“Yeah, right on Main, down from the thrift store,” Archie said, taking a bite of salad.
“Good to know,” I replied.
“And I think your idea for a market in town is great. The nearest grocery store is twenty minutes away. People will love having a closer option.”
“Oh, good. I’m not going to have tons of inventory like a grocery store, but nice for fresh foods.”
Archie nodded, eating his salad. “Crazy what happened to Angela though.”
“Sure is,” I replied. “I hope they find who did it. It’s creepy thinking about a killer lurking around here.”
“Yeah, it’s not a place you’d think of a murder happening.”
“Maybe it was a jealous husband, or boyfriend?”
“Maybe. If it is, the police should catch him soon. And we’d better keep the doors locked at all times, in case there’s some psycho running around town.”
I sighed. “I see your point, but that’s one of the reasons we moved here, not to be worried about locking our doors.”
Archie grabbed my hand. “I know, but, please, just until they catch this guy. I don’t want anything to happen to my beautiful wife.”
I laughed. “Wife, it still sounds funny to me even though we’ve been married for a year, but I love it.”
“I think it sounds perfect,” he replied. He took a drink of water. “So, Mrs. Greencastle, what’s first on the list?”
“Pool,” I said, winking at him.
FOUR2016
The Commune
Dream
Chanting at sunrise was my favorite time at the Listening Lark commune. Orange and yellow glimpses of sky peeked through the cottonwoods and orange trees on the property. The family moved together in perfect harmony as River played his guitar and Branch pounded on the bongo drum. Peace and serenity filled my body, every one of my senses heightened, and the pure joy I felt afterward was one of my life’s most rewarding experiences in my twenty-five years on this Earth.
Today she was beside me, gazing at me with her big, beautiful blue eyes. Those eyes were the first thing I noticed about her; they enchanted me right from the start. We chanted together, absorbing the energy of Mother Earth and the sun as it appeared, warming our barely clothed bodies. I wore my white cotton shorts, as I did most days, and she, her thin, long white cotton dress, with nothing underneath. Later, when we worked in the garden she’d put on her denim overalls over a bikini, then discard the overalls after work was complete, and we’d go for a soak in the hot tub located on the back patio.
It had only been about six months since I’d met this beauty at a farmers’ market where we sold organic produce and handmade jewelry for the family of Listening Lark. She’d approached our booth, admiring our wares and I admiring hers. Her hair hung long and golden, kissed by the sun, her petite frame tanned and brightened by a shining turquoise necklace she bought, made by Moonbeam, a talented crafter in our family.
Lightning sparked between us and, a month later, she dropped out of UCLA, and joined me on the commune, soaking up the southern Californian sun, together in harmony. The connection between this woman and myself fueled not only on sensual desires, but also an intimate connection I’m not sure I could even describe. I felt as if I’d been waiting my entire life to meet her. My soulmate. My goddess.
Sunshine Lotus was her new name. Brother Jim gave it to her when she joined us, as he did with all the new members. We usually called her Sunny. Her given name, Aimee, was left in the past.
We only lived in the here and now.
FIVE2023
Aimee
I slipped on my oven mitt and opened the oven door, pulling out two muffin baking pans filled with freshly baked banana nut muffins. I inhaled the delicious aroma and placed them on the stove top next to two pans of strawberry muffins. I turned the stove off and threw my oven mitt on the counter.
My cup of tea sat on the newly purchased kitchen table, an antique white, round pedestal beauty, and I snapped it up to take a sip. The past couple weeks had been busy and the days had flown by. All our new furniture had now arrived, and we’d got everything arranged as we wanted it. Plus, Archie and I opened the pool and planted the garden, extending it a little to add a larger crop of sweetcorn to the plantings of green beans, tomatoes, peppers, peas, potatoes, onions, and cucumbers. A large strawberry patch sat at the back of the garden, and we’d been enjoying the harvest of my favorite fruit. A few blueberry bushes lay to the right of the strawberry patch. To the left of the garden space was a small orchard, about ten trees, bursting with small apples. We would plant more fruit trees soon and some more blueberry bushes.
Archie was at the elementary school today, finishing some employment paperwork in the afternoon. He seemed excited to start at a new school. He’d only been at his old school for two years, so he hadn’t made any long-term connections there. We had an appointment with Ned later, at five, to see the store for rent in town. We’d go out to dinner afterward, somewhere in Poplin; I wanted to explore the town a bit more.
I sat down at our new kitchen table, still nursing my tea. I’d been thinking a lot about Angela’s murder this week. No news of an arrest, at least that we’d heard, but there had been plenty of talk in the store when I’d last gone for groceries. Angela wasn’t married or in a current serious relationship, which took care of the theory of a jealous lover. Archie too seemed hung up on it. He kept asking the same questions: Who would want her dead? Was it a random killing, and could the killer still be close?
A knock on the front door broke into my thoughts. I rose to answer it, pausing to look out the peephole. A young woman, a few years younger than I, stood on the other side, a friendly smile on her face. I doubted she was a murderer, so I opened the door.
She had long, straight chestnut hair and warm brown eyes, directed at me. She wore jean shorts, a blue T-shirt that read Poplin Elementary School, and bright white sneakers with a blue and white pom-pom on each shoe. She held a plate of chocolate chip cookies.
“Hi,” she said warmly. “I’m Robin Kent. I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
“Hi, Robin,” I replied, accepting the plate of cookies she handed me. “I’m Aimee. Thank you.”
“Of course,” Robin said in a sing-song voice. “I’m your neighbor, just a five-minute drive down the road, on the right, or a ten-minute walk.”
“Great to meet you,” I said, smiling at the woman. She must have noticed me sneaking a glance at the pom-poms on her sneakers. She laughed.
“Oh, these.” She wiggled her foot. “I coach cheerleading at the high school. I’m doing the summer program and I had a session this afternoon.”
I laughed. “Well, that explains it.” I pointed to her T-shirt. “Do you coach elementary students?”
“No, high school cheerleading. I teach third grade at Poplin Elementary,” she said. “I’ll be your husband’s partner teacher. I’m his mentor, just to help him get a hang of the new school.”
“Oh, how nice.” I paused, mulling over the information. Well, that explained the sing-song voice, typical of many elementary teachers. But this, what, twenty-one, twenty-two-year-old would be mentoring my husband who’d been teaching for eight years? “I’m sure Archie will appreciate your help.”
“It’s only my second year of teaching, so he’ll probably be teaching me so much!” she said enthusiastically.
Wow, she does not know when to stop. I gave her a tight smile. “I’m sure he will.”
“I met Archie today at school actually,” Robin continued. “So, I was excited to meet you too. You’re all he talked about. Your home is so beautiful. I always loved this property.”
“Thanks, Robin,” I replied. Maybe she was just an overly friendly person. I’d give her the benefit of the doubt. “And it is so kind of you to welcome us. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, or something else?”
“Sure!” Robin exclaimed, walking into the house. “Ooh, it smells amazing in here.”
“I baked some muffins.”
We walked into the kitchen and Robin stopped talking, for a moment.
“Aimee, your kitchen is gorgeous, wow. I’m stunned by it. I love the color, everything, really.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I love the color too.”
I poured her a cup of tea and put two muffins on a plate, along with her cookies, and we sat down at the kitchen table. A memory flashed in my mind. How at one point, years ago, I cut all sugar out of my diet, unless it was natural sugar from fruits. That decision was one of the better ones at that point in my life that I probably should have kept up. Sugar wasn’t good for the body, but it tasted so good.
She took a bite of the strawberry muffin. “So good. One day I hope to get married and have my own house. All in good time though.”
