was wrong, he had to be. She had just talked to them last night. They were going to come home before dinner. Daddy was a good driver. Daddy was a careful driver especially with momma is the truck with him. This man was wrong, he had to be. They couldn’t be gone. She needed momma’s help.

The detective had grabbed her arm and steered her to a chair before she fell down. Emily didn’t even realize it. She was numb with shock. The man took her face in his hand and she flinched, a reaction from her past but then looked at him without actually seeing him. All she could see though was her own parents and their conversation last night running through her mind.

--- The next day ---

Em sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in one hand and the newspaper sitting in front of her. They already had the accident printed on todays papers. Didn’t take them long, the damn vultures. So now her parents, her sweet and loving parents were entertainment for everyone. She had reporters. She hated the news. She hated everyone.

A wave of sorrow coursed through her again. So sharp. There couldn’t be much left but it still hurt so badly. Tears filled her eyes but she angrily pushed them away. She couldn’t do this. She had animals to feed. Em put a note on the door of the bakery once she regained her sense that she would be closed for a few days.

What was she going to do now? How does she move past this? How is she going to juggle the farm and the bakery? What about the Will? Daddy told her they had one but she didn’t know where it was. What about Molly? Was she coming back here? Was she going to stay or was she going to go back to Boston?

Emily felt so overwhelmed. This was too much. So she laid her head on the table and just sat like that. She didn’t know what else to do.

 

[Willow Pillow]

It was roughly hour car ride from home. She could buy a ticket, board it to Chicago, her sister would pick her up and it would be another three hour drive in the middle of nowhere. It was her parents. Mom and Dad. That sort of eclipsed everything else she was feeling. Was it selfish of her to still...yeah...yeah pretty much. It was even selfish to think that it was better to have the distraction than to think about it.

She was going to hell with that thought.

Molly called her sister immediately after the police officer called her. As she talked, a backpack was packed, a box of cat food was put out with litter and she was chasing the cat to put in the carrier while telling her sister she would be there the next day. No pick-up at airport necessary...she'd be there. Part of her wanted to ask her sis if she knew what they were doing. Dad was probably the one driving. He was very particular on who touched his Ford baby. He never took that car on the highway....and knew their hometown like the back of his hand. It all seemed unlikely.

Being curious about it also felt selfish. It was her parents. They were gone. She wasn't going to spend a few hours pacing in her apartment trying to convince Dad to spend Christmas in Boston one year, just one, drive to New York see the ball drop. Mom wanted to do that. Mom was easy to convince. She was a dreamer and when Molly was just a little girl the two would lay in the fields and dream about all the places she'd want to go. All the places Molly could go, because she wasn't bound anywhere. That argument ended with Molly on a plane ticket, a neighbor watching her cat, and hearing Mom say she did all the travelling she could ever want by picking up a good book. International crime thrillers were usually the go-to gift for mom.

That was now gone. Poof. I mean sure, Molly was in hour two of the drive, the cat no longer in the carrier and sitting in the passenger seat, acknowledging that yeah...sure...she knew both of them were eventually going to be gone. But she was going to be married, kids...all of it when it happened. Hour four, she let out a laugh as tears exploded realizing that she didn't have to tell Dad about Europe...oh Dad would just pace and you watch, that would be when he decided leaving their house was good enough. She was spared that. Right?

Hour eight...she realized Dad would never walk her down the aisle.

Hour ten....she pulled over a gas station to get gas. Apparently crying while asking to put $40 on 6 was a lot for that guy to handle. Teenager, probably would be a story he talked about with his friends later.

Hour fourteen...Em would like Boston. Em would LOVE Boston. It had everything. Plays. Museums. Oh the bars were expensive as crap but they were so much fun. That was fine. Just sisters having a good time. They could bar hop, or get drunk at Hampton beach as the fireworks went off. Live life. Wasn't that what this was all about? Living life and for the thrill of the adventure? They could go to Vegas, Miami, go on a cruise. They'd do this big whole world travelling trip....write a bunch of postcards to Mom and Dad put it on the grave a year later so....

Hour fourteen caused most of hour fifteen and sixteen in complete tears blaring country music as she drove. The rest of the drive, her face was puffy...and she sat in her thoughts.

As she pulled up into BellaRose, the sign faded and worn, untouched from probably the 60s. She'd usually sit in the passenger seat of Dad's truck seeing the same old post office, same old barber shop...her sister's baker right by the thrift store. Each place had a memory, her childhood and figuring out herself just remnants playing a memory. It was aleast two and a half miles into town, that she used to ride her bike, on beaten dirt road or moving to the side to let a tractor pass. Now, it was her mini cherry red toyota camry passing through.

On the twentieth hour....she made it less than 24 hours after she heard the news...Molly was on the stoops of her family porch. The swing was still there. Dad's shed...with no Ford parked right out front. Just her camry. Ebony sat by her feet...she knocked on the door.

 

[Krista]

