Chapter 5: Five O’clock Somewhere

The phone rang a few times before a mature feminine voice answered. “Hello?”

“Hey mom.”

“Frost,” The voice said, sounding relieved to hear from me. “Thank goodness that you called. I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry, mom.” I apologized. “I was going to call you sooner, but.... things... prevented me from calling.”

“Oh my god.... What happened? Is everything okay? Do you need help?” I can be there in a few hours...”

“No... It's alright. I think...”

“That doesn't sound too promising. What happened?”

“I'll tell you when I see you next.” I sighed. “I've been reciting events all day today and I need a break from doing it.”

“That... doesn't sound promising.”

“Well... When I tell you, you're probably not going to believe me as it will sound like something that I lifted off of a TV drama.”

“Oh my God, Frost! What the hell happened?” My mother's raised voice came through the speaker. “Don't tell me you got arrested.”

“Okay...” I sighed again. “I won't tell you when you've already guessed.”

“FROST!” My mother yelled, making me wince away from the phone. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?!”

“I didn't do SHIT!” I bit back. “A bunch of crazy BS happened and like I said before, mother, I Don't Want To Get Into It.” I huffed as I rubbed my temples, I always hated getting angry as it left me feeling guilty afterwards. Sometimes though…

“Frost…” Came a calmer response. “You know that I worry about you, just like your sister but…”

“I know mom.” I said, feeling slightly exhausted from my outburst. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get upset and yell at you. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Just like I’ve said before, I’ve been retelling the events like a dozen times already today and I would like to give myself a break. Anyway…” I said to force the change of topic. 

“Anyway…” My mother huffed over the phone, clearly annoyed that she wasn’t going to get me to change my mind. “Were you able to get a hold of the lawyer?”

“Yes, I did that first thing.”

“And?”

“And I ended up inheriting quite a bit from uncle Ashton.”

“Like…?” I rolled my eyes at my mother’s attempt to pry at me to get more information.

“Life changing.” I simply said.

“Oh my gosh…” My mother responded. “Ashton said that he was going to make up for what my Ex did to us. What did your uncle do? Leave his house, business, and money to you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh jeez…” My mother sighed.

“Yeah…” There was a moment of silence that fell between us. “So, anyway. I know that it’s the onset of winter, but how would you like to come and visit?”

“Oh? The new business owner is remembering his family?”

“Like I can forget about you guys, mother. Besides, most of my stuff is still there in storage.”

“Ah ha. The other shoe drops.”

“Really?” I deadpanned. “If you don’t want to come, then just say so. I’ll just come by when I find time and pick up my stuff, then take off back here. I just thought that we could kill two birds with one stone and show you what is exactly here. But if you don’t wanna…”

“Ow, ow, my arm. You’re twisting my arm.” I just rolled my eyes with a chuckle at the comment while my mother let out a soft snicker. “I’ll have to talk with your sister, Sky, to find out when they will be available to head over there.”

“I understand, they have more to worry about than I did. Of course, when you find out something, let me know.”

“Of course, you know me.”

“Yep, I do.” I said, noticing the time. “Well… I hate to cut the conversation short, but I really need to get cleaned up from everything that happened recently. Especially if I want to be on time.”

“On time?” My mother repeated to herself. “Isn’t it getting rather late for any kind of business appointments?”

“Uhm… it’s not business related.” I said hesitantly. “I’m meeting up with someone.”

“Oh? A guy or a girl?”

“A… Girl.”

“Oh my Gosh, Frost! It’s about time you got yourself a girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” I quickly replied. “She’s just a local whom I am meeting up with later.”

“Suuuure…” My mother said a bit mischievously. “Well, I best let you go so you can prepare for your date.”

“It’s not a date, mom.”

“Tell me how it goes later. Bye Frost, love you and enjoy your date.”

“It’s not…” The phone clicked as my mother hung up before I could finish. “A date…” I said to no one in particular. I groaned as I leaned back on the sofa, letting myself space out for a moment. I couldn't help but to let my mind wander with what was said. I didn't consider my meet up with Amber a date and didn't think that Amber considered it a date either, so... Why say it was a date?

I let out another groan before getting up and heading to the master bath to freshen up for my da... meet up.

Once again I was glad that most of my stuff was undisturbed and got out my toiletries and put them in the rather spacious master bathroom. At least spacious for me and compared to what I was used to. It was one of those master baths that not only had his and her sinks and cabinets, but also had a tub and a shower unit with access to a walk-in closet slash changing room. I was tempted to take a bath in the large jacuzzi tub but as much as I would love to have a relaxing bath, I knew that I just wouldn’t have the time to properly enjoy one. Which left the shower unit for me to figure out.

