Mirrored (Follow Your Bliss series Book 4) by Deirdre Riordan Hall Read Free Book Online Page B

time to the waves crashing outside until
he heard her sniffle. “It might sound corny, trite even, but they say, that ‘In
order to see the rainbow, you have to endure the rain.’ And damn it all if it
isn’t pouring.”
    After breakfast in their room, Brighton and Alex dashed into
the street, bulky raindrops splashing their legs. They jumped into the car.
    “So much for the top down or a bike ride.” He maneuvered
through quaint streets, past shops, and into a residential area just one lane
in from the beach. He pulled up in front of a single story, alabaster cottage
with vines growing up one side and a prim hedge.
    “I haven’t been here in a long time,” Brighton said,
apparently recognizing her surroundings.
    Alex took her hand when they knocked on the wooden door. A
label on the post box said, Constance Holmes . Through the door, he heard
slow shuffling. A stooped woman with red-grey hair answered. She struggled to
look up at them, her arthritic bones unyielding.
    “Can I help you?” the old woman said.
    “Hi, Granny, it’s Brighton,” she said.
    “Brighton? My Bri? You’re so big. Your mother had sent
photos, but my, you’re a real woman now.”
    Brighton laughed, her eyes shining. “I suppose.”
    After tea and a chat, Alex asked if she’d take them to see
El.
    Brighton blanched.
    Constance smiled widely. “Well of course, I hadn’t made it
out yet this week. I used to go a couple times a week, but I can’t drive; they
took my permit, you see, these fingers don’t work well anymore. Now, a neighbor
drives so she can visit her husband, and I see El once a week. Let me go to the
garden, gather some flowers, and we’ll be on our way. This’ll be such a treat.”
    Alex wasn’t expecting such exuberance at the suggestion of
visiting the gravesite, nor did he anticipate the dour look cemented on
Brighton’s face.
    The rain had let up. Brighton had to cram between Alex, her
granny, and the gearshift. He was glad that she at least got in the car.
    “So you haven’t told me about your mother. I used to hear
from her about once a month, and then it trickled to every few months. I
suppose she’s busy. Did she ever marry again?”
    Alex felt Brighton flinch. “She’s okay. Yeah, busy. Her
company is international, doing really well.”
    “Did she settle back down? I don’t suppose she had any other
children; she was a bit older when she had you. Though I suppose that was for
the best, she and your dad got all their excitement out of their systems.”
    “No, uh, she’s single.”
    “That’s a shame. I hoped she’d find love again. Though, it’s
possible Eliezer robbed the love from the hearts of every other man who’d laid
eyes on her, just so he could have her to himself. I imagined he made some kind
of pact with a sea witch when he moved me here. He said it was good for my
arthritis, the salt air, but I think there was some other devilry going on.”
    The old woman’s laugh made her sound young again. “I’m
kidding. They were good kids. And how about you both? Planning to get married?
Your grandfather and I said our vows when I was twenty-one, now—Oh look, we’re
here,” she said, interrupting herself.
    Brighton took her time getting out of the MG, because she was
canned in there or because of trepidation, Alex wasn’t sure.
    Constance doddered down the grass path between gravestones.
They were on a hill overlooking the water when she finally stopped in front of
a large marble stone, etched with an angel and a fox. Constance handed Brighton
the flowers and took her hand. Alex hung back, but the ocean breeze carried
their words to his ears.
    “You were only a whisker higher than that headstone the last
time you were here. Then again, he had to get a tall one so he could see to the
ocean. He misses us every day, especially you. I’m sure of that. There you go.
Let’s place those right down there.”
    Brighton set the flowers down, crumbling to her knees. Alex
rushed over.