December

Chapter 12

The next few weeks went by slowly. October ended briskly, bringing in November with its pre-winter air. The leaves were mostly done changing colors now and the majority of them were littered on the lawns of the houses in Saranac. They crunched under my feet whenever I went for my daily morning run around town before getting breakfast at Danny's Diner.

I was running now, panting and watching my breath come out in little clouds in front of my face. The previous night, I had had a long conversation with Ryan about a case. It had been nothing short of absolutely frustrating. We had argued back and forth for hours until we finally drew up a resolution for a case we were working on. Whenever we had difficult cases like that one, I was never able to sleep the night after. So this morning, it was particularly hard for me to get up to go for my run. But now that I was into it, I had found my stamina and I felt like I could run forever.

But the sharp pain in my side told me I couldn't. So I turned the corner and jogged slowly towards Danny's before slowing down to a walk. I reached my arms up over my head, stretching the cramping in my abdomen. The air outside was cold, as it was still very early in the morning and it was nearly December. Cara Barger, one of the ladies that lived in Grammy's street, waved at me as she walked by with her dog, Lancelot.

"Good morning," Cara said, as I bent down to pet Lancelot, a black labradoodle. He stuck his tongue out, enjoying the feel of my hands scratching under his ears.

"Morning," I replied, still breathing a little roughly from the cold.

"I still don't understand how you young kids can get up so early and run when it's this cold out," she told me. I chuckled and stood up.

"You should try it. It really wakes you up for the rest of the day," I told her.

"Oh, honey. I am much too old for that now," she said, laughing a hearty laugh.

"You aren't a day over 40. I won't hear any of that," I said. She smiled at me and I returned it.

"Hi, Mrs. Barger!" I heard a bubbly voice call out from behind me. I felt my back stiffen. Cara's eyes held pity in them for me.

"Hello, Julie," she said as I heard the footsteps draw nearer. 

"And who's th--" Julie began as she walked up next to me. When she glanced over, she squealed. "Arya! It's you! I haven't seen you in ages it seems!" she exclaimed, her voice much too loud for this hour.

"I've been busy," I said, trying to muster up a smile. I couldn't manage and ended up grimacing instead.

"Are you out for a morning run?" she asked me, cocking her pretty blonde head to the side. I nodded and examined her outfit: grey yoga pants, neon yellow track jacket and matching tennis shoes.

"You too?" I asked.

"Of course! I have to keep in shape for the wedding!" she cried, letting out a girly giggle. Cara winced in annoyance. Lancelot barked, indicating that he wanted to leave. This drew Julie's attention down to the dog. "Oh, hello little puppy!" she cooed, reaching down to pet him. He growled and stepped back from her. She pulled her hand back quickly. "Oh! Not so friendly, I guess!" she said, not seeming faised at all by Lancelot's unusual dislike.

She stood back up straight and grinned at us.

"Mrs. Barger, did you and your husband receive our invitation for the rehearsal dinner? It's at the end of February, a week before the wedding," Julie asked Cara.

"I did receive the invitation. Thank you so much for inviting us!" Cara said.

"Of course we were going to invite you! Dr. Barger is one of Carter's idols!" she exclaimed, laughing shrilly. Cara and I exchanged a look. We both knew that she was over-exaggerating that, just like most things that came out of her mouth.