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The man watched her, impatient. He pointed at each item as he spoke. "Laranjas, limões, maçãs, azeitonas, ameixas, leite, queijo, figos, feijão, couve," he said, pointing in turn to oranges, lemons, apples, olives, plums, milk, cheese, figs, beans, cabbage.
Suddenly understanding, Molly laughed. She put her hands to her cheeks and turned to Helena. "The doctor just wanted you to eat healthy," she said, reaching for the basket as she turned to Helena. "No vitamins, just good food." She looked back at the shopkeeper. "Thank you so much," she said, walking back up front to pay for everything.
Back on the boat for the night, Molly made her friend a feast: a chopped up fruit salad, a plate of olives and cheese, and a cabbage and bean dish with a chicken breast on the side. She poured her a big glass of milk, and then served figs and yogurt for dessert. As she chopped and prepared, she thought of all the healthy, robust-looking people she'd seen that day wandering the streets of Lisbon, and she knew that the right diet and exercise were most likely huge contributing factors to their overall health. It was a lesson she'd hang onto for the rest of her life: if you put good things into the machine, good things will come out. Never again after her time on the boat would she survive on rice and canned vegetables, and never again would she discount the importance of having a rainbow of fruits and vegetables on her plate.
The next morning they woke up and Molly used the rest of the fruit to mix with yogurt for Helena. She tried to use up everything in the icebox before they set out, and what she couldn't feed Helena for breakfast, she wrapped up so that they'd have lunch as they traveled. The rest of the chicken and cheese went nicely between two slices of bread that she wrapped in waxed paper, and the apples and oranges fit into the side pocket of her backpack.
She insisted that Helena choke down one more glass of milk and then they headed out, saying goodbye to the boat for the foreseeable future. She'd agreed to dock it at the marina for at least a month, putting down a deposit and securing everything so that it would be as safe as possible, regardless of weather.
Helena stopped on the dock and took a long look back as she held onto the straps of her backpack. "I'll kind of miss that old thing," she said, looking at the boat fondly. "We had fun, didn't we?"
"We did," Molly agreed, standing next to Helena as she admired her little vessel.The Mollycoddlehad served her well so far, and if things went according to plan, she'd make her way back to Portugal and decide where to go next--but she'd do that alone. Helena was making her way home to Lundy, and Molly was ready to go wherever the wind took her.
Ruby
Everyone is hanging on Molly's words. She sits back in her chair, her face relaxed and smiling as the other women stand for a bathroom break, ready to refill drinks and grab cookies or brownies from the dessert platter that Ruby has set on the dining room table.
"Mom?" Athena calls out over the din. "Someone is ringing the doorbell!"
Ruby sets her empty glass on the island and wipes her hands on a towel. "Okay," she says with a frown. "I thought we were all here already..."
She pulls open the front door to find Cobb Hartley and Bev Byer standing there, smiling at her sheepishly.
"Hi, Ruby," Cobb says. He holds up a 6-pack of non-alcoholic bottled beer by its cardboard handle. "Brought my own libations." He smiles. "Non-alcoholic."
"But if you have any thing for an old sailor like me with a bit more kick to it, I'd take it off your hands," Bev says, leaning against the door frame with one elbow.
Ruby is happy to see their faces--both Cobb, Marigold's husband, and Bev, bartender and friend to all--are more than welcome at her house, but she hasn't been expecting to see men there on her doorstep that evening.
Without letting on how surprised she is to see them, she smiles back. "Is Marigold expecting you?" she asks Cobb. Ruby steps aside so that they can come in and the men pause to wipe their sandy shoes on her doormat before stepping into the foyer.
"Actually," Cobb says, looking even more sheepish, "I overheard Marigold talking on the phone to Sunday about Molly's story, and I kind of wanted to hear it."
"And I've known the old broad for decades, but didn't know some of the stuff that's floating around out there. Did you know she captained her own boat and sailed across the world?"
Ruby gives them both a wry smile. "You're several book club meetings behind, gents, but I'm sure you're welcome to join us. Come on in."
The women clap and hoot excitedly at new guests, and Marigold stands up from her spot on the couch, hugging Cobb with one arm. They are still just as gorgeous as they've always been: a former supermodel and her rockstar husband, and everyone watches as she swats his arm playfully.
"You were eavesdropping on my phone conversation with Sunday?" she asks her husband, pulling him onto the couch next to her and scooting close so that their hips are touching. Bev brings Cobb an uncapped bottle of non-alcoholic beer.
"Thanks, mate," Cobb says, lifting the beer bottle at him.
Bev comes back into the room holding a dining room chair in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. He sets the chair next to the fireplace and sits on it, legs spread wide, one palm on his thigh as he assesses the women.
"Ladies," he says.
There's a noticeable shift in the room at the infusion of testosterone, but the women quickly adjust, laughing and teasing the newcomers.
"You just couldn't stay away from your lovely bride for a whole evening, could you?" Ella asks Cobb, leaning across Marigold, who is seated to her left. She pats Cobb on the knee. "I can't say I blame you, and you two have a palpable magic to you."
"Oh, do we now, love?" Cobb asks in his slow, charming British accent. He lifts an eyebrow at Ella.
"You do. I've watched you together for a while, and I can tell that you've known one another in a past life. Maybe more than one."
Marigold rests her head on Cobb's shoulder. "I think that's true," she says.
"I'm just happy we're still together in this one." Cobb leans over and kisses the top of his wife's head before she lifts it from his shoulder. "Could have gone either way."
