Chapter Thirty
A week had gone by, and Rosemary and Tug had spent every sunny day working through the rubble at the diner. Once they’d cleared away some of the big stuff with the help of Paul and his equipment, they even let Amanda and the kids get in on it.
They recovered one of the framed shell letters, and it was even legible, which was a miracle in itself.
Then they uncovered The Wife’s cage that had been out on the back deck in the gazebo. Made of wrought iron, it was fairly indestructible, but there were a few bent rods.
“What’s that?” Rosemary asked.
“A pile of menus. They’re laminated. Don’t guess I’ll be needing them.”
“You should save at least one for a keepsake. We could frame it or something.”
He placed one in the keep pile. They’d been at it for a couple of hours this morning.
Paul had brought over a pallet for anything they were going to keep so they could easily lift it with the skid steer and move it with the truck.
A dumpster was on site for the unsalvageable, and Paul had also brought a stack of cardboard boxes for whatever could be donated.
“Oh my gosh, is this what I think it is?” Rosemary held up a green soda shop–style milkshake mixer. An antique by now. “This is the old-fashioned kind. I love milkshakes.”
“That was one of the first things I splurged on when I started my diner. I used to make the best milkshakes around.”
“Then you still do, because Hurricane Edwina may have ruined the milk-shaker, but she didn’t steal your recipes or your memories. Is milk-shaker a word? Probably not, but you know what I mean. I insist you treat me to a milkshake soon.”
“Your wish is my command.” He bowed.
“Joke all you want. All we have is just this very moment. We’re not promised anything more. So we need to get what we want while we can.”
“Milkshakes tonight, then.”
“I can wait that long.”
“Thank goodness.”
He was teasing, and she knew it, but she couldn’t help commenting further. “I guess if I made a comment like, ‘Moments are comprised of either actions, thoughts, dreams, memories, or choices. It’s up to you what you focus on,’ you’d tell me you’d already heard that speech. Great…now I forgot the real point I was going to make. But yes. Milkshakes tonight.”
“What are your priorities, besides milkshakes, at the moment?” he asked.
Love. Joy. Gratitude. Peace. “I want peace in my heart. I want to feel like what I’m doing makes a difference for the people around me. I want to feel like I belong.”
“Do you think it’s smart to let the diner go?”
“I believe you’re making the right decision. This is your season to have some fun, and you can. You’re in great health. Nothing is holding you back now but you.”
“What about The Wife? I can’t just abandon her. Birds aren’t like cats. They need a lot of attention.”
“I think you could count on friends to watch after her or board her over at Paul’s. I’m sure he’d give you the family discount.”
“True.”
“Or if I’m around, I can help,” she said. “The Wife seems to like me.”
“You’d do that?”
“Absolutely. It would be my pleasure.”
He seemed to like the idea. “I might take you up on that.”
“Good. I hope you will.”
“Actually, it’s kind of nice timing to get that piece of information. Turns out I have to drive into Norfolk tomorrow for a meeting. Would you mind hanging out at my place? You don’t actually have to do anything for her. She’s pretty self-sufficient. She just needs some company throughout the day.”
“Sure. I can do that. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Fine. I was feeling kind of bad about leaving her all day. This will be better.”
“What time do you need me there?”
“I’m going to leave early. I’ll leave a key under the mat on the back stair entrance. Come on over whenever you get up and moving around.”
“That works out pretty nicely. I traded out a novel at the Little Free Library. Now I can relax on your deck, listen to the ocean, and read. It’ll be like a vacation. Oh, wait. Every day here is like a vacation.”
“I love your sense of humor, and I appreciate your help. Thanks.”
They worked a while longer, but the day was a scorcher. “How about we rest in the shade for a while?” he suggested.
“I’m not sure how much longer I can keep going.” She brushed her bangs from her face. “I need to put some more sunscreen on.”
They sipped cool water under the umbrella that Paul and his team had set up for them. “Was it ever this hot in Hawaii?”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” She pressed her cold bottle of water against her neck.
“Do you miss it?”
“Sometimes. I lived there most of my life. Fifty years. But the farm was more than I wanted to handle without Kai. I know I did the right thing.” She laughed. “I’ll admit I kind of stalk the new owners on social media, though. They are doing a really good job. They’re still doing the tours we used to do and starting some new traditions with community crafts and things like that. It’s good.”
