Page 74 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

As Meredith opened the door to the kitchen, an older woman stood in the kitchen with the refrigerator door wide open.

Meredith dropped her drink and Remy screamed out. “Ah!”

“Oh, hello!” the woman said as Meredith held onto the door.

“Hello?” Meredith asked, wondering how this stranger had gotten in. Did she need to start locking all the doors?

“I’m sorry I startled you,” the woman said, either completely unaware she was trespassing, or she didn’t care. “I’m Carolyn, Ginny’s sister.”

“Can I help you, Carolyn?” Meredith asked, wondering why she was standing in the kitchen.

Remy appeared amused by the woman’s presence inside the cottage.

“I’m just dropping off my blueberry coffee cake for you girls,” Carolyn said. She slowly closed the refrigerator door and held onto her cane. “It looks good in here. You ladies did a nice job picking up Jacob’s mess.”

Meredith eased as the woman looked around the room giving her approval. She felt a sudden pride. The place did look good. Really good. Meredith, Remy, and Kyle had worked until the whole kitchen was sparkling and shining. Remy removed the clutter from all the shelves and most of the random furniture stuffed with more junk. In its place, Remy found two wingback chairs and sat them in front of the woodstove.

Before, a big, bulky China hutch stood in front of a set of pocket doors that led to the dining room. It took all three of them to move the hutch out of the kitchen and open the doors. Kyle and Remy moved the oversized table and desk out of the kitchen, which opened the space even more.

Jacob must have used the dining room for his “entertainment” room, but he had no television, only a radio, a record and tape player, and an old Boston upright piano. They removed the recliner and all the paintings except a few chosen by Remy, kept the piano, and brought the table in.

“Gosh, I haven’t seen it look this good since your grandmother was alive,” Carolyn said.

Meredith’s interest was hooked. “My grandmother?”

Carolyn nodded. “She was so good at taking care of a home.”

The elderly woman looked at Meredith. “You look a lot like her.”

In all of Meredith’s life, she never reminded anyone of her family. Not Jacqueline, or Gordon. She and Remy looked nothing alike. She had never met Jaqueline’s family, but her mother never said she looked like anyone. She wanted to know even more. “Would you like to sit down and have some coffee cake with us?”

Remy took the hint. “We were just about to make some coffee and have something to eat.”

Carolyn seemed pleased at the idea. “I’d love to join you ladies.”

Meredith ushered Carolyn to the dining room.

“Your grandmother only had Jacob,” Carolyn explained as she shuffled along. “When the boys didn’t come back after the storm, the whole town went out looking for survivors for days. Your grandmother, Meredith, was beside herself. Then came the miracle that Jacob had survived.”

“Did you know our mother?” Remy asked.

Carolyn nodded. “Sure did. Jacqueline was lovely. I’m sorry to hear she passed away.”

Remy grinned at the stranger.

“Then your grandmother got sick,” Carolyn said, looking around the room. “Which is how your parents met.”

“What? I thought my parents met during the summers here,” Meredith said, setting a napkin down on a decorative placemat Remy had found.

“Your father is Dr. Johnson, isn’t he?” Carolyn said. “Nice fellow. He was your grandmother’s doctor when she fell ill. He was all our doctors. The only town doctor at the time. When your grandmother got sick, your mom took care of her. You were just a kid back then.”

“Gordon was the town doctor,” Remy said, sitting down next to Carolyn.

Meredith looked down at the table, trying to focus. Then like a bubble bursting, she suddenly remembered that exact room and the fabric of the placemat before. “I was around four.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Carolyn said, pointing to her.

Meredith had a quick memory of a fireplace and paintings. “It was during the winter.” She tried sifting through the rabbit holes of her memories, but she didn’t remember Jacob. “Was Jacob there?”

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