The unit was at the far end of the master bathroom, having two walls made of that hard to see through glass or plastic that is typical for that added bit of privacy. Going through the sliding door revealed that the shower wasn’t as bad as I first thought, having only a single handle to turn the water on and adjust the temperature on one wall with what looked like a press button on the other solid wall. Pressing the button revealed an extra feature that was becoming more popular in recent years, a built in fur dryer.

And yes… I will admit that I yelped in shock when it first started as it was something that I am not accustomed to.

The rest of the shower was uneventful, though I did linger a bit to enjoy the warm water cascading through my fur and down my body. Once I was done with both the shower and drying off, I started to explore the master bathroom. There was a second door that I first  thought was a linen closet, but opening the door exposed a large clothing closet that was big enough for two people to change at the same time. I found a few things still hanging on the racks, but decided to forgo the clothes for now and go with what I had. By the time I had finished getting dressed, it was already a quarter to four and I was feeling somewhat restless to leave and meet up with Amber.

I did my best to keep myself occupied and not focus on what was coming up, puttering around by exploring a little on the first floor to distract myself. However, beyond getting a grasp on what was there, my mind was still more focused on what was on the horizon. By the time I entered the garage, I still had close to an hour before meeting with Amber. In a huff of annoyance and defeat, I jumped into the SUV and left the property.

-

Meanwhile…

The steady beeping of a heart monitor greeted her ears as she started coming to. Opening her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. This both confused and worried her till her mind caught up with what was going on, she was in a hospital room. Though how she got here was currently blurry and gave her a bit of a headache. No… trying to recall what happened wasn’t causing pain, it was the fact that her head was throbbing for some unknown reason.

“Good afternoon.” A male voice said. She turned her head slightly to see a male otter orderly coming in to check on her. “How are we doing?”

“My head is throbbing…” She groaned out, to which the otter nodded.

“Understandable, you did take a bit of a nasty fall onto a set of stairs.” He shook his head slightly. “Usually, people fall Down the stairs. Not take a swan dive over a railing.”

“What?...” She started to say before groaning and rubbing either side of her temples. “Ow…”

“Hold on, I'll get a doctor in here so you can get some pain meds.” The otter said before poking his head out the door and spoke up in a loud voice. “Doctor Killpatient… Doctor Killpatient, your doctor is a charge is awake.”

“Alex!” An irritated voice spoke loudly from the other side of the door. “I’ve told you countless times, DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” The orderly raised his hands in mock surrender before shuffling his way out the door and was soon replaced by a bushy tailed squirrel. His expression was hard as he watched the otter leave before turning to regard her with a softer expression. “Hello Miss Woods, I am Doctor Quill Paycen. How are we feeling?”

“”Like someone tried to crack my skull open…” She paused for a moment before letting out another groan of pain. “And it feels like my brain is trying to escape my head…”

“I’ll get you something for your migraine.” The doctor said as he turned to the door only to find Alex walking back with something that she didn’t see and handed it to the squirrel. The doctor then came over to her bedside, handed her two pills and a glass of water that was nearby. She took the medicine with the water and after a few moments, the pounding in her head started to go away. “Feeling better?” He asked.

“Yes…” She sighed. In truth, the pounding was still there, but it was becoming more tolerable as the medication took effect.

“I step away for a few minutes and that’s when you decide to wake up.” A woman’s voice said from the door in mock irritation.

“Hi aunt Vickie…” She greeted the new arrival with a smile.

“Oh Rory…” Victoria said as she came in to stand by the wolf’s bedside. “What in the world did you do to wind up here?”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Rory said, confused. The doctor looked over at Victoria with a concerned expression, which Victoria caught and was making the snow leopard worried. “Besides, is uncle Ashton on his way? I would have expected him to be here if I was in the hospital.”

“Miss Woods,” The doctor spoke up, bringing the girls’ attention to him. “Mind if I ask a question?”

“I… Guess not?”

“What’s the last thing that you remember?” He asked as he came closer to start examining Rory.

“Uhm…” Rory thought for a moment. “Getting ready for bed?”

“Which house, hun?” Victoria asked.

“Uhm… Mine?” Rory said, confused.

“What was the last date that you remember?” The doctor asked.

“Mmm… It was May twelfth last I knew.” She glanced between Victoria and Dr. Paycen as they exchanged looks. “Don’t tell me that I’ve been in a coma for almost a year or more.” She was looking worried as her gaze went between the two in the room with her.

