Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
“What do you call a baby potato?” Amanda asked, as she leaned through the serving window at the cafe.
Rita placed an order in the queue and rolled her eyes. “I have no idea. What?”
“A small fry.” Amanda’s belly laugh resounded through the kitchen as she returned to her griddle and flipped each of the pancakes on it.
Rita huffed. “Bless your heart. Your sense of humour gets worse with age.”
Amanda grinned at her. “You’re just jealous. Admit it.”
“I hope those pancakes are as soft as you are.”
Amanda shot her a wink. “You know they are.”
“And don’t forget the bacon.”
“I won’t.”
“You did last time.”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you? It was six months ago.”
“Well…” Rita shook her head. “You know you can’t live it down. Not with me.”
“Elephant memory.” Amanda grunted. “Bacon coming right up.”
Rita marched out of the kitchen with a smile lingering on her face. There was a woman waiting at the door by the Please wait to be seated sign. She hurried to greet her. The place was packed, so she quickly scanned the cafe to see if she could spot an opening as she approached the woman. There was one small table by the window. So far, they’d managed with a first-come, first-served approach. But with the cafe’s popularity growing since the Atlanta Journal called them a Hidden Gem , she figured it wouldn’t be long before she’d have to change to a booking system with a computer and everything. It would drive her crazy, no doubt.
“Good morning, table for one?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, thanks.”
“Follow me please.”
After she’d seated the woman, she hurried back to the kitchen, her thoughts already elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Matilda watched the hostess from where she sat, working up the nerve to say something. To ask, do you know Rita Osbourne? Who is she? Where is she? And how about Tyler? Does he live around here? But she hadn’t been given a chance by the woman who seated her. She’d rushed off the moment Matilda reached the table. And now the waitress serving tables nearby wasn’t making eye contact, her gaze firmly planted on the notepad in her hands as she scribbled down orders.
The cafe was charming. A slightly crooked blue and white sign hung above the doorway that read, The Honeysuckle Cafe . There was a vine draped across the sign that ran all the way down to the ground on both sides. It looked dead but was probably honeysuckle lying dormant for the winter. Matilda didn’t know much about honeysuckle, but she imagined it was pretty during summer.
All around her hummed conversations in thick southern accents. Heat pumped from vents and the room was furnished with small round tables, blue and white checked tablecloths and mismatched chairs.
The scent of frying bacon filled the air. Matilda had eaten a light breakfast already, but the scents were so delightful, she couldn’t resist ordering a plate of poached eggs, bacon, and hotcakes when the waitress came to the table. She also opted for an enormous cappuccino, since her jet lag was making her feel as though she was sleepwalking.
She enjoyed people-watching through the window while she waited for her meal. Covington was set around a square with the cafe on one corner. The old buildings that hugged the square were regal, red brick with white trim. There was a clock tower on one. And columns on another. A large grassy park filled the centre of the square. The grass was yellow and sodden from the rain overnight.
People hurried by with umbrellas at their side. Cars crawled around the square. And inside the cafe, diners came and went. It was a Saturday, and some were seated around a leisurely breakfast. Others popped through the door, setting the bell jangling, to pick up a takeout order, or a to-go coffee. Everyone seemed to know the hostess. She was middle-aged or slightly older. It was hard to say. But her hair was tinged with grey, her face was lined, and she had a big smile for each customer who she called by name.
One of the takeout customers called out “Bye now, Rita.” He waved and left with his bag of food.
Matilda’s eyes widened. The hostess was Rita. Now all she had to do was find an opportunity to speak to her again. Her food arrived, and she took a bite of the eggs on sourdough. The yolk burst across her tongue, the bread was soft and delicious.
She sipped her cappuccino and then called Stella.
“Hello, sister,” she said.
Stella shouted with delight. “Why did you wait so long to call me? It’s late here. Did you get there okay?”
Matilda laughed and took another sip of coffee. It burned her tongue. She grimaced. “I arrived last night, and I’m at the cafe having brunch. It’s really quaint. And the food is delicious.”
“That sounds great. Listen, your work called and they’re wondering what to do with Solomon.”
Solomon was an aging Dalmatian who regularly came in for dental work but wouldn’t let anyone touch him other than Matilda.
