Veil of Silence

by K'Anne Meinel

  She bought paint for the cabin, an inflatable mattress, and a hunters sleeping bag until the sheets and pillows and cases she also bought could be used. She went to a restaurant and ate as she continued her lists and then hit the stores once again. She was really pleased with the selection and for the first time heard about a place called Appleton and the Fox River Mall that had ‘outlet’ stores. Hearing it was an additional hour south she decided to concentrate on where she was at for now. In short order she arranged for a bed and mattresses for her ‘humble’ home as well as a living room set and a television. She got some of the basics and with all this piled in the back of her new SUV she headed back up the coast hoping she wouldn’t get lost. It was a fairly straight forward ride but confusing to her in the dark as she was unfamiliar with the area. Strangely once she got across the bridge in Sturgeon Bay she had a feeling that she was heading ‘home.’ She was relieved once she hit Northpoint and found the Duck and Swan. Parking on the street she went inside for a well-deserved rest after her full day, she was grateful that her hosts had obviously been in to clean the room and lay down new wood that took only a moment to light. She went to sleep with the screen in front of the fireplace dreamily watching the flames and wondering about her future here in Northpoint.

  The next morning, she checked out of the Duck and Swan and thanked Mrs. Katzenburger for her hospitality. She mentioned she had rented a place outside of town and relieved her host’s curiosity as she mentioned the location.

  “Oh that place, it’s been empty for years. You are going to want to have the heating and vents checked, it gets pretty cold up here,” she supplied concernedly. “I can recommend a handyman if you want,” she offered.

  Amy took her up on her offer, the best people came by recommendation and she knew if her new ‘friends’ recommended them they would probably recommend the best.

  “Oh, you bought a truck?” was the next question-like comment.

  Mr. Katzenburger chimed in on that, “I’m not so sure about them foreign jobs, I personally stick to the adage, buy American.”

  Amy listened respectfully but as it was the first vehicle she had ever purchased herself she was going to stick with it, she was proud of it and that she could afford it. While her hosts had their own opinions she wasn’t going to let them upset her with their comments. As she put the heavy bag containing all her clothes in the back seat she was pleased she still had so much room in the SUV. It all belonged to her though, it was all ‘hers’ and her’s alone. She pulled up in front of her cabin and looked around at the tall trees, the deep layer of years of accumulation below them and breathed in the silence. This was hers. Rented perhaps, but hers. She smiled and began to unload her SUV.

  She swept out the small cabin first, noting the thick logs and wondering if it would be warm enough to get her through the winter. She had no idea if it would and the wood next to the cabin in a neatly stacked pile didn’t look like nearly enough. She didn’t see any other way to heat the small cabin and she thoughtfully swept every nook and cranny from the ceiling to the floor as she eliminated dust and debris from years of having no one in the cabin. She raised a bit of dust herself by her efforts and opened all the windows noting how ‘cool’ it was as she worked. Finally though she felt it was clean enough to haul out the soaps and conditioners she had bought for her wood floors and walls. She started in the kitchen and began scrubbing the walls first and then floors, astonished at the amount of dirty water she soon had in the bucket she used. Throwing it outside beyond the porch, she stretched her back realizing a lot of time had gone by. She would have to leave some of the house for another day if she wanted it to warm up.

  She closed the windows and started a fire in the fireplace only to have the smoke start to choke her out. She tried the flu but that didn’t seem to work well and she wondered if the chimney had something in it. She shrugged; it was too late in the day for her to do anything about it really so she brought her sleeping bag and blew up her mattress. She realized she needed to get the electricity turned on in the cabin and a phone. She made numerous lists as she realized how unprepared she really was. Washing up with cold water she checked and found an electric water heater in a closet in the kitchen so she knew she would eventually have hot water. Having no idea how to turn on the electricity, she shivered in the cold water and rolled down her sleeves and put on a sweater to hide her dirty shirt and headed back into town. She tried another restaurant. This one was a little finer than Chuckies and she felt a little self-conscious in her jeans until she saw other patrons wearing the same.

  “Table for one?” the greeter asked her and she nodded as she was shown to a table near the marina side with a wooden sidewalk separating the window from the actual dock. It was very lovely and picturesque and she was startled out of her reverie when asked for her order. She had to admit she hadn’t looked at her menu and soon ordered the stuffed pork chops, green beans, and applesauce along with a cold glass of milk. She smiled as she realized milk wasn’t that sophisticated but it sounded so good with the rest of the meal she couldn’t resist.

  She looked out at the marina again and noted that she could see and watch the other patrons in the reflections on the windows as she surreptitiously people watched. She wanted to cringe and hide when she saw that brunette that Lenora had introduced to her earlier in the day. What was her name? Abby or something? She could see she was better dressed than the jeans and t-shirt she had worn earlier, in fact she seemed to be dressed ‘up’ but not for going out or anything, just ‘better.’ She glanced back out the window and began to mentally categorize what she needed to do to make her cabin habitable for winter.

