In the outback’s fading light, he speaks her name, “Claaa-risss-a,” even though he vowed to let her go. He looks down, sees her lying atop the sacred monolith, her red curls gleaming as they cascade to the scorched brown earth below. He glides toward her, nestles his crest in her tresses, and senses the warmth of her love. Gently, he spreads his wings over her—their bodies, a white, powdery snow dusting the face of Uluru in the Everywhen.
Epilogue
From the Jacksonville Observer, September 2, 1993
Jacksonville, N.C.—Yesterday, the fringes of Hurricane Emily skimmed the lower villages of Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, causing considerable damage with 100-mile-per-hour winds, heavy rainfall, and surging seas.
Island residents from Avon through Buxton and on to Frisco and Hatteras saw water levels up to five feet inside their homes, the highest levels since the hurricanes of 1933 and 1934, according to the National Weather Service. Especially hard hit was the village of Buxton, at the southeastern tip of the island, where locals awoke to uninhabitable houses, destroyed docks, and overturned boats. The stench of overflowing septic tanks and rotting fish filled the air, along with the fresh smell of pine needles from thousands of downed evergreens. Songbirds flew erratically in the sky.
Yet most people along the coast considered themselves lucky. If Emily’s gaping eye—headed straight for Cape Hatteras—had not made that propitious shift to the north, she would have unleashed her fury over the island, then moved up Pamlico Sound, causing further devastation. As it was, the tiny island of Ocracoke and other areas were spared.
Catherine O’Neal, a lifelong resident of Ocracoke, has never left her house during a hurricane. “She was a fickle one, ya know,” she said about Emily’s path. “One day a tropical storm, then a hurricane, then back and forth a couple more times.” She nodded and smiled. “Just like a woman, she couldn’t make up her mind. Was she fixin’ to hug ya or push ya? But she must’ve loved us some. A godsend, it was, when she turned away.”
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Jane Gentry Vance for encouraging me every step of the way through the ups and downs of writing this book. Her helpful suggestions, insight, and optimism kept me focused and made the struggle less arduous.
I am grateful to my agent, Susan Golomb, who offered constructive and invaluable feedback as I revised the manuscript, and also to her associate, Krista Ingebretson, who remained determined, hopeful, and efficient as she searched to find the right publisher for this book. My heartfelt thanks go to Midge Raymond and John Yunker for having the vision, passion, and talent to establish Ashland Creek Press. As innovative publishers, they are courageous enough to do things differently, and I admire them for taking the risk.
Without Steve Duffy’s amazing computer skills, this novel would not have found its way to any publisher’s desk. His generous nature and expertise came to my rescue more than once. In addition, I’d like to thank Harck Pickett for his abundant patience and technical assistance during my moments of panic.
For the inspiration and comfort they’ve given me these past years, my gratitude is extended to the following people: Sherry Holley, Ginger Ford, and Cindy Bloch for their unwavering support of this book and for Sherry’s enthusiastic love of birds; Jean and Allen Porter for the dreamsicle cake every Christmas; Cathy and George McGee for chocolate brownies, Irish humor, and constant kindness; Heike and Irwin Pickett and Carol and Steve Duffy for the many wholesome meals that nourished my body and spirit; Connie and the late Andy Ryan for cocktails and conversation; Jo Ann and Mark Gormley for allowing me to use the names of their family members as the names of characters in my book; Judy Cooper for her genius and empathy; Dotsy and Mike McGown for the loving calls from Germany; Charlotte and Pete Pfeiffer for their support throughout my writing career; Doretha Burton for her sweet words of reassurance from the start; and—above all—Angel, my compañero—for his unflinching belief in Caruso. He has been by my side every step of the way, working with me on revisions, coming up with solutions to problems whenever I was stumped, and following through on the tedious details that had to be resolved before publication, especially the pursuit of permissions. Thank you, my love, with all my heart.
Finally, I am grateful to the authors of the many books I read before I ever put pen to paper. Their knowledge assisted me in creating the other world of my book. The authors and their books are as follows: Mattie Sue Athan, A Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior; David Attenborough, The Life of Birds; Georges Bernanos, The Dairy of a Country Priest; Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country; Petra Deimer, Parrots; Bonnie Munro Doane, The Pleasure of Their Company: An Owner’s Guide to Parrot Training; Bonnie Munro Doane and Thomas Qualkinbush, My Parrot, My Friend: An Owner’s Guide to Parrot Behavior; John O. Fussell III, A Birder’s Guide to Coastal North Carolina; Ruth Hanessian, with Wendy Bounds, Birds on the Couch; Chris Hunt, A Guide to Australian White Cockatoos: Their Management, Care & Breeding; Werner Lantermann and Susanne Lantermann, with Matthew M. Vriends, Cockatoos; Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain and New Seeds of Contemplation; Veronica A. Parry, Kookaburras; Helmut Pinter, The Proper Care of Cockatoos; Marilynne Robinson, Gilead; Roff Martin Smith, National Geographic Traveler Australia; Donald and Lillian Stokes, Beginner’s Guide to Birds and Beginner’s Guide to Shorebirds; Irene H. Stuckey and Lisa Lofland Gould, Coastal Plants from Cape Cod to Cape Canaveral; Zeke Wigglesworth and Joan Wigglesworth, Fielding’s Australia; Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks.
About the Author
Photo credit: Hayward Wilkirson
Gwyn Hyman Rubio is the bestselling author of Icy Sparks, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a 1998 New York Times Notable Book. A national bestseller, the novel was praised as “vivid and unforgettable” (New York Times Book Review) and “a combination of fire and ice that will take your breath away” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Her second novel, The Woodsman’s Daughter, was published in 2005 and applauded as “richly atmospheric and engrossing” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and “set in a world wondrously created and mastered” (Louisville Courier-Journal). A Book Sense Pick by the independent bookstores of America, it was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, was the finalist for the Kentucky Literary Award, and was listed as one of the ten best books of the year by the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Gwyn’s work has been nominated for a Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award and has appeared in literary magazines around the country. She is a winner of the Cecil Hackney Literary Award as well as a recipient of grants from the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
Gwyn grew up in Cordele, a small town in south-central Georgia. Her father, Mac Hyman, wrote No Time for Sergeants. Published in 1954, it was a national and international bestseller and was adapted as a play and a movie, both productions starring Andy Griffith. Gwyn now lives in Versailles, Kentucky, with her husband, Angel, and their rescue dog, Fritz.
Ashland Creek Press is an independent publisher of books with a world view. Our mission is to publish a range of books that foster an appreciation for worlds outside our own, for nature and the animal kingdom, for the creative process, and for the ways in which we all connect. To keep up-to-date on new and forthcoming works, subscribe to our free newsletter by visiting www.AshlandCreekPress.com.
Love and Ordinary Creatures Page 24
