CHAPTER SEVEN; MY FAVOURITE THINGS, MY FAVOURITE PLACES AND MY FAVOURITE PERSON.

I wake up drenched in sweat, "mommy!" It's been a long while since I have had the nighmare of the fire. I am really glad it's my day off. After shower and a quick cup of coffee, I decide to spend my day doing my favourite things. My first stop is an art gallery that recently opened. I have been planning on checking it out but hadn't had the chance. There was a lot going on in my mind and my plan was to distract myself enough not to think of any of that madness. I did not like driving but on rare occassions I enjoyed it, today being one of them. I enjoy the feeling of the breeze from the sea as I drive to the art gallery.  

The place is different than I had expected. For a small town, every business owner tries to bend to the conservative ways of the town. But not this one, the pieces are wild, exquisite and have nothing conservative about them. One especially draws me in. It is of a woman standing in the patio of a small house watching the sunset over the hill. Its simplicity comforts me. I stand there looking at it not being able to move worried that if I do it will bring the chaos back to my mind and into my life. "You want to take that with you?" A voice startles me. I look behind me to i see a guy smiling. 

"Hello, I'm Jayden the humble artist and owner," he looks at the piece I was looking at as he talks. "You drew all this?" motioning the whole gallery. "No, most of them are just my collection. I rarely display my work." I went back to looking at the piece hoping he'd walk away which he doesn't. "You haven't answered my question yet," this time he looks at me. "Which question?" "You know, if you want the piece. You've been staring at it for thirty minutes without moving. I was starting to get worried." I smile as I manage to look away from the piece. "I heard that you don't sell any of them unless there's an auction." "Give me a minute," he says and walk away.

I'm signing out and about to walk out when he comes back. "Here," he hands me a black classy invitation. "This never happens. Invitation to our next most exclusive auction. There is only a hundred printed out every three years and given to the richest art lovers in the world," he has a smug smile when he says that. "It says the 17th or the 27th," I say, skimming through the invitation. "Yeah, we do it like that for security reasons so to be safe keep both dates open." "Okay, so it'll be here on the 17th or the 27th?" A group of what seems like colllege students enter the gallery and his attention diverts to them.

"No, the venue will be mailed to you five hours before the start of the auction." I have more questions for him but he looks distracted. "See you then girl in the patio." "Hey, what did you just call me?" That manages to recapture some of his attention. "We tend to obsess over  things we relate to or wish we did," he points at the piece I was staring at. He leans in and gives me a swift kiss to both my cheeks. "Hey there is no month on them either," I shout as he walks away and points to the invitation. "Same reason." With that I watch him walk away and I walk out. What an interesting person, I think to myself as I get in my car and drive off.

My next stop is the beach. I remove my shoes and walk around. It's around three in the afternoon and there are a lot of people around. I watch the lovers and envy them, I watch the families and envy them, I even envy people playing with their dogs. I think of my well furnished apartment and very lonely one too. How did I end up so alone? Maybe I should find a roommate. But I don't like people in my space. That's it people, I should get a pet. Once that decision is in my head, I can't shake it off. When the beach gets sad I decide to go to the shelter.

There's something about being in the presence of animals that lifts your spirit. I have always been a  fun of dogs but never had the chance to get one. After playing with them for almost two hours I decide to get two huskies. They are gorgeous and as someone who doesn't believe in love at first sight that is the closest that I ever came to it. The ride from the shelter is different. I am anxious about my rash decision. I really need someone to stop me from making rash decisions in the future. 

As I'm about to pull over by the side of the road, my phone starts ringing. It's detective Swindle. So much for a day of distraction from my life. "Hello doc, do you now why Doctor John wanted to talk to one of your patients?" My protective insticts immediately kick in, "No idea." The lie is out before I can stop myself. "Okay, if you think of something give me a call." "Yeah." I hang up before I lie some more. Why did I even lie it's not like I think he actually did it. There's no way he had something to do with his suicide. But if he had listened to the message maybe that could have been his trigger. No one can kill someone over a change in doctors,right? He could have thrown a tantrum or quit seeing anyone before the killing part right? Is it bad that I'm trying so hard to convince myself that he didn't do it?

The barking of my dogs pull me back to reality. I decide to drive to my last favourite place before going home. It's greenbeach nursing home. I started coming here when I was in highschool. At first it was to add more extra curricular activities for college. I ended up liking them there. Nowadays we just hang out, play chess, bingo, watch tv and talk. The talks are my favourite part, we talk about everything. It's been a while since I have been around though.

Everyone is excited as I walk in with two dogs. I have always talked about getting a dog. They all want to play with them and pet them. I realize my dogs love the attention and we'll be getting home pretty late tonight. "By the way, there's a new admission," Sandra the youngest says. "Since when?" "It's  been about a month, right girls?" They are all busy with my dogs but still manage to nod. "She's at the garden," Sandra continues, pointing towards the garden. "She loves to read that one and rarely plays bingo with us or watch tv," she says disapprovingly. "But her son is so yummy," one of the other girls says and the rest agree heartingly. "Maybe she could introduce you to each other," the other girls agree once again. "Okay, let me go say hello to my future mother-in-law," I walk away as they burst out laughing.

She is watching the oldest tree in the facility shade its leaves. She is in a wheel chair and has her back towards me. I walk around her and stand infront of her. I want to say something but I can't. Seated infront of me is Laura. When I had seen the photo a part of me did not believe it. She had not seemed real. But right there infront of me with barely any distance between us was Laura. My mother's bestfriend, my bestfriend's mother and my godmother. I extend my hand and lightly brush through her cheek. She looks up at my face, "my little girl."