Chapter 19
Nora
There’s definitely a pattern.
I yawn as I read through yet another column Grandma wrote for the Budgie Bay Gazette. She signs them off all the same no matter the season or year.
The strawberries are ripe and ready for picking, Amos. Grab some chocolate on the way home.
My coffee has gone cold and I chuckle to myself. In New York, I never let coffee go cold. I guzzled it while burning my throat most days because I was always on the run. Now that I’m in Budgie Bay and officially unemployed, life has dramatically slowed down for me.
A soft knock on my bedroom door has me straightening in bed. “Come in.”
Elias peeks his head in. Clo, upon seeing him, stretches his wings in greeting. “Ready for a big day of cleaning out the cottage?”
I set the laptop down beside me in bed. A trickle of warmth makes its way through me as he swaps out my mug for a freshly filled, hot one full of coffee just the way I like it. I’m sure Denver had my coffee order saved in his phone, but he never made it for me like this.
Why are you comparing Denver to Elias?
I shove that thought away and smile at him. “Ready. Well, after I take my time drinking this glorious cup of coffee you just brought me.”
His lips quirk up on one side. “Slow mornings are the best. No one can ever change my mind.” He shifts on his feet and then murmurs, “Kind of weird watching the sun come up without you, though.”
My heart does a weird fluttering thing and heat dances over my flesh. “I’ll be there tomorrow. Got caught up reading Grandma’s columns.”
I sip my coffee and then grab the laptop to show him, pointing at the last line.
“The strawberries are ripe and ready for picking, Amos. Grab some chocolate on the way home,” Elias says, frowning. “I don’t get it.”
“When read alone, there’s nothing to get,” I admit, “but when you pour through all of her stuff, you begin to see a pattern. She signs off every column and even some of her letters with this same phrase.”
“What does it mean?”
“I think it means what we think it means. She misses him and she’s always waiting for him.”
He nods, eyebrows pinching together thoughtfully. “Why are you so excited about this?”
Elias might be slow to speak or answer or get rolling in the mornings, but he’s smart as a whip. I like that he’s able to grab the thread I’m unraveling here.
“I think,” I say, heart lurching in my chest, “that this was another way for her to search for her husband. The letters had nowhere to go because she had no destination. But the gazette columns are searchable. It’s just another form of bread crumbing for her to guide her husband back home.”
It’s incredibly sad because it was all wasted effort, but it helps me pull together more of their love story for my book. They couldn’t be together in real life, but I can bring together everything I’ve learned about them and put it all in one book. For Grandma.
The doorbell rings, startling us both, and Elias excuses himself. I quickly dress, brush my teeth, and then, with Clo on my shoulder, check to see who’s visiting. I find Elias out back with a woman around my mom’s age and a teenage girl near the aviary.
I hurry outside and say hello to them, shooting Elias a questioning look.
“This is Agatha Bell and her granddaughter Julia,” Elias says, gesturing at the women. “They heard about your call to rehome Goldie’s budgies.”
For a second, the air is sucked from my lungs. This is really happening. I didn’t think it’d be so quick.
“Oh,” I say, blinking rapidly. “How, uh, did you know?”
Agatha smiles at me. “Hattie told me early this morning while making my coffee. Julia has been asking for a pet, and this seemed serendipitous.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to explain that budgies aren’t easy pets. They require lots of attention and care. Children shouldn’t get them willy nilly.
I grimace at the last thought.
Willy nilly?
Grandma’s language is rubbing off on me. Soon, I’ll be just like the rest of these fine folks of Budgie Bay. Too terrified of Grandma’s ghost haunting me from the grave to say anything too naughty.
“I hurt myself playing softball,” Julia says softly, voice a mere whisper. “It’s been hard and lonely.”
Elias, who clearly already heard this part, gives me a grim, resigned smile. The girl seems intelligent and serious. Maybe it won’t hurt to let her have a look.
Once I give Elias a small nod, he locates the key to the aviary and we all go inside.
Agatha and Julia are tickled by all the cute budgies chirping and fluttering about.
Frodo hides which is uncharacteristic for him.
Clo joins the fray, but we make sure to let them know he’s not available for adoption.
I notice Elias standing in front of where Frodo is hiding.
My heart melts a little. I’ll have to mention Frodo isn’t up for adoption either.
“Oh,” Julia says, eyes filled with wonder as the yellow one I took a liking to yesterday lands on her finger. “How pretty. You’re such a pretty baby, aren’t you?”
I want to cry out and tell her to choose another one, but I can’t bring myself to do it. They’ve already fallen in love within three seconds of meeting. The yellow bird preens and fluffs up. Julia gushes about how precious the little budgie is.
“I think we found her baby,” Agatha says with a chuckle. “What a sweetheart.”
I swallow down the emotion clawing its way up my throat and nod. “Very sweet. Do you ladies have a cage?”
Elias steps forward. “I can help with that.”
He disappears from the aviary while I chat with Agatha and Julia. The more I speak to them, the more I relax.
“I think I’ll call her Lemonberry since she’s mostly yellow like a lemon but has some blue like a blueberry,” Julia tells her grandmother. “Cute, huh?” Then she proceeds to tell the bird how spoiled she will be at her new home.
This is what Grandma wanted.
She didn’t want to hoard all the budgies to herself, but she did want to rescue them from bad situations so they could go into good, loving ones. Julia and Agatha will love Lemonberry and give her the best life. I feel this deep in my bones.
Elias returns with one of his handmade cages.
It’s truly a work of art. Inside, are a matching pair of food and water bowls attached to the side.
He’s already lined the bottom with a droppings pad and has clipped some millet to the inside.
