Blue Moon

One

Blue Moon, Oregon wasn't that different from Anchorage, Alaska. It was misting rain, the clouds overhead a dark grey, when Nora arrived in Oregon. There were trees everywhere in Alaska, and trees everywhere here. The only difference, as far as Nora could tell was the faint buzz of the highway just to the left of the small airport in Blue Moon, Oregon. In Alaska, Nora didn't have a highway close to her home, let alone an airport. 

Nora sighed, regrasping the handle of the suitcase in her right hand. In her left, she tried
to dial the number for her father, whom she had lost when departing the plane.

It rung five times.

"Nora, where are you? I can't find you anywhere!" Her father's gruff tone came through the phone.

"I'm at the check bag carousel. Where are you?" She was exasperated to say the least. It had been a five hour flight next to her father flirting with the flight attendant every time she walked by. Nora was having none of it.

"I'm with Leslie, you know, our flight attendant. She lives here and says she could show us around a few places before she leaves town. Wouldn't that be great Ellie?"

Nora sighed, not wanting to third wheel on another of her father's dates. Her father dating was still a sensitive subject for Nora. Her mother had only died two years ago and her father was dating again only three weeks after her death. Nora didn't like it at all.

"Dad, I really don't feel like going out quite yet. I think I'm just going to get used to the new house first,"

"Noraaa, come on it'll be fun!"

"No Dad, I really need to get ready for school and everything. I need to get supplies and check in with the school, and get my clothes out so I have something to wear to school..." Most of the times Nora felt like more of the parent than her father was. She didn't remember him always being like he was now. It had all started when her mother died.

"Ok Ellie. Leslie said she would show me some great places to eat. We're going to head out now. You have a key to the new house right? Call a cab, you have the address in your phone. Love you baby girl," Nora's dad hung up the phone, before she could say goodbye.

By now Nora was used to her father's antics. He often flitted about from woman to woman without thinking about his daughter waiting for him at home with dinner on the table. Nora sighed, and shoved her flip phone into the pocket of her jeans. In Alaska it got too cold for the fancy touch screen smart phones, so the only things that worked were radios and flip phones. She tightened her grip on the handle and pulled the suitcase towards the door where she could catch a cab.

The Oregon drizzle fell lightly on her shoulders and head. Nora shivered involuntarily, she had expected it to be chilly but didn't expect the overcast clouds and rain which dropped the temperature another ten degrees. The jeans and t shirt she was wearing no longer seemed like a good idea.

"Can I help you with something?" An older woman approached her, smiling at Nora in the kind way only a grandmother can smile. She looked kind, with crinkled skin next to her eyes and smile lines alongside her mouth. Her grey hair was pulled back into a low ponytail by a shimmery blue clip.

"Yeah, hi, where can I get a cab?" Nora smiled back at the older woman.

"Dearie I can call you a cab now. Wait a minute and one will be here shortly. Have a nice day!" The older woman retreated to a desk a fair amount away, and picked up a phone.

Nora looked out into the woods across from where she was standing. They were a dark, healthy, vibrant green that made the entire Oregon situation seem a little bit better. At the edge of the trees small wild flowers dotted in the overgrown grass, while small bushes created slight separations in the long grass. The pine forest waved with the slight breeze, and exposed a pair of glinting blue eyes.