The morning flew by as Isabella tackled a list of chores that had been long neglected. She swept, mopped, scrubbed, polished, filled salt shakers and ketchup bottles; the one thing she could not seem to accomplish was to stop thinking about Eddie. She even tried listening in on the old men’s exhaustive conversation regarding the expected corn yield for the year, but it was no use.
After a lunch of roast beef sandwiches with a side of potato salad, Isabella’s new-found friends began to push back from the table and gather up their coats.
“Are you leaving?” Isabella asked.
“There’s a town meeting today,” Doc replied. “We always go, just to keep things honest. Will you be all right here by yourself for an hour or two?”
“Oh, sure,” Isabella replied. Aside from Eddie and the old men, there’d been maybe ten customers all day. How could she refuse? Yet she didn’t feel all right as she watched them go. She hadn’t realized how comfortable she’d been, how reassured by the men’s presence, until they were gone.
The tick of the clock suddenly seemed too loud as she looked around the empty diner. Goosebumps stood out on Isabella’s arms and a chill ran down her spine. She just needed to keep herself busy, she decided. They’d be back soon.
As she cleared the lunch plates she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone watched her.
The stack of plates nearly fell from her arms as Isabella jumped in response to the jingle of the doorbell.
She spun on her heel and then sighed in relief.
“Eddie,” she breathed. “It’s so good to see you.”
He smiled as he walked toward her.
“It’s good to see you too.” He reached out and took several dishes from the top of the stack. “Here, let me help.”
“Thanks,” Isabella said. She stood there for a moment, trying to think of something to say.
“Should we take these to the kitchen?” Eddie asked.
“Oh, right.” She turned to hide her flush of embarrassment and then led the way to the kitchen.
She tried to calm her racing heart as she filled the sink and Eddie went back to gather the mugs. She smiled when he returned and her stomach seemed to flip when he smiled back.
“So, you do know that you’re missing the town meeting, right?” Isabella asked with a grin.
“I do,” Eddie replied. “In fact, that’s why I came by. I knew the guys would be gone and I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you, without an audience.” He winked and Isabella’s grin widened.
Then the doorbell rang again.
“You go ahead,” Eddie said. “I’ll get these.”
Isabella nodded, disappointed to have her time with Eddie interrupted. She hurried into the dining room, hoping that whoever it was didn’t plan to stay long.
“Isabella, dear, there you are. I’ve been so worried about you.”
Isabella froze. How could she have been so careless? She wanted desperately to run and hide, but it was too late for that. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.
“Hello stepmother.”
Ahhhh- you got me. I was certain the first bell jingle was the stepmonster, so I relaxed when it was Eddie–and then WHAM. You made my heart plummet. lol. Great work. Loved the town meeting as an excuse to get the dwarves out of the diner. It fit very well.
Thanks D.D., I figured that might be one of the few things to get a table full of old men to step away from the coffee. ;)
Ack! Need the next chapter! =)
It’s written and ready to go! Should I e-mail you? :D Thanks so much for reading Sarah! I hope writing is going well for you.
Well, I’ll try to be patient and read it with everyone else. At least that will give me something to look forward to! =) My writing is going fairly well… I’m still polishing Bloodstone and slowly writing the sequel. I’d like to start querying Bloodstone before long!
It’s a great story Sarah! I am rooting for you!! (and I can’t wait to read the sequel!)
Uh oh, what next…can’t wait! Enjoying the contemporary twist on the old tale.
Thanks so much! Only two more weeks to find out how it all ends… :)
Just have Eddie punch the stepmother in the nose, and then Snow and Eddie can go catch the exciting ending of the town meeting. Just kidding of course. Great continuation of the story as usual Nicole !
The story would end much faster that way! :D I hope all is going well with you and have a great weekend Scott!
Nice chapter, Nicole. That’s a real Prince Charming for you, he even helped with the dishes! It’ll be interesting to see what he does with this stepmother…I’m also looking forward to finding out happens between Eddie and Isabella. Will it be the standard fairytale kiss or something a little different? Who knows. :)
Thanks David! I agree about the dishes; now there’s the way to a girl’s heart. ;) I’m so glad you’re looking forward to the rest of the story, you don’t have too long to wait!
Nice turn of events! Kind of makes me think the prince was in cahoots with the stepmother (although I highly doubt it). But it sure might put some doubt in Snow.
Interesting perspective. I could work some more tension in that part if I were to expand on the story. Thanks for your feedback Margaret!