  “Mind if I join you?” Amy looked up startled at the voice; she had been lost in thought looking out at the lights in the harbor. She was more startled to realize it was the rude brunette. “I promise I won’t bite...” she smiled and then added softly, so softly that Amy thought she hadn’t heard her correctly, “hard.”

  Amy couldn’t think of a single reason to refuse her and perhaps they had just gotten off on the wrong foot or maybe it was Lenora. She didn’t know how to extricate herself from this awkward situation and she gestured to the second chair and watched as the woman pulled it out and sat down.

  “I’m Abigail Shipman,” the brunette said holding out her hand to be shook.

  Manners drilled into her from birth had Amy reaching across the table taking the hand that was offered. “Amy….” A slight hesitation and then, “Adams.”

  Abby smiled noting the hesitation but not saying anything as she firmly shook the woman’s hand and then said, “Hello Amy Adams, welcome to Northpoint.”

  “Thank you,” Amy said quietly as her hand was released and she returned it back to her lap.

  “What in the world is a woman from the south doing in so cold a climate?” Abby asked with a grin showing she meant no harm with the question.

  “Can I get you anything Abby?” their server was at their table.

  “I’ll have what she’s having,” Abby said with a smile.

  The server grinned in return. “Even the milk?” he asked.

  “Milk?” Abby asked alarmed and then shook her head. “Actually, that’s probably a good thing; just add chocolate to mine if you would.”

  “Chocolate milk then with pork chops, green beans and apple sauce?” he repeated back with a smirk.

  “Green beans?” she asked and the concern in her voice could be heard.

  “The pork chops are stuffed otherwise I’d suggest potatoes,” he was laughing at her and showed it.

  “I’ll take those potatoes, mashed, maybe with a bit of garlic,” she laughed back at him as he wrote down her order.

  “Will do, have it up in a jiffy Chief,” he said with cheerful good humor.

  Abby laughed at herself and Amy watched amused. “You don’t like milk?” she asked.

  “I like it, it doesn’t like me. Lactose intolerance,” she said pointing her thumb at herself before continuing, “But
apparently chocolate milk is okay, something about the lactate being negated by the cocoa bean,” she explained.

  Amy nodded, it made sense. She was fortunate that she had never experienced it herself but she knew people who had and it wasn’t pleasant.

  “So why Northpoint?” Abby got back to her earlier question.

  Amy shrugged. “Somethin’ told me that I should check it out, you’ve got to admit that Door County is beautiful.”

  “That it is as the bajillion tourists we get here every season attest to but unless you are ready for snow and a lot of it you are in for a shocker.”

  Their server brought them two small plates, a pile of butter squares, and a basket of warm sliced bread, putting it down between them with a smile as he turned to head to another table to take their order.

  Amy reached for the bread, she was starving but her hand collided with Abby’s and they exchanged an awkward little laugh as they tugged from both ends, the bread hadn’t been sliced through. They both soon had a slice and used the butter to smooth over the surface of each of their slices, the butter melting almost immediately with the heat generated from the warm bread.

  “I’m hopin’ I’ll make it,” Amy said with confidence she wasn’t feeling.

  “Well that cabin you rented is going to need some work,” Abby said as she leaned back and bit into her bread.

  “How do you know…?” Amy began only to be cut off with a wave of Abby’s hand.

  “Small town, you don’t think Lenora would keep that to herself do you?” Abby’s eyes twinkled as her perfect white teeth bit into the bread again.

  Amy laughed at her own naiveté; of course Lenora would tell all she knew about her. Despite spending many hours together looking at places and discussing things Amy had told her relatively little about herself. It had frustrated the older woman no end. Besides, renting a place that had no takers for a couple of years would be a feather in her real estate cap. “Well, I suppose not,” she conceded gracefully. Her own mouth watered at the delicious bread she was eating.

  “You gonna heat it with wood?” Abby asked knowingly.

  Amy nodded and then asked, “You know anyone I can buy some good hardwood from?”

  “Hardwood?” Abby asked feigning that she didn’t understand.

  “Hardwood’s burn cleaner and I don’t want to gum up the chimney,” she drawled, her southern accent sounding very becoming to the brunette’s ears. “I’d like a few cords of wood if I could get them and I need a chimney cleaner,” she added.

  Abby smiled, this wasn’t some wilting wallflower from the south but some steel magnolia she had heard tell about. She obviously knew she would need wood and a lot of it from what she was saying. Good, she hated when people were ill-equipped to move into the area and got themselves in trouble. “Well for hardwoods I’d contact Jacob Meyers, he’s in the book and has cords he will deliver.”

  “How many do you think I should buy?” Amy asked as she finished her first piece of bread and unashamedly reached for another.

  “You have to figure at least one cord of wood for every month of winter and then some,” Abby told her as she too reached for another piece so she would get her fair share. The redhead knew how to eat!

