Norah's Ark

Officer Haley looked at me over her head, puzzlement in his beautiful eyes.

“Arthur. Arthritis. Auntie Lou and Arthur have a marriage of inconvenience,” I explained.

“Now you two run along and don’t tell another soul about this. I feel so foolish that my face must be red as a jar of beet pickles as it is!”

“No promises, Lou,” I said sternly. “We’re your family here on Pond Street. We can’t look after you if you never tell us what’s wrong.”

“Nothing subtracting forty or fifty years from my age wouldn’t help.” The calico was rumbling like a diesel truck and rubbing his head on Lou’s arm. “Now go away, both of you. I’ve got Silas here to help me get dressed.”

Lou chuckled at the expression on Nick’s face. “Silas is my cat. Named him after my dear departed husband. Both sweet, useless layabouts.”

“Are you sure…” he began.

“Sure as can be that you aren’t the one to help me get dressed, mister. You, either, Norah. Go rescue a gerbil or something. I’m fine.”

With that, she grabbed the cane Nick had propped by her bed and waved it at us threateningly. Our rescue mission was obviously over.

Back out in the sunlight, we found Sarge snacking contentedly on a patch of grass.

“Officer, I’d like to thank you…”

“Nick. Call me Nick.”

“Oh, well, yes, thank you,” I said, sounding vaguely dimwitted. I wish he’d put his sunglasses back on. Those eyes of his rattled me as though they X-rayed my soul. Instead, he stood there, tapping the bow of the glasses against his leg, making the coins in his pocket jingle.

“Tell me, has this happened before?”

“No. She sometimes complains that she’s so stiff she needs a hoist to get out of her chair, but when I suggested a lift chair so she could stand more easily, she huffed and puffed and said she didn’t want to be expelled from a chair like a bottle rocket and that was that. As far as I know, Auntie Lou has never had a major health issue. She’s just old.”

“How old?”

“She says she went to grade school with Methuselah and junior high with seven of the Apostles, but other than that, I have no idea.”

Finally, he laughed. “Okay, so it isn’t a recurring event. I’d just like to know in case…you know.”

“I’m glad you’re willing to watch out for Auntie Lou. I am, too. And everyone on Pond Street would notice if she didn’t show up at the shop for a day or two. Maybe I can convince her to go to the doctor for a checkup.”

“Does she have any family?” he inquired.

“None that she’s ever mentioned.” I felt my chin come out defensively. “We’re her family. I’m her family.”

Although I’d never thought about it like that before, I knew it was true.

We’re stewards, after all, responsible for the earth and creatures God gave us and for those who can’t care for themselves. “Care for the orphans and widows in their distress….” What can love and gentle care hurt? Absolutely nothing.

“Then she’s very fortunate to have you.”

“Fortunate to have me? I’m fortunate to have her. Auntie Lou is a treasure, Nick. Just wait until you get to know her. You’ll see.”

I reached out and stroked Sarge’s neck. “He’s beautiful. Have you always ridden horses?”

“For the police? No. I was a narcotics agent for several years. Then I had a little—” his voice faltered “—accident and I needed a change, an assignment a little less…dramatic. That’s when I backed off narcotics and went back on the force. When they needed someone part-time for the mounted patrol, I applied. I rode a lot as a kid and that was actually what I’d intended when I originally joined law enforcement. It seemed a natural choice. Now, as you know, I do crowd control for special events as well as normal police work. Shoreside has enough events around the lake, parades and fairs to keep me busy.”

Though his tone was pleasant, it felt as though he’d strung barbed wire around a certain topic he’d mentioned—an accident, his accident. Ask me about the horse, he hinted silently. Don’t ask me what happened to get me here.

“Well, I think he’s magnificent. There aren’t many jobs I could enjoy more than the one I already have except those involving horses or dog training or…”

“Give me horses any day,” he responded quickly. Sarge shifted restlessly and the creak of his saddle and the clank of stirrups reminded us how patiently he was waiting.

“Thanks for helping me with Auntie Lou,” I murmured. “I know you must have more to do than…”

“Anytime. And I’ll keep an eye out for her, too.”

Feeling grateful and a little giddy, I went to open Norah’s Ark and fed the masses.

At 10:00 a.m., two of my favorite Bed and Biscuit clients arrived. Winslow Cavanaugh galumphed into the store, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He’s a lovable galoot, pampered as much by his owner as Bentley is by me. A few steps behind, Cassia and Adam Cavanaugh entered. Adam was carrying a lurching pet carrier with feral sounds and hisses emanating from the breathing holes.

Winslow and Pepto have been coming to my B and B for several months now. The Cavanaughs travel a lot—overseas, I think—and the happy-go-lucky dog has made himself right at home in the back of the store. Pepto, a cat with the disposition of a viper and personality of an evil dictator of some small, suffering nation, has only deemed to grace us with his presence because he has no other option. I’ve made it my goal to win over the big, ornery cat and we’re making some headway. I love a challenge. Especially a furry one.

Once I got them settled, I returned to the front of the store in time to see Lilly sweep in and gracefully receive her admiring squawk from Winky. Today she was wearing something chiffon and mustard-yellow, a dress perhaps, although it looked as though it had been put together with safety pins. She had matching knee-high, lace-up boots, a vibrant orange ribbon woven through the blond curls she’d piled on top of her head and a necklace and earrings made out of more safety pins. On her, stunning. On me? Stunned.

“Don’t you look like a ray of sunshine?” I greeted her. Or a yellow paint spill.

“You like it?” She twirled and the chiffon floated around her in a gauzy cloud. “I thought I might run into Connor Trevain again today and I wanted to look, you know, nice.”

“Nice? You look like lemon sherbet. Delectable, mouth-watering even.”

“That’s what I was going for.”

“Trevain is still in your sights, is he?”

“He hasn’t been out of them since the day he arrived.” A small pout formed on her lower lip. “But he’s been so busy with those boats of his, he’s hardly had time to stop in to say hello. Did you come to work early today?” Lilly inquired as she picked up a piece of lettuce and fed it to the iguana.

“Earlier than I’d planned.” I gave her an abbreviated version of Auntie Lou’s arthritis and left out the help I’d received from Officer Haley. I didn’t want anyone to get the idea that Auntie Lou was incapable of caring for herself. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have others watching out for her just in case she fell in her shop.

“Maybe she’s too old to be running that place all alone. When my grandmother was her age, she moved into a retirement home.”

I ignored her implication. Auntie Lou is not Lilly’s grandmother. She’s unique and can’t be compared to anyone else. I studied Lilly for a moment. “Something’s different about you today, Lilly. What’s up?”

She looked at me coyly, as if I’d caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. “I’ve made up my mind about something.”

“Tell me more.” Lilly prides herself on being flexible. To make up her mind—and stick with it—is definitely an occasion to be curious about.

“I’m getting married.”

I felt my jaw drop and my eyes bug out with shock.

“You don’t have to look so surprised. I’m almost thirty, you know. It’s time.”