Molly had called and they talked. Plans were made and her sister was on her way. It was a long trip and she couldn’t just sit at this table doing nothing. That’s what she wanted to do though. She felt like she could stare at the wall and do nothing, think nothing for a long time.
Numbness was starting to set it. It wasn’t complete but it was seeping in to her whole being like the cold would if she goes outside without a coat on in the winter.
Unable to sit still, her thoughts were straying to momma and daddy no matter how hard she tried to stop them, she got up and moved to her room to change. Pj’s just weren’t going to cut what she had in mind.
Now dressed in a pair of ratty jeans, a black t-shirt and barefooted she ran out of the house and down the stairs. If anyone asked, she was not trying to run away from her thoughts, she just …. Didn’t like moving slow.
Refusing to look around she kept her eyes straight ahead. If she looked around she wouldn’t be able to continue. The truck wasn’t there anymore. The signs of her parents … they were gone. She couldn’t think of that right now. She was barely holding as it was.
Moving across the yard she made it to the barn where Outlaw was grazing she moved in to the barn, grabbed the headstall and reins then moved to where Outlaw looked up at her. He gave a soft nicker in greeting.
Giving a soft watery smile she put the headstall over his face and the opened the stall door.
“I think you and I need to go for a ride today. What do you think? Long and hard? Well, it doesn’t have to be long but I think a good hard run could be therapeutic for the both of us.”
Outlaw was always up for a run and he could tell something was wrong, his human was upset and she didn’t usually get upset like this so. He started to nudge her, as if he was in a hurry. Emily swatted his nose gently and walked them outside of the barn. Once out there she moved him to the fence, climbed up a few steps then hopped gently on to his back bareback.
With that the two of them took off. She didn’t care where they went as long as it was fast and hard. When you rode a horse fast and hard you didn’t have time to think about anything, your focus had to be staying on and steering them away from trouble. Even more so when you don’t have a saddle under your butt to keep you on. Harder work being bareback, which is why she did it.
After a while of riding hard, Outlaw and Emily both breathing hard, he slowed down when they came to the creek. It was a hidden alcove no one but her and her parents knew about. Sliding off outlaw she led him to the water then took off running. What she wanted to do, she didn’t want to scare Outlaw.
Once she felt she was far enough away she dropped to her knees and screamed. Loud. Hard. As long as she could make it. Screamed out her pain, her worry and anger. Angry because they were gone. Angry because they left her alone. Worry because she didn’t what to do now. Worry because she didn’t know how to keep the farm and the bakery both running by herself.
Yes Molly was coming but that didn’t mean she was staying. She had a life in Boston, not in BFE Illinois. So when she left she would be alone and trying to keep both going. It scared her. And it hurt because she didn’t want to do this alone.
She missed them so much already.
An unknown amount of time went by before she could get herself to get up, but she did. She got herself off the dirty ground and moved to find Outlaw. The horse wasn’t far from where she left him, he was happily munching grass around the creek.
Grabbing his reins she found a large rock and used it to propel herself on top of him. Once settled on to his back he nickered at her again. Leaning down she wrapped her arms around her neck.
“Thank you dude. I am so glad I have you. Now, let’s go home and this time we don’t have to go so fast.”
--
They made it back home. She took him back to the barn, brushed him down and fed him some oats. Once he was settled back in to the barn and pasture she moved a little stiffly to the house.
She wouldn’t look around.
Inside she took a shower and changed in to her PJ’s again. A little more numb now than she was earlier she ate a small dinner of left over pizza then went upstairs and crashed.
---
The next morning, the sun shining, she woke up cursing the world. Why did it have to be so bright, so cheery when she felt nothing cheery.
Going downstairs she started the coffee, did her morning wake up routine, grabbed her thermos and made coffee then headed out to the barn in PJ shorts, a tank top and rain boots. Her long hair was in a messy bun (half already falling out) and got to taking care of the animals.
Normally when she took care of them she would talk to them, explain her plans for the day and talk about what she wants in life but …. Today she said nothing to them and just moved through the routine. Every now and then she would be forced to wipe the sneaky tears off her face and ignore the fact that she keeps crying.
She had just finished breakfast when there was a knock on the door. Her heart dropped in to her stomach. Swallowing hard, she moved away from the kitchen table and headed to the door.
Opening the door she saw Molly. Her sister. Not by blood but by bond. Strong bond. Chosen sister.
Tears welled in her eyes then fell that would make a waterfall envy.
“You made it.” Her voice was hoarse from the emotions in her throat and from the screaming she did yesterday.
Slowly she moved to the side allowing Molly to come in to the house.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Ebony was the first to enter. The cat sprinted inside, weaving past Em's legs and made a beeline for under the couch. She was a city cat by nature. A month staying in her house alone, shoved in a car and brought to a new location? That cat was probably not coming out of that couch anytime soon. She couldn't blame the poor thing. Cats hated change, and well it was a shit ton of change.

From Em's face, it looked like she was not having a great time either. I mean why would she? She had been at ground zero this entire time while Molly was stuck in a car. Molly stepped in and she could smell the candles from Judy Beckett's candle shop just in the center. Mom was obsessed with those candles. But really, she was probably supporting one of her oldest friends. The smell of peaches and wax filled her nose. "Sorry it took me so long, made sure to only stop for gas and drive straight through.

Same old beaten leather couch. They were teenagers when Dad finally decided to upgrade the sofa to an L shaped leather beast fit for watching the sports games. Molly ran her fingers through her hair trying to process it all. "I mean it's Bellarose...so everybody and their mother has probably already contacted you...about details. Where are we on planning? You didn't have to do it by yourself right? Cause maybe I should have taken the plane...but I thought this would be easier in the long run and-"

Breathe. She hadn't even asked Em how she was doing. What was going on. It was just... a lot to process. "...did you see them yet?"

 

[Krista]

Emily shook her head a little. “You actually made it here faster than I thought you would.” Looking at Molly as she said so she could see that her sister was exhausted. So she moved away from the door and headed in to the kitchen.
Walking over to the cupboard to the fight of the sink she grabbed another coffee mug then grabbed the coffee pot and poured a large helping inside the mug. Taking the steaming cup she set it on the table for Molly to take then grabbed her own cup and refilled. ‘I could pour some of daddy’s whiskey in here and give it a kick.’ She thought to herself. Yeah, she could use something stronger.
Emily took a sip of her coffee as she watched Molly ramble on about people calling her and asking questions, then moving on to the plans and how she should have flown. Em just sipped her coffee waiting until her sister took a breath. Normally she would be laughing, teasing her and then interrupting her so that she answer some of the questions but she was exahausted both physically and mentall. Her heart hurt so, which was weird because you wouldn’t think the muscle would be able to.
“I wouldn’t know if anyone called because I put my phone on silent and unplugged the home phone. I don’t have it in me to feed the town gossip.” She gave a small shrug and took another drink of her addiction. The next question though, about seeing them, made her flinch slightly.
Remembering she had seen her sisters cat come flying in she walked to the other cupboard and pulled down an appropriate bowl and filled it with water. Having a general idea of where the cat went, she set the water bowl down and then walked back to her sister, not looking at her.
“No. They probably called to ask me to come down but …. I couldn’t do it. Not alone. And all the calls and texts and emails … they were too much. Which is why I put it on silent.” She finally looked up at her sister. “I figured we could figure everything out when you got here. You are the smart one in the family. I’m the doer. Figured you would think about the steps and what needs to be done and I’d just do them.” Again, she gave a small shrug.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Taking a sip, she wondered if Dad still had any of his whiskey or Irish bailey cream that could be added to the drink. Molly couldn't help but smile, only for it to falter that she would be thinking like that a time like this. She was not the best sister...

Now being called the smart one...

She looked down at her drink, not recognizing the reflection looking back at her. "Right...yeah...I wouldn't want to go to the morgue by myself either." She said. Both sisters could see the paw from a black cat reach out from under the couch, dragging the bowl of water dragging underneath the couch. Em would find out with time, she had a weird pet. Right. Planning this. "I guess we start with the morgue...figure out the funeral home. Mom would have had plans on how to handle this. Filing cabinets in the den."

