Elaine seemed to be a changed woman after seeing the movie, finding herself swept away in the idea that she, too, could be whimsical and alluring like the heroine was. She woke-up bright and early the next morning with a sense of wonder and excitement, wanting to change the way she viewed the world and, most importantly, herself. She had spent the last few decades resenting the effects time had on her body, finding herself drifting away from what she had originally thought being a woman was all about – and that to Elaine was the power of her femininity. When she was a young woman, her power came from the confidence her curves gave her as well as the subtle ebb and flow of what encapsulated her womanhood. But as her childbearing years came and went, Elaine suddenly viewed her body as though it had betrayed her because of the soft pink tears in her skin and the way her body seemingly changed shape overnight. She no longer took refuge in the swing of her hips and the soft tissue that could so easily be squeezed in a passionate grasp, instead she found faults in what she once enjoyed.
But now something unruly stirred inside of Elaine, sparking her interest in making her body the temple she once rejoiced under. Even though pain quaked through her, she couldn't help but open her closet to search for an outfit that could bring her back to life. She wanted fitted silk and swooping necklines, a dress that shimmered in and out of the light. Except her closet was full of cotton and long threads, a pallet of gray, brown, and soft green. There were trousers with elastic waistbands and hems above the ankle, turtlenecks that attempted to hide her jowls, as well as various button-down collared shirts with floral designs covering every square inch of fabric. By God, she thought, I've turned into my grandmother. When she really thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she had worn something without sleeves as well as something that exposed her knees. All she could ask herself was at what point in her life did she stop trying? And how long had she been this old?
Mildly depressed, Elaine closed her closet and sunk away to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She had trouble lifting the full kettle onto the stove, but managed to after some persistence. She wanted to try again, to be the woman that she once was, and she really didn't want to have to be as weak as she had turned out to be. Her bones creaked and cracked even with the slightest movement, and she couldn't remember the last time she had danced. As she waited for the kettle to boil, she tried to do a simple two-step but found her feet too heavy to lift properly. When did she stop dancing? In fact, she couldn't even place the last dance she shared with Larry. Her thoughts came tumbling in and sent her heart plummeting back down to earth, wondering if she had taken a majority of her years with Larry for granted. Had they been as passionately in love, if not even more, as the characters in the movie? She knew she had loved him, but did she love him properly in the time they had together?
The kettle whistled, snapping Elaine out of her thoughts as she carefully poured the hot water into a mug, watching it steep into a soft brown shade. She sighed, picking up her cup of tea and heading over to the kitchen table to let it brew while she read through the novel that she had been reading for the last few weeks. But as she went to place her cup on the table, she noticed a lavender coloured box with a white bow wrapped around it sitting across from her seat. She didn't remember seeing anyone leave a parcel, and she knew for certain that she didn't purchase anything for herself as of late. The box called out to her in the way beautiful things often do – the untainted presentation of its demeanor begging for the tight bow to be slipped off and the mystery of what was inside of the box to be revealed. For some reason she felt apprehensive, unsure of why anyone would think of giving her a gift. But her curiousity got the best of her, sliding the box towards her as she sat down. She stared at it for a minute, wanting to remember how pristine it looked before she opened it.
Her fingers slipped underneath the bow that was secured on the top, gently pulling each end of the ribbon until they fell to the side of the box, allowing Elaine to carefully remove the lid. Inside was glittering gift wrapping paper, and underneath something red caught her eye. For a moment she felt guilty for opening the box without knowing if it was rightfully hers, and if it was, who had given it to her. She left it to fate to tell her later, instead her excitement caused her to gently pull open the wrapping paper to reveal something that she never thought she would see.
I had woken up earlier than usual, singing a happy tune as I took a shower and prepared myself for work later on in the day. Despite all of the emotional events that had taken place in the last while, I tried my best to remain positive and keep an open mind. Rechyl had died, and it wouldn't take away from the pain of her loss, but I also knew I had made a small difference and that helped ease the ache of her passing. I didn't want to think much of John's premonition, but I was unable to stop myself from wondering if the last premonition I had was a clue. I figured the woman with the cast on her arm that was hitting John must have been Nora, but I would have to look further into it after work.
I had to go over to Elaine's house before work to help her choose her wardrobe for the week, and I was also going to help her wash her hair as I always did. As I drove over, I couldn't stop thinking about John and how his fingers felt around mine. I tried to stifle an excited giggle but it came out on its own, pressing my lips together forcefully to stop myself from getting too over-the-top. I didn't want to get too ahead of myself because I really wasn't the type of person to rush into things, instead I liked to remain as level-headed as possible to make sure that I wasn't going to regret anything later. But I couldn't deny that John made me feel a lot of things that I hadn't been sure I was capable of feeling before last night.
