Page 2 of Forever Fallen

Were all craptacular bearers of bad news this emotionally cold?

“That will be a most unfortunate problem,” the attorney said. “Can it be rectified by end-of-day this Friday?”

“Sure! Why not?” Sophie snapped. “I’ll just pop ‘ma’ boy’ into existence or maybe I’ll go start rubbing genie lamps? Better yet? I’ll find every troll sleeping on the street corners here, start kissing them all, until one of those drug-riddled frogs turns into my fairytale prince. Oh, shoot! I forgot…” she retorted, drawling theatrically, slapping her forehead.

“Husbands grow on trees, don’t they? Magical, money trees that produce big ol’ manly crabapples that drop off when they are ready for some unsuspecting girl. I’ll just run down to the plaza and start shaking somestupidtrees to find myself ablastedhusband…”

“Obviously this will take some time to process,” he said icily.

“Process?Process? Do you realize what a joke this is? What happens if I haven’t found Prince Charming by Friday?”

“The property, land, buildings, and all monies will be liquidated and distributed among a long list of charities.”

“Am I on the list? ‘Cause I could be a charity case…” she bit out angrily and sighed, feeling drained of energy and despondent. “I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry. It’s just that this is a lot, and I can’t believe she’s…”

“She left you a handwritten letter, Miss Lane. It’s sealed and I am to deliver it to you when you bring the documents on Friday.”

“No offense, Mr. Webber, but this is actually legal?”

“I assure you it’s quite legal and binding, Miss Lane,” he replied frostily. “I believe our meeting is at an end. I will be at the courthouse until five on Friday.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh no – thank you,” he countered, and it was his turn to sound snide and sarcastic. Sophie flinched as the Zoom conference ended abruptly and she slammed her laptop shut.

“What am I going to do?” she whispered aloud, staring at the wall of windows facing the small chair she was sitting on.

She had her entire life, her career, and her independence in Dallas. Her little apartment, while microscopic in size, gave her access to all the little boutique shops she could ask for. There was a juice stand at the corner, a hot yoga office across the street, a market at the end of the block, and a coffee shop that had the best cappuccinos ever.

… And Yonder?

Well… Yonder was Yonder.

Nowhere, Texas.

Population: negligible.

It was a tiny, small town, and barely a blip on the map. There was one main road that bisected the rural town. There were fields of bluebonnets in the spring that people took photos in… right before they left as soon as possible.

They had three small schools – elementary, middle, and high – along with a grocery store, a gas station, and a post office. Most of the little shops were local… oh! There was a McDonald’s built there three years ago, so they were coming up in the world!

Starbucks was a distant, foggy, dream… and twenty minutes away.

Living in Dallas had made her realize just how small Yonder really was – and she had no clue how the bed-and-breakfast survived through the years.

Her grandmother ran it because it gave her something to do. Grammy Ruby would dust the rooms, keep the coffee pot hot, and make sure each of the beds didn’t have a wrinkle.

When Sophie spent the weekend there, it was always ‘wash day’… and she didn’t mind in the slightest, because she didn’t want her grandmother hiking baskets of linens up and down the basement stairs.

Sophie was afraid her grammy would fall.

Ruby had liked the occasional rare visitor, the townsfolk driving by, and the area. Sophie bought a few rocking chairs to put on the wrap around porch, so her grandmother had a place to sit and watch the world go by… plus, with as large as the Victorian house was there at the corner of Main and Broad Street?

It was an ideal location… if it was located in a bigger town.

“I’ve got to pack,” she breathed painfully. “I’ve got to get home, get some things together, and end my lease… but if I don’t have a husband? Does it even matter? I still need to get home. There’s going to be the funeral arrangements to handle and…”

A ragged sob welled up within her as she realized that she would never see her grammy again or sit on the porch with her in the fall watching the leaves blow down Main Street.

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