It was Mom...she probably had plots at the cemetrary all planned out along with the vendors, what flowers to get and a suggested pre-written word from a priest. There were plenty of times they sat down where she would lament about how poor cousin Kathy didn't have a plot of land saved with her and God forbid she wasn't burried by her mother and father. She thought about moving her legs and getting up to find Mom's folders, see if there was something, but her legs felt like cement, glued to the floor.

There was no easy way to say it. "I didn't think we'd be doing this..."

Well there it was.

"I mean...I knew we would be eventually. I just...I didn't believe it...you know?"

 

[Krista]

Emily took another long swallow of coffee, finishing it off then setting the dirty cup in to the sink. Turning she leaned her butt against the edge of the sink and crossed her arms over her chest. For a moment she just stood there and listened to her sister piece things together.
Em was never envious or jealous of her sister and how smart she was. Emily was the impulsive one, the one who acted without thinking. She made it through school average, didn’t really fail but wasn’t overly smart either. She was ok that then, she was ok with it now.
“I will go get my phone, the detective might have called. I can call him and set a time for us both to go.” Emily nibbled on her lower lip a bit. It was one of her nervous habits. One of many really.
“We can go through the filing cabinet tonight if you want. Alcohol involved because I don’t think I can do this sober.”
Sighing she ran a hand through her long hair and hunched her shoulders.
“I was just ….. talking to them that morning. They were …. Just supposed to be getting supplies then they would be back. Momma and I were going to make ….” Her throat started to close up so she cleared her throat. “Anyways, I am still having a hard time not keep looking towards the door expecting them to come in.” Her got softer. “I feel like a damn dog who sits at the window waiting for their owner to come because I keep jumping at every sound thinking it’s them.” She curled into herself a little more.
Gods this was so much harder than she ever imagined it being.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"Definitely booze." This was not a sober occasion. There was nothing about this that warranted a sober occasion. Funny when legs decide to work again. Molly couldn't get up to look at the files, but she sure as hell could get up to check the the tv stand cabinet where there was always an extra bottle of wine. She popped the Jameson top off and poured it in her coffee, taking the bottle to rest on the coffee table.

It was quieter than she thought it would be.

"So it was an errand run?" That didn't really sound right did it? But, Molly stopped herself. This was not a time to be thinking about whether that was odd or not. Death didn't make sense, it was random and it came for everyone. It just happened to be one of those situations for her. When her sister joined her in the living room, she topped her coffee off as well. "Guess we don't really get to decide how it happens..."

No point in trying to figure it out. She sniffed, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her eyes. "Listen, I talked to my job on the way down here. So...they are letting me work remote, as long as I need to. So...I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. If that's ok with you." It wasn't like she could invite herself to stay at the house. Em lived here. This was hers more than Molly's. "There's a motel next town over, so no pressure. Mom probably made you executor of the will to manage the estate until we decide to sell it or...."

Or she didn't know. She sipped her coffee.

There were bank accounts that would need to be closed out. Did Mom and Dad have a lawyer? Mom would have been prepared. Dad? Not so much. It was just a means to take more money. Crooks. There were just crooks everywhere, Molly and don't you forget it. She couldn't even remember the last bit of advice her dad gave her. By the time she was seventeen she thought she was too good for it, it was all the same anyways.

Now she couldn't even the last thing he said to her. She called them when she was in Europe. She let them know she was ok. That was it.

"...This wasn't how I saw any of this happening...it doesn't feel real."

 

[Krista]

Emily sighed softly and followed Molly in to the living, keeping her arms crossed over her chest. She just felt so … exhausted. Not just physically but in every aspect as well. This was too much. Gods above and below she felt like she was on a breaking point,.

The things her ex did and said and everything he put her through didn’t break her.

This is what will break her.

Unable to stand any longer, the will to just stand giving way, she plopped on to the side of the couch she usually sat at and looked at her sister.

“Of course you can stay, this is your home just as much as mine.” Em shook her head. “Even still, I don’t …” She paused, cleared her throat and tried again. “I don’t want to be here …. In this house …. Alone. It’s took quiet. And it’s so stupid to have you go to the hotel and spend money when there is plenty of rooms here.”

Leaning back against the couch she sighed and looked at her sister.

“I just want to close my eyes and pretend this isn’t real.” She said softly.

After a short moment, knowing if she let herself, she would fall in to depression and not get back up so she stood up and stretched a little.

“If we are going to the morgue then I am going to call the detective and get him to let us go now. If I sit much longer I won’t be able to move so …” She ran a hand through her hair, pushing back stray hairs. “Is that ok with you? I mean if you want to wait we can. This is an us thing…..not a me thing.”

 

[Willow Pillow]

"No...let's do it. Because if we don't do it now...I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it later." Molly said. Ebony was still under the couch. She wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. Swigging down the rest of her liquid courage she got up again and headed to the door. Why call if they could go? "Car's a mess...I snack a lot in long drives. You're welcome to the snacks but don't you dare eat the last oreo. You gotta leave atleast two to jam it together."

She got not wanting to be here alone. She could feel like they were still there...and it would probably give her nightmares being here alone.
--
Detective Beckett sat down drinking a cup of coffee from Jumping Bean. It was a coffee/bagel donut little shop right across the street from the Bellarose police station. It was a small town, there were a total of...one detective, five local beat cops, and their police captain. In towns like this, the hardest case he had to crack was Mrs. Johnson losing her cat...who wasn't lost but stuck in a tree. That was a good two hours in a tree getting scratched up by a calico that would have preferred to stay in the tree.

It wasn't like Detroit. Detroit your partner would take a bullet to the face from a corrupt FBI agent that was caught tampering with evidence in the locker room. That wasn't an everyday occurrence, but Beckett wondered if it happened enough if your boss sent you to the boomies in another state like it was your typical Tuesday. If he was a betting man, he'd say that his hunch was probably right. He didn't have much to complain about it. Detroit wasn't really a great place to raise a teenage daughter anyway. She had seen too many dead bodies from his work, and it was nice to not hear gunshots randomly in the middle of the night. People would say big cities led to better education. But, there was already the internet. The kid was smart as a whip and was already taking online classes. It was quieter here...and telling her she could learn how to ride a horse helped with the transition the first year that they were here.

It was a sleepy town. So a car accident with two elderly individuals should have been done and closed. He could have been overthinking it. Rule it an accident. Get home early and enjoy a nice dinner with Robyn. Probably grilled mac n cheese sandwiches, a heart attack served in a cheesy delicious mess. Maybe he was holding onto it since they were the parents of his daughter's horse-riding instructor. That was the downside of a small town, it was all connected. In a large city, it was just the job and people fit a profile.

