SHIFT EXCHANGE

Chapter 32

Jake woke up to a dry mouth and low level pounding in his head. The smell of lavender and soft cotton sheets alerted him to the fact he was in Kara's bed. A quick sweep of his arm across the cold width of the bed told him he was alone and had been for a while.

The strong light shining through the window gave him the impression of a mid morning time frame. He couldn't remember when he'd actually made it to bed last night. Blurry snippets of memory paraded through his mind; Kara driving him home and tucking him into bed.

He'd gotten much drunker than he'd intended and probably slept in pretty late. He felt slightly guilty as his brain caught up to the fact that it was Christmas morning. Jake berated himself silently as he listened for the tell tale sounds of Kara moving about the house below him.

All was silent.

With a stretch he rolled from the bed and wandered into the bathroom. After a couple glasses of cold water, clean teeth, and 2 Advil he was beginning to feel more human. He searched for and found his heavy wool jacket hanging on the back of the wingback chair Kara kept by the window for reading. Inside the breast pocket was the long, black velvet box that housed her present.

The gold, curling ribbon was still prettily secured around the box. Even if Kara had found it when undressing him the night before, it didn't seem that she'd tried to sneak a peek.

Pulling on his jeans and sweater against the coldness of the morning air, Jake prepared to descend and present her with his gift.

He didn't delude himself, he knew he'd never been much in the romantic department, but he could at least give himself credit for trying. Thankfully, the jeweler had taken pity on him after his second lap of the store.

The older gentleman had listened as Jake poured out the story of how he really wanted to impress his girlfriend without overwhelming her; even though he had no idea how exactly to do it. He'd inadvertently ended up regaling the jeweler, who reminded him oddly of the Planter's Peanut man, with a long list of everything wonderful that was Kara.

The dapper, Peanut Man lookalike had only listened intently and quietly assured Jake that Kara did indeed sound like a keeper and he had just the right item in mind for her.

He'd led Jake over to a cabinet of finely wrought silver chains and an assortment of small glass lockets. Beside the lockets were rows upon rows of tiny charms made specifically to put inside the lockets.

Mister monocle and mustache had helped Jake select 5 small charms that seemed to symbolize the woman he'd fallen in love with. Inside of the velvet box, at the end of a fine, silver box chain, the little glass locket held a set of angel wings, a single blue jewel, a golden heart, a red lacquered 911, and a pair of tiny silver handcuffs.

He felt confident the jeweler had steered him in the right direction and he couldn't wait to give it to her.

Goofy grin in place, and a bit more nerves than he'd ever admit, Jake made his way down the stairs in search of the object of his affection.

The lights were all ablaze despite it being eleven o'clock in the morning according to the antique wooden clock on the wall and the fire had long ago expended its log fuel.

A ball of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. Everything about the house felt wrong. He wandered into the kitchen calling her name. A Saran wrapped plate of scones sat on the counter next to a silver air-pot of coffee. Jake placed his hands on the side of the container and found it to be cold.

The house was empty, he could feel it. A quick sweep of the rest of the kitchen didn't produce any notes to explain her lack of attendance.

Finally, Jake pulled his cell from his pocket and scrolled to the picture of her smiling face he'd installed as her identifier. As the line range he kept trying to reassure his gut that everything was fine, that she'd answer the phone out in the barn and laugh at his worry.