“No, Miss Woods.” Dr. Paycen said. “You have not been in a coma.” He took a deep breath as a look of relief washed over Rory’s face. “However, you do seem to be suffering from amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” Victoria repeated, eyes opened wide in shock. “Are you saying that she has forgotten the last eight months?”

“Eight MONTHS!?! You mean that I lost Eight Months???”

“It looks like you unfortunately did.” Dr. Paycen sighed.

“Any idea as to what could have caused it?’ Victoria asked as she took Rory’s hand in hers.

“If I was to guess, I would say perhaps that it was from a combination of high levels of stress and the blunt force trauma to your head that you have suffered.”

“Blunt force trauma?” Rory was glancing between the two again, confusion being replaced by worry. “Oh my gosh… Was I attacked? Did I have an accident? What happened? Gods… Uncle Ashton must be worried sick about me…” Victoria hung her head with what Rory just said, she couldn’t bring herself to correct the young woman. However the motion wasn’t lost on the wolf. “Aunt Vickie, what’s wrong? Where’s uncle Aston?” Tears started to well up in her eyes, she really didn’t want to go through this again. Once was enough. “Aunt Vie…”

“I’m sorry Rory…” Victoria muttered. “But…” The words were getting caught in her throat and she was having a hard time getting them out.

“But?…”

“Ashton is gone.” The snow leopard wiped the tears out of her eyes with a sniffle. “He died about six months ago.”

To say that she felt stunned would be the understatement of the year. First finding out that she had lost eight months of memories, if not more; then finding out that the person who was her father was dead and those memories were a part of what was missing…

“Uhm… Can I be alone for a while?…”

“I’ll be around for a little while if you need me.” Victoria said as she stood up, giving Rory a reassuring smile and squeezing her hand before letting go. She followed the doctor out and once they were clear of the doorway, the doctor turned to face the snow leopard and waited for the inevitable question. “Will she be alright, doctor?”

“Eventually, yes.” He said, looking at the door to Rory’s room. “She’s currently suffering from the effects of a concussion that I assume she got from her fall.”

“Oh my god…”

“Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be too severe so I think she’ll be alright in a couple of days. However,” He turned to look at her. “I still want to error on the side of caution and run a few more tests to make certain, as well as keeping her here for observation for the next three days. This will also mean that she’s not to do any strenuous activity for the next two weeks, physical or mental. She is to get plenty of rest when she is released so her brain can properly heal. So no physically demanding activities like sports, computers, tvs, or smartphones for those two weeks. I’ll be reminding both you and Miss Woods when she’s released.”

“Thank you doctor.” Victoria said with a nod. “What about her memories? Will she ever get them back?”

“That’s hard to say.” The doctor huffed as he looked back at Rory’s room. “To be honest, it's a lot more severe than I would have expected given the circumstances. Her memories might return naturally in a few days or she needs something to trigger some of those memories, then again they may never return. It's hard to say.” There was a beeping sound coming from a pager that he took out and glanced at. “Excuse me.” He said as he made his leave.

-

Instead of going to the diner right away, I found myself exploring the township of Delows Valley. Which in retrospect, wasn’t all that large with only a few connecting streets off of the main road. I was able to find the town hall, church, library, and fire hall relatively easily and it also helped that they were close together on the same road. I even spotted what looked to be several volunteer townsfolk putting up decorations near the town hall. If I had to guess, they were getting ready for a Christmas lighting ceremony here soon. A few of the people noticed me and gave me a friendly wave as I drove by, which I smiled and waved back.

It was twenty to five when I eventually pulled into the General Market’s parking lot, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit of apprehension at what was to come. My mind was still going into overdrive with playing a multitude of scenarios partially thanks to what my mother had said earlier. From things seen in dramas to the rather spicy that would not be safe for work and even a few scenarios where I wind up back in prison, which I rather not do and hope doesn’t happen. I know I’m over thinking things but it's something I’m prone to do. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves from my overactive brain, I got out of my vehicle and made my way into the diner. 

I wouldn’t call the place packed, but things weren’t slow either. This section had about twenty-some tables dedicated to the restaurant part of this building and the majority of the tables were occupied with people. I could see Amber and I believe her sister was running their tails off trying to keep everyone happy. Despite her haste, Amber spotted me and gave me a warm smile.

“Hi Frost.” She greeted me. “I think there’s a free table over there so you can get comfortable. I’ll be over as soon as I’m able to.”

“No rush.” I replied. “I know I’m a little early, but work before pleasure. Right?” She smiled as nodded in silent agreement before continuing on with her task. I smiled as I went over to the table and sat down, though I couldn’t help but feel like there were a few eyes that were looking my way. A quick glance around me revealed that there were both staff and customers glancing my way, some having knowing grins while others were skeptically eyeing me up. I sighed and tended to myself, chalking up the looks from the people as small town curiosity and gossip. I tried to ignore them as best as I could by pulling out my phone and fidgeting with some of the game apps I had.

