Elaine ripped up the invitation and tossed the pieces of paper into the trashcan. And then, not knowing what else to do, she sat on the bed again and stared at the wall.
She stared at a lot of walls lately. It was easier to rouse herself when the kids were around, but when she was alone, her loss struck deepest.
It wasn’t long ago that she’d begged Lloyd to give her a sign of some sort, something to hold on to during her dismal moments.
That was the funny part about signs from the dead. They didn’t exactly come along too often.
The whitewash on the wall began to blur. She stood, needing to move, and meandered over to the dresser. With all the photos of Lloyd and their friends from back home, it might as well have been a shrine.
Lloyd fishing on Lake Gemini, smiling at the camera. Lloyd sharing a beer with Ryland and Killian and Connor. Lloyd holding Andy in one arm and Layla in the other, his face lit with pride. Lloyd arm wrestling Bart.
So many memories and yet not nearly enough.
The one she kept on her bedside table was one Ryland had snapped not long before the battle. Elaine sat on Lloyd’s lap in the lodge reception area, in one of the overstuffed chairs. Lloyd had his hands wrapped around her middle. Her hands rested on his forearms, and her head was angled toward his. She’d closed her eyes, but she was smiling.
They’d been so happy.
Tears threatened again. She was amazed she still had any left.
Touching his face in the picture, Elaine asked him once more. “Lloyd, please. It hurts so much. I’m not sure I can take more of this. I don’t know what to do. Show me what to do.”
Someone screamed.
It was Toni, in the bathroom. With the kids.
Elaine tossed the photo onto her bed and raced out of the room. She careened down the hallway, almost colliding with Fred, who was coming from the other part of the house. She entered the bathroom and stopped in her tracks.
Toni had jumped to her feet and was screaming in the corner. “They changed! They changed in front of my eyes. What in God’s name is happening?”
Two little brown bears sat in the bathtub, splashing in the water, oblivious to the horror around them.
Toni fainted in her husband’s arms.
Andy bear huffed out a greeting. As he did, bubbles erupted from his bottom.
Their first shift. About ten years too early.
Elaine passed a hand over her face. “Oh, shit.”
* * * *
“You’re quitting?” Ryland Snow’s mouth hung open.
Connor Church slid his resignation letter across the office desk toward his boss and old friend. “I’m sorry, Ry. I know it must come as a surprise.”
“Surprise? I had no idea you were even considering it. Why?”
Connor scratched the skin under his new beard. He’d started growing a beard only a while ago and hadn’t gotten used to the rasp yet. “I just need a change.”
“But the grand re-opening is in a couple of weeks. Connor, it won’t be the same without you. After everything we’ve been through…please tell me you’re kidding, dude.”
“I can give you lots of notice, as much as you want. I don’t want to leave you in a lurch when the lodge opens to customers again. I’ll stick around until you find a replacement. I don’t have another job lined up, not yet anyway.”
Ryland sat back in his chair. “You’re one of my best security people. I know it’s been busy since Lloyd died, but we hired two new people. Is there a problem with the job or with one of the other guys?”
“No, you know it’s nothing like that. I’ve been really happy here, Ry. It’s just not the same anymore.”
“Look, I know Lloyd was your best friend, and I know you miss Elaine as much as the rest of us do. More, even. Things have changed, I get it. But once we open again, once we figure out a new routine, it’ll get better.” The lodge owner clenched his jaw. “It has to get better.”
