Page 38 of Once upon a Summer Night

Chapter 6

Ellie peered out the peephole at the woman standing on the front step. She held a paper bag full of groceries and had a smile much like Colin’s, right down to the dimples.

The woman’s bright brown eyes sparkled when Ellie opened the door. “Hello, Ellie. I’m Evelyn, Colin’s mom. I figured he didn’t have any food in the house…”

Ellie rushed to take the bag. “He doesn’t yet.”

Evelyn followed her into the kitchen, tsking. “I raised him better than to leave a woman stranded at his house without any food. I swear I did.”

Ellie, feeling the need to protect him, protested, “Oh, no, this was a very last-minute thing. He had an important meeting to get to, and I didn’t even expect to travel, much less internationally. He hadn’t any time to get food, and it’s not his responsibility to feed me. I can take care of myself.”

“Well, I hope you’ll forgive an old lady’s visit, but I thought I could come by and make something for you. And him, of course, but he’ll have to be happy with leftovers.”

Ellie smiled, but wondered what universe this woman lived in to consider herself old. She was maybe in her earlysixties, and her blonde hair was streaked with silver, but the vitality that radiated from her belied all of it.

“Have you been out exploring yet?”

“I have,” Ellie admitted. “I found a lovely street full of shopping, though the shops were very much out of my price range.”

“That’d be Newbury Street,” Evelyn replied knowingly. “They have delicious pizza there—”

“Yes! I had some for lunch. It was very good.” Ellie busied herself with unloading the bag—fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, and chicken. Not much, but enough to get them started. She opened the cavernous refrigerator and let her eyes roam the interior until she found a bottle of lemon juice, then she held it up. “Lemon chicken?”

“One of my specialties.” Evelyn began to wash some of the potatoes. “So, Ellie, what do you do over in London?”

“I own a bookshop.”

“Wow! What’s it called?”

“Tail Feathers and Ashes.”

Evelyn turned the water off and raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting name. Is there a story behind that?”

“Well, in mythology, once it dies, the phoenix is reborn from its ashes. And the tail feathers are those which are sometimes thought to regrow last, and are the prettiest feature of the bird. I think that’s beautiful.”

“It certainly is. Is there a personal reason you named it as such?”

I grew stronger from the loss of my innocence, and was reborn from the ashes of that process.

“Not really, no.”

Evelyn smiled, a touch knowingly, but let it pass. “So tell me, do you have any family?”

Colin walkedinto the house to the smell of dinner and the sound of two women laughing. He dropped his bag in the foyer and headed into the kitchen, where his mom and Ellie sat at the island with half-empty glasses of wine in hand.

“Hello, ladies.”

“Oh, Colin, you were such a troublemaker.” Ellie wiped the tears from her eyes. “You and your brother tortured poor Brianagh! Oh, gosh, the cat!”

And the two women dissolved into giggles again.

Colin rolled his eyes in mock irritation, but he felt a warmth in his chest at the sight of Ellie and his mom together. “Telling stories, Mom?” He gave her a kiss on her cheek and she patted his arm.

“Only the good ones,” she chuckled. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

“It smells amazing.” He poured himself a glass of wine and joined them at the island.

“How was your meeting?” Ellie asked, pushing a small bowl of olives towards him.

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