Heather in Small Heath

"Sometimes,

I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ~ Lewis Carroll

August, 2013. Pennsylvania.

Heather Tremblay clenched the steering wheel as she turned onto the road on which her friend, Seraphina Dobbs, lived. The narrow street in the town of Cannon was familiar to the Tremblay woman, as she had lost count of the number of times she had walked the cracked sidewalks alongside Theo and Sera.

Parking her car onto the side of the street, Heather rolled up her windows and exited her car. The hot and humid air immediately started latching itself onto her, causing drops of water to drip down Heather's forehead during the brief trek to Sera's apartment building.

Getting closer, the Tremblay woman looked towards the run-down parking lot in search of the familiar white car that usually signaled Sera being home. Not finding any evidence of it, Heather turned towards the house next door and called over to the familiar, older woman sitting on the expansive porch.

"When did she leave, Leine?"

Leine looked up from her sudoku book, glancing over at the familiar sight of a dark-haired woman.

"You just missed her, my dear," Leine spoke back, brushing a stray strand of white hair behind her ear. "Though, it looked like she was heading towards the mini-mart if the bags were anything to go by. Have a seat with me until she comes back. I think you may be able to catch her this time."

Sighing, Heather walked up the creaky steps of the old porch, sitting down in a matching rocking chair and looking over at Leine. The older woman's beautiful, white hair had been twisted into a neatly braided bun and, even though in the shade, Heather noticed how there was a sheen of sweat on the woman's neck.

"I have some iced tea made up for you," Leine idly commented, making quick work of the puzzle in front of her, her pencil bobbing back and forth on the page. "I can go get you a glass while you wait for your friend today."

Heather hummed, nodding her head. As the older woman walked inside, the Tremblay woman admired the flowy, floral dress Leine wore, thinking that if she had to come back again this week, she would forgo the tank-top and shorts and wear a dress herself.

After a few minutes had passed, the woman came back with two plastic cups in one hand and a glass pitcher in another.

"Tea right from the garden out back," Leine proudly stated, setting the cups and pitcher down on the little table that sat between the two chairs. "I remembered to add some lemon this time, just like you suggested, dear. Pour us some, won't you?"

Following the woman's command, Heather poured them both a generous amount and sat back on the chair, rocking back and forth in silence as she sipped at the refreshing tea, the hint of lemon making her sigh in contentment.

"Thank you, Leine," Heather started, looking over at the older woman who had resumed her sudoku. "You make waiting easier for me."

"It's no trouble, dear," Leine commented back, waving her hand, her brown eyes teasing as she looked over at the young woman whose eyes were looking somewhere in the distance. "Company is nice, and I get to try out new recipes on you."

Heather smiled, remembering her first interaction she had with the older woman.

It had been the beginning of June, a few weeks after Sera had stopped responding to anyone's calls or texts. Heather had driven to her friend's apartment building, a thousand questions in her mind, and had been greeted with silence when she had knocked on the chipped, blue door. The Tremblay woman heard a voice calling to her that 'the young lady just arrived home after a few days away' and that 'she might be tired, dear'.