Finding Home: 5 - Silvercreek

“What can I get you, honey?” A middle-aged lady asked as she sat on the counter.

“A cup of coffee and pancakes if you have them.” Flying out early that morning made her miss breakfast, and because of the short flight, the airlines did not bother to serve any snacks.

“You new around town or just passing through?” the woman inquired politely.

“Actually, I am looking for my brother. He was here a week ago, using your phone to call me. I wonder if you’d seen him around.”

“What does he look like? Lots of people come around here and I’m good with faces.” The lady looked sympathetic, which put her at ease.

“He looks exactly like me, same brown eyes and black hair. Probably scruffier around the face because he has a beard by now and is more than a foot taller.”

“Can’t say I’ve seen someone like that pass through here.”

“Do you have any cameras we can check? Maybe you weren’t here when he came in?” 

“How are you so sure he called from here?” The old lady asked suspiciously. Bree noticed she hadn’t answered the question, but instead answered it with another. She hands the lady the phone number she wrote on a piece of paper. It was what she found when she checked the phone records. The lady nods. “I see.”

“I’m afraid he does not have any money for the plane fare to send him home, and he’s ashamed to ask for it. So I’ve come to take him home with me.”

“Where is home, dear?”

“We live an hour away from Chicago in a town you probably never heard of.”

“Hmm... that’s a bit far from here. What was your brother doing here, if I may ask?”

“He was on a hiking trip to conquer the Great Divide. And he decided to explore Washington while he was around.”

“Do you have a picture of your brother I can show around?”

“Yeah.” Bree produced a copy of the last photo they took together. Bran had an afternoon shadow, so one could imagine what he would look like with a full-on beard and mustache.

She always thought he was very handsome, and before she handed the picture over, Bree had to touch his picture lovingly one last time.

“You’re twins!” The lady clapped excitedly. “How awesome is that? We’ve never had twins in this town before. One always overpowers the other in the womb.”

“What?”

“Oh nothing, dear. It’s nice that you have a close relationship with your brother. And you bothered to find him. What’s his name?”

“His name is Brandon, and I’m Brianna. I wrote my number at the back of the picture.”

“Why don’t you head to the sheriff’s station and inquire about it? They usually know what’s going on around town.”

“That’s my next stop. Are they short-staffed?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I left them a message a week ago, and nobody has bothered to call me back.”

“So, you’ve come alone and are not associated with any clan.” The lady tapped on the counter, and the statement felt more like a fact than a question. What did her family history have to do with coming to Silvercreek? “Let me keep this and ask around.” The woman added.

Bree nodded and asked for another cup of coffee. She needed the extra boost of energy if she was to walk around asking about her brother.

“Your pancakes are ready,” the server said before the bell from the kitchen even rang, and she savored the heavenly pillows with delight. Only her Nana could make pancakes that good.

After leaving her side, Bree found the lady on the phone calling someone and sneaking glances at her repeatedly. She shrugged. They were just probably gossiping about her, but she hoped spreading her arrival around town would bring in more information.

A headache pierced her skull, almost pushing her face straight into her half-eaten pancakes. Bree had to clutch the sides of the bar so hard her knuckles turned white.

‘My pills!’ Bree remembered she had not taken her medicine that morning. In fact, she left the entire prescription bottle on top of the kitchen table in her haste to get to the airport.

Sighing deeply and counting to ten, she tried to eliminate the stars she saw behind her eyelids. She needed to find the nearest pharmacy to get a new order.

Unspeakable migraines often precipitated her illness and she could not allow a lapse of judgment to incapacitate her from looking for Bran.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” The old lady touched her arm, and she felt the pain recede almost immediately. “You look pale.”

Bree nodded. “I forgot my meds. Do you have a pharmacy in town?”

“Of course, dear. We’re not that backward here. It’s one of the first things I proposed when we first moved here,” the lady laughed. “Just go into the grocery store and tell them Margie sent you.”

Bree finished the rest of her pancakes with wonder. How old was the town that a woman who looked to be only twenty years older than she had the power to suggest they establish a pharmacy in the area?

She brushed that thought aside because she wanted to know why Margie’s touch relieved her of the pain she felt would have lasted for days without her meds.

Filled with a hearty breakfast and equally pleasant conversation, Bree headed to the pharmacy with renewed vigor.

At the back of the grocery store, Bree found the pharmacist and gave him the information about her medication and the doctor they needed to call for the request.

Grandma Elizabeth had arranged for the ADHD medications to be delivered directly to their home, and they would just automatically come every month without fail, so Bree never saw a need to contact the provider.

“I’m sorry, Miss Stone, but the prescription you spoke of cannot be filled because the doctor’s information you sent me cannot be found in any doctor’s database in the country.”

“What?” She frowned. “He’s been our doctor since we were ten. He must have retired already. That’s the only reason he could be missing. I remember him being an old man. Will you try again and see if maybe someone else took over their medical practice? I’ll give you the address.”

“I can try again, but I’m telling you there is no such doctor and no prescription under your name aside from the birth control you got a couple of months ago.”

“I see. Thank you then. I will try to contact him myself.”

“Sure, we’ll be right here.”

Embarrassed that she knew nothing about her medical details, Bree walked out of the store with her head down, not noticing the curious stares people sent her way.

If she had looked up, Bree would have detected that they seemed to know something she did not.

Another pain shot between her eyes, and this time she had no control as her legs gave way. She reached out for support but was too far from any post or wall, so instead, Bree crumpled to the ground.