Miss you too. Enjoy some uni for me, Georgia texted back, adding a string of heart emojis. She slipped her phone back in her pocket and grabbed a glass jar. Joan had moved on to “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” This was a depressing soundtrack for packing.
A knock at the front door startled them. Pollen raised her head and woofed a belated warning, then scrambled up and headed down the hall.
“Come on in. We’re in the back,” Star yelled. A moment later, Star’s real estate agent, Ken, poked his head through the kitchen doorway, Pollen at his heels. “Afternoon, ladies.” He came into the room with a folder in his hands and stood surveying the clutter. “Packing up, I see?” He chuckled nervously.
“Thought we’d get a head start on it.” Star rose with a groan, her back popping, hands on her knees. “That the final paperwork I need to sign?”
The agent looked uneasy. “Well now, that’s what I came to talk to you about.” He licked his lips and darted a glance around the room. “There’s, uh, a slight problem.”
“What sort of problem?” Star looked surprised. “I thought you told me the septic report came back clear.”
“Oh yes, clean as a whistle,” Ken assured her. “Ah, no, the problem is a little bigger than that. Star, there’s no easy way to say this. The sellers are backing out of the agreement.”
“What?” Star and Georgia gasped in unison, staring at the agent in astonishment.
“What do you mean backing out? Why?” Star asked.
The agent spread his hands. “I’m as baffled as you are. It seems that the sellers received a concerning environmental report packet this morning about this property from an anonymous source. Their agent emailed me a copy of what they got in the mail. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s chock-full of seismic event predictions, rainfall calculations, soil sample assessments. They don’t know what half of it means, but it’s got them completely spooked. They called their agent worried about acidic sandy soil, and lack of nutrients and something aboutthe island being in a tsunami earthquake zone. I’m not a scientist, I have no idea what half the stuff is either, but the upshot is that they’re pulling out of the sale. I told them they’ll lose their earnest money, but they were adamant. They’ve decided to move to Arizona instead. Their agent and I both tried to talk sense into them, but they’re not budging.” Ken looked bewildered. “In all my years as an agent, I’ve never seen this happen before. I’m sorry to tell you, Star, but the deal is off.”
Star and Georgia looked at each other and then they both whooped in glee. “That is some of the best news I’ve ever had,” Star announced. Pollen danced in a circle, barking excitedly and wagging her tail at Star’s happy tone.
Star turned to Georgia. There were tears in her eyes. “I guess we can unpack those salt and pepper shakers,” she said with a little laugh. “Looks like we’re staying put.”
When Star and Pollen left to usher a still apologizing and bewildered Ken out the door, Georgia looked around. She was surrounded by half-filled cardboard boxes and piles of bakeware. She gazed out the window to the bay, feeling a sweet rush of relief and gratitude. She had a pretty good guess who had sent that ominous environmental report packet. It was a brilliantly strategic move.
“Just proves you really are a genius scientist,” she murmured. Now it was possible for Star to keep her home and for Georgia to at last have one. It meant the world to her.
She pulled out her phone and texted Cole.
The craziest thing just happened. The buyers backed out. Something about an anonymous source mailing them an ominous environmental report about soil and tsunamis?
A moment later he responded.
Sounds like the work of Captain Planet.
She smiled and texted back.Newsflash: I think I’m in love with Captain Planet.And then she added a heart emoji. It was undeniable. She was head over heels in love with Dr.Cabot Cole Montgomery.
Star came back into the kitchen, Pollen right behind her. “Huh,” she said, looking around at the boxes and packing supplies and kitchenware in piles. She put her hands on her hips. “Well, I guess we can start putting the kitchen back together.”
Georgia nodded. “I guess so.” They looked at each other for a long moment, then both broke into relieved grins.
“It feels like a miracle,” Star said softly. “And I’m guessing we both know who’s to thank for it?”
Georgia nodded. “There’s only one person I know who could create an ominous environmental report packet,” she said with a touch of irony.
“And make magnesium in soil sound scary,” Star laughed. “Tell Cole I owe him a debt of gratitude.”
“We both do,” Georgia said. She could think of several delightful ways to show her thanks to Cole, but they’d have to wait until his return.
“We need some happier music for unpacking,” Georgia announced. She switched off the radio, cutting off Joan mid-warble, and put her own choice on her phone. As Édith Piaf began to triumphantly crow the stirring “Non, je ne regrette rien,” Georgia took the stack of loaf pans out of the box and slid them back into the cupboard. Now everything could go back where it belonged. Including Star.
“I didn’t think it would end like this.” Star’s voice was a little hoarse with emotion.
Georgia glanced up, surprised. “Me neither.”
Star dashed away a tear and smiled at her daughter. Pollen circled the kitchen, sniffing everything and wagging her tail, thumping it against boxes and cabinet doors.
“I didn’t want to let this place go,” Star said softly.
