Page 40 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
“Yeah, ha. Except that didn’t work out either. I met my husband in the band. Did you know divorce is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy?”
Oh, he knew. He thought he might be nearing it himself, but he’d let her discover that on her own.
“Is it?”
Her eyes glanced at him, then flitted away. “Yeah. I’m not bankrupt, I’m just…believe me, I’m very good with money.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“Still, there was a time when I was young and dumb. Out of school, I got a job as an accountant at a record studio.”
“What?” He did a double take. “Your story is already more interesting than mine. I feel like my life just happened to me, but you had a vision.”
“It wasn’t a vision.” She rolled her eyes, but a smile crept onto her lips. “Did you ever seeDesert Rose Revolution?”
“Yeah! I loved that movie.”
“Do you remember the song ‘Grunge and Glitter’?” She bit her lip. “That was me. That was my song.”
“You’re kidding! That was a great song.Isa great song, I mean.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, it was fun. I had to leave that behind, though.”
“Why? What happened?”
She waved a hand and turned back to the trim. “Eh, you know.”
Russell did not know, though he desperately wanted to.
“Do you still write music?”
She poured a small blob of white paint into the tray and gave a non-committal shrug. “Not really.”
A memory hit him and he snapped his fingers. “Sheila Wilde! I remember you! I remember your songs!”
“That was my stage name. Sheila Wilde died a long time ago.”
“No, she didn’t.” His gaze drifted up, his mind grasping at a memory he couldn’t quite reach. “You had another song.”
She was back to painting, back to avoiding him. “Yeah…”
The words snapped into his memory and he repeated them in his best sing-song voice. “Oh daughter, oh daughter of mine. When did you learn to speak when spoken to? Oh daughter, my darling, so fine. When you’re silent there’s always a why.”
She was looking at him now. “You have a good memory.”
“How can you say you’re boring when you wrote something like that?”
Eliza popped into the room carrying a tray. “Granny made us all lunch, but she insists she’s still too afraid to come in to see the shop until we’re done.”
She set down the tray – sandwiches, a potato salad, hot tea, and a little flower in a glass.
“Thanks, honey,” Sheila said.
“It looks great in here!” Eliza stood with her hands on her hips. “I think we’re getting really close.”
Sheila’s aching, soulful song echoed in Russell’s mind. He had to pull himself out of it and stop being weird. “How’s the website coming?” he asked.
“It’s okay. I spent like nine hours on it yesterday and my eyes are starting to cross. Granny’s got a lot of teas here, and getting them online is a pain.”
