Amazingly, about half an inch of water remained at the bottom of the kettle.
Leaning against the sink, she added water to it and tried again.
She stood and waited until the kettle whistled, that time only twice.
After fixing her tea and using just one crutch so she could carry the mug in her other hand, she slowly made her way into the living room and sat where she’d been sitting. It wasn’t long before the front door opened and Rex came inside.
“You’re awake,” Rex said. “How are you doing?”
“Fine,” she lied. “I had a nice nap.”
“Great. Because I have good news.” He crossed the room to where she was sitting; he squatted in front of her and took her hands in his.
“They saved the cottage,” he said. “It’s going to need renovations to the kitchen, and the side walls and the back will have to be replaced, but it’s not as bad as it could have been. I really thought it was a goner.”
Maddie didn’t think she’d ever heard someone say “goner.”
She closed her eyes. “Oh. That’s wonderful.”
“You might not know,” he added, “but there was a huge, fast fire in Menemsha a while back. It destroyed the coast guard boathouse and the pier. It would have been a lot worse if it reached the other buildings and the houses up on the hill. But when there’s an emergency, islanders react fast. The coast guard fire tested every bit of that. And it was a miracle no one was seriously hurt.”
He didn’t know it also was a miracle that she was sitting, sipping tea, instead of having caused his cabin to also catch fire.
“And you won’t have to worry about rebuilding,” he continued. “Several islanders have volunteered to help out come fall—once the summer folks are gone.”
Come fall, Maddie thought. When she’d no doubt be back in Green Hills, back in the classroom, awaiting final news of tenure. When she would have resumed her routine life with her father as if the past couple of weeks hadn’t happened. She would stuff down the hard feelings she still harbored against him. She’d find a way to dismiss the past. Life would be more livable that way.
The only trouble was, she didn’t want to leave the Vineyard now. Not until she learned how the fire had started. And not until she could properly dispense of her grandmother’s ashes.
As if reading her thoughts, Rex said, “With so much damage in the kitchen, the old wiring might have caused it. But the officials will figure that out. Nancy never installed a detector, or it would have left a less costly mess. At least it didn’t happen in the middle of the night. A couple of neighbors called it in as soon as they saw smoke.”
Maddie wondered if it would take as long for the officials—whoever they were—to determine the cause of the fire, as it was taking the medical examiner to cough up a death certificate. She tried not to wonder if anyone would have set it.
“Have you eaten anything?” he asked.
“No.” Then she remembered she’d left the can of chicken and rice on the counter. “I thought about making soup, but I couldn’t find a can opener. What about Rafe? Is he still at the cottage?”
Rex nodded. “The active fire’s out, so they’re letting him help outside with the equipment. They won’t let him inside. But he’s been great.”
“How long will he be there?” Maddie asked.
“He’ll call when he’s ready to leave. I would have left your car for him, but I was over here when the alert sounded. I ran down to the dock and used one of Joe’s canoes to row across the harbor. It was quicker than driving. How about if I throw some food together?” He moved into the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator door.
Food again.
Shuffling things on the refrigerator shelves, Rex then set several items on the counter. “Rafe also wants to ask the fire chief to let him get a few things. He said your grandmother had lots of Wampanoag memorabilia that you and he were going through.”
Maddie didn’t want to think about the things up on the mantel: the sunset painting, the pottery bowl with the daisy painted on the front, the quahog shell. And the portrait of Isaac Thurston.
Then again, Maddie didn’t want to think about a lot of things right then.
* * *
It was five o’clock when Rafe finally showed up. Rex had gone outside to gather wild blueberries for cobbler; Maddie was resting—again—but she woke up when her son whispered, “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey,” she said. “Please. Come sit beside me.”
“One of the firefighters brought me,” he said as he stepped into the room. He was carrying a blanket. “They still wouldn’t let me in, but Joe was there—he’s a firefighter, too. I asked him to get the three metal boxes—they’re in the living room. And he found this. The blanket’s kind of smoky, but . . .”
