Twelve
With a plate of Eliza’s rejected danishes in hand, Sheila made the short trek to Russell’s house.
“I’ve got good news,” he said as he opened the door.
“Oh?” His bubbly optimism was infectious. Even the stern-faced contractor got giddy after hanging out with Russell. “I doubt you can top what I’ve got – Eliza’s apricot danishes.”
He paused, looking down at the offering in her hand. “It’s close, but I still can beat it.”
Russell kissed her, then took her coat and hung it in the closet. Sheila took a seat at the kitchen island, breathing in the smell of fresh coffee.
As much as she loved living in the cottage with Patty, nothing quite beat Russell’s house. It was big, but still cozy. Updated, but not overdone. He kept it so neat, and he always had something to offer – local coffee, freshly baked bread, or extra-sweet fruit he couldn’t wait to share.
If she thought too much about it – about him – reality unraveled around her, like how saying a word too many times made it seem unreal.
She had a boyfriend and he was Russell Westwood. He was gracious, and funny, and distractingly handsome, and, of all things, a famous movie star.
There were still times she’d wake from sleep with a start and it hit her all over again. She was dating Russell Westwood. He was a real person. A real-life dream.
He was hers .
“Unfortunately, I’ve got some bad news, too,” he said, creases forming at his eyes. “Coffee or tea? I just got a new black pumpkin tea. I’ve been meaning to give some to Patty.”
“I’ll stick with coffee for now, thank you.” Sheila stood to get plates for the danishes. “I’ll take the good news first – pairs better with the sugar.”
His face brightened with a smile and she caught herself staring. He’d had to shave his beard for his upcoming movie, and Sheila was still getting used to this new handsome version of him. It made his smiles even more boyish, the mischief always dancing in his eyes.
“I talked to the music supervisor for the movie. She’s made all her selections, and guess whose song they picked for the song when the couple breaks up?”
“Regina Spektor?”
“No.”
“Brandi Carlile?”
“No, it’s not—”
She cut him off with a gasp. “Adele!”
He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile on his lips. “You can’t just keep naming people you like.”
Sheila took a bite of danish. “No, I can. I could go on for hours.”
“Fine, then I’ll just tell you. It was you, Sheila Wilde!”
She shut her eyes. “Russell. You can’t be excited about this. I didn’t earn it.”
He took a seat next to her with a mug of tea for himself and one of coffee for her. “I knew you were going to be prickly about it, so I didn’t mention who you were when I submitted the song.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. I added your song and a bunch of other ideas for consideration all at once. I didn’t say a word. They had no idea who you were, let alone that you’re my girlfriend.”
Sheila smiled. “But still, you passed it along. That’s cheating.”
“It isn’t, because you could just have easily submitted it yourself, except you kept refusing so I had to do it for you.”
He was technically right. She hadn’t wanted to throw her name in because she thought it was so unlikely they’d pick her. If what he was saying was true…
“Your song is going to be in the movie.” He put his arms out for a hug. “ Fangs of Waterloo, here you come!”
She wasn’t going to turn down a hug. She pulled him in and rested her head on his chest. “Yay.”
“I’m going to pretend you said that with some enthusiasm.” Russell pulled back to look at her. “You’d better get to work on finishing the rest of this album, because people are going to come looking for more Sheila Wilde hits and you need to be ready.”
“It’ll be done when it’s done,” she said simply. “I’m not trying to become famous here. You’ve warned me against that.”
“Fine, keep being yourself.” He grinned at her. “I’m so proud of you.”
Steam rose from the coffee mug and Sheila stared at it. There was a time when she would’ve given anything for her ex-husband to say even a curt “not bad” about one of her songs.
She’d been through enough therapy to be able to say, without bitterness, that he was too small of a man to let her be anything, win anything, achieve anything.
Russell, on the other hand, not only wanted the world to see her, he wanted to shout her name from the rooftops.
Water pulled to her eyes. Her nose was hot.
“Thank you.” She looked up, locking onto his clear blue eyes. “I’m happy about the song.”
“But it’s not all you’d hoped it would be?”
