by Terri DuLong
“It was my pleasure, Chloe,” I told her, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I’m glad you’re back in my life.”
“I have to walk Duncan also,” Lucas said. “Would you like to join me over at the Black Dog for a glass of wine?”
“Great idea. I’ll go home and get Annie and meet you at your house.”
An hour later Lucas and I were sitting on the back deck of the Black Dog Bar and Tables, a wonderful glass of Cabernet in my hand and the gorgeous vista of the Gulf spread out before me. A few lights twinkled from boats anchored off shore, and the balmy air completed my sense of well-being.
I looked down at Duncan and Annie curled up beside each other and smiled.
“It’s nice that we can take them here with us when we want to relax with a glass of wine, isn’t it?” I said.
Lucas nodded. “Very civilized. Much like France.”
“I think Chloe will be very happy in her place. Thank you for helping us.”
“I enjoyed it, and yes, I believe she is finding her way.”
“Finding her way,” I said. “You know, when she hugged me earlier I remembered that until she left for college, she was a pretty good sister to me.”
“You think something changed after that?”
“I’m not sure. But yes, I get the feeling that something happened during those four years she was away.”
“What do you mean?”
I shook my head and took a sip of wine. “I don’t know,” I said after a few moments. “It’s a feeling I have—and whatever it was, I don’t think it was good.”
“She met her husband in college, yes?”
“Yeah, she met Parker her senior year and they married right away, that summer after she graduated. I know she had abandonment issues concerning our parents, and I also think there was some jealousy there concerning me—but I think there’s more. Something she’s never talked about.”
Lucas sighed and reached for my hand. “Ah, to have secrets is probably human. Maybe someday she will share hers with you.”
I nodded. “Maybe,” I said, and wondered if Lucas still harbored some secrets.
31
When the first week of March arrived, Monica was home with her triplets, and although I’d gone to Gainesville to visit her and the babies, I was anxious to see them without glass separating us.
I knocked on Aunt Maude’s door and hollered, “All set to go see those babies?”
She opened her screen door holding a beautiful bouquet of fresh-cut flowers. “I am,” she said. “I bet they’ve already grown since we saw them in the hospital.”
“You’re probably right,” I told her, heading to the golf cart.
Monica looked tired but she was glowing when she opened the door. “Oh, I’m so glad you came by.”
“I bet it’s good to finally be home,” I said, following her into the great room.
“Oh, you have no idea. Sleeping in my own bed last night was pure joy. Well, sleeping in between feedings, that is.”
My eyes went to the three identical baby seats lined up on the sofa with three small, identical babies cuddled inside.
“Oh, Monica,” I said softly while walking closer for a better look. “My God, they’re beautiful! And they certainly look alike.”
“What precious little angels.” Aunt Maude stood beside me, a look of awe on her face.
“I know. I can hardly believe they’re mine. Adam and Clarissa are over the moon with excitement. I had all I could do to scoot them both out the door this morning for school.”
I laughed and noticed a large piece of cardboard on the coffee table that looked like a graph with names on it.
“What’s that? People signing up for baby duty?”
Now Monica laughed and nodded. “That’s exactly what it is. My mother’s idea. While I was in the hospital, she went around recruiting people to come by for a couple hours at a time to help out.”
I shook my head. “Leave it to Sydney. Always organized.”
“That’s a very good idea,” Aunt Maude said. “Lord knows you’re really going to need some extra hands with three babies. But she didn’t contact me.”
“I think she thought with your knitting retreats you might be too busy yourself.”
“Nonsense,” my aunt said, picking up the cardboard. “I can certainly volunteer a couple hours on a Tuesday or Wednesday.” She removed an ink pen from her handbag, wrote in her name, and said, “There. I’ll be here next Wednesday from nine till eleven in the morning.”
“Thank you so much, Maude. I really appreciate it.”
“I don’t know a thing about babies,” I said, taking the cardboard. “But I’d be more than happy to come over and do your laundry, vacuum, that sort of thing.”
“Oh, Grace, you don’t have to do that.”
“No, I want to.” I proceeded to fill my name in for two hours the following Tuesday.
“That’s really nice of you. Would you both like some tea or coffee?”
“No, no,” my aunt said. “We don’t want you waiting on us. We only wanted to stop by to welcome you home, and I picked these for you from my garden.” She passed the bouquet to Monica.
“Thank you again. They’re lovely.”
The doorbell rang and we turned around to see Polly.
“Here I am,” she said. “Reporting for baby duty. I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy this way more than working in my hair salon.”
We laughed as she leaned over to look at the sleeping infants.
“We need to get going,” I said. “I can see you’re in very capable hands.”
“Oh, she is. Now I want you to go take a nap, Monica. That’s why I’m here, so you can rest.”
“I have a feeling you guys are going to spoil me rotten.”
“You’re absolutely right,” I told her, heading to the door with my aunt. “See you on Tuesday.”
After we left Monica’s, Aunt Maude needed to stop at the Market for a few items and I decided to pay a visit to Chloe.
