Chasing Memories

[4] Opportunity

    "You don't have to shut up!" Elise hopped over the back of the sofa and caught herself on the counter. "I always appreciate your support, really. But I was just going to tell you to not run the taps for a bit, because I'm about to jump in the shower. I'm checking out the job!"

    As Elise rounded the counter, Robin took her into a large, warm hug. "Yes, Ellie! This is just what you needed," he said, laughing at the sounds Elise muttered into his chest. "Hopefully, Misty Waters hasn't read as much of your work as you have of hers."

    Elise shuddered in Robin's arms. "If she has, at least I'll definitely be home early tonight." She looked up at her flatmate's coffee-rich eyes, the smile she found in them passing onto her own face. "Thanks a lot, Robin. You're the best."

    "And you're pretty decent yourself, Ellie. You've got this. Just make sure you put your top on the right way round before you leave."

    ***

    Florence Jago's cabin hid on the other side of Bosmouth's woodland, the only marker of its existence being a slender dirt trail through an archway of ancient oaks. After struggling to pedal over the layers of foliage that dominated the path, Elise resorted to walking her bicycle through the overgrowth. She fixed her eyes forward and searched for any sign of her destination.

    Her persistence led her to the side of a large, quiet lake. Sunlight spilled across the water's still surface, its beams highlighting the shifting shapes of reeds and flowers that sprouted from the lakebed. Though startled by Elise's arrival, a trio of mallards held their tidy single-file formation and floated towards a flat, mossy bank on the far side of the lake. Elise squinted through the soft mist over the water and spotted the rounded edges of the cabin she sought.

    As Elise walked her bicycle around the lake, she spotted the broad wooden boathouse stood beside the cabin, a sleek bottle-green rowboat tucked in its shade. Water droplets glinted in the sun as they trickled down the vessel's hull, yet the boathouse's other dock hid behind a modern-looking shutter. Elise leaned her bicycle against the cabin's side and knocked on the door.

    Nobody answered. Raising her eyebrow, Elise glanced at the time on her phone. Even after her battles with the overgrowth, she had arrived two minutes early. She phoned Arin's number from her recent calls, hanging up as soon as she landed at his voicemail.

    The air shook, and the ducks spun and took off from the lake's surface. Elise glanced past the side of the house and saw a silver sports car pull up, a man in a royal blue suit jacket and trousers stepping out from the driver's seat onto the hard dirt. "Right on time! You're Elise Penrose, I take it?"

    "That I am," Elise said, looking towards the cabin's front door. "Is Ms Jago home? Nobody came to the door just now when I knocked."

    Arin shut the door to his car and slid his black sunglasses into the pocket of his crisp white shirt. "Two bits of advice for you, kid," he began as he gestured over to the rear side of the property. "One, call her Florence, not Ms Jago and never Misty. Two, Florence only answers the back door. The front door is just a distraction to weed out the canvassers and cold callers, not to mention the odd shifty type that comes crawling around."

    Knocking on the rear door, Elise stared at the crumbling doorframe and weary wall planters. "Does she live alone out here?"

    "She would if she could, kid. She wouldn't even talk to me if it was up to her." Pebbles flicked from the back door's step as Arin tapped his foot, soon rolling his eyes and motioning for Elise to move aside. "This is ridiculous. Wait out here for a minute while I go find her, alright? She's in one of her pesky sulky moods again, I bet."

    "Is she usually this difficult to get hold of?"

    Arin shrugged. "She's a creative. I'd be worried if she wasn't difficult."

    The back door swung to a close behind Arin. As Elise loitered outside the residence, a bassy rumble broke through the air from the boathouse. A figure rolled out from the clanging shutter door in a scrappy SUV, its exhaust hacking out fumes even while coasting. Blocking out the midday sun with her hand, Elise tried to make out the driver, yet the vehicle kicked into gear and drove away before she got a good look.

    A whistle snuck through the crack in the back door, and Elise turned to see Arin's glimmering white grin and brilliant blonde hair in the doorway. "Fantastic news, kid. Florence is just about talking to people right now. She's in the study when you're ready." He held the door open and nodded for Elise to enter, checking his watch. "Not to rush you, but Florence's social hours don't last forever. They're not even hours, really. Social moments, that's more accurate."

   Elise tore her eyes from the open boathouse and sighed. "Here goes nothing, I guess."