Page 90

HER LEGACY LIVES

In my seat, with my back to the corner, I watched Rita wiping down the counter.

She wore a shirt revealing enough cleavage to garner a look or two but not so much to cause a scandal.

Every few minutes, she stopped, taking inventory of the front of her shop.

She’d blow a loose strand of brown hair out of her face and then start on the next project.

As Rita cleaned the espresso machine, I glanced from her to my sketch pad.

I had spent the first hour reacquainting myself with the process.

The first two hadn’t done her justice. They looked like her and captured her appearance, but they didn’t highlight her spirit.

The new sketch had her leaning on the counter, hands clasping a coffee cup as she blew that strand of hair from her face.

I finished adding wisps of steam from the coffee and took stock of my handiwork.

For two hours, I lost myself in the sheer joy of capturing the essence of Rita.

I forgot how much I loved this. When I came up with the idea of ‘Radical Love,’ it had been about the people I captured. I forgot that it also applied to me.

The door opened, and the florist from next door walked in.

Her bright orange dress and his gray slacks suggested they coordinated their outfits before leaving the house.

Her man- friend had a goofy expression on his face, her arm linked with his as they entered.

Before they reached the counter, Rita jumped into action.

In true small-town fashion, she didn’t need to ask for their order.

While I finished filling in her eyes, I stole glances at the new couple.

I couldn’t help but smile at the way he rested his hand on the small of her back.

While they talked, he continued touching his…

girlfriend? Wife? At whatever stage of their relationship, he continued courting as if they were on their honeymoon.

“Peter, the sun did you well,” Rita said as she prepared the cups.

“We snorkeled. Can you believe it?”

The expression on Rita’s face said that she did not. “Marigold… you?”

“He booked a sunset cruise. But of course, Peter didn’t read all the details. First, we swam with the dolphins, and then we watched the sunset.”

“What about the wedding?”

Newlyweds? That would explain the way she rested her head on his shoulder. It wasn’t so different from the way I fell asleep, leaning against Tyler. In the days that followed, that thought kept rising to the surface, making me grin.

“She was as beautiful as the day she stole my heart.”

“Marigold, did you wear the dress?”

Marigold giggled at the question. Her husband just nodded. Now, I had questions about this garment. He pulled out his phone and handed it to Rita, who let out a low whistle.

“Peter, don’t let this one get away.” Rita leaned in closer, inspecting the photo. “Girl, that slit stops at the waist. Look at you showing off the goods.”

I signed the sketch while I eavesdropped. If I were to do one of Marigold and Peter, it’d have to include him gazing at her. Every glance held admiration filled with love. Marigold was his radical love.

They finished talking and held their cups up in a farewell salute. As they reached the exit, she stopped and gave me a curious glance. “You’re Hazel’s grandson?”

I nodded. “Jon.”

“Last time I saw you?—”

“You barely reached my chest,” he finished.

They came closer, taking a seat at my table. Her eyes were a gentle blue, filled with fondness. “She’ll be missed. Hazel was one heck of a woman.” I couldn’t count the number of times I had an identical conversation with other members of Firefly.

“She’s the one who suggested we go to Hawaii.”

I cocked my head to the side, not sure what Peter meant by the statement. “Why’d she do that?”

“She loved Hawaii,” Marigold said with a smile. “She wanted me to take hula lessons, so she had a partner for the talent show.”

“Mimi went to Hawaii?” It was another adventure hidden away. It was almost embarrassing how little I knew about her—how much I’d let myself assume she was just ‘Mimi.’ I figured London had been a blip on her radar, her one big adventure. It hadn’t crossed my mind that this had become a pattern.

“Soon as the snow hit, she’d have her bags packed. She joked about surfing, but I think she might have been pulling my leg.”

I thought I knew Mimi, a woman always willing to laugh. This was the second time somebody defied the image of a quiet woman knitting into the long hours of the night.

“The moment she tore the page off her calendar, she’d declare it was time to set off on a new adventure.” Peter clutched Marigold’s hand. “We have her to thank for a beautiful wedding on a beach.”

I could see the calendar hanging in her kitchen. It always had pictures of kittens on it. Arriving in July, they’d be wearing top hats swathed in the American flag. Fireworks sprayed across the page. It had never dawned on me to look anywhere but the giant circle with “Grandbabies” in the middle.

“I guess I never paid attention to anything before we arrived.” Then there’d be the carnival circled, signaling our departure the next day. “Or anything after the carnival, for that matter.”

