You're Not Grace!

Anna quickly glanced at the smooth, leather cover of the black notebook in the passenger seat. She knew the importance of such a small notebook. After all, she has one just like it. Well, sort of. Anna’s notebook is soft leather, rather than hard. Hers is a pretty matte purple, instead of shiny black.

As Anna looked at the gold embossing, “Grace”, on the cover of the lost notebook, her heart ached a little that she could not afford such detail on hers. While Anna turned the corner, her mind drifted off into the beautiful hues exuding from the neighborhood. But Anna’s flowing thoughts were abruptly brought back to reality as the hunt for a parking spot was on. After two minutes, Anna paralleled parked her silver four-door sedan effortlessly just a few doors down from her destination.

“Let’s go kiddos!” said Anna in an upbeat and familiar tone to Daniel and Samantha. The trio walked briskly through the fragrant fall air. Beauty abounded as vibrant yellow, orange and red leaves zigzagged to the speckled cement. Emerald evergreens that only Bob Ross could capture happily shimmied when the wind blew in front of each brownstone.

Daniel enjoyed crushing dry and limp leaves under his tan boots. “Crunch, crunch, crunch” is all he could hear as he stomped every now and then with excitement. Samantha celebrated the fallen beauty in her own way. Whenever a golden jewel caught her eye, she would pick it up and twirl the slender, ribbed greenish-brown stem between the palms of her small, delicate hands. With enough force, the dead leaf could take flight once more. Anna was too preoccupied with her thoughts of the excursion she was about to take to notice her children’s means of delight. Instead, Anna kept adjusting her blue and yellow checkered scarf with each passing breeze.

A gleaming dark hardwood door inlayed with multicolored stained glass opened before Anna could knock. “Hello, my love!” sang Miriam in an almost angelic tone.

“Hey, love,” replied Anna, a little winded from the walk and seven steep steps leading up to Miriam’s majestic door. “Thank you sooooo much for watching the kids.” Anna’s emphasis on so was so exaggerated that Miriam didn’t know if it would ever end.

“No problem, girl. They’re such a joy. It’s my pleasure. And it’s not like you often ask for a favor .” Miriam’s smile gave Anna the reassurance she needed for the task ahead.

“Okay, kiddos, I’m off! Don’t eat all your snacks at once.” Anna was basically talking to herself. Daniel was already halfway down Miriam’s hallway with Samantha as his shadow.

“See ya!” said Daniel, halfheartedly throwing his hand in the air to wave goodbye.

“No running in Aunt Miriam’s house!!!” Anna’s words were futile. She was speaking to the contrails left by Daniel’s fast pace.

“Bye bye, Mommy,” said Samantha. At least she paused her enthusiasm for a moment to spin back around and give Anna the biggest hug a 9-year-old can give.

“See ya, sweetie. Be good,” urged Anna in a softened tone. But Anna was left speaking to an afterimage of her daughter.

“Alright, Miriam, I’m off. I should be no more than two hours.”

“Girl, take your time. It’s not every day you get a break from being super mom. Right now you get to be a super heroine by returning this notebook. So go get ‘em tiger!” Anna and Miriam both laughed at how corny Miriam’s wisecrack was.

“Miriam, you’re a hot mess,” Anna said while shaking her head with downcast eyes and a huge grin. But Anna’s smile faded the more she descended the stairs heading to her car. Now it was down to business. She wanted to help Grace get back to an organized life by returning her notebook as soon as possible.

As Anna drove off from Miriam’s, she couldn’t help but think of the events leading up to today. Thank goodness the notebook had a number to call to return to the owner. Anna dialed the “732” number written in blue ink the moment she had a free moment in her schedule that day. When Anna called three days ago, a pleasant older woman’s voice answered. The woman gave her address so Anna could deliver the notebook.