Bellarose might have had at most 1,000 residents, including kids. Everyone knew everyone...and things were more personal instead of removed.

Speaking of which, at the corner of his eye he saw Moore's daughter at the front of the desk with another woman next to her. They both looked disheveled with a lack of sleep in their eyes. The stranger was probably a family member. As they were talking to the admin at the front she didn't seem to get curious at the new face. So whoever this was...probably grew up here. He closed the file, put the cup down, and walked over. Beckett was a young man just approaching his 35th birthday, brown hair cut short, thick square glasses, he always kept his clothes business sharp. You dress professional, you act professional, that's how he looked at it anyway.

Amy Potts, a high school student, and daughter to the captain ran the admin work. "Sorry for your loss. We have Detective Beckett working on the case he's just - oh he's coming right over. "

"Detective and not a cop?" Molly's brow immediately arched. The guy was a string bean point dexter and a face she never saw before. Her nose wrinkled as she tried to not let her mind wander.

"Oh don't worry, Molly. Detective Beckett is a city man like you. He joined us about a year ago, he's just very thorough. Hey, I was looking at schools in Boston, I'd love to hear all about the city maybe stop by when you go back?" The high schooler she and Em used to babysit said so casually. The big city. Not many people left Bellarose...these were the conversations Molly internally dreaded like she was a rare animal or something. 'Oh, you got out? how is it can i come with you or crash with you' 'guess you failed to be back here it was either gawking or bullying. Nothing in between. Coming from the city into a small town whether you grew up in that town or not was like a giant scarlet letter on your chest.

The detective held the folder to his chest. "Ladies, I do want to echo Amy's sentiment that we at the precinct are all sorry for your loss. The bodies are at the morgue to be identified, after that we can help with the process of getting them sent to the funeral home and other arrangements you might need. I do have a few questions, but we can wait until it's a better time." He looked at Emily. Robyn heard the news yesterday like most of the town and was working on something for her teacher. Didn't want to spoil it. But it was a tough spot for her to be in. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask her if she needed time and they could postpone lessons...or well...she'd find it insulting if he even suggested it.

When his wife died, from his experience...he appreciated it if he made the initiative to talk about things. It was always one of those touchy subjects.

 

[Krista]

Emily gave a weak smile when Molly told her not to eat the last Oreo. In all honesty the thought of eating anything, especially something sweet, made her stomach roll violently. Though the thought was sweet so she smiled at her sister and put two fingers up in the scout promise. “I promise not to eat the last of your Oreo. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of smooshing two together.”

So they got in the car and Molly drove them to the station.
At the counter she weakly greeted Amy Potts, her throat very close to clogging up. She was trying very hard to keep her back straight because she felt like she could just fold into herself and never come back in. How could something hurt this badly? She knew that they would pass once day. Guess it must be the sudden unexpected part which hurt the worse. There was no warning, they didn’t get sick or get really old. They walked out the door healthy and happy and now they were just ….. gone.
Swallowing hard Emily looked up at the detective and quickly looked away. He was the one who came and told her about her parents. It was hard to look at him without hearing the words he told her in her café.

Pushing some of her long light brown hair from her face she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and hunched her shoulders slightly. Tears welled in her eyes but she pushed them back.

That was until he said bodies. The bodies that needed to be identified. She flinched at those words. Couldn’t help it. Sounded so cold and served as a reminder as to what happened.

Using the sleeve of her plain black worn out hoodie, she wiped her face.

Not once did the thought about the kids and their lessons come to mind. She hadn’t thought about them once. When she looked at this man, a man she has come to know in passing, all she heard were the words that shattered her world.

“If you have questions you might want to ask them now, while were here. I don’t know about Molly but …no offense….don’t want to come back here. I also might not be in the right mindset for a very long time after we see….” She stopped unable to say the words. She knew they were true, she wasn’t in denial, it was just … so hard to say the words.

“That is, if that’s ok with you Molly?” She turned to her sister, her arms still crossed tightly over her chest. Emily just knew after she saw their parents that she would break down in a major way and wouldn’t want to talk for a long while and with all the grief she might forgot important stuff in her state of depression she was going to fall in when she got home.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"Better to do it now," she agreed. Molly was in the same boat as Em. She felt like she was on autopilot. It was better to get it all over at once. If she had the choice, she'd go to the gas station, load up on energy drinks and stay awake all the way to the funeral. Just...get it over with. Force the pleasantries to the town and cousins driving in, then hide in her bed for an entire month eating ice cream with her cat ontop of her as she tried to figure out what life was and what to do.

The way Molly grieved? In private. If she was a dog, she would have been Marley, running off to the woods to die so her family wouldn't have to see it. So if answering the detective's questions got them done with this quicker? She was about it. Also...

a detective was on their parents' accident? She binged enough Criminal Minds alone at her apartment munching on Edamame pretending it was chips. Fun fact. Edamame, zero calories...also if you eat too many of them it can make you sick. After the age of 25, the body doesn't respond to chips and late night fast food as it used to. But a detective to a car accident? No. Funny shit happened.

The two sisters followed Detective Beckett back to his deck, that's where Molly spotted the pre-teen kid smiling wide with Biscuit (Assuming they have lots of horses) framed on his desk. She looked at her sister.

Right. Small town. Everyone knows everyone and she spent too many years in the city where you talked to strangers every day on the same block you lived at. She watched the man open the folder, click his pen. Guess they were starting.

"Let's start with relationship to the deceased." If Molly lived here, maybe she would have been offended by that. But, she didn't. She was the stranger to her own parents' possible murder case. This all felt weird.

"Daughter." She wondered if the detective was a robot or something she expected some sort of reaction. Her sister was divorced. Here's city boy with a kid that has horse riding lessons? There was some ABC Thursday Night Shonda Rhymes soap story her sister would have to spill the tea on later. They didn't look at eachother or he didn't look surprised by the revelation. Instead, he just wrote down daughters plural.

"Patrick Moore and Susan Moore. Was there any sort of disagreements or resentment with any person that you might be aware of?"

"My dad didn't like anyone that wasn't my mom and you couldn't find a soul that didn't like my mom. They balanced each other out." But this was more of a question for Em. She was the one that lived with them.

 

[Krista]

The sisters followed the detective through the small building to his desk. Emily sat on one of the chairs and started chewing on the edge of the cuff of her sleeve. Nervous habit. She was trying not to bite her nail, which is what she wanted to do, so she chewed on the sleeve instead.

