Two surgeries and a godsend of meds later, Rex was inched out of the coma. Taylor reported that he now knew his name, and that he recognized her. But he didn’t seem to know what happened, where he was, or why Annie Sutton was there.
Another week passed, and another.
One cloudy afternoon, as Maddie was devouring half of the last slice of chocolate cake baked by neighbor Lisa, she was musing as to whether Rex would notice or care that her jeans had grown tight, thanks to bursts of sugar she’d come to depend on to give her body a quick charge and help take her mind off of him. Then she wondered why, no matter how benign her thoughts were, they always seemed to wind up on Rex.
She was thinking about that when the back door opened; she figured it was Kevin with the latest news. He’d been calling Taylor every day and reporting upbeat updates to Maddie:
“He’s doing great.”
“He’s starting to talk.”
“He took three steps today.”
Each time, he added, “Rex survived, Maddie. And he’s not paralyzed.”
She had no way of knowing if all of it was true or simply words shared to boost her spirits and offer a spark of hope. Kevin wasn’t chocolate or sugar, but she appreciated his effort.
“Maddie?”
The voice wasn’t Kevin’s but her father’s. She shoved the second half of the chocolaty slice into her mouth.
“Kevin needs an okay on some improvements to the original layout before he takes the next step,” Stephen said.
It had been over a month since Rex’s accident, yet her father was still there, still watching out for her.
Glancing at the table, at the stack of papers he’d put there the night before, she remembered him saying he’d read a number of book reviews on summer releases that they could pre-order. He’d asked for her thoughts on them; she hadn’t done that yet.
“Let’s go see Kevin,” she answered. “Then I promise to check the reviews.” Maybe the sugar would have done its job by then. Besides, right then walking down the hill seemed easier than reading—and trying to absorb any written words. And maybe seeing the physical space would help reboot her enthusiasm again, even if she needed to pretend for her father’s sake and Kevin’s.
“You might want to change into your boots,” Stephen said. “There’s snow on the ground.”
She didn’t ask when it had snowed or how much there was. She simply bypassed her sneakers and laced up her boots. Then she went to the hall closet, put on her jacket, knit hat, and mittens, and followed him out the front door.
She wouldn’t have been surprised if a note was sticking out from under one of the steps—unless the sender feared it would get lost under what looked like an inch of snow. Or maybe he or she had lost interest in everything, too.
The changes to the bait and tackle shop were jaw-dropping. Gone were the narrow aisles, the ancient coolers, and, most importantly, the acrid aroma of fish. Unclogged from Arnie’s stinky bait and colorful tackle, the space seemed larger, brighter,more inviting. The back wall was a window that showcased what would become the deck, its railing peeking out over the water. A long counter was framed against a sidewall with lots of space to display extra merchandise like Grandma’s baskets, herbal teas, and whatever else might come their way.
On the other side of the room, Maddie spotted a staircase; she mentioned that she didn’t remember seeing it before.
“Pull-down stairs were there,” Kevin said. “They led to an attic.”
“An attic?” Her voice sounded weak, as if she hadn’t been using it much. Probably because she hadn’t.
Kevin shrugged. “It was more like a crawl space, but the town let me raise the roof three feet, which makes a huge difference.”
“It’s empty now,” her father contributed. “We thought you could use it to expand the retail area. Or maybe use half the space for retail, and half for storage and a small office.”
“But won’t running up and down the stairs to replenish stock be exhausting for customers?” she asked.
“Got it covered,” Kevin said. “We’ve made room for a small lift that’s being designed to also work for wheelchair patrons or other people who might have trouble using stairs. Also, before you ask, I ordered a new HVAC system; it has a high-power dehumidifier that will mitigate dampness on both floors, because the books will need protecting from being practically on top of the water. I put in the same system at the Lord James, and it works great.”
They fell silent for a moment, as if the mention of Rex’s restaurant reminded them of where he was and why he wasn’t there, chatting, laughing, adding his two helpful cents.
Maddie broke the silence and climbed the steps to the upstairs space, which was as welcoming as the first floor. Between new skylights set into a cathedral ceiling and full glass walls on the front and back, the reflection off the harbor createda sensation of being in a snow globe, with rays of sunlight whirling in the air instead of flecks of snow. Once the finish work was done, the effect would be awesome.
“We also reinforced the flooring to accommodate the weight of books,” Kevin said. “I worked with the town engineer to determine the average weight of a dozen books, multiplied it by how many would comfortably fit in the room, then doubled it, and added the weight of a dozen well-fed customers.”
“Does the town have to approve it?”
