Free A Soft Place to Fall by Barbara Bretton

for the beautiful
crystal flute of golden liquid balanced on the edge of the sink
then sank back down into the warm and welcoming water.
    "To me!" she said, lifting the glass high.
She took a sip. "To the future!"
    For the first time since Kevin's death she
actually believed she had one. She decided that deserved another
sip of bubbly.
    Champagne? She could hear Claudia's
voice clear as a bell. Champagne will give you a terrible
headache, honey, especially on an empty stomach.
    "Shut up, Claudia," she said out loud.
"Champagne is the elixir of the gods."
    You really should eat something, Anne. A
slice of pizza or a nice sandwich. Pour yourself a glass of
milk.
    "I don't want milk, Claudia. I want
champagne. And if you don't keep your thoughts out of my head, I
just might drink the entire bottle."
     
    #
     
    The house was at the end of the road, as far
east as Sam could drive without plunging into the Atlantic. It was
larger than he had expected and a hell of a lot older.
    He pulled into the driveway, turned off the
engine, then opened the door. Max, eager to respond to nature's
call, was the first one out.
    "Stay close," he warned the dog. "You might
be a Lab but I'm not convinced you know how to swim."
    Max, giddy with freedom, took off down the
road at a surprising clip.
    "We're getting you a leash tomorrow," Sam
grumbled as he headed after the dog.
    He didn't have far to go. Max came to a
screeching halt in front of the only other house on the block, a
small shingled cottage half-hidden in the trees. Max barked once,
then twice more at increasing volume.
    This wasn't the right way to meet the
neighbors. Sam made to grab the dog by the collar but Max ran
closer to the house. He barked again. Nancy said a widow had just
moved into the house. He could imagine the poor old woman cowering
behind the door while a strange man and his crazed dog lurked
outside. For all he knew she was dialing 911 right now.
    He grabbed for Max again and managed to make
contact but the dog ran straight up the porch steps and began
scratching at the door.
    What the hell was going on? The dog bounded
off the porch then ran to the side of the house where his frantic
barks brought Sam running. The dog's full attention was directed to
the single small window where a faint yellow and red light
flickered crazily behind the shade.
     
    #
     
    Annie was floating naked on a raft in the
middle of a turquoise lagoon while tropical sun kissed every part
of her body. Her right hand clutched a pina colada while her left
hand trailed lazily through the balmy waters. Somewhere on shore a
campfire burned merrily. If only the crazy man would stop yelling
in her ear –
    "Fire!"
    She opened her eyes and saw the man from the
Yankee Shopper parking lot advancing toward her, brandishing a
flaming bathrobe.
    She sighed deeply and closed her eyes again.
Empty stomach. Lots of champagne. Terrible combination. She was
quite happily drunk and he was a figment of her grape-sodden
imagination.
    "Out of the tub, now!"
    Since when did gorgeous figments of the
imagination yell at you? They were supposed to be obedient and
cheerful, no matter what you told them to do. She grumbled to
herself and wished she had the energy, not to mention the
dexterity, to add some more water to the bath. She heard water
running some place close by and even imagined she felt droplets of
cold water splashing against her exposed skin. Caribbean rain,
that's what it was. Everyone knew it rained a lot in the Caribbean.
She tried to will it away but the droplets flew at her faster and
colder and the whole thing was becoming quite annoying.
    And what happened to the sweet smell of
flowers? Instead of scented candles, she smelled burnt fabric. She
forced her eyes open again. She wasn't focusing very well but there
he was, holding her poor bathrobe under running water. Had she let
him in? She couldn't remember but it was clear somebody had because
there he was.
    Or then again maybe he wasn't. Why would he
be