Emily listened slightly while Molly talked to the detective, her mind feeling sluggish and old. Was it ever going to not be like this? How was she going to manage the café? The farm? Any of it if her mind was like this. Thinking was hard, it was like trying to pull your rain boot out of a foot deep mud pit. The mud just keeps sucking you back down and the harder you fight the deeper you go. That’s it! Her mind was a mud pit and her thoughts were getting sucked in.

When the detective said deceased Emily flinched again. It was hard not to. Just another reminder that they were gone. Not coming back. She was old enough to live without them but …. She wasn’t ready to yet. The first people to ever care about her, a stranger, a child born from addiction and thrown around in the foster system like a hacky sack. They took her in, fed her, loved her, raised her and made her part of the family. She fought with them, ran away, caused them suffering but they still loved her. Now they were gone. Just her and Molly now.

Biting her lower lip gently she looked up and noticed the picture on the detectives desk. Robyn and Biscuit. The sweet old mare who loved kids. Her riding student.

“Shit” She whispered as she realized she was going to have to cancel appointments with the kids. She wouldn’t be able to teach any of them anything for a little bit. It would really suck if they started showing up, she wasn’t ready for that yet.

When both people looked at her she turned slightly pink. “Sorry” She muttered.

Then the Detective asked if anyone resented them or had any disagreements. Em’s eyebrows furrowed at the question. As soon as Molly finished Em sat up a little bit and leaned slightly towards the detective.

“Of course there wasn’t anything like that. They’ve lived here their whole lives! They were apart of the community! People loved them, relied on them. They were good people.”

Outburst over she sat back again, face turning slightly pink. Emily wasn’t the outburst kind of person and was embarrased that she had let her emotions get the better of her. Push it down, like she knew how.

“Momma has a friendly competition with a few of the ladies when it comes to canning jams or growing vegetables. Like Molly said, daddy didn’t like anyone particularly though he was friendly because he thinks everyone is a liar or a thief or both. If someone walked up to talk to you they were probably trying to sell you something. Momma never met a stranger.” She gave a small shrug but then … paused. Chewing her lower lip she thought about the night that daddy got the letter ….was this important? She didn’t think so but it was an argument.
“Maybe about …. I don’t know … 6 months ago daddy got a letter in the mail from ….. “ She paused, REALLY not wanting to talk about this now. Shifting in her seat she pushed a stray hair from her face. “It was a letter with a stupid amount of money, offering to buy the farm. The letter said something about momma and daddy retiring, having enough money to live in the bahama’s for the rest of their lives if they wanted. Daddy was pissed, and I mean if they were standing there he would brought out the shot gun. Momma talked him down, like she always did, and they actually discussed it. Few days later daddy got a phone call, from the man who sent the letter, wanting to discuss the offer. There was a argument where daddy told him to take the offer and shove it where the sun don’t shine and keep going until it came back out his throat where he can chew it up and swallow it.” Daddy had a way of words. “That wasn’t normal though, they almost always got along with everyone. I mean they weren’t perfect, no one’s perfect. They would argue about someone camping on the land uninvited, farm hands not doing their job … petty things like that but nothing.”

Then a thought hit her. It would have hit her sooner if her brain hadn’t turned in to a foot deep mud pit.

“I’m not a cop or a lawyer but …. You don’t normally ask these kinds of questions when it’s an accident. That’s what you told me when you came to the café, that it was an accident. Why would you ask these questions for an accident? These are questions for when you think someone did this on purpose. But that can’t be, no one would do this on purpose to them. They didn’t do anything to anyone. You told me this was an accident so I don’t understand why you are asking these questions.”
Emily started to hyperventilate. The emotions were starting to get to her, pushing them down was starting to get hard. The emotions were too big, to heavy and no matter how hard she was trying to push them down and ignore them, they were pushing back. So here she sat, in the police station of a town she grew up in, yelling at the detective trying to help her family. A detective who had an amazing young woman as a daughter, who brought her faithfully for lessons and who has been nothing but kind to her. And hyperventiliating.
Emily jumped up out of the chair.

“I can’t breathe.”

Panic attack. That’s what this is. She hadn’t had one since the Moore’s adopted her so many years ago. She used to have them all the time. Now here it was, rearing it’s ugly head. She hadn’t even had a panic attack when she was married.
Emily stumbled slightly as she tried to get her bearing but she was spiraling. Breathing too fast. Movements too slow. Field of vision was narrowing.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Em was as tweaked out from all this as a school kid snorting a pack of pixie sticks. She might have done that in dare at Heather Dorsey's spin the bottle party. They were thirteen and too afraid to kiss in the closet right away so it was a truth or dare. Her sister was as tweaked out as she was that day. Up one emotion and spun around to the next. It was hard to think her sister was living some saucy love story when in reality she was about to have a panic attack. Her sister was in the chair, then out of the chair standing and almost tripping on herself stumbling back slightly. Molly got to her feet-

The detective had faster reflexes it seems. He was up, grabbed her wrist with a firm but gentle grip right before the stumble was too far back where she would have lost balance. "Ms. Moore, deep breath." He said. Molly watched him not overstay his welcome letting go when her sister had good standing. "Your parents were good people. I'm just checking every stone, because when someone's gone, they deserve that. That's all that is. If this is too soon, we can do this another time."

"Em...we can go home. I haven't slept...it's ok." Molly added.

Sitting back down, Beckett's green eyes locked on Emily's seeming to read her in that moment. "I can see through trying to put on an act as well. Grief can be very paralyzing. It's ok to let yourself process it however you need to." Molly just assumed he said it that way because he was a detective but Harvey knew what it was like to lose someone who was your world, but you had to carry on when a little kid's involved and needs you to be their rock.

 

[Krista]

A part of Emily thought she was going down, to hit the floor. Her stupid feet tangle in one another which caused the stumble and since she was hyperventilating she wasn’t able to right herself. Emily was graceful, you kind of have to be when riding the way she did so this was rare for her but, she’s been through a lot so it would make sense.

Someone caught her before she fell. She didn’t hit the floor or anything else like she had thought she would. Instead there was a strong hand on her wrist, steadying her. The hand held her wrist until the risk of falling was gone. The owner of the hand told her to breathe. The shock of the strong hand cut through some of the panic cloud as did the strong male voice telling her to breathe. It took her a few moments to pull herself together but when she did the hand let go and she was able to sink back in to her chair.

Emily’s face turned all kinds of red from the embarrassment as she realized what had just happened. She usually had better control. This time she didn’t though and people witnessed her have a minor break down.

