Blythe stayed in the background, but kept busy refilling tea cups, bringing in more sandwiches, and another tiered plate filled with cookies, while the women got to know one another. They laughed, shared personal histories, and everyone seemed to have a funny story to share. All but Jenny, who appeared to be caught up in the camaraderie, smiling—as though her troubles had been forgotten—almost forgotten. She was about to get the cake when Pam, who seemed to be the spokeswoman for her sorority sisters, rose to her feet.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know you, Jenny, Lavinia, and Maude. Somehow, it feels like in a very short space of time, we’ve all gotten to be friends.”
“Hear, hear,” Lisa chimed in.
“And while the weather might still be frightful,” and as she said that, they heard the rumble of thunder from overhead, which elicited another round of laughter, “the food, and the company, has certainly been delightful.”
Everyone raised their teacups in salute. She took two steps back, and plucked one of the wrapped gifts from the sideboard. “And that’s why I’d like to present this to Jenny.”
Jenny looked up, surprised. “What?”
“It’s just a small token of friendship.”
“A present—for me?”
“Sure. And now that I’ve met Lavinia and Maude, I wish I’d gotten two more,” she said, smiling.
Jenny stared at the thin, square package. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything—just rip off the paper!” Tracy encouraged.
Blythe leaned in to watch as Jenny slid her thumb under a piece of tape and pulled off the wrapping. Jenny took one look at the gift and smiled. “Oh, my—it’s an address book, with a hummingbird on the cover!”
“I’ve already put my address in it. Why don’t you circulate it around the table and get everyone else’s?”
Jenny’s smile could have lit up the room. “Thank you.”
“I can come up with some paper for the rest of you,” Blythe said, and was immediately taken up on the offer. She moved to the sideboard and found a pad and a number of pens and distributed them around the table.
“Here’s another one,” Lisa said, and plucked another present from the pile, handing it to Jenny.
“Again, I don’t know what to say.”
“You might not like it, so don’t say anything until you see it,” Lisa advised.
Once again, Jenny was careful removing the paper from another thin rectangular item. “Oh, my goodness. Thank you.” She smiled, and then held it up—a small book entitled A Hummingbird’s Garden. “My mother was an avid gardener, I always thought I had a brown thumb, but this will encourage me to try my hand at establishing a patch my mother would be proud of.”
Warm applause followed that statement.
It was Lavinia’s turn to rise and select the biggest box from the pile. “This is from Maude and me. Perhaps it will be a welcome addition to your new garden.” She handed the gift to Jenny, who proceeded to unwrap it. Once the paper was removed, her smile widened.
“A hummingbird feeder,” she said, and showed it off.
“We hope you’ll get as many hours of enjoyment from this as the two of us have had with our own,” Maude said.
Jenny opened the last two presents: a hummingbird clock from Amy, and tiny blue hummingbird earrings from Tracy.
“I’m overwhelmed by the kindness all you ladies have shown me,” Jenny began. It was then that Blythe slipped back into the kitchen to grab the cake, but not until she’d lit the ten or so candles that decorated its circumference. She walked slowly into the dining room, carefully balancing the cake stand. She set it down beside Jenny.
“What you ladies didn’t know, is that today is Jenny’s twenty-fourth birthday.”
“Happy birthday,” the six women called out as one, and then there were whoops of laughter and calls of “you go, girl!” Then Pam began to sing Happy Birthday to You and Blythe and the rest of the women joined in.
Jenny’s mouth trembled, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “Thanks—all of you—so much for making what I thought would be a terrible birthday so memorable.”
The applause was enthusiastic and Pam called out, “Make a wish and blow out the candles.”
Jenny clasped the hummingbird charm on the chain, seemed to take a few moment to contemplate the request, and then blew out the candles.
“Yay!” the women chorused.
“Would you like to make the ceremonial cut?” Blythe asked Jenny, offering her the serrated cake knife.
