My Road Trip- A New Life

Pov- Bree

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, picked up the small

dog carrier on my passenger side seat, and closed the car door

behind me. I stood still for a minute, just listening to the

morning cricket songs echoing all around, almost, but not

quite, drowning out the soft swish of the trees rustling in the

wind. The sky above me was a vivid blue and I could just

make out a small sliver of glistening lake water through the

cottages in front of me. I squinted at the white one, the one

that still had the small sign in the front window declaring that

it was, For Rent. It was clearly older and slightly run down,

but it had a charm about it that immediately appealed to me. I

could picture sitting on the small porch in the evenings,

watching the trees surrounding it sway in the breeze as the

moon came up over the lake behind me, the smell of pine and

lake water in the air. I smiled to myself. I hoped the inside

offered a little charm too, or at the very least, some clean.

“What do you think, Phoebs?” I asked softly. Phoebe

chuffed agreeably from her carrier.

“Yeah, I think so too,” I said.

An older sedan pulled up next to my small VW Bug and

an older, balding man got out, walking toward me.

“Bree Prescott?”

“That’s me.” I smiled and took a few steps, shaking his

hand. “Thanks for meeting me on short notice, Mr. Connick.”

“Please, call me George,” he said, smiling back at me and

moving toward the cottage, both of us kicking up dust and

dead pine needles with each step. “Not a problem meetin’ you.

I’m retired now, so I don’t really have a schedule to keep to.

This worked just fine.” We walked up the three wooden stairsto the small porch, and he pulled a ring of keys out of his

pocket and began searching for one.

“Here we go,” he said, putting the key in the lock and

pushing the front door open. The smell of dust and faint

mildew greeted me as we stepped inside and I looked around.

“The wife comes out here as often as possible and does

some dusting and some basic cleaning, but as you can see, it

could use a good once-over. Norma doesn’t get around quite as

well as she used to with her hip arthritis and all. The place has

been empty all summer.”

“It’s fine.” I smiled at him, putting Phoebe’s dog carrier

down by the door and moving toward what I could see was the

kitchen. The inside needed more than a basic cleaning–more

like a complete scrub down. But I immediately loved it. It was

quaint and full of charm. When I lifted a couple of covers, I

saw that the furnishings were older, but tasteful. The wood

floors were wide planked and beautifully rustic, and the paint

colors were all subtle and calming.

The kitchen appliances were older, but I didn’t need

much as far as a kitchen went anyway. I wasn’t sure I’d ever

want to cook again.

“The bedroom and bathroom are in the back–” Mr.

Connick started to say.

“I’ll take it,” I cut in, then laughed and shook my head

slightly. “I mean, if it’s still available, and okay with you, I’ll

take it.”

He chuckled. “Well, yes, that’s great. Let me get the

rental agreement out of my car and we can get that all taken

care of. I listed the security deposit as first and last, but I can

work with you if that’s a problem.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s not a problem. That sounds

fine.”

“Okay then, I’ll be right back,” he said, moving toward

the door.While he was outside, I took a minute to walk down the

hall and peek into the bedroom and bathroom. Both were

small, but they would do, just as I’d figured they would. The

thing that caught my attention was the large window in the

bedroom that faced the lake. I couldn’t help smiling as I took

in the view of the small dock leading to the calm, glassy water,

a stunning blue in the bright morning light.

There were two boats far out, not much more than dots on

the horizon.

Suddenly, looking out at that water, I had the strangest

sensation that I wanted to cry–but not with sadness, with

happiness. Just as soon as I felt it, it started to fade, leaving me

with an odd nostalgia that I couldn’t begin to explain.

“Here we go,” Mr. Connick called and I heard the door

shut behind him. I left the room to sign the papers for the place

I would call home–at least for the next little while–hoping

against hope that this was where I’d finally find some peace.

Norma Connick had left all her cleaning products at the

cottage, and so after I had lugged my suitcase out of my car

and put it in the bedroom, I had gotten to work. Three hours

later, I pushed a damp piece of hair out of my eyes and stood

back to admire my work. The wood floors were clean and dust

free, all the furniture was uncovered and the entire place

thoroughly dusted. I had found the bed linens and towels in the

hall closet and washed and dried them in the small, stacked

washer and dryer next to the kitchen, and then made up the

bed. The kitchen and bathroom were scrubbed and bleached

and I had opened all the windows to let in the warm summer

breeze that came off the lake. I wouldn’t get too used to this

place, but for now, I was content.I unpacked the few toiletries I’d thrown into my suitcase

and placed them in the medicine cabinet and then took a long,

cool shower, washing the hours of cleaning and more hours of

travel off my body. I had broken up the sixteen hour drive

from my hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio, into two eight hour

hauls, staying overnight in a small, roadside motel one night,

and driving through the next to arrive this morning. I had

stopped at a small Internet café in New York the day before

and looked online for rental properties in the town where I was

headed. The town in Maine I had chosen as my destination

was a popular tourist attraction and so after more than an hour

of searching, the closest I could get was across the lake, in this

small town named Pelion.........

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