“So… Can I get you something to drink?”

I looked up and saw a young snow leopard standing there. The girl looked a lot like Amber, only with her family’s silver white hair cropped at her shoulders and a smaller frame body. She also shared Amber’s emerald eyes though instead of the softness that I see in her sister’s, her’s were more piercing and judging as she gave me a cold glare.

“Uhm… Can I get a root beer?” She nodded and went off without a word, hopefully to get my drink order and maybe a menu. I started to wonder if this might have been a mistake and that it was too soon after yesterday’s events, especially with the younger snow leopard’s attitude. I couldn’t help but notice a few disapproving glances by some of the customers at the girl as she walked by. She did come back after a minute or two with my beverage and a menu, but her demeanor towards me was still cold. I ended up nursing my beverage for over an hour, choosing not to order anything yet until Amber was able to join me.

Eventually the older snow leopard whom I had words with last night came in, looking a little worse for wear as she went back to the office. On her way, she had flagged down Amber and her sister and all three of them disappeared in back. It was around ten minutes later that the three reappeared and dispersed in different directions. The younger sister went back to waiting on tables while the elder snow leopard disappeared into the kitchen, Amber was coming my way with an apologetic smile.

“Hi Frost.” She greeted me as she put a drink on the table before taking a chair on the opposite side of me.“I’m sorry for taking so long to join you, but I had to wait for my mother to come back.”

“If I am to guess about why she was gone, I think that it is quite understandable.” I said with a shrug.

“But I asked you to be here at five and it’s almost six pm now.”

“Hey, it's like the song says ‘it's five o’clock somewhere.”

She giggled at that. “I suppose you got a point.”

“Besides,” I shrugged. “It's not like I have anything else planned anywhere else.”

“True.” Amber thought out loud.”Or you wouldn’t still be here, huh?”

“Exactly.” I agreed. “Would you like to order something to eat or anything since you’re supposed to be on break? My treat.”

“I couldn’t possibly…”

“It’s the least I could do.” I shrugged. “But if you don’t want to, I’m not going to force you.”

After a moment of thought, Amber relented with a sigh before ordering a sandwich. I also placed my order, a burger and some fries. While we were waiting for our food, we sat in silence for a bit with either of us sure how to start a conversation.

“So…” I started after thinking of something to ask. “How’s your friend?”

“Rory?” I nodded in response. “She’s… Alive at least. She woke up while my mother was there, though I’m not sure what kind of state she’s in. My mother didn’t say.”

“I see.” I said with some thought. “At least she’s still alive. I mean, the way she went over that railing… I almost thought she had snapped her neck.”

“True…” Silence fell between us again as we each thought about what to talk about next. Before I could think of something, Amber beat me to it. “So, where are you from?”

“I’m from a small town called Allegany in the Great Lakes area.” I said with a slight shrug. “It's a college town, though it depends on their sports team if they win or lose if they’re actually a part of that town or the nearby city.”

“A small town?” She asked, tilting her head. “Is it like the size of Delows Valley?”

“Actually, I think Allegany would be like three times the size of this town. If not more.”

“Really? Sounds more like a decent size one to me.” Amber said as her sister brought our food to us. I could only shrug as the plates were placed in front of us.

“I’d say that it’s probably relative to the person that’s there.” I said as I picked up a fry after we thanked the waitress. Amber continued to ask questions as we ate, bouncing between asking about the town, the surrounding areas and even sneaking in a few questions about myself. Including what I was doing before I came to Delows Valley.

“Well,” Amber said as she snacked on one of my fries. “You probably had other things going on back home before coming here didn’t you?”

“Not really…” I said truthfully as I nibbled on a few fries of my own. “I honestly didn’t have much of anything before now.” Amber gave me a funny look at that.

“Surely there has to be something you left behind to come here?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “My family back in my hometown, namely my mother and my sister with her husband and kids.”

“What about your father?”

“I prefer not to talk about that… Jackwagon.” I hissed with a scowl crossing my face. Amber looked like she wanted to dive deeper on the topic, but I think that the less than stellar expresion on my face made her rethink asking any further about him.

“What about your home, your job, a significant other?” I gave her a bit of a side eye as I took a drink. Some of the times I wish I’d drink stronger stuff. “Sorry if I’m jumping into sore topics.” She fidgeted, obviously becoming self aware of the potential landmines of topics that she was starting to ask about. “I’m just curious about you and where you came from.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” I sighed as I put the cup down.