After a 30-minute drive, Anna pulled up to the address given. The neighborhood was sprawling yet charming at the same time. Each home was perfectly spaced apart. On top of each serenely landscaped estate sat a grand architectural delight. Anna felt a little awkward getting out of her well-driven sedan in this sea of opulence. But her mind was more focused on returning the notebook.

“Ding-dong.” Anna rang the doorbell that sounded more like a Grandfather clock striking the hour. “Knock. Knock. Knock.” She rapped on the huge oak door for good measure. A pleasantly plump woman past middle age greeted Anna with a smile. “Hello, Grace! I’m here to return your notebook,” Anna said with zest, happy her mission was accomplished.

“Why, hello, Anna! I’m Ruth. We spoke on the phone. Come on in and have some tea. I’m so glad you were able to make it. How was your drive?” Anna was perplexed. Did this woman just call herself “Ruth?”

“Excuse me, ma’am. Did you just say your name was Ruth? You’re not Grace?” Anna wanted to be polite and respectful, but she was just too confused. And she wanted to get back on the road to swoop up Daniel and Samantha. Plus she couldn’t wait to tell Miriam about this super amazing hidden gem of a neighborhood so close to them. Anna couldn’t afford any detours from her perfect plan. “My drive was good, but I really need to be going. I have to get back to my children. Oh, um, here’s the book.” Anna’s flustered behavior resulted in nearly shoving the notebook into Ruth’s chest.

“With a little patience, my dear, you will be able to return the book directly to the owner,” Ruth stated in a matter of fact way that was softened by her sophisticated demeanor.

“Pardon me?” Anna was baffled.

“Anna, I’m just an intercessor. You see, the owner of this notebook travels a lot, but I’m always here. So it doesn’t make sense to have a lost notebook be returned to a nearly vacant house.”

“Oh. I see,” said Anna with a slow understanding.

A nearby phone with an old-fashioned rotary ring started beckoning in Ruth’s house. “Excuse me just one moment, Anna.” “Hello? Yes. She’s here. I will certainly send her to you. Be blessed.” Ruth returned to an eagerly waiting Anna. “Anna, I’ve written the owner’s address for you. Please go see them now. And here’s an envelope for your troubles. But don’t open it until you are in front of the owner. Have safe travels, my dear.” Ruth’s deportment was still nice, but compared to before she was nearly pushing Anna over the threshold to the other side of the door.

Anna walked dejectedly to her car with the lined index card and slender, white envelope in her hand. She only looked back at Ruth’s house for a brief moment with confusion and bewilderment. “Who does that? This is just plain creepy.” Anna waited for her car to link to the GPS. She punched in the address. “Good, it’s only a 15-minute drive,” she mumbled to herself. As Anna pulled off once again, she was a bit too preoccupied with her timing to worry about the bizarre wild goose chase she was on.

As Anna parked in front of the quaint white Colonial house with black shutters, she took a deep breath, hoping this was the end of her Good Samaritan duties. She grabbed the notebook and the envelope. Once again, Anna rang the door bell and knocked three times for good measure. The door slowly creaked open.

“You’re not Grace!” The shock left Anna’s brain somewhere between “Stop. Drop. And roll” and yelling “Stranger danger.” But there was no fire, and John was no stranger. Anna’s ex-fiancé was standing in front of her with a brilliant smile.

“Anna, thank you for returning my notebook. If you open the envelope you will see my gift for all your troubles.” Anna broke the seal on the envelope. Inside was a check written out to her for $20,000. “Anna, I want us to try again.”

“Oh my gosh, John! Wait…you remembered that I only take the bus on Wednesdays. You purposely got off one stop before I got on and left the notebook behind knowing if I found it I couldn’t help but return it to its owner,” said Anna with assuredness and quick deducing prowess.

“You’re right. But Anna, I’ve been waiting six months for this day. No matter how many times I left my notebook behind, you were never the one who called Ruth until three days ago. But I knew one day Grace would bring you back to me.”

Stephanie loves reading and analyzing creative writing more than writing it. But she tries her hand at it every now and then! To learn more, visit stephaniebradberry.com