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“Don’t you have someplace to go?” A
“Right. Stay out of Davey Jones’s locker.”
And the line went dead.
A
She looked out the window of the phone box. Damien still inhabited the bench. Not with the air of a man waiting impatiently-or patiently-but of a man with no better place to be. The wide-set eyes were fixed on a pileated woodpecker high in an aspen tree. He watched with the total unaffected concentration of a child.
A red feather floated down through the golden-green leaves and landed a yard or two from his sneakered feet. He picked up the feather and the lovely smile flashed. Not for A
A
“You’re A
“You’re Damien,” A
“There’s a party tonight in the lodge for De
She didn’t laugh but it took some effort. “I’ll be there,” she replied. “In my official capacity.”
If Damien knew she was teasing him, he was not affected by it. “Good,” he said, then again, firmly, as if coming to some i
As he turned away and walked to the call box, throwing his shoulders as if a cloak swirled down from them, A
Officially the party would start at half past eight, when De
Sitting on the lodge’s wooden deck, overlooking the harbor, she sipped a mediocre Beaujolais and let the silver of the evening sink into her soul. Sadness didn’t seem half bad when there were no human mirrors at hand to reflect it.
“To Piedmont,” she said and lifted her glass to the paling sky. The Beaujolais had a lovely color, catching the light without dulling it.
“Piedmont?”
The voice was so calm and well modulated that it made scarcely a ripple in A
A small woman-five foot two or so, shorter than A
A
The woman smiled, a friendly pretty smile which gave absolutely nothing away. A
“Piedmont’s my cat,” A
“Ah. Yes.” The woman spread her skirt around her in a golden circle and sat gracefully on the step. A
An employee. A
“At least you know who you are,” the woman said and laughed. “That’s more than most of the people here know. These Upper Peninsula types aren’t given much to introspection. I’m Patience Bittner. I manage the lodge. When I’ve been guffawed on, jostled, or growled at one too many times, I escape out here to regain my equilibrium.”
A
“Yes,” A
“It’s the last of it, I promise. It was ordered without my approval and it seemed a shame to pour it out. It’s such an ordeal getting anything good shipped out here back of beyond. I’ve got quite a decent California red coming in on the Ranger Three. Glen Ellen has a nice cabernet sauvignon. Young but nice.”
“Nosy without being precocious?” A
Patience smiled. “Do I sound pretentious? Habit. I used to manage a winery outside Napa.”
“Vodka and beer are the booze ordinaire in this part of the country. Not many people will notice your hard work.”
“You will, I expect.”
“Only on the first glass,” A
“If I get in anything special, I’ll get you in on the first glass.” She looked at her watch, a delicate gold band. “Party time. Pleased to meet you, A
The i
With the fading of the light the guardians of the island began to reclaim her shores. A persistent whining burned in A
She stood and knocked back the last of her wine. De
Inspired-or intimidated-by Patience Bittner’s easy elegance, A