When I unlocked Elaine's front door I was surprised that the radio wasn't turned on, wondering if she had slept in. Usually she liked to listen to Billie Holiday or Etta James as she went around and did her morning routine, something about it put a pep in her step. Elaine was very much a creature of habit, she liked the comfort of a schedule and knowing that she wasn't wasting any time. I figured that maybe she had slept in because I kept her out late last night, which was not her normal Sunday evening routine.
I made my way to her bedroom which was just past the living-room. The house was only a one story three bedroom home with a quaint backyard that hadn't been given quite as much love as it used to get. There wasn't anything complicated about the architecture, but every nook and cranny screamed that it had seen many years of hospitality and care. Her bedroom door was slightly ajar, gently knocking before allowing myself inside. I peeked around the door to look at her bed, seeing that not only was she not still resting in it, but she hadn't bothered to make it yet. That was not at all like Elaine. Maybe her stomach started acting up and she was confined to the bathroom? I walked through to the master en-suite, knocking on the door as I called out her name. She didn't respond, so I carefully opened the door and took a gander inside. Again, she was nowhere to be seen. At this point my heart began to race and I could feel my hands shake, but I tried to remain calm. I had seen Elaine's death, and it wasn't until July. There was no way it could have changed.
I picked up my pace and dashed through the living-room, making a sharp turn around the corner to the main hallway until I skidded into the kitchen. There, sitting at the table, was Elaine. I sighed with relief, keeling over slightly before stepping up towards her. She was staring into a lavender box, the lid discarded on the table beside her.
"You had me worried sick, Elaine Baker," I said, pulling out the chair from the table so that I could sit across from her, motioning to the box. "What's that?"
She slowly looked up to me, at first her face was blank with wide eyes staring back at me. She was speechless for a moment until suddenly a wide smile graced the delicate features of her face. "You have no idea how much this means to me," She said softly, as if she was trying to hold back tears. "I can't begin to thank you enough."
I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to get a peek of what the box contained. Inside was a pair of ruby red T-strap formal dancing shoes with the slightest amount of glitter on it, almost like the shoes that Dorothy wore from The Wizard of Oz. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first and why Elaine was thanking me, until I realized that something didn't add up. I had tucked Elaine into bed last night, I had been in her kitchen to check that her windows were closed and not once did I see any lavender box on the table. I asked her if she had the package delivered this morning, but she told me that she found it on the table, telling me that she loved the surprise first thing after waking up. She went on to talk about how she started feeling down when she woke up and that seeing the gift had instantly cheered her up, and now she felt as though she was on cloud nine. Once more she thanked me, reaching over the table to grab my hand in hers.
"You are such a sweet girl, Ellion," She said, pausing as she choked back tears, "and I am so lucky to have you in my life."
Except there was one problem – I hadn't bought the shoes for Elaine, and I hadn't left any on her table the night before. I didn't want to alarm her, feeling the hair on my arms standing on end, instead trying to play it off like I had been responsible for giving her the gift. "You don't need to thank me," I replied, trying my best to grin and bare it.
There was no possible way that John could have gotten into her house, which would be the only other person I could think of that would leave her a gift like this – but even then, it was a bit much given that the shoes had to retail for over three-hundred dollars. I knew for a fact that it couldn't have been her daughter Jane either, because Jane was out of the country with her husband and wouldn't be returning for another four days.
"It's funny, I was just thinking about how I hadn't danced in so long, and now I have a new pair of shoes to go dancing in," She said, unable to hide how giddy she was. "Although, I may have a bit of difficulty walking in them. I can't even remember the last time I wore heels."
I snapped myself out of my thoughts, realizing just how dangerous it would be for Elaine to walk in heels. She had an unsteady gait as it was, if she were to wear heels she was only asking to hurt herself. I leaned forward, squeezing her hand in mine protectively. "You have to promise me one thing first," I said, watching as she nodded but kept her eyes glued to the shoes. "That you won't wear these shoes unless I'm with you, okay? It was a bit impulsive to get you these, so I hope you won't go behind my back and put them on when I'm not around."
She placed her free hand over her heart. "If that means I get to keep these, then I promise," She quickly replied, letting go of my hand so that she could pick up one shoe to turn it around. "Say, since I now have these beautiful shoes, could we take a few dance classes together? I don't know my left foot from my right, plus I would like a male dance partner eventually."
As much as I tried to remain positive, I could feel terror plucking away at my insides. If I hadn't left the shoes and neither did John, then who did? "What kind of dance class?" I questioned, almost monotonously as my thoughts spiraled out of control.
"Ballroom – the same way they danced in the movie – with high shoulders and graceful twirls," Elaine said dreamily, placing the shoe carefully back inside of the box. "And I want to go shopping at the mall to get a new dress. Do you think we could do that?"
I nodded, chewing nervously at my cheek. "Of course, and I'll look into the dance class after work," I said, pushing my chair out from the table. "We should get your hair washed, I have to go to work earlier than usual."
The first thing I was going to do was go to the police station to ask if there had been any unusual things going on around town, specifically houses being broken into. If there hadn't, I had a pretty good idea who I needed to go find.