Swallowing hard she wrapped her arms around her body again.
Turning to Molly, her eyes swimming with tears but she was refusing to let them fall. This wasn’t ok. She wasn’t the only one hurting. So she reached out and took her sisters hand. Nothing like making herself feel guilty and selfish. Emily wasn’t the only one who lost momma and daddy.

Forcing everything down, pretend it wasn’t there, can break down later like she did with her ex, she looked back at the detective. She was going to ignore what had just happened. Pretend she didn’t almost lose it. She can do this. A little more then they can go home. All she had to do is hold on just a little longer. She can do this. She did it for years. No one knew what she had been suffering. This is no different.

“I think we should go see them now. Molly is right, she hasn’t slept in almost 2 days. We answered a few of your questions, we can answer more later. For now, can we just do this so we can go home?”

Push through it. Be strong. Be weak later. Strong now. For Molly, for momma, for daddy, for the world and for herself. More so that Molly doesn’t have to take care of her. The panic was still sitting on her chest but she held it tight for now.

 

[Willow Pillow]

The two sisters would not be prepared for the morgue if they were starting off this strongly. The smell of decay is similar to shit. No one really talks about it, but that's the smell. It's a rancid smell that hits the nose right on impact. Brings to image of garbage, rancid milk curdling and shit blurred into a blender. In the morgue, it had that smell, but add a bottle of bleach to try and mask it.

No amount of bleach can mask the smell of death, but you couldn't blame people for trying. The place was prestine, not a single thumb print on any of steel drawer. A mouse wouldn't dare enter or scamper across the tiles, it was too clean. The smell though? Molly felt dizzy just entering the room. The detective was still with them, opening two cabinet drawers pulling it forward. He would have to be there until they confirmed.

She swallowed the oreos she ate on the way here, the audible struggle sounded like gurgled muffled choke as she covered her mouth and kept it shut. Closed casket. It looked Mom was mangled, shredded. She must have gone through the front glass. Officer Bowing didn't describe the accident on the phone. Dad had his chest open as if it was impaled. A car part? Tree? Her mind circled a million different possibilities. It was her parents alright. She could tell by their wedding bands.

Funny how a band of metal actually means so much. You know when it's not there. Molly absently rubbed her left thumb against the back of her empty ring finger and nodded, swallowing another, much smaller, vomit down. "That's them alright."

Detective Beckett nodded. "I'll leave you two alone."

Now it was just them, hearing the click of his shoes as he walked away...alone with a room full of dead people. "Maybe there's a reason he has to look, Em..." She finally said it...her face depleted of all emotions. She felt....hollow. "This looks like they were speeding...or...something. And...that's not Dad."

 

[Krista]

Emily knew the smell of death. Working on a farm you ran in to the smell a few times but this smell is different then the smell of animal death. Still, she had a better stomach for it than Molly did. Holding her hoodie sleeve up to her nose she covered the lower part of her face. Just because she knew the smell didn’t mean she liked the smell.

Swallowing hard, thankful she hadn’t eaten anything today, she stopped close to Molly as the detective pulled the drawer out. Emily started to shake, and it had nothing to do with the cold temperature in the morgue.

The they were there. Eyes closed. Mangled bodies. No longer bloody but torn apart.

If she were in her right mind Emily would have known something was off about them because momma always wore her seat belt and daddy didn’t speed. Not ever. How could momma be thrown from the vehicle and why does this look like a high speed collision? But she wasn’t in her right mind so she swallowed hard again and turned away.

Molly told the detective it was them, though it was hard to see. There were a few marks that let the girls know who they were. The rings on their fingers for one. Momma had a ‘beauty’ mark on her neck and daddy had a tattoo on his forearm.

Emily shook even harder. Everything was trying to bubble it’s way to the front but she managed to keep them down. Barely, but she was managing. She heard her sister but shook her head, though you couldn’t tell if she did it on purpose of because she was shaking harder than a drug addict trying to go cold turkey.

“I … I wanna go home Molly.” She said, her voice low and thick. She had seen more than enough. They wanted them to identify their parents, they did that. They wanted to ask questions, they did that. Now she just wanted to go home where she can stop holding everything down so tightly, so she won’t be the next juicy piece of small town gossip.

‘Oh my god, did you hear that poor girl Emily had a break down in the middle of the police station.’

‘Yeah I know she lost her parents and all, which is truly a tragedy, but she should know to hold on better.’

‘I can imagine she was just doing it for attention.’

Even thought he house was cold, heartless and empty she wanted to crash on her bed and sink in to the darkness beckoning her so sweetly.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Right. Let's go home.

Molly gave her sister a nod, pushing in the drawers. John and Jane Doe tags wrapped around their toes as they went into their new homes, a stainless steel box with a cot. The smell still hung in the air, even outside of the facility. The detective's car was still there, next to her cherry Toyota. Molly slid into the passenger seat and just sat in silence. The keys were in her lap, gripped around the hand as she just stared at the driving wheel.

Home. She knew that was where they needed to go, but her legs felt numb. Water dripped down her eyes; she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe them away. She was unable to lift her hand to the ignition and go.

"Did Dad or Mom tell you where they were going?" She asked. She was trying to do the math in her head when it could have happened. It wasn't like they were sitting in a broken-down truck for hours or days. This happened when she was on her flight. What had Molly been doing? Crying and drinking two mini bottles of wine, telling the woman next to her that romance movies were just so sad.

That's what she was doing.

"Was it a random event...is this part of their routine to go out and drive that day? Please do not tell me they were driving to a UPS drop-off box because Mom wanted to send a gift in preparation for whatever I brought back from Europe." It was tea and Irish knit hats for dad. But it was really fucking good tea...

Oh, who the fuck cared about the tea? Mom was dead; she couldn't even have it. But it would have been just like her to send a gift before she got one.

 

[Krista]

The sisters got in the car. Emily went through the motions. She sat down, shut the door and then put on her seat belt. Arms crossed tightly around herself she leaned against the door and stared in to nothing. Heavens she hurt.

Emily didn’t even realize that the car wasn’t moving until Molly broke the silence by asking questions. Furrowing her brow she forced her mind to pay attention because right now it was off in la la land on vacation.

“They had errands to run. Post office, feed mill, general store, farmers market then grocery store. This was their day shopping trip. Once a month they go out and do everything all at once. This was normal though the days aren’t always the same. Sometimes it’s the beginning of the month and sometimes it’s at the end. The trip depended on the critter food.” Emily bit her lower lip gently as she leaned her head against the passenger window. “Of course me or daddy would go on quick trips to grab a thing or two but the majority of the shopping happened all at once. “More efficient” daddy would always say.”