“He loves cheese. Tell them to give him some cheese and he’ll warm up in no time.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. How’s your hotel?”
“I’m staying at this really lovely, country-style bed and breakfast. I can’t tell you how happy I was to fall into the extremely comfortable bed last night. The flight was a shocker. I’ve never felt so tired and greasy in all my life. That first shower was ecstasy.”
Stella laughed. “I’ll take your word for it. Any hot men in that part of the world?”
“Why are you asking me about men?” Matilda asked.
“You’re single now, you need to find someone.”
“We’re taking some time apart and we’re going to talk about our relationship when I get back. I’m not sure if that qualifies as single.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but that sounds lame,” Stella said with a huff.
Matilda gaped. “That is rude. I can’t believe you said that.”
“Well, come on. You’ve been dating for two years. He should’ve popped the question by now, or be working up to it, at the very least. And he wants time and space away from you? Not to mention the awful things he said. I think you should find someone amazing and fall head over heels in love. You’ll forget about Cam in no time.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship. Definitely not. It’s the absolute last thing on my mind.”
“Sometimes it happens when you’re not looking.”
“There are some cute guys here, though. If I was looking, which I’m not. I ran into one last night, literally. He was kind of a jerk. But very good-looking.”
“Sounds like a mark and avoid type of situation. I like your initiative though. Keep it up.”
When Matilda hung up the phone, she immediately missed her sister and wished she’d asked her to come along for the journey. She felt very alone. She shook it off and continued eating her brunch, while scrolling on her phone for things to do in Covington.
There seemed to be a lot of supernatural type tours, something she was not the slightest bit interested in. She had no desire to return to the dark and historic bed and breakfast alone after a long day of spooky stories. Other than a couple of restaurants, which she bookmarked, there didn’t seem to be much else to do. At least there was always the good shopping to look forward to—she’d heard that the shopping in the USA was fantastic and she’d purposely packed light in order to take advantage of it.
Rita led a couple to the table next to hers. Matilda quickly raised a hand. “Excuse me?”
Rita met her gaze with a chirpy blue-eyed smile. “Can I help?”
Matilda stood, clasping her hands together. “Yes, is your name Rita Osbourne?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“That’s great, because I need to talk to you about something.”
By the time Matilda had finished telling Rita her story, the older woman had found her way into the seat opposite her with a look of confusion on her face.
“So you’re somehow related to Tyler Osbourne?”
“Yes, that’s what the DNA test results produced when I fed them into the website. I’m trying to find out who Tyler is. Do you know anyone by that name?”
“Not off the top of my head,” Rita replied, her brow furrowed. “But I have a quick question—how could you be related to him? Do you know?”
Matilda inhaled a deep breath. “No, I don’t. I’m really not sure. The website indicated he was a cousin of mine, but I don’t see how that’s possible. My parents have passed, but when they were alive, they never said anything about having family over here. If he’s my cousin, that would mean one of them must’ve had a sister or brother living in this country. My uncle did visit here, but he never said anything about having a child. And to add to that, my DNA results showed I wasn’t related to either of my parents. So, I’m very confused. Because my Auntie said that she saw me born.”
“That’s a complicated story. Something’s not adding up,” Rita replied. “What are your folks names? Maybe I know them.”
“John and Daphne Berry. They’re from Kingscliff in New South Wales.”
Rita shook her head. “They don’t sound familiar.”
“Hmm… I was hoping you might have known them at some point. This is going to be trickier than I thought.”
“Listen, honey, I’ve got a crowd to feed and they’re getting restless. But I don’t want to brush you off.”
“Thanks, I’ve come a long way…”
“How about you give me your number and I’ll call you? We can talk.” Rita’s eyes crinkled around the edges as she smiled.
“Thanks, I’d like that. I’m back to square one, I guess. I’ve got to track down Tyler. And I have no idea where to start. I’d hoped you might know him, given you live in Covington and he shares your surname. But now I don’t know what to do. I suppose I could visit the courthouse, see if there are any records there.”
“Oh, they have all that online these days. You don’t have to go and do all that.” Rita waved a hand. “We’ll figure it out. I’m glad to help. Let’s catch up soon.”