Hannah is safe, but so much has changed for the group of friends from Duskwood. It is time for MC to come to town and finally meet everyone. Can she help the Donfort sisters reunite with their mysterious sibling? Can she help Jessy heal her painfu...
A/N I hid another movie reference in this chapter. Bonus points if you find it. 😊 I appreciate all your comments. Enjoy!
It was late and Lilly and Hannah were scheduled to work tomorrow, but they all sat at the kitchen table around MC's laptop as soon as they arrive home from the bar.
"Ok, here goes," MC began opening her email program, "I am pretty sure that last time I could have typed anything in the email and I still would have gotten the reply. It was the act of sending the email not the message itself that triggered the response."
"Kind of like if you use the vacation setting to set up an auto-reply message while you are away?" Hannah inquired.
"Exactly. It came almost immediately," she confirmed as she typed the email address they had received from Phil into the recipient box. "But it wouldn't hurt to add a message just in case."
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They read over MC's shoulder as she typed a quick message that she hoped was just cryptic enough that only someone that knew the situation would understand. No specific details. And instead of signing a name, she choose to just use the old-school smiley face Jake was fond of using.
"Ok, here goes nothing," she said clicking the send button.
The three women sat motionless as the email status changed to sent. All eyes were glued to the screen waiting for a notification of a new message to pop up.
"Now that is done. Tell us why you have cows are your desktop wallpaper?" Lilly inquired curiously.
"Oh!" MC chuckled, "That is an inside joke with Jessy. I was trying to cheer her up one evening and sent her a message about cows ruling the world. Not really sure why I said that, but it worked and has become a thing we use to make each other smile when we are down. I changed my wallpaper a couple of days after everything at the mines." She shrugged, "Guess I was trying to remind myself of a happier memory." Her voice held a bit of sadness as she finished explaining.
A minute went by as they all just sat in silence looking at the computer. Then MC continued, "Anyways. All power to the cows!" With that unexpected exclamation, they all broke out into a much-needed laugh.
"You are ridiculous, MC!" Lilly chuckled.
"See? It works!" MC chuckled back enthusiastically. The laughter petered out and the silent waiting returned.
"I can't take the suspense!" Lilly exclaimed getting up from the table. "I am going to change and get ready for bed. Let me know if something comes through."
Trying to hide a yawn, Hanah also spoke up, "Me too. Sorry MC, but I have an early morning tomorrow as I am helping receive the flower delivery before the shop opens. Let us know if something comes in, otherwise, we will see you in the morning."
"I understand. Both of you have a good night's sleep," MC nodded, "And thanks for taking me out to meet everyone tonight. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to hanging out here tomorrow night. It was so kind of you to offer to host everyone after work."
"Of course, MC!" Lilly smiled as she replied, "We want you to have the best visit to Duskwood. See you in the morning."
The sisters headed out of the room leaving MC staring at her computer screen as if she could somehow cause the reply to appear using her intense gaze. After 10 minutes, she gave up and shut her laptop before heading out of the room muttering something about "watched pots" under her breath.
Sunlight was streaming through the window when MC woke in the morning. She stretched and got out of bed before heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Unlocking her phone she saw a notification for new messages in the group chat.
New messages: (group chat)
Lilly:
"Have a good day at work!
"We look forward to seeing everyone at our apartment at 6 pm.
"What pizza toppings do you want?"
Dan:
"Sausage!"
"No veggies!"
Cleo:
"Oh, come on, Dan.🙄"
"I vote for tomato, onion, and basil."
Lilly:
"That sounds amazing, Cleo!"
"🤤🍕"
Thomas:
"Hannah's favorite is pineapple and ham."
Lilly:
"I already know that, Thomas."
Hannah:
"Aww, thanks for remembering, Bug."
"😘"
MC:
"Good morning!"
"I am not picky about pizza toppings."
"I can't wait to see everyone tonight."
After answering the chat, MC set down her phone and woke up her laptop. The fact that a reply didn't arrive immediately after they sent the email last night was nagging on her mind. Clearly, it hadn't been a bot or an auto-reply message like last time. It only took her a moment to click into her email and see the notification.
1 new message.
I was told you would be contacting me after I hacked the music machine and played that song. Honestly, I am surprised by how quickly you reached out. I didn't think you would figure things out at all, but Nym was certain. What is the history between Nym and that bar owner? Don't answer, that is rhetorical. Nym laughed when I said I would hack the machine, instead of just paying for a song. Thought it was funny cheating the owner out of the fee. I have one more puzzle for you to solve before I let you know the secret. Let's see if you are as smart as Nym thinks you are. You will be hearing from me again soon.
Flux
"Well, that wasn't what I was expecting," MC voiced to the empty apartment around her.
