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CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Abasket with a note from Bunny sat on the front steps to Liz’s house.
Thought you might need a snack.
Inside were some muffins that looked freshly baked and tomatoes from her dad’s garden. She glanced over at the house next door to see Bunny looking out a window. Liz waved and headed inside. She had to admit she kind of liked the old woman and found it sweet that she’d baked muffins. Ideally, Bunny wouldn’t be a pest, though.
Was it her imagination, or did the house smell a little less dusty and mildewy than it had the day before? She flicked the switch on the living room wall, and the lights came on. At least the electric company had been timely in their restoration of service. She moved into the kitchen, taking the basket with her, and cleared a space on the Formica counter.
The blueberry muffins were still warm and smelled of sweetness, and she could practically taste the juicy middles of the bright-red tomatoes. She was surprised at the fond memories the tomatoes brought up. Her dad had always been so proud of his garden. Tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and even cucumbers. One time he’d tried to grow corn, but that hadn’t worked out. As a kid, she’d spent a lot of time in the garden with her dad, learning how to plant, fertilize, and harvest. Surprisingly, those memories brought a smile to her lips.
When had her dad become so mean? Thinking back, it seemed to have coincided with her teenage years. How odd that she had happy memories before that. An unsettling thought bubbled up. When her own kids were teenagers, they weren’t exactly all sweetness and light. She remembered many fights. Had she been the same to her parents? Probably. And if that was the case, maybe her father wasn’t the only one to blame for those bad memories.
No sense in thinking about the past, though. She bit into a muffin and looked around the house. Where to start?
The kitchen would be the most time-consuming. The countertops were cluttered, and the cabinets were stuffed full. At least her brother had cleaned out the refrigerator and unplugged it before her dad went into assisted living. She shuddered to think of what six years of moldy food would be like in there.
She started with the cabinets near the fridge, pulling out baking dishes, pots, pans, and cast-iron skillets. Hadn’t she read somewhere those could be worth money? Maybe she should set some of the stuff aside and consult Andie before she had it hauled away as junk.
The thought of finding something valuable excited her. She could really use the money, though, of course, she would have to split it with her siblings. Truth be told, she felt like she should get a higher percentage, since she was doing the bulk of the work, but she hadn’t wanted to broach that topic with her brother and sister. Things had been a bit strained among the three of them because they hadn’t agreed on their father’s care or what to do with the house. The funeral had brought them back together, and she didn’t want to mess that up now. Besides, she really didn’t have anything better to do.
Moving on to the drawers, she opened the old bread box and slid the metal top back. She was a little worried she might find old moldy bread in there, but she didn’t. Apparently, her dad had stashed all her mom’s old recipe books and cards in there.
She brought them to the kitchen table, cleared a spot, and sat down. The cookbooks were stuffed full of magazine articles, and the recipe cards were in her mom’s own handwriting, the ink faded and the cards splotched with food stains. They included some of her favorite dishes from when she was a kid—crab puffs, cherry cheesecake pie, Congo bars. Warm memories of cooking in the kitchen with her mom bubbled up.
She was so engrossed looking through the recipes she didn’t notice Bunny until she heard a knock at the door.
Bunny was wearing what looked like a flowered house coat and furry pink slippers. Liz couldn’t help the expression on her face when she opened the door.
Bunny laughed. “We don’t stand much on formality here in the neighborhood. Pajamas are not uncommon.”
“You mean you walk around like this?” Liz asked, glancing out to the street, expecting to see an army of neighbors in furry slippers.
Bunny shrugged. “Sometimes. We’ve all been here a long time, and we’re kind of like family. Your dad was too.”
Liz definitely couldn’t picture her father trotting around the neighborhood in pajamas, but the thought of neighbors as close as family tugged at her heartstrings. It would be nice to have a neighborhood of family. A place to belong and where people watched out for one another. She hadn’t had that since her kids were little and her marriage was solid.
But then came the disturbing thought that she actually didn’t have any place to live now. All her belongings were in storage. And after she was done cleaning out her dad’s house, where would she go?
Staying at Tides had actually brought a newfound appreciation for her old hometown. Living near the beach was always nice, but she couldn’t afford a place in Lobster Bay. Maybe a neighboring town? Of course, she would never take Jane up on her offer to stay at Tides over the winter.
Bunny came in, and they sat at the table. “Thanks for the muffins. Would you like one?”
“You’re very welcome, dear. I guess I could have one.” She produced a stick of butter and some tea bags from her pocket. “I came prepared.”
Liz rummaged up her mother’s old stainless steel kettle and boiled some water.
“So, how is the cleanup going?” Bunny gestured to the piles of items Liz had taken out of the cupboards.
“Pretty good. I think there’s a lot of junk. I might have to get a dumpster.”
“Don’t be too hasty. Your dad didn’t throw anything away, which I guess is obvious. But you don’t want to let go of some of these things from your childhood because you can never get them back.” Bunny suddenly looked very sad. “I should know.”
“Oh?” Liz sensed Bunny wanted to talk about it, so she bit into the muffin she’d just slathered with butter and settled back in her chair.
“Yep. My family home burned down when I was young. We had generations of antiques and things in there, but nothing was saved.” Bunny got a faraway look in her eyes. “There was one distant relative that had taken some of my great-grandparents’ things, but he had a falling out with my dad, and we never got anything back.”
Liz frowned. “Oh, that’s so sad. I’m sorry. What happened?” Liz thought about Tides and all the generations of family belongings there. Jane seemed so happy to be surrounded by them. But those things were much older than anything in this house. Her family didn’t have any antiques from the early 1900s and certainly nothing expensive. But the items that filled the house still elicited a warm feeling of nostalgia, even though they were only from the fifties through eighties.
