“Carbon creating hellbeast!” I hiss and slap the steering wheel.
It splutters.
“I’m sorry!” I shriek, smoothing my hands over the steering wheel. “I didn’t mean it, Heather. Please, I promise. I’m just grumpy about things in the world. Please don’t punish me. I’m being punished seven ways to Sunday.”
The car splutters and then coughs and revs stronger. I let out a tiny little sigh.
“Thank you, Heather. I promise. Total care package, wax, wash, and a full manicure as soon as I’ve got some cash.”
I pull the car out onto the road and glare up at the sign as we pass it.
“Welcome home, sunshine,” I murmur and peer at the road ahead with fixed resignation. It curves like a snake, and I gawk, like I always do at the first sight of the cove. In the distance, I see the lighthouse, still looking as lonely as ever. Excitement tingles through my veins as we get closer and closer.
All of a sudden, we’re in Sunshine. I want to say I feel nothing, but the knot of tension inside my chest that I’ve been carrying for the last few miserable years loosens.
The town is bustling; there are heart decorations on everything. Red, gold, and pink. Even some pastels. Little hearts, glitter hearts, everyone is even wearing something colour-coded to fit this bizarre theme.
I blank, trying to remember before I suddenly recall that Valentine’s Day is coming up. I groan out loud, I don’t want any part of it.
I avoid the main street, instead turning onto Cinder Road, which is the second biggest road, the artery of the town so to speak, with a whole host of shops and stores. Main Street is just a tiny bit smaller with the beach on its doorstep, but far more important to the town.
I forgot how excited everyone gets about the holidays, and Valentine’s is the holiday to beat in Sunshine.
“This cannot be happening.”
I’d left Sunshine to escape my feelings, and I feel confident I’ve got them boxed up tight. I am over my childish infatuations. Love in Sunshine is a public affair, and my one-sided infatuations being public knowledge was getting old fast.
Heather lets out a fart of protest, expelling thick black smoke into the air. I duck down in the bucket seat, hoping no one notices me, but, of course, they stare, and, when they see me, they cheer.
Because that’s what people do in this town.
“Thanks, Heather, I know beauty is only skin deep. I love you, too,” I whisper to my car.
My little bestie lets out his own version of moral support with a yap and a chitter that makes me smile.
“Danger, this isn’t Oz. It’s going to rot your cute little toothy pegs faster than Maybelle’s toffee will. But it’s home, and I hope you like it here because I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while, at least not until we find a way of making money. So, you're going to need to brace yourself because things are going to get a little crazy, but in a good way, well, I hope in a good way.”
Danger stands up, staring out the window, wagging his tail in pure joy, barking at all the familiar faces.
I can’t help it. I smile. It really is good to be home.
I lift a hand, wave, and drive through town, turning up the hill. The trees are bigger. Everything looks the same but slightly different, and my head swivels as I turn to take it all in, but then I see the house, and everything else falls away.
It’s big and white with huge glass windows. A massive two-story house built to hold all the family. My mother’s dream home.
I park the car and grab my wiener dog, startling a rogue seagull into bursting into a protesting escape.
“Hello?” I call into the house, but softly because I’m afraid. I don’t even know why. I push open the door and step inside; the memories of the past slam into me. All the good ones.
No one answers me; there’s just silence. Which is strange, but maybe they are setting everything up for the party. The scent of home fills the air — salt, Mum’s lavender, my dad’s tobacco scent, and my pops’ old parchment. It’s entrenched and soaked into every part of this house. I can smell my sisters, my grandma, grandpa, and Sebastian, Asher, and Felix. It’s a complex mix that has me feeling like someone just put a hand on my head and stroked my hair.
I catch a hint of some other scents and inhale deeply, feeling something inside me stir, but I’m distracted by a framed photo of my grandparents at their bonding ceremony.
My eyes sting again, but I smile as I look at my childhood shining out of the photos that are hung on both sides of the wall. It’s all lovingly documented, and nostalgia hits me hard.
Danger barks, and I set him down, wiping my eyes. He races off into the house before I can stop him
“Danger, wait! You don’t know where we’re going!” I walk down the red and cream runner, glancing at the sideboard and dumping my keys in the key bowl. Everyone who comes into the house dumps their keys in there. There are several sets, indicating a lot of people home, but there’s a set I don’t recognise. I reach in and run my finger over the shiny metal circle that has a strange pattern like a heart with a dolphin symbol carved into it.
