Page 54 of Searching for Bristol
“Of course. My leg is broken, not my head,” she said with a laugh.
“Leave your chair. I’ll put it behind the table and you can grab it when you’re ready,” Finley threw in.
“Thanks. You guys are the best!” Elsie exclaimed. She leaned down and gave Bristol a short hug and waved at Finley before she hurried across the street to hunt down her family.
“Please tell me you’re open,” a harried-looking young mother asked as she approached Finley and gestured to the table heaping with cookies and other goodies behind them. “This one,” she said, gesturing to the toddler at her side, “is cranky and all he wants is a cookie with sprinkles.”
Finley smiled at her. “Of course. I’ve got just the thing. Bristol? You okay?”
She nodded at Finley. “I’m good. Go on. I’m going to take a short spin around the square with my knee walker before I sit again for the rest of the day, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. Go,” Finley said. “But don’t overdo it.” She helped Bristol to her feet and made sure she was steady before she headed for the table, taking the chairs they’d been sitting in with her.
Bristol arched her back, stretching. She’d done a lot of sitting and lying down in the last few weeks, and she was itching to start moving once again. Making her stained glass wasn’t a sedentary kind of hobby, and she had a ways to go before she’d be ready to get back to it.
She started off down the sidewalk, nodding at people she knew as she went. The coffee shop, Grinders, was right next to the bakery, and there was a used bookstore next to that, which Bristol hadn’t had a chance to check out yet. She carefully crossed Main Street and headed past Grogan’s General Store, toward a few ladies sitting outside the hair salon.
Rocky had introduced her to them once before. He mentioned they loved gossiping, but they weren’t anywhere near as informed as their arch nemeses, Otto, Silas, and Art.
“Hi,” she said shyly as she wheeled past.
“Bristol, right?” one of the women asked.
She stopped, since it would be rude not to. “That’s me,” she said with a smile.
“You’re living with Rocky,” another woman said.
Bristol wasn’t sure who was who. All she knew was their names. Dorothea, Cora, Ruth, and Clara. All four looked to be in their sixties or seventies, and she didn’t take offense to the question that wasn’t phrased as a question. She was beginning to understand that was just how the residents of Fallport were.
“Yes, he was kind enough to offer me a place to stay while I healed from my broken leg,” she told them.
“Ignore Dorothea,” said the youngest of the women—as far as Bristol could tell. “I’m Ruth. This is Clara and Cora. We’re glad Rocky found you and that you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” Bristol said. “Me too.”
“And you’re an artist?” Clara asked.
Bristol nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m gonna have to check out some of your stuff,” Clara said with a smile. “I see you’re selling some jewelry to raise funds for our search and rescue team.”
“I am. I’m very thankful Fallport has such a team. My outcome might’ve been very different otherwise. And I’m sure there are things they could use that they don’t have the budget for. It’s my way of saying thanks.”
She could tell her words had an effect on the women. All four seemed to relax a bit, especially Dorothea. “Very generous of you,” she said.
“If you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to continue walking a bit,” Bristol said as politely as she could.
“Of course,” Ruth replied. “I’m guessing you want to say hello to your young man.”
Bristol merely smiled and pushed forward.
Of course, Silas, Otto, and Art hadn’t missed her short conversation with the four ladies, and when she approached, they couldn’t let her walk by without talking to her as well.
“Good to see you up and about,” Otto said.
“You kind of look like wefeel, hobbling around with that bum leg,” Art said.
Bristol burst out laughing. He wasn’t exactly wrong. “There have been a few days in the last couple of weeks that I feel as if I’m double my age.”
