One More Ring!

 

Sarah’s mind was full. It had been a week since Lisette had shared with her about her experience with the cow bell and how it had taken her to different places. They both had talked for hours about the craziness of it all and especially how not only did it take them to different places but when there, they were mistaken for different people! 

Lisette had the cow bell in her room, stored in a safe place for now. They were debating about trying to take a trip together and seeing if somehow they could get to the bottom of the magic behind the cow bell. Right now the Inn had guests though, so they were waiting for a day when all the guests were gone. 

Putting down the book she had been trying to read, Sarah hurried down the stairs. Supper would soon be served and she didn’t want to miss one of Lisette’s delicious meals. Lisette was serving Chicken Divan, Broccoli with cheese, Sweet Potato Pudding and Coconut Cream Pie. 

Ethan turned off the TV in their guest room. 

“Time to wake up Sleeping Beauty!” Ethan said to Jade, as he brushed his hand gently through her hair. 

“Ready to go down for supper?” he asked. 

Jade gave a sleepy smile as she stretched. “Ahh! That felt good, didn’t realize I was so tired.” 

“Well I worked up an appetite watching TV, so lets go.” 

They enjoyed being at this Inn, and the warm hospitality of Lisette. In a couple days they would be heading home, but for now they were enjoying relaxing in this small town. Ethan had been to the Fluffer Nutter Shoppe a couple times already, playing Chess with the guys there. He had been Chess Whiz in High School and he was glad to know that he still was. He had won free coffee there with the games he kept winning. 

Ethan couldn’t eat anymore. He split his pie with Jade. 

“Thank you Miss. Lisette, You are a wonderful cook! Maybe you could give some lessons to Jade.”  Jade raised her eyebrows at him and he quickly said, “Or maybe not.”  

Sarah and Lisette tried their best to hold in their laughter, as Ethan and Jade walked out of the dining room. 

“Perhaps you should make up the couch for Ethan, he might need another place to sleep tonight.” Sarah jokingly said to Lisette. 

“Where is Mr. Gianko, he didn’t come down for supper?” Sarah asked, while helping Lisette clean up the dishes. 

“He wasn’t feeling the best. I took some Chicken Corn Soup up to his room for him.” 

“Awh! I hope he gets to feeling better. He is a nice guy.” 

Lisette smiled. “Yes he is, he isn’t bad on the eyes either.”  she shyly said. 

“I noticed the way he looked at you last week when he was down for meals, and didn’t I see you guys walking together the other day?” Sarah teased. 

Lisette shook her head. “He has to go back to his work next week, who knows when he would be able to come back.” 

“Hmmm…” Sarah said, as her eyes danced. 

“What are you thinking?” 

“Oh you will see, said Sarah. Just had an idea.” Sarah said, as she finished washing the last dish. 

Over the next few days, Mr. Gianko got to feeling better. The week-end had come and Ethan and Jade had to leave. Ethan left undefeated in chess. They said they would be back, that they had thoroughly enjoyed their visit and were interested in hearing more about the history of the town. Mr. Nutter had told them quite the story. 

Another week had passed and Chad was still staying with them. Apparently he didn’t have to rush back to work like Lisette had thought. Sarah now was standing outside in front of the Inn. She watched Chad and Lisette walking towards her. She smiled big when she noticed them holding hands. Yes, she thought, this was going to work. She walked towards them. 

“Hi guys!” 

Sarah grabbed Lisette’s hand and quickly shook the bell in her hand 3x. POOF! The pink and purple smoke filled the air knocking them all off their feet. 

The smoke cleared and they all got to their feet. 

“Wh-What just happened?” Chad asked, as Lisette stared at Sarah in disbelief! 

Sarah gave an impish smile. “No time like the present to try our experiment, right?” 

Lisette shook her head. 

They all stared at their surroundings. They were standing on a road with a creek to the left of them and they saw a sign pointing to the right. It said, “Welcome to the Town of Bittersweet Creek” 

“Well, should we go check it out?” asked Sarah. 

“No time like the present!” Lisette said with a laugh, and she and Sarah headed down the road, while Chad followed feeling very confused. He wondered why the man seemed to always be the last one  to know what was going on.

They made it to the town and the first shop they saw was a Coffee Shop. “Lets stop here for some coffee. We can try to explain things to Chad.” Lisette said. 

“Yes! I agree. I need some coffee! Very black!” 

They all walked in and saw a lady behind the counter that didn’t look a day over 40. 

“Hi! Welcome to the Sweet Coffee and Pie Cafe. My name is Cara. How can I help you?”

“I need some very bitter, black coffee, please.” said Chad. 

“Oh, you like your coffee, just like Mr. Picklefoot, the owner of this cafe. Perhaps you would like his favorite pie as well. It helps cut down the bitterness of the coffee. You can try the first piece for free. Shoo-Fly pie.” 

“Sure! Sounds good” said Chad. 

Lisette and Sarah ordered some Caramel Frappes and soon they had all been served and were sitting at a little table in the corner. 

Chad took a big, long sip of coffee and then said, “Please tell me how we got here! Am I dreaming?” 

“No, you are not dreaming!” said Lisette, “Let me start at the very beginning. One time….” 

“Oooh this is delicious!” said Chad, taking a bite of pie. 

“Okay, sorry, I am listening now, continue on…” said Chad, taking another tasty bite of pie. 

(to be continued…)