The one in my hand was my grandmother’s.The edges are frayed.Ink stains one end.But it’s just like Venus to have kept it.Just like her to still use it.
I inhale it again, wondering if it’s okay to keep it, wondering how long I can go without washing my sheets or pillowcases to hold her scent there, wondering how long it will take for her to disappear from them, too.
Scarf wrapped in my hand, I return to the notebook on my desk, purging my thoughts onto the pages, the paper my new confessional.Then, when my fingers cramp and other tasks for the day call to me, I tuck the notebook and scarf into my bedside table drawer, determined to put her out of my mind.
For now.
CHAPTER18
Henry
Marnie,Marigold, and Dot arrive at lunchtime for our meeting to discuss the museum’s progress.When she first presented her plan to turn Uncle Jay’s campy curiosity museum into the Weird But True Museum in April, we thought it’d be a quick renovation—an updated design, a few new exhibits, an escape room add-on, and, of course, the upper garden.
But we’ve encountered problems ranging from termites to plumbing issues that have put us behind.
Today, though, there’s only one setback concerning the group.
“So, what’s the deal with the garden?”Dot asks.“We have the supplies.Want me to throw it together?I’m sure there’s a YouTube?—”
“No, it’s a complicated process, and we don’t have the plants, regardless,” Marnie huffs, with one hand on her hip and the other hugging her Trapper Keeper.“I’ve left a message for Dr.Blake, but Ivy tells me he’s traveling and won’t be home for weeks.He purposefully left you in Venus’s care.I’m so, so sorry, Henry.”
Dot laughs.“Love-trapped, like I said.”
“Have you recovered from yesterday, or are you still upset?”Marnie asks.
“I’m not upset.”I motion to the spread I’ve arranged across the table—fruit, cheese, crackers, cookies, and lemonade.Marigold takes the bait, but the other two stare at me with scrutiny.“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, how did the tiki bar reunion go, huh?”Dot tosses back a chunk of cheese, eyeing me suspiciously.
“We settled our differences,” I inform vaguely.
They share a bewildered glance.“You don’t seem pleased, though,” Marnie points out.
“Yeah, what gives?”Dot asks while Marigold peers over her sketchbook.“Will she install the garden at least?”
The three perceptive women await an explanation.My shoulders slump under the heaviness I’ve felt since Venus left.
“Um, well,” I start to say when a loud pound on the door interrupts.“I’ll get it.Enjoy the snacks.”
The man standing outside the front door wears a tattered t-shirt, worn blue jeans, old clown shoes, and a gap-toothed smile.“Henry?Is that you?”
“Yeah, I’m Henry Greene,” I say, extending my hand.
He slings the leather strap of a rectangular black case over his shoulder to accept my handshake.He’s in his fifties, bald with a beard, and with more tattoos than Venus, which says a lot.His tattoos are more traditional—skulls and swords stand out the most.
“Don’t remember me, eh?It’s been a while.I’m Eric the Sword-Swallower.”
He pauses, like this information should register with me, but my brow pinches unsurely.
“Eric Massie.I was good friends with Jay.We used to hang out here at the museum.Last time I saw you, you were half this height.How’d you get so tall?”
“Um, growing up does that to you.”A vague, misty recollection ghosts in my thoughts, but I can’t latch on.
He points to the counter behind me and edges inside.“It’s Jaybird!I carved that for him as a good luck charm.I’m handy with knives, you know.”He picks up the blue jay sitting next to the register and gives it a toss between his hands.
Once again, I don’t know how it got there, as it was on my desk upstairs this morning.
I shut the door and run a hand through my hair.“You’ve heard about Uncle Jay?”