“I bet it was hard to leave.”
“It was. I stayed probably longer than I should have, but healing is a process. We can get discouraged and impatient with ourselves. We’re so used to everything being a quick fix, and you can’t fast-track grief.”
“No, I don’t suppose you can. I think you can make the mistake of not dealing with it right away.”
“I think that happens a lot.”
“What was it like? Your life in Hawaii.”
“Oh gosh. There was never a dull moment. It was a pretty big macadamia farm. We employed a lot of people. We had some goats. It was a fairy-tale life. We worked that farm our whole married life together.”
“Goats? Really?” Tug seemed amused. “I used to think I wanted some goats. My grandpa raised them.”
“I can’t picture you as a goat farmer.” She considered it. “Like, not at all.”
“Just a couple as pets. Gramps always had a few bottle babies. They followed me around like puppies. I got a huge kick out of them.”
“It’s hard not to fall in love with them,” Rosemary agreed. “I have some good memories like that too.”
“Did you ever work off the farm?” Tug asked.
“No. Never had to. We were really blessed with a good business, and I loved being a part of the entire process.” It had been a wonderful life. She wouldn’t have traded those days for anything. “I have some good macadamia recipes too. I’ll have to make you some of them.”
“I’d like that.”
“You’re making me do all the talking,” she said. “I want to know more about you. Tell me about the diner. Were you always an expert in the kitchen? Was it your lifelong dream to own a restaurant?”
“No. Not at all. I was just a kid who grew up on the beach. Made money in my early years crabbing off the coast here. Later, I was a fishing guide for a little while. Then I worked with a commercial fisherman and eventually got my own boat and sold fresh catch to the restaurants right from the dock.”
“How did the diner happen, then?”
“Mr. Carr used to own the pier. He was my dad’s best friend. He never had kids of his own, but he always welcomed me to tag along with them. Back then, the diner building was a bait and tackle shop for the pier. He fronted me the money to start crabbing as a teen, then for my first boat too. Dad lived paycheck to paycheck. We didn’t have much, and my mom died when I was only twelve. It was just me and Dad.”
“I’m so sorry. That had to be hard.”
“It didn’t seem so bad, although when I see Jesse with Amanda, I wonder how it might have been to have a mom’s influence too. But she raised me right while she was alive. She was a stickler for manners.”
“That’s sweet. You have excellent manners. It’s something I noticed about you right away.”
“When Mr. Carr died, he left me the bait and tackle shop. I had every intention of continuing to run it just like he had, but I was there all day and never had time to eat right, so I opened a lunch counter out of self-preservation, and it just sort of took off. Slowly, the bait and tackle area got smaller and smaller until I sold it off to a kid with a kiosk who sold it from the pier. Worked out for everyone.”
“That’s an incredible story. You didn’t even know you wanted to cook.”
“Nope. I’d cooked for my dad growing up, but I didn’t even realize I was good at it. I was just doing what needed to be done. I loved having a meal for Dad when he got home from work. I guess that’s where I first started enjoying cooking. Never really thought of that before.”
“Tug, I think I need to call it a day. It’s just getting hotter out here.”
“I think that’s a good plan. I’ll leave that key under the mat for you for tomorrow.”
“That’ll be great, and I’ll fix something so you’ll have a nice meal when you get home.”
“No one has ever done that for me before.”
“Well, I’d say you’re overdue for the special treatment, sir.”
I don’t mind one bit being the one to do that.
They parted ways, and Rosemary went back to Amanda’s house. Amanda was working on some new herbal salt recipes when she got there, and the two of them decided to try them out on a new recipe in the kitchen.
“This smells so fresh.” Rosemary held it to her nose again. “And it has a little zest to it. Maybe zest isn’t the right word…. More like spicy hot?”
“It’s got a little bit of bay leaf, savory, and chili pepper. I had to play with it a long time to get the right blend so it’s not overpowering. I can’t wait to try it out.”
“It smells really nice. What are we going to try it on?”
“I was thinking chicken tonight.”
“Let’s do it,” Rosemary said. “I’ll make gravy and some stuffing to go along with it.”
“The kids will love that, and how about we do some one-pan macaroni and cheese? Have you ever made it? It’s so easy, and it’s Jesse’s absolute favorite.”