I loved the walled courtyard that led upstairs to her apartment. When I reached the top of the staircase I could hear the strains of a Mozart symphony coming from inside and gave a knock on the door.
“Hey,” Chloe said, opening the door and looking happy to see me. “Glad you stopped by.”
I followed her into the living room and was amazed at how much she had accomplished in just a week. Pictures were hung on the walls, furniture was arranged, fresh flowers were in a vase, and all of it had a cozy, lived-in quality.
“Your room looks great,” I said. “You’ve sure been busy.”
“Yeah, but I’ve really been enjoying it. Do you realize—here I am pushing fifty and this is the first time I’ve had a place of my own? At college I had a roommate, and I went from there to the house with Parker. I’ve always lived with somebody else and their decorating ideas.”
“Well, you certainly have an eye for style,” I said. “It looks gorgeous.”
“I love it here. I’m so glad I bought this place. Hey, I was just going to pop over to Lucas’s for coffee. Wanna join me?”
“Sure. Great idea.” I took another look around the apartment before we left. “Oh, there’s one thing missing here though.”
“Really? What?”
“A nice cat.”
“Funny you should say that,” my sister said, following me down the stairs. “I was at the yarn shop earlier and Dora told me that somebody on the island died recently and she had about ten cats. Now they all need homes. I was thinking of going over to see them. Maybe I’ll take one home with me.”
“I bet you won’t be sorry,” I told her as we crossed the street to the coffee café.
“Hey there, you two,” Suellen said. “What’s up?”
“Well, I popped by to see Monica and the triplets. They’re all doing great. And Chloe here just might be getting a cat for her new apartment. Oh, and I’ll have a double latte, please.”
“Just regular black coffee for me,” Chl
oe said.
“I think a cat’s a great idea. I just love my little Freud. He really keeps me entertained. Do you know they’ve done studies on cats? And just by sitting there stroking them, it can lower your blood pressure.”
“Animals are amazing,” I said, joining my sister at one of the tables. “I don’t know what I’d do without my Annie. Has Lucas been busy over on the bookshop side?”
“Not too much. He’s been on the phone a lot this morning doing orders, and don’t tell him I told you, but I think he’s giving some thought to having some author signings.”
I reached for the latte Suellen passed me. “Really? I think that’s a great idea. I’d mentioned that to him when he first opened.”
“Well, Josie’s mom, Shelby, came by earlier and I overheard them talking. Sounded like she was interested in setting something up.”
“That’s great,” Chloe said. “I’d definitely attend. I’ve read all her books.”
I looked up as the chimes tinkled and another customer walked in. She didn’t look familiar, and I knew she was a tourist.
“Hi there,” I said, and saw the look of surprise on her face that I’d spoken to her.
“Oh, hi.”
She might be a tourist but her funky style of dress fit the island. Wearing a long woolen purple cape, tight black jeans, knee-high black boots, and a wide streak of purple through the side of her long black hair, she looked to be mid-forties.
“Do you have lavender tea?” I heard her ask.
“I do,” Suellen said, returning to the counter to prepare it.
I smiled. This woman seemed to have a thing for the color purple.
She sat at the table across from Chloe and me.
“Are you visiting the island for the day?” I asked with my usual friendliness.
“Actually, I’m here for a few days. I’m staying at the B and B.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Chloe said. “Where’re you from?”
“Salem, Massachusetts,” she replied, while removing a cell phone from the oversized black leather bag she’d placed on the chair next to her.
My ears perked up. “Wow! The Witch City?”
The woman laughed. “Yup. I was born in Maine, but we moved to Salem when I was about five. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I do follow some of the Wiccan traditions.”
Suellen placed the mug of tea in front of the woman. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit there. It seems like such an interesting place.”
After taking a sip of the tea, she said, “Very good. Yeah, Salem is quite interesting. The problem is since the town started capitalizing on the witches it’s become too crowded for my liking. Constant tourists visiting all the psychics and witch shops. And Halloween—you don’t even want to be within fifty miles of there. It’s not the Salem I grew up in. Way too commercialized now.”
“That’s a shame,” I said, praying that Cedar Key would never resort to something like that.
She took another sip of tea and nodded. “That’s why I’m on a mission. To find a place to relocate. Someplace where my soul can breathe and I can be one with nature. Do you know what I mean?”
Chloe, Suellen, and I looked at each other and smiled.
“Well, honey,” Suellen said. “You just may have found it.”
“I did a lot of research on the Internet before I came here, and I’m thinking you could be right.”
“What type of work do you do?” Chloe asked. “Do you have an idea how you’d make a living?”
“Oh, I don’t need much, but yeah, in Salem I own a shop. It’s a chocolate shop, but I also sell gems. You know, crystals and that sort of thing. Kinda eccentric combining chocolate and gems, huh?”
I laughed. “On this island? Not at all.”
“I also own a few alpacas so I spin the fiber and sell the yarn on my website.”
