Free Past Due by Elizabeth Seckman Page B

solace, but today it made her feel more out of sorts. Orange fencing surrounded the perimeter like a crime scene. The large equipment used to scrape out the new grounds hid in the shadows of the lot. There were no sidewalks or sense of order to the landscape, only a stark contrast from one side of the fence to the other. The scene offered no transition between the lonesome barrenness of the site to the wild confusion beyond.
    She snapped a few pictures then put her camera in her lap. She turned her head to the side and realized as the light emerged from the grey of dawn that it desperately needed a new paint job. The black and white spirals were faded and dull. Everyone focused so much on keeping the grand light in existence, the dull colors went unnoticed. Jenna hopped off her car and walked slowly toward the light. She rubbed her hands across the brick base. It felt solid and stable. Jenna had worried the move would cause it to crumble, that the interior structure would be breached, but here it stood. It weathered storms and hurricanes and as the sea closed in, it survived the move which brought it from harm’s way. And here it stood, tall and proud ... and deserted. Horribly alone in this ugly new home. No longer did the waves lap at the base with their music. Gone were the tidal pools with the swooping cranes and sand pipers skittering along the edge. Gone was the broad open vista of the coast. It was encased. Trapped. Forced from its home by its beloved sea, to live here, like a prisoner for its own safety. Jenna shivered suddenly chilled by the early morning mist. Rubbing her arms, she turned and left. It was time to visit Lois. Time to trust someone other than a dead man with her secrets.

Chapter 7
     
    Lois brought Jenna a mug of steaming coffee. “I took the liberty of making yours decaf,” she said kindly. Lois gave Jenna’s trembling hand a squeeze and said, “Dear, you’re a nervous wreck.”
    “I hate to drag you into this,” Jenna began, then stalled. She felt her eyes fill and overflow. She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Lois. I’m such a mess.” She wiped at the tears with the back of her hand. “I think I’m catching up on years of tears in one weekend.”
    Lois’s hand squeezed tighter, “I’ll be honest with you, Jenna. I’ve already talked to Margie Hooper and I’d bet I know what’s going on. She says there was a handsome man crying in his booze to Russ over you. Is he a love from the past, Jenna? Like Russell says?”
    Jenna pulled a throw pillow onto her lap, absentmindedly pulling on the decorative fringe, her tears drying. “He’s someone I knew. The love part’s a joke.”
    Lois leaned in and continued, “Maybe he wants you back?”
    Jenna shook her head. “No. That’s my problem. I don’t really know what he wants.”
    Lois’s breath caught and her eyes lit up. “Maybe he still loves you?”
    Jenna squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. She would never fall for that line again if she lived to be a hundred.
    “Evidently, he still feels something for you.”
    Jenna tossed the pillow on the couch and stood to pace the room. “He doesn’t love me.”
    “But Russell said…”
    Jenna’s long, thick hair fell forward as her head dipped. She shoved it back, holding it a moment at her crown and letting it drop as she lifted her chin to address Lois. “You know, I don’t give a damn how much Tres whines. I know the truth. And the truth is he has some sort of motive, he’s not some love sick victim.”
    “Russ was pretty convinced…”
    “I don’t give a damn what Russ said either.” Jenna turned from Lois, bit her lip, and walked to the window staring out, noticing nothing. She took a deep breath, adding a bit more calmly, “Please, just listen to me, not the gossip. This isn’t a love story. There will be no happily ever after. This is a nightmare I can’t wake up from and I’m desperate, Lois, desperate to hold onto what fraction of a life I have