  “How many months of winter do you all get up here?” she drawled.

  Abby grinned, a slight wrinkling of her nose and around her mouth showing she appreciated the question. “Depends, but it’s in the air so I would suggest you give Jacob a call and see about having him deliver that wood for you. He has others so you don’t want to wait. As to cleaning out your chimney I’m sure Jacob can recommend someone, the last one that I knew that did it regular moved away.”

  “Got sick of the snow?” Amy asked with a grin as she finished her second piece and reached for her third and final.

  Abby shrugged. “There was probably not enough business for him and I’m sure he didn’t work too hard,” she told her as she grabbed the last piece, the heel of the bread before Amy could gobble it up.

  They chatted back and forth getting to know each other through their delicious meal. Amy wasn’t surprised that the woman asked more questions than she answered but she was prepared for those questions anyway. She wasn’t prepared for one though.

  “You still interested in my store?” Abby asked.

  Amy shrugged. “I thought you weren’t interested in sellin’ it?” she asked as she enjoyed the flavor of the apple sauce, it was an excellent accompaniment to her stuffed pork chops and green beans.

  “I might be to the right person; Lenora is right but don’t tell her I said so. I’m not interested in running it and it’s almost like every other store in town. It’s been going downhill since Gramps and Grandma passed on. They were the draw anyway.” She shrugged.

  “Was it your grandparent’s place?” she asked genuinely interested with a gleam in her green eye.

  Abby nodded. “Yes, once they were gone I just simply had no time, but we live next door so it was convenient and I didn’t want it just gone. It’s time though.”

  “If it’s not too much to ask, what about your siblings or parents, wouldn’t they be interested?”

  “It’s not a secret, I never got along with my parents, they live across the bay in Oconto.”

  “Ocont what?” Amy asked, grinning unrepentedly at mashing up the name.

  Abby laughed at her attempt at the Indian name. “Oconto, it’s a town on the mainland. They live there, I live here, and we are all fine with that. Besides Gramps left it to me to take care of Grams and I did until she passed too. I love it here and my children were born and raised here.”

  “Children? I met your daughter,” she mentioned as she delicately wiped her mouth.

  “Heather?” and at Amy’s nod she continued with a prideful grin, “Yeah she’s something, but Bailey is a bit of handful, he’s ten now and full of pre-teen mouth and angst.”

  Amy laughed as she was supposed to and Abby’s eyes were drawn to her.

  “Do you have children or a husband?” Abby asked noting the faint white line that time hadn’t erased from her left hand.

  Amy didn’t hesitate even a moment as she shook her head. “No, I’m a widow and we were never blessed with children.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, you’re young to be widowed,” she observed.

  Amy nodded her thanks but didn’t say anything as she looked sadly down at her plate.

  “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories?” Abby asked concernedly.

  “Did you ladies want desert?” their server came up to ask as he took their finished plate’s one by one.

  “I’ll have carrot cake if you have it?” Amy asked with a small shy smile.

  “We do,” he assured her returning the smile before turning to Abby. “And for you Chief?” he asked with a saucy little grin.

  “I’ll have some chocolate cake with chocolate frosting if Lance baked it but if Tasha did I’ll have carrot cake instead,” she told him, smirking at his grin.

  He nodded as he toted their used dishes away.

  “Small town I guess everyone knows everyone else eh?” Amy asked hoping to avert the brunette’s apology and forget what they had been talking about.

  “Yes, it’s a blessing and a curse. The tourists make it all interesting though,” Abby told her and while she had noted the change of subject she didn’t bring it up again. “What would you do with the store if I let you have it?” she asked instead.

  Amy had seen the other stores in town and noted what they lacked, touristy items were fine and they were well supplied in the other stores. She herself would carry…some. But she wanted a little more than that and began to discuss it with Abby who proved to be a good listener and nodded as they ate their carrot cakes, apparently Tasha had baked today.

  “Wow, it sounds like you know what you are talking about,” Abby said as she finished the last morsel of her cake and the delicious icing.

  Amy nodded. “My parents had a small fishin’ place on the Gu
lf when I was growing up,” she confided and then blushed.

  “You didn’t want to work there?” Abby asked noting the blush on the redheads face.

  “They passed away and the bank and my brother sold it before I could say yes or no,” she told Abby and looked away.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Abby found herself apologizing again and for some reason it irritated her.

  Amy looked up straight into those soft velvety brown eyes. She had been more forthcoming with this woman and she didn’t know why. “They were old; they had me and my brother late in life but in the end it didn’t matter as neither the bank nor my brother got the proceeds after my Grandmother’s lawyer stepped up. It all went into a trust.” She grinned ruefully and shrugged at life’s intricacies.

  “You seem to have had a lot of loss in your life,” Abby commented as she finished her chocolate milk. It left a cute little moustache on her upper lip.