After a moment a thought hit her. Guilt. Molly was blaming herself, she didn’t know for how much of the accident but even an iota was too much. So Emily sat up and looked over at her sister, frowning.

“I just want to get one thing straight, and heaven help you if you don’t listen to me, none of this, not once ounce or one iota, was your fault. Whether momma was mailing something to you or not they were still going to do errands. The critters needed food and they were going to pick up the monthly groceries so I swear to Thor if you try and take ANY of the blame for them on to yourself I will beat you to an inch of your life until you stop. Do you understand me Molly Moore?”

Emily loved her sister. They weren’t always close, lords knew that when Emily first got here they fought worse then two rival gangs. They borderline hated each other. Though, Emily was a large part of that because she would antagonize Molly all the time. Poking. Prodding. Pushing. Picking until the girl snapped. That is, until she realized she was safe, wanted and loved. Then Emily changed. Not all at once because for humans that was impossible, but slowly and their friendship started to grow.
Constantly texting, face timing, emailing and messaging. Randsom shit, important shit and stupid shit. All of it was sent to the other sister. So she knew her sister, well. Knew how she took things on that weren’t hers. Emily usually just let her, though trying to talk some sense in to her, but this time she was going to fight tooth and nail for her sister because she didn’t need to carry the guilt for something that wasn’t even close to her fault.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Post office. There it was. They could go any time in the month, beginning or end, it didn't matter. They would need a reason to go the day that they went. Molly grimaced, her lips pursed tightly together as she nodded. She took in everything her sister was saying, and it was there—the god damn post office.

"Dad hated talking to people anyways." She nodded again, sinking in her seat.

Em then went onto say that what had happened wasn't her fault. That she would beat her within an inch of her life until she didn't believe it. The irony of it, Molly knew her sister well. Em was deflecting and using Molly to do it. She blamed herself just as much as Molly was putting it on her. Em was the type of person that it was easier to take care of everyone around her with 85% good intention.

The other fifteen percent was to bury her feelings and pray to the Almighty that no one noticed. After the panic attack she had at the police station, it was the perfect opportunity to put all her focus into Molly. "If you did, I could be in the veil between life or death, get a chance to see them again," She said, a saddened half-smile formed on her lips. That one deserved an arm punch. "Knowing and believing are two different things, Em. Fists don't change belief, but I appreciate you trying."

Molly started the ignition.

 

[Krista]

Emily gave Molly a bland look when she said she could say hi to momma and daddy through the veil. At least she was attempting some kind of humor even though it wasn’t really funny.

“Well I know that none of this was your fault, all you have to do now is believe it because if you believe anything else then you are believing in a lie. Just remember, I love you and so did they.”
Then Molly drove them home.

Home. They say that home is where the heart is but the heart in this house had died. It didn’t really feel like home. The warmth she always felt being here was gone. Left was a cold soulless building that just reminded her of what was lost. That didn’t mean she wanted to move. Ok, well that was a lie. Emily was torn between wanting to leave this haunted memory behind and staying so that she can always have something that reminded her of momma and daddy. The battle was a fierce one with no winners in sight.

The sisters went through the motions of eating, crying, showering and functioning. Emily maintained her schedule of feeding the critters. The café remained closed. Molly looked through all the important papers. Emily sent out an email to all her riding clients cancelling all lessons until further notice, but told them she would be back eventually. Most sent their sympathies and understanding. One or two threw a fit to which she told them if they didn’t like it then they can go elsewhere.
They planned the funeral and got their parents moved from the morgue to the funeral home. Momma wanted to be cremated but daddy wanted to be buried. They cremated momma and placed her ashes in the casket with daddy. It was a closed casket affair.

The sister were numb and went through motions. People lined up sniffling, giving their sympathies and shaking the girls hands. Some hugged. Most stood in groups at the back of the church and gossiped. Emily didn’t pay attention to any of it. She smiled, hugged, wiped tears and thanked people for coming. All on auto pilot. Molly was able to be a little more interactive but not by much. Eventually Emily took Molly’s hand because she needed the physical contact of someone she loved and someone who was hurting just as much as she was.

The visitation was nice. The funeral was beautiful. Nice words were said, stories shared. Emily couldn’t go up there, not one for public speaking and she really didn’t want to share her memories with any of these fake people. A lovely song was sang the pastor blessed then with words. Flowers were thrown in to the hole on top of the casket. The sisters stood there, once again, while people said words then filed home.

It was over. The insurance was placed, the funeral over and questions were answered. Of course the detective had found them and asked more questions. Emily answered most of them since Molly hadn’t been here at the time.

Emily had hit depression. Molly hit depression. Life moved on without them.

---- One month later ----

Emily had started the lessons back up. She was sick and tired of laying in bed crying. She could still do it. She wasn’t sure how she had any more tears left but she knew she could but that wasn’t her. She had let herself mourn for a while but she hated being idle. Never set well with her. So she pulled herself up by the hair (sometimes literally) and started to do things, slowly. She had reached out to her clients and started their lessons again. She opened the café up again. Not for as long hours as before but opened all the same.

Funeral casseroles were still rolling in. Not as often and in large quantities but they were still coming. Some were really good and the girls ate those but some she fed to the hogs. She answered questions when asked. Emily had more business at the café then she had before. Man she really hated people.
Emily ended up hiring a young woman to help with the café. It was Molly’s idea. Her sister even helped with the interview. It was a young woman who had managerial experience so she could help keep the café open without Emily’s direct involvement. She had her hands full with the lessons and keeping the farm going. She had grumbled at first about hiring someone but after a little while she realized it was good idea. Not that she would ever say that out loud to her sister. That was like admitting she was wrong. Something she didn’t do if she could help it.

Rolling out of bed before the sun shone she stretched her sleepy body and got out of bed. Shuffling her half asleep self to the bathroom she started her routine. Dressed in jeans and her favorite worn out black hoodie she threw her hair in to a messy bun and started coffee.

While she waited for the coffee to brew (she didn’t eat this early in the morning) she wandered over to the window and stared out. This was her new normal. Quiet, numb and full of routine. Except for the fact she didn’t come in from feeding the critters to momma’s cooking. That was one thing that hurt still.
She was learning how to cope with it though.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Emily was greeted by the loud meow of Ebony the black cat. It took about 2 weeks for her sister's cat to stop clinging to Molly's leg and venture around the house. All the late night texts, phone calls and pictures Molly would send of this cat through the years was strange. Ebony knew how to unlock doors by pressing her paw up and down several times to break the lock. She could open jars with her back paws by having the jar pressed against a wall and kicking her back legs until it opened. She knew your schedule, where you would be and seemed to be very alert to what was going on.

