Re-Imprint

"Excuse me,” I mumbled, pushing through the people on the crowded street. I doubted they had even heard me, but politeness had been drilled into me at a young age. I put my head down and kept walking.

There were puddles of rain everywhere, and as I crossed the street I hopped over one, my rain boots clunking loudly on the pavement. It had rained for two days straight, the deluge so bad that lower valleys had flooded. I had never been happier to live on a hill. The sun had finally come out, but the temperature was extremely low, my breath fogging in front of my face. I readjusted the hat on my head and shoved my hands farther into my pockets.

“Nessie! Renesmee, come here!”

I stopped short in my tracks, a young girl of about six or seven standing in front of me. She looked up at me, her cheeks dimpling in a wide smile, her copper curls bouncing in the sunlight.

“Hi,” she said softly. It sounded like bells.

I felt slightly dazed and shook my head before bending down to the girl’s height level.

“Hello,” I smiled at her. This close up, I could see that her eyes were a dark, chocolate brown. “How are you?”

“I’m very good, thank you.”

“Well, what manners you have. But I’m sure your mommy or daddy must be worried about you. Do you know where they are?”

“There you are! How many times have I told you to not go ahead of me?”

I looked up, and for the second time felt like I had been hit with a sledgehammer. A woman was standing there, a scowl set firmly in her beautiful features. Even though she looked angry, she was the most dazzling person I had ever seen. I vaguely wondered if there were models in town doing a photo shoot.

“I just wanted to come hi,” the young girl pouted.

I stood back up, desperately trying to clear the shock and fog from my brain. The woman glanced at me and finally smiled. The white of her teeth was blinding.

“Hi, I’m Bella and this is my little sister Renesmee. Sorry about that. She likes to wander sometimes.”

My eyes flicked back and forth between them, registering the similarities in their features.

“Oh, it’s no problem,” I stuck my hand out and smiled. “I’m Joey. It’s nice to meet you.”

She shook my hand up, her grip surprisingly strong for someone so delicate looking. She flipped a lock of her shiny dark hair and adjusted her purse.

“What about me? Is it nice to meet me?” Renesmee piped up.

I bent back down to her level again and grinned.

“Well, of course it is.” I looked to the right and then the left, and motioned her forward. “I have an idea. There’s an ice cream parlor right around the corner.”

Her eyes light up instantly then shot to Bella’s face. She had a knowing smile across her features.

“Do you want to go get some? As long as it’s okay with your sister, of course.”

Renesmee’s lower lip jutted out and her eyes went even wider, pleading with Bella silently.

“Can we? Please?” she begged.

Bella rolled her eyes and sighed. “Sure, why not?” she laughed.

“Then what are we waiting for?” I held my hand out, and Renesmee took it, her little fingers squeezing tightly. I started to skip and she followed. Bella’s twinkling laughter reached my ears, and I grimaced. I didn’t sound like that. I didn’t even know someone could. We turned the corner and I pulled Renesmee to a stop. “Here we are. Marvin’s Ice Cream Shoppe.”

I opened the door, the wind chime hanging there announcing our arrival.

“Joleen Peters, are you back again?” A woman in her sixties was behind the ice cream bar, a warm smile lighting up her face. For as long as I could remember, she had always worked at Marvin’s.

“Hiya, Mae,” I smiled. “I brought some newbies in.”

I walked over to the counter, sat down, and patted the booth next to me. Renesmee scrambled up and plopped down. A few seconds later Bella took the other seat next to her.

“Can we get two strawberry sundaes, please?” I glanced over at Bella and she shook her head.

“The usual? Okay,” Mae smiled, and then went to work on the sundaes, pulling out bowls and spoons.

I turned to Bella and grinned. She had a twinkle of amusement in her eyes and she shook her head.

“I’m guessing you come here a lot?” She asked, a light laugh in her voice.

“Only two or three times,” I shrugged. “A week.” I shrugged off my coat and let it hang over the back of the chair. “It’s been around for as long as I can remember. Marvin, the owner, may have died and it’s under new management, but the ice cream tastes the same.”

“Two strawberry sundaes.” Mae set them down in front of us, the strawberry sauce leaking over the rim of the bowls. “Enjoy.”

Renesmee dug into hers with fervor, and I stifled a laugh.

“So, are you guys new to the area? Almost everyone has been to Marvin’s before,” I asked.

“Actually, we are,” Bella confirmed. “Just moved here about a week ago.” She propped her elbows up on the counter and rested her chin in her heads. “We pretty much decided we needed a change of pace. And Nessie here seems to like it, so I guess it has all worked out.”

“Is it just the two of you, or did your whole family move?” I scooped up some ice cream and popped it into my mouth, almost moaning at the sweet strawberry sauce and smooth ice cream. “Are you sure you don’t want one of these? It’s so good.”

Her eyes flicked to Renesmee’s almost empty bowl in distaste, and her upper lip pulled back a little. It was barely noticeable, but I caught it.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged. “So—“

The chimes on the door rang again and all three of us looked up. A weary, stressed looking man ran in and made a bee-line for Renesmee and Bella. There were dark circles under eyes, the shadows so intense they looked like bruises and his bronze colored hair was sticking up in every directions. But my breath still caught. It was unfair how amazing all three of them looked standing by each other.

“Bells, he’s back.”

Her eyes went flat, growing hard and shiny and she hopped down from the seat. Renesmee’s head popped up as well, but her eyes went huge and excited.

“I’m sorry to cut our chat short Joey, but we need to be going.” She pulled out a pad of paper and pen from her purse and quickly scribbled down something. “Here’s my number. Call me and maybe we can do something.”

She grabbed Renesmee’s hand and yanked her down from the seat. The poor girl almost fell to the ground. They left, the door the parlor slamming shut louder than I had ever heard, the bells on the chime sounding too loud and harsh.

And when I looked out the window to watch them walk away, nobody was there.