“No,” I whispered. “I mean, what if we rearrange them?”
She smiled at me almost sleepily, and I knew that this was my storybook first-kiss moment. But then, something glinted no more than two inches from where Daisy’s hair was spread out on the grass. I jumped up and grabbed her up with me.
She wriggled and wiped herself off. “What?” she shrieked.
“Just a mouse,” I said. “But it took off.”
“Gross!” she said, rubbing her hands on her bare arms again.
Damn mouse. Ruined my moment.
“There are so many cats around here, you don’t see mice all that much.”
“Well, aren’t I lucky?” she said sarcastically.
“You really are. Not only because of the mouse, but also because I have a very special treat for you.” As we made our way to Dogwood, I could see that Aunt Tilley had gotten my text. Two places were set at the outdoor table. I didn’t want to wake the kids by going inside, so I walked around the porch, leading Daisy.
“So, you just kind of take over houses that aren’t yours?”
I laughed. “You know, Dogwood has always been my house too. I can’t even think of a time when I wouldn’t wander in to grab a snack or hang out with Amelia’s parents or something. Plus, our moms are basically always together, so if you want one of them, you get both. Sometimes they are at my house, sometimes they are at Dogwood, but we’ve just always had this big communal property.” I stopped and looked at her, not quite reading the expression on her face, but sensing it wasn’t great. “Wow. That’s weird, isn’t it? I should have stopped treating this like my own when I was like fourteen. And here I am thirty-eight, and still basically a squatter in what’s now my brother’s house.”
“No, no.” She squeezed my forearm. “I was thinking how that is the most special, most magical thing. You are so lucky, and I’m not sure you even know it.”
There was more to that, a reason she felt that way. But Aunt Tilley swept out the door—in a regular pink dress that wasn’t even verging on a costume—carrying two plates with bowls nestled precariously on them.
“Aunt Tilley, you are the domestic goddess of my dreams,” I said, kissing her cheek as she sat the plates down. “Do you remember Daisy?”
“Remember her?” Aunt Tilley asked. “Why, of course Irememberher. She and I were fast friends.”
I looked down at the plates, and Tilley said, “Darlings, I hate to tell you that the best thing I could whip up with five minutes’ notice was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. But I am happy to report that there was cold wine in the fridge, and I will have a pie ready in thirty minutes or less.”
My heart swelled.
“Tilley, that might be my very favorite meal,” Daisy said. I didn’t know if she meant it or if she was being gracious, but, either way, it was the best thing she could have said.
Tilley said, “I’m so glad, darlin’,” and swept through the door as I poured glasses of wine. I walked around the table and pulled out Daisy’s chair, as she looked out over the water.
“She’s something, isn’t she?” I asked as I sat down.
Daisy laughed, taking a bite of her sandwich. “Oh my word,” she said. “This is the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.” She chewed as I took a bite and nodded in agreement.
“I’m not sure I totally understand the Tilley situation,” Daisy said.
If she was looking to me for guidance, she had come to the wrong place. “I can’t explain the puzzle of Tilley.” I slurped the hot soup, feeling it warm my insides. Could there be a better meal? If there was, I didn’t know of it. I wiped my mouth and said, “But, see, the thing about Tilley is that she taught me the most important lesson of my life.”
Daisy raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“We have to accept people for who they are, even if it isn’t who we want them to be.”
She nodded. “It has taken me my entire life to learn that, so good for you for grasping it early on.”
“That’s the beauty of Cape Carolina, too. Everyone just…” I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain. “They don’t try to change her. They just go along with whoever she feels like showing up as that day. It’s pretty cool.”
I couldn’t imagine leaving a place that would be so good to its citizens—that had been so good to me.
“Very cool,” Daisy said. She looked out over the water and then back at me. “Hey, Mason?”
“Yeah.”
