“Should I bring anything to this school festival?” Gemma picked up her skate guards by the door.
“No, just yourself.” He snapped his fingers together. “Oh, and a costume. If you need something, I’m sure Les or Frankie can lend you one. I think Frankie was an angel last year.”
Is the universe trying to send me a not-so-subtle message?
As Charlie prattled on, her thoughts turned back to the guy she’d met at Hobby Land, wondering what he might be up to. She made a note to herself to see if she could stream one of the originalIndiana Jonesfilms later tonight.
Chapter 4
On Wednesday afternoon, Gemma finally mustered the courage to send a text message to Tim.
Gemma:Hi, Tim. I’m not sure if Suzy Welch-Tomlinson told you about me, but my name is Gemma. She thought that since I’m considering moving to the area, you might be a good person to connect with.
She hesitated.I better try and keep this sounding casual.
Gemma: I was wondering if you might be free to grab a coffee with me. I’m only in town for two more days, so it would either have to be today or tomorrow. Cheers!
Before she could change her mind, she tapped Send.
There. Now I can check that off my to-do list.
It was about two in the afternoon. She knew she wasn’t likely to hear from Tim until after three, when school was finished for the day. Shifting her attention to more pressing matters, she picked up the hangers of the two costumes laid out on the bed and studied them.
“You know, you don’thaveto be a sloth or a peacock.” Frankie entered the room, running a towel over the ends of her damp hair. “You still have time to run over to Hobby Land and pick something else up.”
“I might just have to. These are fun, but neither one feels like me.” Gemma’s cheeks colored. “I wanted to ask you earlier, but what happened to your costume from last year? The angel one.”
“I donated it.” Frankie sighed. “About a month ago, I was so fed up with not being able to fit stuff in my closet that I just did a major clean out.”
What a shame.Leslie had a ton of things to choose from, but she was so much taller than Gemma that nothing fit.
She mulled over Frankie’s words. “What about your skating dresses?”
“Those I’d never part ways with. They have a ton of sentimental memories attached to them.” Frankie disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing a moment later with her hairbrush. “They’re hanging in the armoire in the garage.”
“The garage? That’s an odd place for them,” Gemma remarked, placing the costumes back on the bed.
“It’s only temporary. Charlie’s reworking the closet for me.”
“That’s nice of him.” She started toward the door. “Then you don’t mind if I do a little snooping?”
“Feel free. You can borrow anything you find.”
Gemma thanked her, then made her way over to the garage. She flipped on the light switch, and the hum of electricity filled the room. The space was occupied with gym equipment, pieces of furniture Charlie had crafted, and a few boxes of Frankie’s belongings. The armoire was nestled in the far corner, near a stationary bike and a rack of weights.
“There you are,” Gemma murmured under her breath. “Let’s see what treasures await us.”
Scooting around the equipment, she made her way over to the wardrobe and swung it open to reveal a row of bedazzled dresses, neatly organized by color.
Gemma laughed to herself, contemplating how a neat freak like Frankie managed to put up with Charlie’s messy habits.
Thumbing through the dresses, she aimed to find ones with a longer skirt that could pass for a costume instead of just skating dresses. As soon as she laid eyes on a cap-sleeved ice-blue dress with a knee-length chiffon skirt, Gemma immediately knew she’d found her costume.
Pulling it out of the wardrobe, she held it up to her reflection in the mirror by the weight rack. “Old habits die hard. I guess Cinderella, it is. I have the perfect black headband that would work with this. All I need is some black ribbon to make a choker.”
Humming theIndiana Jonestheme song to herself, Gemma skipped back inside to show Frankie what she’d found.
* * *