“I’ve always made macaroni and cheese from a roux over cooked noodles and then bake it.”
“You are in for a treat.”
Rosemary and Amanda worked on dinner together, and the kids were a great test kitchen addition. They had clearly been put to the test before and didn’t hesitate trying the new dishes.
“They eat so good,” Rosemary said, surprised. “Most kids will complain about anything new.”
“I’m so blessed,” Amanda said. “They are the best.”
Hailey held her hands up like a halo over her head, and then Jesse did too.
“And smarty pants. Did I mention they are smarty pants?” Amanda teased.
They giggled and gave Amanda the thumbs-up on the new product.
The next morning, Rosemary got up early and walked the beach with the kids and Denali, and then she went down to Tug’s house. The key was under the mat, just as he’d promised. She walked inside and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water to take out on the porch with her.
A piece of paper lay on the counter. He’d left her a note. She could imagine his voice as she read it.
Rosemary,
I made a fresh batch of chicken salad for you. It’s on the second shelf of the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy it. There are crackers in the pantry. That’s the way I always eat it when I’m alone, but there’s bread in there too. Make yourself at home.
Thank you again for giving The Wife some attention while I’m away. I appreciate it, and she will too.
Hope to see you tonight, but if you need to leave, just pull the door closed behind you and I’ll talk to you soon.
Tug
“You are one sweet man.”
She went out on the deck and struck up a conversation with The Wife about everything from Hawaii, to Nina, to how The Wife felt about watching the squawking seagulls dip in and out of the ocean. The Wife was a chatterbox today, and it was a lot more fun than she’d expected it to be.
“I’m going to be right over here reading my book. We’ll talk in a little while.”
Rosemary settled into one of the chairs to read. It was nice with just the sound of the ocean in the background.
The Wife would occasionally whistle over to Rosemary and say, “What are you doing?”
Rosemary felt obliged to answer, and no matter what her response was, The Wife would say, “Okay. That’s nice.”
Later, as Rosemary was eating lunch, she turned on some music. The Wife joined in, singing a couple of the songs.
Ever since Rosemary had found the shell, she’d thought about that Miranda Lambert song “Bluebird.” She loved the lines “I’ll keep a light on in my soul, keep a bluebird in my heart.”
“This is one of my favorite songs,” Rosemary said to The Wife, then pressed Play. The Wife seemed to like it, so Rosemary played it again, and when the music stopped, The Wife made a loud clucking sound.
“Do you want me to play it again?”
The Wife seemed to want an encore, so Rosemary said, “Play the song?” Of course, the bird didn’t answer, but that’s what she seemed to want, so Rosemary played it again. She repeated the process two or three times until, during the chorus, The Wife sang out, “I’ll keep a light on in my soul!”
“You sang it!” Rosemary was so delighted she could hardly contain herself. And she didn’t. She danced around, celebrating, while The Wife bobbed on her tree limb.
Rosemary later went inside and fixed pork chops and scalloped potatoes for Tug. She had no idea when he’d be getting home, but it would be a nice gesture that he’d appreciate.
If he called to let her know he was almost back, she could have it warm for him. She seasoned some green beans. “Got to have your veggies.”
“Got to have your veggies,” The Wife called from outside.
“Are you eavesdropping on me?” Rosemary teased as she put the finishing touches on the dinner. She covered it and wrote a note with reheating instructions for Tug. Not that he’d need them. Then she walked outside to say good night to The Wife before she left.
“Play the song. Wooo-oo-oo-oo-ooo.”
“You silly bird. You sound just like the intro to it. You are a trip. Okay, one more time, and then I have to go home.”
Rosemary picked up her phone and found the song again, then hit Play. As it began, The Wife echoed the “ Wooo-oo-oo-oo-ooo” and swayed to the music. Rosemary raised her arms and glided around the deck, singing the chorus.
“I’ll keep a light on in my soul!” The Wife sang her part too.
“Keep a bluebird in my heart,” Rosemary sang out.
The song came to an end, and she felt a rush of joy. She had a bluebird in her heart today.
A slow clap came from behind her.
She jumped and spun around. “Tug? How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough to hear a nice duet. Well, I guess we should give the singer on the phone some credit. A trio.”
She covered her mouth.
He shook his head. “Don’t go shy on me now.” He grabbed her hand and danced her around the deck.