Plainsong by Darlene Franklin

Author:Darlene Franklin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

I can’t believe I’m doing this, in spite of the promises I made myself to create some distance from Joe. Less than two weeks had passed since Joe had left Denver. Michelle checked her odometer. The exit leading to Ulysses should be coming up in a mile.

“Blink, and you’ll miss it,” Joe had explained when he invited her to come to Ulysses for the annual Odyssey Days. He paused a second before he added, “Once you’re off the highway, you’d have to blink twice to miss Ulysses.” She could still hear his chuckle down the line.

A few silos rose above the prairie, but she saw no other signs of settlement except for cultivated fields as far as the eye could see. For the first time Michelle realized how isolated Ulysses was and marveled at how Joe had grown a successful business.

South of the highway, one building’s outline changed as she neared it. Michelle squinted, not believing what her eyes saw. A castle rose like a sentinel above the prairie, as out of place as a snowstorm in July. She’d have to ask Joe about it.

At the exit, a small sign announced Ulysses 3 Miles. Michelle turned onto the narrow road. The distant cluster of buildings grew larger. She was meeting Joe at his store. He promised to stay late until she arrived after work on Friday night. “Just park anywhere along Main Street,” he advised. “Then look for my store, the Trojan Horse.”

The posted speed limit dropped to forty before the town began and then twenty-five as she rounded a bend in the road, and she saw the city limit sign. A truck roared past, country music blasting from the stereo. Trucks outnumbered cars three to one at the hamburger stand. Kids ran up and down the sidewalks. Friday night in a small town.

Over Main Street, a banner hung suspended between two tall columns announcing 35th Annual Odyssey Days, July 21–22. Lamps fashioned to look like torches sat atop ivy-entwined light poles.

She slowed down and spotted a wooden horse painted on a shop window. Like the fabled horse, its side pivoted open to reveal beautiful treasures inside. A small sign announced Parking Available in Back. She slipped her car in front.

Joe hustled out the door and enfolded Michelle in a bear hug. “You made it.”

He looked so happy, sunshine itself radiating from his eyes, a face as carefree as if life had not yet made him wary of disappointment. He had shed ten years in two weeks. “Welcome to Ulysses.” He relaxed his hold. “Come inside.”

Michelle hadn’t quite known what to expect, perhaps something like an art museum, but nothing prepared her for what greeted her eyes when she entered the store. The late-day sun filtered through the window, casting a golden glow over white plaster walls. Paintings hung on the walls, and other pieces—wood carvings, pottery, steel sculptures—sat displayed atop Grecian columns of different heights. The atmosphere most resembled an ancient grotto. Like at the gates to the Renaissance Festival, she felt like she had entered another world.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.