Winters Solace Read online

  Winters Solace

  Magnolia Robbins

  Copyright © 2017 by Magnolia Robbins. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1 | Katlynn

  Chapter 2 | Iris

  Chapter 3 | Katlynn

  Chapter 4 | Iris

  Chapter 5 | Katlynn

  Chapter 6 | Iris

  Chapter 7 | Katlynn

  Chapter 8 | Iris

  Chapter 9 | Katlynn

  Chapter 10 | Iris

  Chapter 11 | Katlynn

  Chapter 12 | Iris

  Chapter 13 | Katlynn

  Epilogue | Iris

  Other Books by Magnolia Robbins

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  Chapter 1

  Katlynn

  THE BRISK NEW ENGLAND winter air greets me as I roll down the window. As the cab turned onto the main stretch of road, a sign read “Entering Wellesley.” It was hard to believe that ten years had passed since I’d last seen it. My heart beats a little bit faster in my chest as we make our way into the neighborhood I had called home for twenty-three years of my life.

  Snow trickles down around me as I stand in the driveway of my sister’s quaint cottage. I help the driver unload my suitcases from the trunk and give him a wave as he drives away. A couple across the street stands holding hands outside of their car, leaning in to kiss each other underneath the snow dusted pine trees. It makes me realize how much I longed for that feeling again.

  As I turn back towards the house, I dust my feet off on my sister’s well-loved rug. It had been a housewarming gift from my father many years ago. The lettering had started to fade, but I could still make it out faintly. Home is where the heart is.

  As I admire it for a moment, I feel my cellphone ring in my pocket.

  “Regency Technologies, this is Katlynn speaking.”

  “Sorry to bother you on your vacation,” my secretary Rebecca apologizes on the other end of the line. I stand on the porch, my ear to my phone for a few minutes, reiterating details I’d gone over at least a thousand times before I’d left. When I finally manage to break away, the phone rings again. This time it is my sister.

  “That wasn’t work, was it?” She can tell by my guilty silence that it had been. “I told you, no working! You’re on vacation for the next few weeks.”

  I balance the phone between my face and my shoulder as I unlock the door to her house. Warm air greets me as I drag my bags inside. “Did I tell you I pack too much crap?”

  “I take it you made it in safe and sound,” my sister says.

  “How are Michael and Tommy?” I ask as I rest my hand on the counter by the front door. The three of them took holiday vacations to Florida every year since Tommy had been born. My sister hated the snow, so she used any excuse in the world to get away from it.

  “Out on the beach as we speak,” Sarah replies. “Have you gone to see mom and dad yet?”

  I grunt as I manage to make my way inside the house. On the counter, by the front door, there is a list comprised of several pages with explicit details about everything in the house. From Sarah, of course.

  “I was planning on it,” I tell her, spinning my keys in my hand. “Enjoy your sunshine.”

  “Enjoy your snow,” Sarah says in disgust. I laugh as I hang up the phone.

  As I lug my two suitcases up the flight of stairs to the guest room, I regret my packing decisions almost immediately. Once I’d gotten settled, I made my way to the kitchen to fix a pot of coffee. Much to my sister’s disapproval, I pull out my laptop and sit at the island counter sipping my beverage as I root through work emails. I’d barely been gone a day, and there is already a mess of them waiting for me.

  One, in particular, catches my eye. The sender reads Tim Evans. I can feel my stomach churn as I look at it. There is no subject, which leads me to believe it is likely something I don’t want to read. Every fiber of my being begs myself to not open it. That it wasn’t worth my time. Yet I click it anyway, unable to stop myself.

  Can we talk? Call me, please.

  My watch reads just after one in San Francisco, which means he’d still be at work. I run my fingers over my phone and dial his number. As I put it to my ear and hear it ring, panic suddenly overcomes me, and I hang up immediately.

  Maybe I needed a break after all.

  Parker Street is a cul-de-sac at one edge of a giant neighborhood on the east side of Wellesley. It was where my sister and I had grown up. I locked up the house and pocketed my keys before setting off.

  After a brief walk, my childhood home and I reunite at last. It is as charming as I remember. My parents had owned the old colonial style house since before I was born. The path leading up to the front door is lined with bushes, lightly dusted with snow. They seemed to have given it a new coat of paint, and the large front door is painted a dark shade of red. It waits for me as I approach. Before I have a chance to alert my parents of my presence, my mother appears in the doorway, and I’m instantly pulled into her arms.

  We hug for a while, enjoying each other’s embrace. I can hear my mother sniffling softly underneath me while she holds me tight.

  “Don’t tell me you were sitting by the door the entire time,” I laugh as I pull away from her, wiping my face with the back of my hand. I give her a kiss on her cheek before we part completely.

  “I was just checking occasionally,” my mother says, and I knew it was more than just occasionally. “Oh sweetheart, come inside. Let me take your coat.”

