Page 24 of The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland
“It’s called theForget-Me-Knot. Wouldn’t you love to live on a houseboat?”
Beatrice glanced at Reno, but she was proving to be no help at all. “I’ll think about it.”
Minna’s head thunked backward onto the sofa’s edge. “Well, shit.”
Reno said, “Minna, leave it. She said she’ll think about it.”
“Yeah, but she’s Mom’sclone. What does Mom mean when she says she’ll think about it?”
“She means no.”
“Like,no, no.”
How funny, that this girl could know Beatrice, sort of, because Beatrice’s twin was her mother. Beatrice said, “So, that’s kind of a cool superpower you have, huh?”
Minna looked startled, her gaze flying to Reno. “What?”
“Just that you know your mom so well, and apparently, we’re a little bit alike, so that means you kind of know me.”
“Oh. That. Yeah.”
Reno and Minna blinked at each other.
“What did you think I meant?”
“Nothing! Nothing. Will you tell me more about you?”
Beatrice sighed. “I promise you, I’m very boring. You, on the other hand, arenotboring. Oh! How did the birth go last night?”
Minna’s brows drew together. “Huh?”
“Your mom. She’s a midwife, right? That guy dragged her out right before I left. Was the baby okay?”
“Oh.” Minna and Reno shared that look again. “No one was having a baby.”
“Then…”
“She’s a death doula.”
Beatrice choked. “Pardon?”
“She helps people die. Sits with them and helps them.”
What had the man said?She—it’s all happening so fast, this can’t be normal.
“Shit. Sorry.” She had to stop swearing around Minna. Then, “I wouldn’t have guessed that. Like hospice?”
“Um.” Minna’s gaze slid sideways. “Mom says that hospiceprovides medical care. A death doula is more like… spiritual care. Actually, that’s how she and Reno got to be friends.”
Frowning, Reno turned and headed toward the door. Without saying good-bye, she left, winding her way through the garden. As she reached the jasmine-covered arbor, she raised her hand to touch the vines, and then she was gone.
“Okay, she’s… intense,” said Beatrice, trying for neutrality. Maybe Reno had simply decided that Beatrice could be trusted around Minna?
“Don’t worry—that’s normal Reno behavior. She built that arbor and planted the jasmine for her wife who died.”
Damn. “Oh, no. That’s awful.”
“She died on the same day my dad died, actually, just years later. Mom helped her go.”
