Morning Glory(81)
She nods her head. “Mommy says the tooth fairy comes at our house and at Daddy’s house.”
I look up at Alex with a grin. “That’s right,” I say. “And I hear the tooth fairy is especially generous on houseboats.”
“Really?” Gracie asks excitedly. “I’m staying over with Daddy tonight.” Alex flashes me a private smile.
The church bells ring again, and he points ahead. “Come on, you two,” he says. “Let’s go find a seat.”
We traverse the foyer and take a seat in a pew toward the back of the church. Alex watches as Gracie smiles up at me just as the first hymn begins. I don’t listen to the sermon, not really. I think about my burden instead, and how I’d like to give it to someone else for a while. God? Could I do that? I’m not sure. But I do know that Alex was right. It just feels good to belong.
Before we’re back at the dock, Alex’s cell rings. Gracie and I listen to one side of his conversation in the car. He doesn’t sound happy.
“That was my client at Seattle magazine,” he says. “The layouts for the tapas feature in the spring issue came back, and they’re not exactly what the editor in chief had in mind.” He pulls into his parking spot just off Fairview Avenue and rubs his brow. “They want me to come in and reshoot.”
“Really?” I say. “That sounds completely unreasonable.”
Alex shrugs. “It’s in my contract. I have no choice but to go in and get it right or else.” He sighs, and reaches for his cell phone. “I’ll call Kellie—”
“It’s OK,” I say quickly. “Gracie and I can hang out here until you come back.”
His face melts into a smile. “Really?”
I nod.
He turns around to look at Gracie, and she grins. “No big deal, Daddy.” She turns to me. “Can I see your houseboat?”
“I’ll give you the grand tour.”
I take Gracie’s hand as we climb out of the car. Alex heads down his dock to get his camera, and we walk toward Boat Street. “Bye, you two,” he says. “I promise, I’ll only be a few hours.”
As we walk up to my deck, Jim is heading back toward the dock. He looks startled to see us. “Oh,” he says, shuffling his hand through his hair. “I was, uh, just dropping by to say hello.”
“Oh,” I reply, remembering how he was ill the night of Bach on the Dock. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. Thank you.” He glances at Gracie, then turns back to me. “Well, don’t let me interrupt.”
“You’re welcome to come in,” I say.
“Nah, I’d better get back. Dad’s having a bad day.”
“Right,” I say. I wonder why he’s acting so strangely, but Gracie’s smiling up at me. Her big green eyes make me forget my concerns. “Do you have a bunk bed?” she asks. “I wish Daddy’s houseboat did.”
“I have a loft,” I say. “And that’s just as cool.”
She jumps up and down. “Can I see it?”
“Of course you can.”
Inside, I begin the tour, but soon she climbs up to a barstool. “Do you love my daddy?”
My cheeks feel hot. “Well, we haven’t known each other very long, but I think he’s pretty amazing.”
“He is,” Gracie says matter-of-factly. “Did you know he can hide a quarter in his ear and make it come out in his hand?”
“Really?”
She nods, and I instantly remember the way James did that trick for Ella. It never failed to astonish her.
“He can also tie a fisherman’s knot,” she says. “That’s hard, but I’m learning.”
“Are you hungry?” I ask, scanning the refrigerator for kid-friendly fare.
“Do you have any cookies?”
“Sorry, I don’t.”
“We could make some,” she suggests. Her legs dangle from the stool, but she tucks them under herself and looks up at me in anticipation. “Mommy and I always make cookies.”
Of course, her mother the award-winning chef. “Well, I did find some flour and sugar in the pantry, but I don’t think I have a good recipe.”
“Oh,” she says, disappointed.
But then I remember Penny’s little blue notebook and all the recipes inside. “Wait, I have an idea.”
Gracie follows me to the chest in the living room. “Can you keep a secret?” I ask.
She nods eagerly.
“I found a chest filled with treasures from another time,” I say, lifting the lid. I show her the wedding dress, the gloves, and other relics of Penny Wentworth’s life before I pull out the notebook. “This belonged to a woman who lived here a very long time ago. Her name was Penny.”