“Speaking of…” Peter’s eyes lit up. “Since you’re in town, maybe you could take Mimi’s place on the Carnival Planning Committee?” I hadn’t thought about how the carnival came to town, just that every year, like clock work, it happened. The next day, I’d pack my bags and head home.

“I’m not sure I’ll be here that long.”

“Think about it. They could use all the help they can get.”

Mimi might have been an adventurer, but she cared deeply for her home. “I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll let Harvey and Gladys know.” Good old Firefly, where maybe signaled a commitment.

At least it’d get me out of the house. Who knows, maybe the fireworks would have the same magic they did twenty years ago?

Except this time, I wouldn’t run away. Well, I’d run, but I’d have Tyler in tow for a night of debauchery.

“If you need anything, please let us know. We’d be honored to provide flowers for her…” Marigold’s voice trailed off. Hearing her get choked up served as a reminder of how much Mimi meant to the community.

“That’d be lovely. Thank you, really.”

“What’s that?” Peter asked, gesturing with his coffee cup toward the sketchbook.

I quickly shut the cover. “Oh, nothing. Doodling keeps my mind busy.”

“Sounds like somebody needs an adventure,” Marigold said as she stood. I almost made it out of the conversation when she shot me a wink. “I hear there’s a nice librarian who could use an adventure, too.”

Of course, they knew.

“Does everybody know we went on a date?”

Marigold’s eyes went wide. They hadn’t heard, and here I was adding to the rumor mill. “We do now,” Peter said with a deep laugh. “Good for you, kiddo.” Because nothing says romance like the town cheering you on. They continued chuckling as they exited the coffee shop.

I cursed for outing myself. My phone buzzed as I went to take another drink of my coffee when I realized my cup had emptied.

Evie: I’m coming.

I stared at the message. Gently nudging had done the trick. Seeing Evie had been the goal. Part of me wanted her to walk through the door and connect like we used to. It didn’t stop the anxiety from kicking in.

Jon: Did you know Mimi went to Hawaii?

Evie: No! I didn’t know she left Firefly.

Jon: Our grandmother had a double life.

Evie: It explains why she always made us try poké.

Jon: …

Jon: Can’t wait to see you.

Mimi had circled the date we arrived on the calendar every year. I always wondered if we upset her normal schedule with our teen angst. Now, I thought we might have been the least exciting part of the year. Though, you’d never know the way she embraced us in a vice-like bearhug.

“Calendar,” I mumbled. A lightbulb had gone off, partly thanks to Marigold’s comment and Mimi’s insistence on highlighting our arrival.

I spent enough time in Firefly to know when one of their own was in danger, they’d rally.

However, Tyler didn’t need a spaghetti dinner.

He needed something to put him on the map.

Jon: Amanda, we have an S.O.S.

Amanda: Red alert?

Jon: Get the troops ASAP.

Jason: Has to wait until tomorrow.

Jon: Why?

Jason: Spaghetti dinner tonight. Red alert tomorrow.

Of course.

Jon: Fine. Tomorrow.

It wasn’t the first time we treated a minor inconvenience like a catastrophic event.

Rain threatened the comic book convention, and we dropped everything to make it a success.

Chris called us together to sell tickets for a middle school play.

Now that I thought about it, we only put out the signal on the most ridiculous things, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Next, we’d spend the night making cupcakes to save the bakery.

Reaching into my sketchbook, I tore out my sketch of Rita. I left it on the table as I slid the pad of paper into my backpack. I was rather proud of my work, and seeing her blowing the hair from her face filled an almost-empty creative well.

“Radical love,” I whispered. Not as exotic as Mimi’s, but I could feel the start of an adventure. I had no idea where it’d take me, and the not knowing made it thrilling. “Thanks, Mimi.”

Firefly Cemetery could have fit in a football field with fifty yards to spare.

One dirt lane went in one side, traveled along the back before connecting with the road and exiting.

I turned off the car, sitting in the shade of a massive oak tree.

Clicking noises from the engine filled the interior until I realized I blinked in time.

“It’ll be okay,” I whispered.

I pushed the door open to the sound of insects. Mosquitoes. The tiny bloodsuckers kept their distance, waiting for me to get out before they descended. I’d take the tiny bloodsuckers over Maine’s notorious black flies. At least the buzzing vampires wouldn’t tear flesh.