Jenny took it from her and plunged it into the center of the cake and then relinquished it once again.
“What kind of cake is it?” Lavinia asked.
“I thought that would have been obvious,” Blythe said, plopping the first slice on the plate in front of Jenny. “It’s hummingbird cake.”
For a moment, there was dead silence, and then the dining room again rang with laughter.
“Please don’t tell me there are actual hummingbirds in this cake,” Tracy said.
Blythe laughed. “No. It’s sweet nectar that hummingbirds are attracted to. In this case, the sweetness is crushed pineapple and chopped bananas.”
“It tastes heavenly to me,” Pam said, and cut another piece of the slice before her.
“Isn’t it odd that all of us chose to buy Jenny gifts with a hummingbird theme?” Amy said.
“I took my inspiration from the charm on her necklace,” Pam said.
“So did I,” Lisa said.
“Us, too,” Maude affirmed.
“You still haven’t told me where you got it,” Amy said.
Jenny heaved a sigh. “I ordered it from the funeral parlor that took care of my mother.”
Six pairs of eyes blinked.
Jenny reached up, clasping the tiny bird with her left hand. “Some people think it’s morbid.”
Blythe frowned. “Why?”
“Because it’s … it’s memorial jewelry,” Jenny said, looking down at the cake on the plate before her. “There’s a tiny compartment inside that holds cremains.” She forced a laugh. “There’s a little bit of my mother inside.”
“It must bring you a lot of comfort.” Blythe said.
“It does, actually. It means my mom is always with me.”
Blythe smiled. “I’m sure she is. Were hummingbirds a favorite of Caroline’s?”
“Not that I know of. It was the prettiest charm the company offered. For some reason, it just spoke to me.”
“Wow,” Pam finally said.
“Cool, though,” Tracy said.
“What’s really cool, is how we all picked up on it. We all bought Jenny something with a hummingbird on it. Blythe made a hummingbird cake,” Pam said, “and Jenny’s been drinking tea out of a hummingbird cup. Wouldn’t it be ironic if all these hummingbird signs were … well … a sign?”
“You mean from Jenny’s mother?” Amy asked.
“Maybe we’re her final gift to Jenny.”
“If you believe in that kind of thing,” Lisa said skeptically.
“I never would have before today, but I think I do now,” Jenny said, and reached for the charm once again.
“Why don’t you tell us all about your mother?” Lavinia suggested.
“Yes,” the rest of the women offered.
“As Blythe mentioned, her name was Caroline. She was the nicest, most generous woman on the planet, and I’m proud to be her daughter.”
“And I have no doubt,” Blythe said, “that she thought the same of you.”
7
Like any hospitality business, checkout time was always hectic. And it was no different on that particular Sunday morning in early May.
After the wonderful tea the afternoon before, all the guests had gathered in the lobby-living room to watch episodes of The Gilmore Girls. It seems that everyone but the birthday girl was well acquainted with the escapades of Lorelei and Rory Gilmore. But the more episodes they w
atched—with boisterous comments—the more Jenny seemed to identify with at least one of those characters.
The laughter and tears were genuine. And long after the TV and DVD player had been switched off, the women in that room traded stories, ate leftovers, and drank sherry and a couple of bottles of wine that the sorority sisters had supplied.
Blythe was welcomed as “one of the girls,” but the truth was, she simply wasn’t and was content to stand (or rather sit) on the sidelines, witnessing, but not actually participating in the conviviality. And she was called upon to consult the next year’s reservations calendar for the same weekend. She hadn’t taken it seriously that these women actually wanted to convene again the next year until every single one of them offered up her credit card to put down a deposit.
Blythe was often sorry to see her guests leave, but the camaraderie and friendships cemented during the preceding thirty-six hours was unprecedented. And it was with sadness that she bid her guests good-bye—until the next year—giving each and every one of them a sincere good-bye hug.
Returning to the reception desk, she found Martha sitting on the guest ledger.
