Not surprisingly, her hair dryer shorted out the moment she switched it on, emitting a dangerous-sounding zzzt coupled with the smell of something burning. Immediately she jerked the plug from the wall and dumped the appliance in the wastebasket—which overturned, spilling its entire contents across the bathroom floor.
She bit back a scream—and quite a hysterical one it had threatened to be, too—then methodically wove her long, straight, wet, red hair into a thick braid that fell between her shoulderblades, and ruffled her bangs dry as best she could. She swiped a bit of raspberry-colored lipstick over her mouth—at least something would match at least part of her clothes—and dragged a bit of neutral shadow over her violet eyes. Then she ran into the kitchen for the cup of coffee she absolutely had to consume in order to function as a halfway effective human being.
The good news was that the coffeemaker’s timer had, amazingly, worked perfectly. The bad news was that when Jayne had filled the coffeemaker the night before, she had neglected to add any…well, coffee. So only a pot of hot water greeted her.
She bit back another one of those certain-to-be-hysterical screams—but just barely. Then, surrendering to the fact that she wouldn’t be enjoying her morning cuppa today—or much of anything else, for that matter—Jayne turned her attention to the kitchen window and saw that, inescapably, it was an unusually rainy morning for the first of September. And of course, likewise inescapably, she recalled that she’d left her only umbrella at Colette Jewelry, the showroom of the highly successful Colette, Inc., where she worked as a salesclerk, the last time it had rained.
My, my, my, she thought. What else could the day possibly hold? It wasn’t even 9:00 a.m.
As quickly as she could, she hurried through the rest of her morning rituals, doing her absolute best to make completely certain that nothing else went wrong. And really, not much else did go wrong. Except for when she chipped her favorite coffee mug putting it away, broke her fingernail to the quick while performing a quick search for her raincoat—which, naturally, she never found—and stepped on a pile of stray cat kibble, crushing it to a fine powder that she’d have to sweep up when she got home, because there was no way she had time to do that now.
But other than that…
She was locking her front door to apartment 1C when the door to 1A-B, the apartment next to hers—the one belonging to her landlady—opened. It was the first thing to happen that morning that made Jayne smile. Rose Carson just inspired that kind of reaction in a person, a feeling of good cheer and well-being. She was, to put it simply, a nice lady. She’d even been the one who had helped Jayne find a job at Colette Jewelry. A friend of a friend, Rose had told Jayne, had mentioned an opening in the jewelry store. Jayne had been hired for the salesclerk position the day she had applied.
Judging by Rose’s short, dark hair that was just starting to go gray, by the laugh lines that crinkled her dark eyes, and by the older woman’s matronly figure, Jayne guessed her landlady’s age to be somewhere in her fifties. About the same age Jayne’s mother would be now, had Doris Pembroke survived the plane crash that had killed her and Jayne’s father four years ago.
Even though Jayne had only lived at 20 Amber Court for a month, she felt as if she’d known Rose Carson forever. Her landlady was the kind of person who inspired immediate affection and fast camaraderie, the kind in whom one felt totally comfortable confiding. Within days of Jayne’s move to the apartment building, she’d found herself revealing to Rose all the particulars of her past and current situations. About the loss of both her parents when she was eighteen, about taking on the care of her then-fourteen-year-old twin siblings, Chloe and Charlie, immediately thereafter, about sacrificing her own opportunity to attend college in order to send Chloe and Charlie instead.
Jayne didn’t mind the sacrifice, though. She’d always felt responsible for the twins, even when she was a child. And she knew neither of them took her sacrifice for granted. Once her brother and sister finished college themselves in four years, she’d go back and earn her own degree. She had plenty of time, after all. She was only twenty-two, and her whole life lay stretched before her.
She was just looking forward to having a bit of stability in that life for a change. The last four years had been more than a little difficult, seeing to the needs of Charlie and Chloe and herself, making sure all three of them kept a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
The sale of their parents’ home, along with a modest life insurance settlement and social security for the twins, had afforded them the financial boost they’d needed during that time. But now that Chloe and Charlie were eighteen, the social security was gone. And college tuition for two, even with the twins’ partial scholarships, was going to prove a challenge. Still, the Pembroke finances were stable and reasonably secure right now. As long as Jayne had her job at Colette Jewelry and lived within her modest budget, everything would be fine.
She hoped.
“Good morning, Jayne,” Rose Carson said with a smile as she closed her own door and turned toward her newest tenant. She glanced down at her watch. “You’re running a bit late, aren’t you, dear?”
Jayne quelled the panic that threatened to rise again. She wasn’t that late, she reminded herself. Thanks to all her rushing around—and skipping her morning coffee—she could still make it to work with a few minutes to spare. Maybe. If she ran the entire way. Which, of course, she would, seeing as how she had missed the bus, and it was still raining. Colette, Inc. was only ten blocks from 20 Amber Court. And if she hugged the buildings between here and there, the awnings might provide enough shelter to keep her dry. Sort of.
“A bit late, yes,” Jayne conceded to her landlady. “It’s been one of those mornings,” she couldn’t help adding with no small exasperation.
Rose nodded, clearly understanding. “Rainy days and Mondays, right?” she asked.
Jayne chuckled derisively. “Rainy days and Mondays, and broken alarm clocks and broken hair dryers, and no clean laundry and uncooperative coffeemakers, and homicidal cats and—”
Rose held up a hand, laughing. “Say no more,” she said. “Oh, my. I’ve had a few of those days myself.”
Jayne was about to say goodbye and scuttle off when she noticed the brooch affixed to Rose’s cream-colored blouse. Not quite heart-shaped and not quite triangular, it was unusual and very beautiful, encrusted with dark yellowish stones set in what appeared to be several different metals. So captivated was she by the accessory, she found herself involuntarily lifting a hand toward it.
“Your pin is so beautiful, Rose,” she said, speaking her thoughts aloud. “That’s not topaz, though, is it?” She glanced up after voicing her question, only to find Rose beaming at her as if Jayne had just paid her the highest compliment in the world.
“No, it’s amber,” her landlady replied. “Amber and some precious metals.”
Jayne nodded as she touched a fingertip gently to the brooch. “Someone must have given it to you because you live at 20 Amber Court,” she said.
Rose smiled again, a bit sadly this time. “No, I’ve had this for quite some time now. There’s a rather interesting history behind it, actually.”
“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” Jayne said, dropping her hand back to her side. “Sometime when I’m not running so late and having such a crummy day,” she added when she recalled her current situation. She started to say farewell again, when Rose stopped her.
“Wait,” her landlady said
