Page 33 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

When Meredith didn’t speak, Hazel continued, “Blueberries have grown wild here for over ten thousand years. One of the last spots along the coast like this.” She reached into the basket and pulled out some hand pruning shears. “But only if someone takes proper care.”

“Are you asking permission to pick blueberries?” Meredith asked.

Hazel shook her head. “No, to take care of them.”

Quinn stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Hazel is one of many people in town that helped Jacob take care of the bushes.”

“You can’t plant them,” the short woman said. “They only grow wild.”

“So, you come here to care for Jacob’s blueberry bushes?” This place kept getting crazier by the minute. “Why?”

“Because he was too busy painting,” Hazel said in a huff.

“Would you mind them on your property, taking care of the blueberries?” Quinn said.

“If I miss one day, it could throw off the whole crop,” Hazel said, though it felt like a demand.

Meredith didn’t know much about blueberries, but she did understand lawyers. Hazel didn’t seem as ripe as the blueberries, and what if she fell?

“What would happen if she or someone else were to get hurt in the process of shearing blueberries?” she asked Quinn.

Hazel’s mouth dropped. “I’m not going to get hurt.”

Quinn closed his eyes as if Meredith were the one being unreasonable. “We could have them sign a waiver.”

“All I want to do is help,” Hazel gaped at her. “To keep the crop going. Over half the blueberries for the festival are picked here.”

“The festival?” Meredith asked Quinn, whose head swept back and forth like a referee.

“The town has an annual Blueberry Festival,” Quinn said.

Of course it does, she thought to herself. “Look, Hazel, I don’t have any feelings one way or the other about you picking blueberries—”

“Taking care of the blueberries,” Hazel corrected her.

“Yes, that,” Meredith said, exhausted. She didn’t want to deal with this new stranger. Not that she wanted to deal with any of this. Her pool back in Andover sounded better and better. She remembered she needed to call a real estate agent. “For now, if that’s what Jacob let you do, then feel free.”

She made a mental note to talk to Quinn about stopping that once she put the house on the market.

She turned around to go inside the cottage and opened the door, and that was when she saw something that made her catch her breath. On the doorframe, lines showing height were scratched perpendicular on the wood’s surface. The few lines had Meredith’s name written in her mother’s handwriting—age two, age four, age five. No other lines or names. Just the three lines.

Shehadbeen here.

Meredith’s mind spun. Had she been here three times or more? She tried to locate these lost memories, but only the man standing on the beach holding her hand flashed in her head.

She didn’t hear what else Hazel had to say about “taking care” of the darn blueberries. She gave a little wave, said a quick goodbye, and shut the door behind her. Once inside, she grabbed the plastic gloves, stuffed her hands inside, and took out all the cleaning supplies. She needed to do something, anything other than perseverate on all the things she can’t change. Like why her mother never told her about these memories.

A knock on the door stopped the spinning inside her head, and Quinn waved from outside.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to kick you out,” she said, opening the door. “But I’m okay. You really don’t need to help.”

“I want to.” Quinn grabbed a bucket, along with some rags. “I’ll start upstairs in the bathroom.”

Meredith didn’t argue this time. Instead, she focused her attention on the kitchen.

She would wait until she was alone to go explore the house. Until then, she would clean. She looked around the kitchen, which was in better shape than the rest of the house, but still needed a lot of work.

The first thing she did was open all the windows and doors to let the ocean breeze come inside. She dropped the drain into the sink, turned on the hot water, and looked out at the ocean as it filled. She stopped what she was doing and pulled out her phone to take a picture of the view.

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