Lemonberry, seemingly aware of what’s to come, eagerly hops into the cage.
Julia fastens the cage door and holds the cage out in front of her, beaming brightly.
She and Elias go ahead of us. Agatha pulls me aside.
“Thank you for this,” she says, eyes filling with tears.
“I haven’t seen my granddaughter smile since she got injured.
Surgery and physical therapy didn’t get her where she needs to be so she’s a little lost without a sport she grew up doing.
Lemonberry is going to be good for her. I can’t thank you enough. ”
The woman hugs me and I fight back tears.
“Maybe Lemonberry can come visit her friends sometimes,” I wobble out. “She’s welcome anytime.”
“I think Julia would like that.”
After they drive away, I stand in Elias’s driveway, hugging myself. That really shouldn’t have been so painful, but it was. It’s like letting a piece of my grandma fly away.
Elias’s enormous hand finds my back and he rubs it gently. It’s such an oddly comforting gesture that I can’t help but fold myself into him for another hug. Last night his hug warmed my soul. It does the same today.
“I’m sad,” I rasp out. “It’s just a bird.”
He chuckles. “They’re never just a bird. They’re family.”
I relax in his arms and find myself inhaling his masculine scent. Eventually, the hug goes on for longer than feels appropriate, and Elias pulls away, clearing his throat.
“Goldie’s house isn’t going to clean itself,” he rumbles. “Let’s get to work.”
I’m eager to escape these emotions and do just that.
We’re really making progress on the house.
Most of the cluttered stuff has been gone through, sorted, and moved to the garage.
Each room is left without personal décor.
Just furniture, rugs, and lamps. Now that we’ve pulled the bulk of the items out, it’s time to scrub the cottage from top to bottom.
Having been abandoned for around a year with no utilities on, there’s a lot of dust, grime, and even some animal evidence.
The power still isn’t on, but thankfully there’s a nice breeze coming off the bay today.
Each time it blows its way inside the windows, I get a whiff of the salty air and Grandma’s sweet strawberries.
As I work intensely on cleaning decades’ worth of sludge out of the window crevices, I think about Grandma’s column and her efforts to reach my grandpa.
All she wanted was closure. The column must’ve been her admitting to herself in some way that he was gone.
Because even though the sign-off was aimed toward him, it was done in a public way.
If his remains ever turned up, someone might be able to search their way back to Budgie Bay.
She gave her whole life waiting for him only to die alone.
My heart aches for her as I clean. When Mom calls, I pause my cleaning to take the call.
“Hey, baby girl,” Mom says cheerfully. “How are you doing?”
I sit down on the edge of Grandma’s bed and stare out the window at the hydrangeas. “Good. Been busy getting things in order. Did you see the pictures I sent you?”
“Looks amazing,” Mom praises. “I guess you’re almost done then?”
“Not exactly. There’s still too much to do. I’m looking at about a month’s worth of work.”
“A month? Why does that feel like forever?”
I watch as a dragonfly buzzes around. It’s pretty and unbothered. What a nice life.
“You could come see me,” I say, voice sounding small like a child’s. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too, but Ron is overwhelmed right now. I can’t leave him in this state.”
I’m overwhelmed right now.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Tell him I said hello.”
She sighs. “I’ll try and get away. Promise. We’ve been looking to hire another person. I can make that a priority.”
I can tell she means it which makes me happy. Mom doesn’t love Budgie Bay. The memories here are too painful for her. Knowing she’s going to try to come out to be with me means a lot.
“I broke up with Denver.” Relief floods through me. “I also quit.”
She’s quiet for a long beat. “He called me this morning and told me. I was wondering if you were going to mention it.”
Of course he did. Always a fixer. He thought he could fix it without involving me.
Another wave of relief washes over me knowing I’m done with all that.
“I feel good about it,” I admit. “Free even.”
“I spoke to Ron about it. We can cover your rent until you figure things out. You’ll find another job.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I ask, voice strained. “For blowing up my life?”
“I think you’re a big girl who can make her own decisions. You’re smart, Nora. I trust you’ll figure it out.”
I blink back tears. “Love you, Momma. See you soon.”
After we disconnect the call, a floorboard creaks. I whip my head around to see Elias standing there holding a refreshing Goldie Special with three lemon wedges hanging off the lip of the glass. I grin and toss my phone on the bed.
“How do you magically always know what I need?” I ask as I approach him and accept my cold glass.
He smirks. “It’s a gift. Or it’s because I grew up at The Budgie Café helping Grandma Dot with her tables every summer.”
I take a moment to appreciate the man in front of me. He adores his family and this town. Loyal to a fault. Takes care of people who aren’t his blood because it’s the right thing to do.
“Thank you,” I say, leaning into him and resting my head against his chest. “Truly.”
He settles his palm on my lower back where it’s sweaty and gross.
We share a quiet moment. It’s nice. Really nice.
I can be messy and filthy around this man.
He doesn’t seem bothered by it in the least. The thought of Denver ever seeing me without makeup felt like a crime.
I’m pretty sure Elias has seen me go without more than he’s seen me wear it.
There’s just a certain comfort that Elias brings.
And I really kind of like it.
I pull back just enough so I can look up at him. His eyes burn intently into mine. Warmth that has nothing to do with the hot house pulses through me. It’s then I notice his lips. Supple and pink.
His head leans forward slightly and my heart trips over itself.
Is he going to kiss me?’
I gasp, unsure if I want it or not. The tingling skin and the roaring in my ears tells me I do. But, before he can make his move, I hear a sound.
Then a light flickers above us.
“Holy schticks we have power!” Elias says, grinning at me.
Somewhere, in Heaven, Grandma is grinning too.