“Satisfaction brought her back.” Came her quick quip.

“Touche.” I said as I raised my cup with a nod. “As far as the questions go, I was… Am currently a NEET.”

“A neat? What do you mean?”

“It’s an acronym,” I explained. “It means Not Employed, in Education , or in Training. So, there was no job for me to leave and everything I had up until yesterday was in a little tow-behind camper that’s sitting on my sister’s property.” 

“What about a girlfriend? Surely you are seeing someone back home, right?”

I snorted. “Nope, there’s no one. Never even dated, even.”

“You’re kidding.” Amber said in shock.

“I’m not.” I commented as I shook my head. “It's not that I didn’t want to, but family drama kind of made me shy away from trying for a relationship. I’m at a point where if one happens, it happens.” Amber shook her head at my comment. Not quite sure what she could have been thinking at this point but we ended up falling into an awkward silence for a moment before I changed the subject. “So… Anyway, moving right along.”

“Agreed.”

“What sort of thing happens in Delows Valley?” I asked. “Surely there’s more to this place than just this store slash restaurant.”

“Oh, of course.” Amber said with some of her glee returning “We have a few festivals throughout the year, mostly small little town events. In fact, the WinterFest is coming up at the end of next month.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” She exclaimed. “I mean we still celebrate the Twenty-five days of Christmas and all with some of the town’s folk getting ready for the Illumination of the Evergreens, our town’s version of lighting the Christmas Lights.”

“Is that why I see some of the townsfolk decorating the light post and a few trees around town?”

“Yeah, they’re getting ready for the first of December. Tomorrow night is when they’ll be lighting the decorations and it's usually a nice congregational gathering with cider and donuts available for everyone who shows up at the church.”

“That must be what I saw them setting up for when I went exploring earlier.” I thought out loud.

“More than likely.” Amber said.

 “What time is the gathering?”

“The ceremony actually starts at Seven, but unofficially everyone starts gathering around Six to Six-Thirty. The store usually closes at quarter after Six so we can attend the ceremony.”

“That’s thoughtful of your mother to do.”

“It was actually Mr. Ashton that started that bit of tradition.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he did. In fact he…” Amber couldn’t get any more out before she was interrupted.

“Hey! Amber!” The youngest snow leopard sibling snapped. “Your break has been over for a while. You need to get back to work as we’re getting behind again!” She then slapped the bill for the food we ordered on the table and left in a bit of a huff.

“Oh my God!” Amber said as she looked at the time. It was almost seven now and while the dining area wasn’t that packed, I’d assume that there was quite a bit hidden back in the kitchen that has been piling up.

“I’m sorry for keeping you over.” I apologize. “It wasn’t intentional.”

“I know.” Amber said as she stood up as her sister left. “It's just…”

“Just what?”

“I don’t know why, but…” Amber hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I just keep losing track of time when I’m with you.”

“Maybe I’m that much of a time waster?” I jest, causing the snow leopard to giggle.

“Will I see you at the ceremony tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “I mean, really I don’t see why not.”

“I think it would be a great idea.” Amber said enthusiastically. “It’s probably a good idea to start mingling with the town’s people if you’re going to stay any length of time here. A town gathering would probably be a good place to start and be quickly introduced to everyone. Meeting with the other residents in a festive setting will help you see that what happened the last twenty-four hours was nothing more than a bad fluke.”

“Maybe.” I said skeptically

“Please?” She asked, giving me her version of puppy dog eyes.

“Fine.” I said, rolling my eyes a bit at the display. “I’ll be there, though I can’t guarantee what time I’ll arrive.”

“Yay.” Her enthusiastic reply came. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She then came up to me and pulled me into a hug, stunning me before she let go and took off to the kitchen. It took me a moment before I was able to shake off the daze effect that I was feeling and took stock of those around me. From what I could see, the few patriots that were around me were mirroring what I was feeling at that moment. Though there were a few knowing smirks as well as one or two glaring frowns. I could only let out a sigh and pay the bill before going back to the vehicle I drove.

I sat for a moment and tried to wrap my head around what happened and what I had agreed to. In truth, I was not really looking forward to the prospect of having to deal with a large crowd of strangers, it wasn't something that I personally enjoyed doing. Granted, Amber was probably right that recent events were still holding a bitter spot in my mind, and maybe interacting with new people would help me get over the crazy ordeal of the last twenty-four hours that a small group of people caused.

I let out a long sigh through my nose to at least temporarily put my somewhat troubled thoughts in the back of my mind as I put the vehicle in gear and drove back to the house.