Chapter 2

• Grabbing a blanket and her cup of tea, Emma headed out the door. It was the seriously early hours of the morning and she was wide awake. How could dropping from exhaustion for a few hours did make up for all the rest she’d missed in the last few days? It was a good thing she didn’t have any sort of job or schedule to keep; being up this early meant she’d be out of it by noon.
• The air was damp and cooler at this time of day then she had thought it would be. Holding the mug cupped in her hands to absorb the heat, she wandered slowly down towards the shore. It wasn’t quite dawn, more like a pre-dawn light was just waking the sky over her. The sun wasn’t yet up, but the moon wasn’t in the sky either and the stars were starting to fade, it was just perfect. Even in her irritated state the way the light hit the lake and shadowed the trees on the other side made her smile. Next time out she’d have to remember her camera and capture this peaceful essence, it was something she could suffer looking at every day without complaint.
• A noise startled her, until she realized it was the call of some sort of bird—no idea what but it seemed to fit with the scene before her. Eyeing up the small wooden dock, she debated for a brief moment on going out and sitting on it but decided it was probably better stepped on during the daylight when she could see if it was sound and not going to toss her into the lake by tipping.
• Sipping the tea carefully, she moved over and perched on a large rock a few feet from the shore. She knew basically nothing about living on a lake, boating or any of the stuff that went with it. The rock was a much safer bet for her right now.
• The most fascinating thing began to happen as the sun started to light the world. It looked as if fog, or mist she supposed, was coming off the ground and shore, moving out over the water. She sat there in awe, never having seen such a thing in her life. It was both eerie and breathtaking all at the same time. For a second she pondered on whether she should run back inside and get her phone to record it—but not knowing how long it would last she sat right where she was.
• In no time the lake was covered in a blanket of mist that hovered and swirled just over the water’s surface. Emma couldn’t take her eyes off the bright white layer over the water. Birds were oblivious to it being there as some flew from the trees to land among the haze—only to vanish from her sight. There was something else among the white vapor; she stood to get a better look in the low light, trying to decide what it could be.
• As her eyes focused through the misty dawn glow she dropped the cup to the sand beside her shoes. It looked like a man; only he wasn’t quite solid looking. Which, she knew was crazy. Men didn’t walk out of the water. She thought maybe he was on a boat that the fog hid, until it swirled clear around him and there was nothing but water beneath his feet. Snapping her mouth shut, she squinted and watched as he came towards the shore. Having hallucinated more than enough, she turned abruptly and walked back towards the little cottage. Clearly she still needed a lot more sleep.
• ~
• Emma managed to keep herself busy enough that she would not go over and stare out the window—as she had done for twenty minutes after coming in at dawn. The imaginary man hadn’t disappeared once she got in the house; instead the ludicrous opaque vision had stood on the shore and looked around, even looked right at her a few times. Obviously she was manifesting this image because it was due to a man that she had fled here in the first place. She wasn’t a shrink, or even closely believed in the nonsense they spouted—but it didn’t take a genius to figure out why she was seeing a man come out of the mist.
• The phone ringing startled her right of the mulling state she was being sucked into. Why did she still have the ringer turned on? Habit, comfort, she wasn’t sure. Tucking the last of her tops into the dresser, she went back out and looked down at the phone. It was Allen’s number on the screen. Picking up the phone, she went over and set it on the table and continued to look at it for a minute more before gritting her teeth and hitting the voicemail button. Pushing speaker, she crossed her arms and waited for the prompts. Two days worth of messages sat there waiting and even though the first message began to play she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear them.
• Allen’s voice, sounding gentle and confused came on. Without letting him get through the first whine she hit the key to delete it. She did the same for the next four messages in a row—all were from him.
• The fifth message allowed her to breathe again.
• “Em? Emmy? My god, where are you? All mayhem has occurred and the best PR agent has vanished from mother earth! Call me. Today. Now. I’m losing my reserve sanity worrying over you.”
• A bit dramatic, but then again the described Roz in one theatrical word. She might even call her back—later. At this point she was still in the injured state of the breakup and didn’t want to voice it out loud, even to Rozalyn. Saving the message she listened and deleted a few more of Allen’s pleas.
• When Cindy’s voice came out of the speaker, she actually growled at it much like a small dog would. Another call she wouldn’t be returning. Make that three as she’d called twice more.
• The urge to jump up and down hit her as she listened to the message from the rep of the biggest PR firm out there. A week ago she would have sacrificed her enamel fillings and walked around with holes in her teeth to work there. The fact that the news of her abrupt departure from Allen’s company had reached them in such a short time made her wonder a little just how they’d found out. That would be a question for Roz, no doubt as she was always up on the skinny regarding, well, anything and everything.