Page 55 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
To: Liz Dawson
From: Bri Johnson
Subject: Dreams
Liz,
I had a pretty good dream last night. I dreamed that I was home, at last, and everyone was accepting of me. We were at a big festival of sorts and people were coming up to me, excited to see me. Like I was a long-lost friend or something. I kept wondering to myself,Don’t they know I’m an ex-felon? Don’t they care?No one did though. I was just me and everyone treated me as such.
I know that won’t be the case for a lot of folks in Trove. I mean, how many ex-felons actually live on the isle? I might be the first. I’m okay with the stigma for myself, but what about Ally? The older she gets, the harder it’ll be. She’ll be the girl whose mom is the one and only ex-con. How can I do that to her? After my dream, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my thoughts went to dark places. I considered letting Ally move to Cali and be with her father. I thought maybe it would be better to grow up without my reputation haunting her. In the light of morning, I know that’s not the solution. My grandma has raised Ally to this point. Ally’s home is in Trove Isle. And I’m her mother.
Liz, you might need to talk sense into me, more than once, when I get out. I apologize in advance for all the freak-outs I might have and the midnight calls waking you up.
B
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
LIZ
“Breathe, Liz.”
Liz nodded quickly, sucked in a shallow breath, and listened to Melody’s voice. She was a much better choice for helping her get reacquainted with driving. Rose would have been short-fused and judgmental. Although, to be fair, Rose had matured a lot lately. She’d proven to be a dependable sister when Liz needed her and a decent employee at The Bitery. Mature and responsible or not, though, she’d still been teasing Liz about their first and last driving lesson together this past week.
“Liz, you’re turning a little gray. You’ve got to breathe.” Melody’s voice wasn’t judgmental at all. Instead, she was calm, gentle, and patient. Melody had every good quality that you could ask for in a driving instructor.
Liz glanced over. She’d only gotten as far as cranking the engine. She was calmer than she’d been with Rose, so that was progress. She wasn’t about to have a panic attack or hyperventilate or vomit. Hopefully. “This is me breathing.”
Melody didn’t look so sure. “All right. Are you ready to drive to the end of the driveway?”
Liz contemplated that question. It was just a driveway. There were no cars on the street behind them. Not even a pedestrian to witness if she hit the ditch. “I guess so,” she said, uncertainty playing in her voice. “Remind me of what I need to do? It’s been a while.”
Melody tapped the gear. “Press the brake pedal down and shift the gear into drive, lift up on the brake, and let the car roll forward. Tap the brake if the car moves too fast or if you need to stop. Press the brake pedal all the way once you are level with the mailbox. That’s a good start for right now.”
Liz nodded, more to herself than to Mel. “Right. I’ve done all this before.”
“It’s like riding a bike,” Melody said.
Liz cast her a look. “No, it’s nothing like riding a bike.” She blew out a breath. “Put the car in DRIVE,” she repeated to herself. “Roll to the mailbox, press the brakes.”
“Exactly,” Melody said.
Liz looked over. “Are you nervous to be sitting beside such an amateur driver?”
Melody lifted a brow. “We’re only going down the driveway. And you have your license, albeit you’ve barely made use of it.”
“With good reason.”
“It’s not like you’re going to speed down the road or drive recklessly. The worst that can happen is that we’ll go off into the ditch.” Melody cast her a teasing glance. “Then I guess we’ll need to call Matt to tow us out. That might work in your favor.”
Liz rolled her eyes, although just the mention of Matt’s name gave her butterflies. She didn’t need butterflies right now. She needed courage. “Okay, here I go.” On a deep inhale, she pressed the brake with her right foot and pulled the gear right beside the steering wheel down until it was level with the capitalDfor drive. On an exhale, she lifted off the brake and felt the car begin to roll. Without thinking, she quickly slammed her right foot on the brake and the vehicle jerked to a stop. From her peripheral vision, she saw Melody’s body lift forward off the seat and slam immediately backward.
“Whoa! Okay,” Melody said. “That was . . . good.”
“Liar.”
“Well, maybe next time, don’t press the brakes so hard. Slamming the brakes is for emergencies only.”
Liz wanted to say that the car rolling forward felt like an emergency. Instead, she breathed in through her nose, held it for a minute, and exhaled slowly. “Okay,” she said. “Here we go again.” She lifted off the brake and the car began to roll once more. This time, she watched through the front windshield as the car continued its roll toward the end of the driveway. Once it was parallel to the mailbox, she slowly put her foot on the brake and pressed down in a calm, controlled manner.