“You also knit?” I asked. A woman after my own heart. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who has their own alpacas. That’s really cool.”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m a compulsive knitter. I keep my alpacas at a friend’s place in Hamilton. Jill has plenty of room for them on her property, and it’s only about ten miles from Salem.
“I like you gals,” she said, getting up with her hand outstretched. “I’m Berkley. Berkley Whitmore.”
And I liked this woman’s upfront openness.
“Nice to meet you,” we all told her.
“Berkley. That’s a very unusual name. I like it,” I said.
She waved her hand in the air. “What can I say? My parents were students at Berkeley when I was conceived, and my mom was a product of the sixties. Through and through.”
“So do you have a husband or family?” Chloe asked.
“A few bad relationships, but no husband. I just have my mother now, but she moved to the Cape after my grandmother died last year—but we’ve never been that close, if you know what I mean. So it’s just me and my twenty-pound black cat, Sigmund.”
This woman was getting more and more interesting. She had a cat named Sigmund, and Suellen’s cat was named Freud. When she mentioned her mother, Chloe and I exchanged a glance.
“So what do you think of our island so far?”
“I like it. I like it a lot. Off the beaten path but still close enough to larger towns.” She looked out the window of the coffee café to the empty shop across the street. “Who owns that building over there?”
“I do,” Chloe said.
“No shit?”
Chloe laughed. “No shit. I just purchased it a few weeks ago. I moved into one of the apartments upstairs. Tony’s Restaurant is there. World champion for clam chowder in 2009.”
“You mean to tell me he beat out New England?” Berkley said.
“I’m afraid so,” Chloe told her.
“So what’s that empty shop next door to Tony’s?” Berkley gestured across the street.
“Just an empty shop. Waiting to be leased.”
Berkley remained silent, taking another sip of her tea.
“Hmm,” she said. “Any chance you could show it to me? And do you happen to know of an apartment or cottage for rent on the island?”
Chloe laughed. “Not only could I show you the space, I have an empty apartment upstairs next to mine.”
“I’ll be damned,” Berkley said. “Guess those cards were right after all.”
“You do tarot?” I asked.
“Among many things, and I can see by your aura that you also have a gift.”
Yup, this woman was definitely interesting.
“Okay,” she said, standing up and reaching for her wallet. “Let’s roll. I wanna see that shop and the apartment.”
I waved my hand in the air. “The tea is on the house. My boyfriend owns the shop. Our little welcome to you.”
“That’s really sweet,” she said, and then followed my sister out the door.
32
I was awakened the next morning at six to the sound of Suellen’s desperate voice on the phone.
“Grace! I need your help. I’d never ask you if it wasn’t an emergency. You know that. And you know that Lucas is up in Brunswick for a few days and I don’t know what I’m going to do. It all happened last night and you know I have to be there for Ashley and I really hate ...”
“Suellen,” I yelled into the phone. “Slow down! What on earth are you talking about? What happened to Ashley?”
I heard the intake of a deep breath across the line. “She ... she fell down the stairs at her dorm. She’s in the hospital. It’s a compound fracture to her arm. They have to do surgery and I ... I have to be there with her.”
She ended her sentence with a hiccup, and I knew she was crying. I sat up in bed. “Of course you have to be there. It’s not a problem. I’ll go over to the bookshop and café at ten and open up and stay there till five.”
“Oh, Gracie, thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, and do you think you could come by here this evening and feed Freud for me? I’ll probably be gon
e a few days.”
“I’ll feed him every day that you’re gone. Suellen, do you want me to drive up there with you? Maybe you shouldn’t be driving alone.”
I heard another deep breath come across the line. “No, no. Really. I’ll be fine. It’s just that she only called me a little while ago and I guess I’m still upset. But I’m going to calm down. Then I’ll pack a bag and head up to Georgia. I’ll call you later this evening, okay? And Gracie, thanks again.”
“You drive safe and give my love to Ashley. Stay there as long as you need to. I’ll look after Freud for you and I’ll cover at the café.”
“Okay. Love you,” she said before hanging up.
I sat on the edge of the bed and yawned. Well, the day wasn’t going to be the relaxed one that I’d planned. Oh, well, maybe the bookshop and café wouldn’t be too busy and I could still get some knitting done.
I managed to handle the morning rush pretty well on my own, and by early afternoon I was sitting working on a gorgeous lacy pattern scarf in a soft fiber of bamboo in shades of green.
I looked up as Chloe walked in.
“Hey,” I said. “How’d it go yesterday with Berkley?”
She pulled up a chair to join me.
“Very well. I’d say we have a new resident and merchant moving to the island in the fall.”
“Really? That’s great. So she was interested in the apartment and the shop?”
“Yup. She said the shop was the perfect size and would be ideal for what she wanted. Isn’t that a riot? That she sells chocolate and gems? She showed me a couple photos of her shop in Salem, and it’s very nice. That woman has a gift for presentation. Her store window was gorgeous. And she loved the apartment. Said it would be ideal for her and Sigmund.”
I laughed. “I have a feeling Berkley will fit in quite well on this island. She seems really nice. I’m glad this all worked out for both of you.”