  The two of us make our way into my parent’s lavish home. My father, much like my sister, was very much into the show.

  “Where’s Daddy?” I ask my mother, handing her my coat.

  “Oh, he’s around here somewhere. Mark! Mark, your daughter is home!”

  It doesn’t take long before my father appears at the top of the stairs. We stare at each other, both smiling before he makes his way swiftly to me. I am engulfed in his arms.

  “Did you have a safe flight?” He asks. I can tell by the way he talks he is somewhat emotional. I nod, smiling at him and squeezing his shoulder.

  “Let me make you some tea,” my mother says, ushering us to follow her.

  The three of us sit in the living room after my mother makes beverages and we chat for a while. The conversation goes everywhere and eventually, exactly where I expected it to.

  “What about you and Tim?” My mother asks me as she takes a sip of her tea. “Are you going to try and work things out?”

  “Mom,” I can’t count the number of times we’d been over this since it happened over a month ago. Even then, it still felt fresh in my mind. “Tim and I are over.”

  “My friend Barbara from the clubhouse went to marriage counseling with her husband for a while, and it seemed to do the trick.”

  “We’re not married. We were engaged, and he cheated on me.” I reply.

  It had been the weekend of Labor Da
y. Tim’s affair had been a long time in the making but the night I found out would remain engrained in my mind forever. I’d just gotten home from a business trip. Tim, who had worked with me at Regency since I’d started, had gotten home a few days prior. It had been like a scene out of a very bad movie. There were clothes littered across the floor. One of Tim’s shirts that I adored. A woman’s blouse. Tasteful. Like something I’d pick out.

  I’d turned the corner into our bedroom and saw my best friend Andrea lying on top of him. My world spun. I couldn’t breathe. And then they told me how they’d been in love with each other. That they wanted to be together. It had nothing to do with me, it was all them. Had I only known how much I’d be losing that night. It still ate at me every time I thought about it.

  My mother sat in silence for a moment, looking between my father and me. I could tell, just by the look on her face that she wants so badly to argue with me and prove her point, but she holds her tongue.

  “Well, we support you, sweetheart.” My father reaches out and pats me on the leg. “I know there’s someone out there just waiting to make you happy.”

  “We’re just glad you’re home.” My mother says, pulling me into another hug.

  “Me too,” I sigh. “Me too.”

  As I make my way back to Sarah’s, I enjoy the familiar scenery of the neighborhood. The tree lined streets and the quaint houses I’d known since I was a child. I’m lost in thought when I hear a car horn honking behind me. I turn to watch as an old and well-loved blue Subaru rolls into the driveway next door. The driver and I share glances as they pass me but can’t make them out. I watch as they pull up to the front door and park.

  Curiously, I make my way over. I hear the car door shut and watch as a pair of white sneakers makes their way around. As she turns around the backside of her car to meet me, my heart begins to race so fast in my chest I feel as if I might faint. It was as if I saw a ghost.

  The first time I met Iris Harris was in Dr. Dowry’s economics course our freshman year of college. I’d watched her as she entered the classroom, wearing a flowy gypsy looking skirt and toting a handmade purse made up of a variety of floral pattern fabrics. Her dark brown curly hair was thick and beautiful, pulled back with a fancy scarf. I’d never seen anyone like her before. She was like something out of a dream.

  When she came to sit beside me, I remembered thinking that she was such a mess. Everything about her was chaotic and unorganized and loud. Yet she’d been the best thing that ever happened to me.

  Her beautiful curly brown hair had been cut shorter, and she’d traded in those eccentric skirts and dresses for a pair of purple scrubs. Yet still, when she flashed me that killer smile of hers as she leaned against her car, she was unmistakable.

  “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she says.

  “Iris,” I breathe, and my body propels forward as fast as it will carry me. We come together hugging so tightly I thought my chest might burst, neither of us wanting to let go. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

  Chapter 2

  Iris

  KATLYNN WALKER IS AS beautiful now as she was the first time I’d ever laid eyes on her our freshman year of college. It felt as if we hug for hours before we let each other go. Even then, we are both smiling so big it starts to hurt my face.

  “Do you need help?” she asks me as I open the trunk of my car. The back is scattered with groceries. She sweeps down before I could protest to hoist some bags under her arms.

  “That’s really nice of you,” I say graciously. I can tell by her expression she is still in shock to see me. She still wears her strawberry blonde hair the same way she always had, long and flowy. Not a strand of it out of place. Her green eyes twinkled when we caught glances.

  The two of us make our way up the steps, and I unlock the door to let us in.

  “Sorry, it’s a bit messy. I don’t usually have house guests.” I kick a pair of shoes out of the way as we travel the hallway to the kitchen. The two of us spread the bags across the table and look to one another again.

  “I was just going to say I like it,” she replies. “It’s homey.”

  “Now you’re just being nice,” I tease her, and she laughs. The sound makes my heart flutter and fills me up with hundreds of treasured memories.

