True Love, Inc.. Jackie Braun

      Chapter Three

      On Saturday morning, Maddie decided to indulge herself with a rare day off of work. Traverse City’s annual weeklong National Cherry Festival was gearing up, and the televised coverage showed that tourists and residents alike were standing five deep along the parade route that snaked through downtown.

      Maddie wasn’t one for crowds. Just the thought of being jostled and shoved in an exuberant sea of humanity made her eager to stay well out of its range. But the throbbing cadence of the marching bands had her tapping her toes as she sat on the couch reading the newspaper. And the cheerful chatter and excited laughter that floated through her open windows made it seem obscene to stay cooped up in her apartment, watching the parade on her small television, when she could hear it passing a couple of blocks away.

      Besides, the day promised to be gorgeous, perfect for spending a little time outdoors, soaking up a judicious amount of sun while wearing a judicious amount of sunscreen. She would just walk down to the small coffee shop on Front Street and grab a cup of the house blend, staying as far away from the crowds as possible and experiencing the excitement of the parade from the periphery. She shrugged off the uncomfortable thought that too much of her life seemed to be lived that way these days—on the sidelines, watching rather than participating.

      She applied a liberal amount of sunscreen to her face, neck and forearms, and dressed in a pair of white cotton slacks and a bright red T-shirt in honor of the occasion. The shirt had three-quarter-length sleeves, but it still exposed her right arm from just below the elbow. She stood in front of the full-length mirror that hung on the back of the bathroom door and nibbled her bottom lip. With the fingers of her left hand, she skimmed the length of the ugly scar. It had faded some in the months since the accident, but it was still a hideous purplish red, although the doctors assured her that someday it would turn a less eyecatching white.

      Whether it was mottled red or shiny white, Maddie would always know it was there. She would always know the utter failure it represented. She could hide it from prying eyes with long sleeves, but she couldn’t hide it from herself. So what was the point? Securing her hair into a ponytail, she went off in search of her sneakers.

      Maddie walked close to the buildings, brushing a hand along the reassuring comfort of their solid surfaces. Well back from the milling crowds, she couldn’t see much of the passing parade, except for the tops of some of the taller floats as they made their way down Front Street and a brightly suited clown who played a tiny concertina as he walked along on stilts. At the coffee shop, she ducked inside, grateful for the short line, but customers filled the small shop’s six indoor tables. Cradling the insulated cup in her palm, she returned outside, knowing even before she looked that the half-dozen wrought-iron tables arranged along the sidewalk would be occupied as well. Determined to enjoy the morning sun’s warmth on her face, she ignored the ache in her hip, leaned against the building’s brick facade and sipped her coffee.

      “Maddie!” a high-pitched voice squealed a moment later.

      She glanced to her right in time to see Caroline Foley closing the distance between them at a full-out run. The child’s pixie face was smudged with tears. Even more surprising, when Caroline reached Maddie, she barely managed to come to a complete stop before she threw her arms around Maddie’s waist in a hug so fierce, it almost knocked them both over. As it was, it succeeded in spilling most of Maddie’s coffee on the sidewalk.

      “Hey, what’s happened?” she asked, when she’d managed to pry Caroline loose.

      The girl’s lower lip trembled and a pair of fat tears spilled down her cheeks. “My daddy got lost.”

      “I see.” Maddie set what was left of her coffee on the ledge of the shop’s front window and reached into her pocket for a tissue. Dabbing at the dirty tear tracks on Caroline’s face, she asked, “Do you remember where he was before he wandered off?”

      A pair of slim shoulders shrugged as Caroline shuddered out a breath. “H-he was talking to Aunt Eve. Uncle Richard and the boys had gone to get elephant ears. I wanted to go, too, but Daddy said I had to wait. Then he just...disappeared.”