She smiled and the tears passed. “It’s more than I hoped it would be, because you’re so happy for me. That’s what matters.”
Russell sighed and pulled her in for another hug. “I’m fine being happier for you than you are. I’ll hold this spot until you’re ready for it.”
“Perfect.” Sheila pecked him on the cheek and picked up her coffee mug. “What’s the bad news?”
“It’s the sea pen, of course.” He picked up a danish and took a bite. “Oh, these are great. Why did she reject them?”
Sheila shrugged. “You know Eliza. The apricots weren’t arranged right.”
He laughed and took another bite. “We’ve got a problem with the lodge.”
“Ah.”
The property Russell and the whale rehabilitation team had secured for the sea pen site was an old fishing lodge. Renovations have been underway to make lodgings for the veterinarian team and staff, and they’d hit problems every step of the way.
“What went wrong now?”
“They found asbestos in the walls. The contractor said we should just tear it down to the studs at this point.”
She groaned. “I’m sorry, honey. That’s going to take forever, isn’t it?”
“Nah, it’s okay!” he said brightly “It’s a relief in some ways. We were trying hard to retrofit everything, but now I can make sure it’s all perfect. They’re getting to work right away. I thought we could fly over today and check on the progress.”
“That sounds lovely.” She paused. “You know, I take back what I said. I love having a personal pilot take us on trips whenever we feel like it.”
“Fame and fortune have already gotten to your head,” he said, arms crossed over his chest.
Sheila winked at him. “I tried to warn you.”
They walked out to the dock to meet Joey, the calm sea framing their view.
“I offered to pay for fuel so Joey can practice flying or have fun, whatever he wants to do,” Russell said.
“That’s nice.”
“Last weekend, he and Eliza apparently went all the way out to Portland and—”
Sheila cut him off. “Excuse me. What?”
“Did Eliza not tell you about it?”
Her eyes could not get any wider. “No! How could you hide this from me?”
“I didn’t hide anything!” He put his hands up. “I thought you knew.”
“This is more interesting to me than both the asbestos and the song put together, and you wait until now to mention it?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Really?”
“Yes! How can you not realize that my daughter going on a flying date with—” She spotted Joey walking down the hill and dropped her voice to a whisper. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Russell laughed and covered his mouth. “Sure. Sorry.”
Joey said his hellos and promptly got them into the air. Sheila managed to resist asking any probing questions, watching as Joey joked with Russell, laughing and carrying on.
Why hadn’t she realized it before? Of course Eliza would like this guy. He was interesting, good-looking, and seemed worldly. Maybe too worldly for Eliza?
Sheila sat silently, thinking of what would happen if Joey hurt Eliza. She’d have no choice; she’d have to mount an argument to Russell as to why he had to be fired.
Thankfully, before her imaginary argument reached a crescendo, they landed. Sheila managed a polite smile to Joey before stepping onto the dock.
They didn’t spend long at the site. They were still mainly in the demolition phase but making good progress. Russell wanted to get her thoughts on the new plans for a dining hall and a spate of guest cabins. She agreed it looked good, and they were off and back on the plane with Joey.
On the way back, she and Russell discussed Lottie’s most recent health report. They, along with the rest of the rehabilitation team, got the reports every month.
Her worries about Lottie taking a turn for the worst at the last moment weren’t coming to fruition. Lottie was eating well and gaining weight. Russell had made sure to upgrade her food supply to the best quality fish and, on the recommendation of a new veterinarian, increased the amount she was getting. The trainers had stopped Lottie’s performances at the park, now focusing on increasing her strength and stamina.
They’d also introduced Lottie to live fish. So far, Lottie had befriended all the salmon placed in her tank, playfully chasing them and letting them swim in her wake.
She was too adorable. Sheila could hardly stand it, and she never would have imagined the joy she’d feel over reading how many tons of salmon an orca had eaten, or how she’d played peek-a-boo with a fish.
Could life get any stranger, or more beautiful?
Her answer came as they flew back to San Juan Island. Waving at her from the cottage’s patio were four women: Eliza, Patty, and what looked like Cora and Mackenzie.
Even though they couldn’t see her up in the sky, she grinned and waved back like a fool.