  We move into the living room, and the two of us sit on the couch, unable to take our eyes off of one another. Katlynn’s smile still hasn’t left her face. “What are you doing here?” I finally manage to ask. “I thought you were out west, living the dream.”

  “I came for a vacation,” she says, scooting closer towards me. I can feel my heart thumping hard in my chest.

  “Don’t you want to be in Florida with your sister?”

  “I’m from San Francisco,” She laughs softly, and it sends my heart aflutter. “I wanted to see some snow for once.”

  “Good call.”

  For a moment the two of us just sit in silence, still staring at each other in awe.

  “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? My treat.” The way I say it sounds so much like I am inquiring about a date. I can feel my cheeks getting hot just from asking, but I don’t take it back.

  Katlynn doesn’t miss a beat. “I’d love to. Is Rocky’s still around?”

  “I can’t believe you remember Rocky’s.” I feel in awe. All of those late night study sessions, hunched over textbooks and class notes, scarfing down burgers and fries at the greasy spoon diner downtown.

  “I’d never forget Rocky’s. Is it just as good as I remember it being?”

  “Probably better since you haven’t been there in a while.” I check my watch briefly. “I’ll meet you there at seven?”

  “It’s a date,” She says as she heads back towards the front door. “It is really great to see you.” Our eyes meet, and when she looks at me, I can hardly breathe.

  “You too.” I reach in to hug her again for a moment before I shut the door behind her.

  MY BEST FRIENDS MEGAN and David sit snuggled up against each other on their sofa after they’d brought me a drink. They both were still adorned in their scrubs having just left work. Megan had been my coworker for nearly three years now, and David worked as an ER physician. The two of them couldn’t be more perfect for each other, and most of the time their intense PDA made me nauseous. Megan looks at me in shock as I reiterate the events of the past hour.

  “Katlynn-Katlynn? The one from college?”

  The smile I’ve been wearing since I got to their house can’t leave my face.

  Katlynn Walker and I had been friends since our first day of freshman year. We were inseparable for those four years of business school. That was until she got her internship in San Francisco the end of our senior year.

  “I thought she lived in California somewhere?” Megan piped up.

  “She’s here on vacation,” I reply.

  “And you asked her on a date?” David says, raising a brow. “Isn’t that a little presumptuous?”

  “It isn’t a date,” Megan says to him, shoving him playfully. “She just said it was a friendly outing. They haven’t seen each other in years.”

  “Sounds like a date to me,” David says, and Megan ruffles his hair.

  “Don’t mind him,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  “I never do,” I say laughing as David pulls Megan into his arms to tickle her furiously.

  AS I MAKE MY WAY DOWNTOWN, the closer I get the more, I can feel the nervous energy building in my stomach. Before I know it, I’ve reached the familiar white brick exterior of Rocky’s diner. It still has its charms about it, in spite of its somewhat dilapidated state. The neon sign flashes out front, and the large windows show the booths that lined the perimeter of the inside. It had been a while since I’d seen it.

  I briefly look at my watch and realize I’m running a few minutes late. When I make my way inside, I see Katlynn sitting in a corner booth, all smiles and admiring the décor around her. She wears a gray Wellesley College sweats
hirt over the top a turtleneck, reminiscent of the one she had been wearing the first time we’d eaten here together.

  It had been the first weekend of our freshman year. Rocky’s diner was a monument in Wellesley, especially for the college students. I’d spotted her in a corner booth, nose buried in a textbook. I’d asked her if she wanted some company and she happily obliged. We’d spent most of the evening there, talking about everything imaginable. She’d started to get cold and I offered her my sweatshirt. Fourteen years later, I still hadn’t asked for it back.

  As we meet eyes, I feel my heart race in my chest a little.

  Before I can stop myself, I speak. “You look really nice.”

  I watch her blush a little at the compliment. “Thanks, you do too.”

  “You haven’t been waiting long have you?” I ask as I take my coat off and sit across from her.

  “Only a few minutes,” she says, and I know it’s likely been longer. Katlynn had always been early for everything.

  Just as I sit down, another familiar face comes out from the kitchen. Rocky Patterson had been running the greasy spoon diner ever since his father gave it to him years ago. His salt and pepper hair looks good on him.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” he says as he makes his way to the table. He looks at Katlynn as if she was just a dream. “How ya doin, kiddo?”

  “Fantastic,” she says, offering him a smile. The one that melted right through me.

  “Can I get you the usual?” He asks us. Katlynn and I share a glance and then nod. “Two hamburgers, two fries, two shakes. Coming right up.”

  As Rocky walks away to call in our orders, I breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God,” I laugh. Katlynn looks at me curiously. “I was sitting here hoping you hadn’t turned into a vegetarian or a vegan or something on me.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “Never.” As we sit there for a moment, I enjoy her childlike excitement as she looks around the room, taking in all the familiar details of her yesteryears. When she finally turns back to me, she is all smiles.