The Snake and the Rabbit Ch. 03

Finally, things were starting to come together.

Winslet had managed to procure a couch and a bed—a real bed!—a dresser, a couple side tables and groceries. She was delighted to find things were starting to come together. Max had claimed the top of the couch for his own and basked lazily in a sunbeam, purring contentedly. Winslet smiled, her hands on her hips as she admired her handy work.

A fresh coat of paint had changed the lighting in the room dramatically, and she felt far more awake and alive. Not to mention she had the added bonus of watching burley delivery men as they hauled her new furniture into her house, their muscles bulging and sweat dripping down their backs. She was almost certain one of them had been checking her out. She had no intention for quid-pro-quo, but she wasn't unthankful for the confidence boost.

There was a sharp knock on the door, and Winslet brushed her hair off of her forehead before going to answer it. She figured it was probably one of the delivery boys coming back because he'd forgotten something.

She found the door slightly ajar, and the validity of her suspicion faltered. If it was one of the boys, why hadn't they just come back in, or called out to her? Maybe they were just being polite?

When she opened the door, she was surprised to find a nun standing there.

She was a pretty young thing, with rosy cheeks and blond hair peeking out beneath her habit. She smiled up at Winslet from the landing, her hands holding a book in front of her against her thighs.

"Hello, good afternoon" she chirped. Winslet frowned and started to close the door.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really interested in being involved with any church right now-"

"Oh, that's quite alright. Just a moment of your time is all that I ask for."

Winslet nearly rolled her eyes, but she was too kind to just tell anyone to bug off. This girl was a person, too, and she deserved some respect. Especially if she had come all the way out to Winslet's house. The thought struck Winslet suddenly, and she opened the door a little further. She managed a moment to curse her curiosity.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" She asked, a little surprised now that it was dawning on her. She didn't live exactly close to Indiantown, and that was where the only church was for quite a ways.

"Well, it has come to our attention that you've arrived here, and it was my duty to come and greet you as well as welcome you to the neighborhood." Winslet leaned back, a little perturbed by her strange phrasing. She waffled for a moment back and forth between being polite and being disturbed, before her better side gave out.

"You've come a ways, why don't you come inside? I just went grocery shopping, I have lemonade if you'd like some."

The girl smiled. "Oh, I'd be delighted!" Her cheeriness was a little suspect, so as Winslet stepped aside to let her in she made sure to look out into the driveway. There was only her Jeep, and was that a scooter? She furrowed her brows, but closed the door behind the pleasant young woman without saying anything about it.

"I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten to introduce myself!" The girl babbled as she followed Winslet into the kitchen. "My name is Emma."

"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you, Emma." Winslet pulled a new glass out of her cupboard and the lemonade from the fridge. "So, this is quite a ways from Indiantown," she pressed as she poured her guest a glass.

"Oh, it's no trouble, Miss Tremblay. Once we saw in the town registry that you had moved in, we knew immediately that we had to come and say hello."

"You know my name?" Winslet asked, starting to get a little creeped out as she handed Emma her drink. Looking at her face, though, she seemed so genuine. Something about her made Winslet feel at ease.

"Of course!"

"But, how?"

"The town registry," Emma reminded, taking a drink of her lemonade and turned to look around the room. "It's really lovely in here, are you redecorating?"

"Did my dad tell you to look out for me, or something?" Winslet walked around the breakfast nook to stand in the living room, watching Emma cautiously.

"Your father? Oh no," Emma shook her head, turning to gaze at Winslet. Her eyes were wide and blue, but with all the strange things she had said they were not nearly as comforting as they had been.

"Look, I think you should leave," Winslet suddenly said, feeling uneasy. Emma's wide eyes grew wider. "You're starting to creep be out."

"Oh, gracious, no, I'm so sorry!" She set down her cup and rushed toward Winslet, who tensed, but she simply grasped both of her hands in hers. "You must understand, that was not my intention!"

"Well, what else did you expect!?" Winslet cried out, feeling nervous. She pulled her hands away and took a step back. It was clear this girl wasn't trying to hurt her, maybe she was just one of those weird ultra-religious types who grew up in a strange social setting. Still, Winslet didn't want to be involved with all of that. "You barge in here, telling me that you know my name and apparently that the Baptist church has some kind of access to that sort of thing, which isn't that illegal? I mean, do they have access to other information? Maybe moving here was a bad idea-"

"I'm not from the Baptist church," Emma inserted. Winslet furrowed her brows, about to snap back at like she was crazy.

"What? Then what's with the nun getup?" Alarms started really going off in her head, and she could feel her hands shaking. This was turning out to be a really unfortunate situation.

"I'm from a... different church," Emma spoke slowly, baking away to give Winslet more room to breath. They continued to stare at each other, both anxious for different reasons.

"Does that matter?" Winslet squeaked, her breath getting caught in her throat. This was just too weird.

"To you, I think it will. Not now, maybe, but later," Emma spoke calmly. She sighed, suddenly looking downtrodden. "I've really effed this up," she muttered under her breath. It would occur to Winslet later how strange it was to hear a nun nearly swear. "It may be better to think of us as a secret society of sorts."

"Look, please just leave. This is already weird enough as it is. I don't even know you." Winslet began to lead Emma toward the door, thankful she was following her and eager to get her out of her house.

"We would really appreciate it if you just paid a visit, just one little visit is all we ask for," Emma spat out quickly as Winslet gestured out towards the strange nuns electric scooter.

"I already told you, I'm not interested. Now go," she barked. Emma cast her eyes down and quickly scurried out of the house. She turned back to say one more thing, but Winslet didn't give her the chance. She slammed the door and locked it as fast as could.

She braved her hands against the thick wood for a moment, before letting out most of her built up tension with a large sigh when she finally heard the scooter buzz away.

"That was too weird," she murmured to herself. She made sure to lock all off her doors and windows that night.