“You look smug.”
“Bbrupt!” Martha said, and then her gaze traveled to the window that overlooked the garden outside the dining room. There, at the red plastic and glass feeder, was a single hummingbird.
Don’t Miss…
Loraine’s 3rd story in the Tales of Blythe Cove Manor series.
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR
All is quiet at Blythe Cove Manor as its proprietress, Blythe Calvert, anticipates a peaceful weekend with her cat, Martha. But then a taxi pulls up and drops off a troubled, runaway teen looking for a safe haven. Can the magic of Blythe Cove Manor heal this young girl’s aching heart?
GET IT NOW!
From Blythe’s Kitchen
Blythe’s Hummingbird Cake Recipe
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1½ cups vegetable oil (can substitute unsweetened applesauce)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups chopped bananas
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
* * *
Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* * *
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC, Gas Mark 4). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and next 4 ingredients; add the eggs and oil (or applesauce), stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and 1 cup chopped toasted pecans. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased (with shortening) and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).
Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread one cup of the cream cheese frosting over the cake layer. Top with the second layer and spread one cup of frosting over cake layer. Top with the third cake layer, and spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Arrange the toasted pecan halves in a circular pattern over the top of cake.
Frosting:
Beat the butter and cream cheese together with a hand-held electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar in increments. Lastly, beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
* * *
Yield: 12 servings
About the Author
The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent--whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett—that keeps her in the hearts of her readers. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series, the Tales of Telenia adventure-fantasy saga, and now the Lotus Bay Mysteries, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s). Check out the descriptions and links to all her works, and sign up for her emailed newsletter here: http://www.lorrainebartlett.com
You can also find her on Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, and Goodreads.
If you enjoyed A FINAL GIFT, please consider reviewing it on your favorite online review site. Thank you!
Find Lorraine online …
http:www.LorraineBartlett.com
Also by Lorraine Bartlett
Tales of Blythe Cove Manor
A Dream Weekend
A Final Gift
An Unexpected Visitor
* * *
The Lotus Bay Mysteries
Panty Raid (A Tori Cannon-Kathy Grant mini mystery)
With Baited Breath
Christmas At Swans Nest
* * *
The Victoria Square Mysteries
A Crafty Killing
The Walled Flower
One Hot Murder
Dead, Bath and Beyond (with Laurie Cass)
Recipes To Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbooks
* * *
Life On Victoria Square
Carving Out A Path
A Basket Full of Bargains
The Broken Teacup
* * *
Tales of Telenia (adventure-fantasy)
THRESHOLD
JOURNEY
TREACHERY
* * *
Short Stories
Love & Murder: A Bargain-Priced Collection of Short Stories
Happy Holidays? (A Collection of Christmas Stories)
An Unconditional Love
Love Heals
Blue Christmas
Prisoner of Love
We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert
* * *
Writing as L.L. Bartlett
The Jeff Resnick Mysteries
Murder On The Mind
Dead In Red
Room At The Inn
Cheated By Death
Bound By Suggestion
Dark Waters
Shattered Spirits
* * *
Jeff Resnick’s Personal Files
Evolution: Jeff Resnick’s Backstory
A Jeff Resnick Six Pack
When The Spirit Moves You
Bah! Humbug
Cold Case
Spooked!
Crybaby
Eyewitness
* * *
Other Stories
Abused: A Daughter’s Story
Off Script
* * *
Writing as Lorna Barrett
The Booktown Mysteries
Murder Is Binding
Bookmarked For Death
Bookplate Special
Chapter & Hearse
Sentenced To Death
Murder On The Half Shelf
Not The Killing Type
Book Clubbed
A Fatal Chapter
Title Wave
A Just Clause
Poisoned Pages
* * *
With The Cozy Chicks
The Cozy Chicks Kitchen
Tea Time With The Cozy Chicks
A Final Gift Page 4
