craftfield 01 - secrets untold Read Online Free PDF Page A

some silly dream.

Chapter Five
     
    The next day, stabbing pain throbbed through Lily’s skull and she stumbled against the industrial freezer. Her headache from yesterday had blossomed into a migraine. The cold bit at her skin as the hum of the cooling unit shuddered. She pressed her hands to her temples, cringing from the flickering light overhead. Yesterday, her mom hadn’t died in a terrible accident or broken a bone, or anything. Not even a paper cut. Yet, Lily had stayed awake all night, her nerves colliding along her skin like she’d jump out of it, until her mom had returned late from her outing with friends.
    Then, she’d swallowed some Nyquil just to get back to sleep and the uneasiness from yesterday had quadrupled. It was just a dream. People had them all the time; it didn’t mean anything.
    “Have you fixed the thermostat yet?” Her mom rounded the corner. “Our ice cream will have freezer burn if you don’t.”
    “I know.” Lily grimaced, prying open her eyes.
    “Are you okay?” Her mom grasped her arm.
    “Yeah, it’s just a headache. Probably from the store being colder than the north pole.” She blew into her cupped hands, then followed her mom out of the freezer. Closing the door behind them, Lily shook out her arms and legs to warm up as she followed her mom into the ice cream parlor. “I thought Martha said she fixed this before she and Jess went on their annual extended retreat.”
    Wintertime was their slowest time, yet she and her mom always stayed behind.
    “Guess Martha ran out of time before their trip.” Her mom patted her shoulder. “Can you run to Joe’s?”
    Lily groaned. “Can’t it wait? Christmas traffic’s horrible.” Sitting over an hour in her car with only the AM station working was not how she had pictured her day.
    “Would you rather deal with Camie Barnes? She’s ordered six ice cream cakes and wants to pick them up in half an hour.”
    Camie was the worst gossip and busybody in the entire state of Michigan. Once, when Lily had the flu in her junior year, Camie had told everyone it was because of a teen pregnancy. Yeah, that went over really well. Oh the joys of retail, smiling at rude customers who look at you like you’re scum on their shoe . The bell chimed letting them know someone came in the front door. “Can’t I have the day off? I never get to go anywhere with my friends.” Or to tropical places like her aunts every year. And she’d never even seen the beach in real-life.
    Her mom huffed. “You’ve had off every Sunday during the summer. I’ve got to see this customer. It’s probably Camie.” She frowned. “Just go ask Joe what he thinks we’ll need. You’re good at tinkering with mechanical stuff, and I’m sure you can get the right part and fix it quickly.”
    “Fine.” Lily grabbed her coat laying on the chair beside the break room table. She shoved her phone into her back pocket.
    “Be right with you,” her mom said toward the front of the ice cream shop.
    Her car keys jangled in the pocket of her coat.
    Snow drifted across her face and she blinked it away. Looks like an early winter . She climbed into her car and peeled out of the parking lot. Joe would let her buy the part on her tab. There was always something breaking in the shop once a month and he knew her family would pay their debts.
    ***
    “Thanks, Joe.” Lily clutched the new thermostat in her hands. “I’ll send you payment as soon as I get back to the store.”
    “How’s Michael? Do you go visit him in New York?” He wiped his hands off on a grease-covered rag, the strap on one of his overalls sliding down to the edge of his shoulder. “The one who wore the baseball jerseys all the time?”
    “No, we split this summer.”
    Machine parts lined the shelves of Joe’s store. The scent of grease and metal a welcome change from cold and ice cream. He must have a thousand used and new parts all organized by size, make, and even color. How did he keep up with it all?