Mom used to say that Molly was just spinning stories, cats were not that intuitive.

Well, Emily was learning. By the third week, Ebony grew curious and started following Emily around. Even around the farm. Just yesterday, both sisters had caught the cat opening the chicken coop fence and harassing the baby chicks. Molly already had to give the cat a bath for figuring out how to get into the pig pen. Now, here she was demanding attention as Emily was getting coffee.

When her meow was ignored, she meowed louder. Her paws pressed against Em's thighs she scratched lightly like a scratching post, stretching herself against her new friend. Em would notice there was a card the cat's bottom paws here pressing into on the linoleum floor.

Bass Ranch Horseback Training
Compete with the best
​

It was an ad for horse back riding by the Bass name. The Bass family had run this town since anyone could remember. They owned the most predominant law practice in the county, and the name carried weight. Em would know, she was married to one. It seemed they were dipping their toe into this. Her former husband was one that loved to go to the races and bet a mortgage worth of cash like it was pocket money. Their family would breed horses to sell. Best of the best.

Guess they were expanding.
--
Get up at 5am because Ebony was biting her nose. Run the field and try to beat her sister to feeding the critters. (Did not always happen.) Get on her laptop to work and be glued to her headset until 9pm. At first Molly paced around the living room discussing marketing strategies for product launches or trying to convince another company why their solution was the best fit. She'd be typing away at her laptop writing research documents or blog posts, or creating content that would sit on a web page. Sounds easy? Not so easy at a fortune 500 company. It got to the point that Molly was working at the bakery storage room so her calls were not bugging anyone.

Right now, she was at her sister's bakery, the top part of her dressed in a suit while she was wearing pajama bottoms and slippers. She just finished a meeting with the vice president of marketing that her product launch went well, so they were going to assign her to a few more launches. Not something she wanted right now. Doing one alone was working over 100 hours a week.

But she smiled, said she'd rise to the challenge and let out a heavy sigh when she walked out of the closet. Em's bakery was quiet, but the smell of pastry was always a calming smell. "Any breakfast rush?" She asked stretching her arms and removing the suit jacket. She didn't need it for another twenty minutes. For now she could step off her computer and be around the real world.

The Jumping Bean seemed to do well with bringing people in. Most days...the place here was quiet. Which made little sense to Molly, it was a good product. She didn't want to step on her sister's toes on the business plan...it was already crossing a line asking to hire someone.

 

[Krista]

Sighing softly she reached down after a while to pet the cat. Nuisance. Loveable but a nuisance. One hand pet Ebony and the other hand was pouring coffee in to her travel mug. Once the coffee was poured and the lid put on securely she looked down at the cat.

“What trouble are you working on today?” She grumbled softly then furrowed her brows when she saw the card under the cats paw. Without moving, knowing that wouldn’t dislodge the cat from her leg, she leaned down and managed to wiggle the card from under her.

Straightening she looked at it and felt her heart slid in to her throat and her blood to turn cold. Nick. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Every where she goes she either sees him, his family or his name. Now they were offering lessons? He had told her that it was a waste of time. It was one of the first things she started when she left him. Now his family was doing it?

She wanted to scream. She wanted to deck that smug, arrogant face. Kick him in the baby maker. Sparta kick him off the highest cliff.

What she would actually do? Bite her lip and keep pushing forward.

She crumpled up the card and threw it across the room as far as she could. Ebony took off after it, eyes wide. Cat reaction. Pushing off the counter she took off to complete her chores before Molly tried to beat her to it.

-----

After chores she took a shower, changed in to better looking jeans and a plain purple tank top, then headed to the cafe. Though she may have hired by someone (by pressure) she enjoyed going in and making the products for the day. It helped clear her mind. Her sole focus on the baking. Can't be distracted when baking or you are going to royally screw it up.

If you would have asked Emily a few months ago if she would be ok with Molly using her storeroom as an office she would have smacked you. This was her sanctuary and didn't like people messing with it, which is why she never hired anyone. After everything that happened she actually really enjoyed having her sister almost constantly around. So she put a small table and chair in the storeroom for her sister. Even had a sign made that one side that said "work in progress" and the other side says "safe to come in" so that she knew when to not go in there so she doesn't bother the meetings. It didn't bother her, it actually made her feel a little calmer. Probably had to be due to the fact the detective had told her the bad news while she was here.

With her hands in deep in cupcake dough she looked over at her sister and gave a small smile. "I guess you could call it a rush. More than I ever had before so it was ok. Figured one more batch of cupcakes and that will have us set for the rest of the day." She gave a small shrug. 2 large cats of coffee made, cupcakes, cookies, donuts, breads, and scones all made and in the front display case. "Whatever doesn't sell today I'll have Deb take them to the church."

 

[Willow Pillow]

Robyn Beckett had another rough day at school. Dad kept telling her that it would just take some time to get used to. People in small towns struggled with change, and they were a big change. The right people and the good people would take the time to see the real her, and it would all work itself out. That was the problem with Dad - always the optimistic. Sometimes, it was hard to deal with. Dad just assumed it would get better.

He never met Nicole Bass and her Headband cronies.

As soon as the bell rang, releasing the student body, Robyn got on her bike and rode to the Sweet Tooth. There was no bike rack, so she went for the second-best thing, tying her bike to the lamp post upfront. There was a heat and anger in her steps that carried the passion of any child. Her French braid was split into two pigtails, her hair still unmanageable. At the counter, she slapped a brochure on the table facing Emily Moore, her nose scrunched.

"Are you really quitting?" She asked.

Over the past few weeks, Molly had begun getting herself situated back in the town. This kid was the kid of the detective, which furthered her assumptions that something was going on between her sister and the cop. She didn't press and didn't ask about it. It was an unspoken agreement between the two not to talk about such things right now. Something that Molly could appreciate. She was glad that at least for a few weeks...she never had to talk about what had happened in England.

"The usual cupcake, Beckett?" Molly asked, glancing at the same brochure her sister had come in with.

"I wanna know why you're quitting. I thought you said you don't quit; you get back up on the horse." the girl didn't seem phased by Molly or anything else. She was focused on Em.

That was fine. Molly grabbed a cupcake and slid it on the counter, and then another that she bit into herself. "It's just an expression, kid. Sometimes, there's no horse to get back on. But she's not quitting. You're just witnessing capitalism at its finest."