Life
was getting back to normal, or as normal as it could be. Hope was being
extra vigilant in calling me weekly. We talked often anyway, but since
Grams funeral and my melt down she and my parents have all started to
hover in a way. Last time we talked, Hope shared exciting news, she was
pregnant. She was eyeballs deep into renovating their house since Caleb
didn't want to move. They apparently lived next door to his brother and
he rather stay there but being the kind person he was he would have
understood if Hope didn't want to live in the house where his first wife
occupied, especially after she just showed up one day. Hope told him
she was fine with staying, but she was on a mission to eradicate every
trace of the other woman.
I
laughed when she said the only original thing that would remain was the
outer shell. Mom and Dad were excited about the idea of becoming
grandparents which was strange, especially for Dad. Sometimes it's hard
to image him as my father and now he was about to be a grandfather. They
were already making plans to go visit. Dad had to stop Mom from going
out to Aurora Skies the day she got the call. She was ready to move in
and be there for every minute of Hope's pregnancy. I was happy for her
and Caleb and couldn't wait to meet my new niece or nephew. Jonas was
excited for them when I told him and he offered to keep Vor again if I
was planning on making the trip out with my parents. Things were going
as well as they could for everyone.
The creepy feeling I
had of being watched was still with me sometimes, but not all the time
so that was good. I still hadn't told my parents about it. Dad has been
lobbying hard for me to make the change saying he'd worry less about me
and he didn't like the idea of having to bury me some day. I understood
his point, but something held me back. When Jonas and I talked, he told
me I shouldn't make that important of a decision unless I was 100% sure.
Since that night I showed up at his house things had felt different
with us. I couldn't exactly pin point what though.
Vor
and I were headed into town to meet up with him. There was an outdoor
farmer's market being set up at the town festival like every year and he
convinced me to set up a booth. I'd made more of the jams and jellies
at his request. Some he kept for himself but the rest were going to be
sold along with some of my extra produce that I'd not sold to him. As
Vor and I arrived, I noticed Jonas outside talking with a police officer
and some of his workers were putting boards up on the front window.
When I pulled into the side parking lot, I saw workers pressure washing
away what looked to be graffiti of some sort.
The police officer was
finishing up as I approached. "What happened?"
"Um, best guess teenage vandals. I arrived to find the front windows
smashed in and when Carol got her she spotted obscenities spray painted
on the brick."
"Oh no! Vandals?"
It
made no sense, Barnacle Bay was a small town and most people I saw
Jonas interacting with seemed to like him. Why someone would target him
and do such terrible things was beyond me.
"It's not too terrible. Mostly they made a bit of a mess that we've been
cleaning up. The store will be closed today though. Good thing I'm not
hurtin' for the extra business."
"I can help, what needs to be done?"
Jonas
took Vor into his office to keep him from getting hurt since there were
bits of glass everywhere. We didn't want any getting stuck in his paws.
It took us about two hours to clean everything up with his employees
helping and being the generous man he was, he promised to pay them for
the hours lost.
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