Beholden

by Lesley Crewe

  Patty and I laughed and laughed. She was so giddy.

  In November, the great animal swap took place. Our lives were so busy that it became impossible to keep running up to Nell’s to look after the critters. I’d taken Hobbs, Buddy, and Josie with me when I moved in with Mitch. Cat and Cat stayed with Maud and Danny. I never got around to naming them, and Danny thought they should keep their Christian names.

  My petting zoo wasn’t working out so great. One of the goats chased Danny around the yard, and a couple of sheep escaped one morning, which made him a very angry Little Bo Peep. Maud’s wrist was a bit sore, so she didn’t want the responsibility of milking the cow. Daisy was coming home with us.

  Will was a huge help with the animals. They knew him well, and all three horses went into the trailer quite willingly when it was their turn. He even collected the chickens with no problems. The boy needed to be a vet.

  Having all the animals in one place was a giant worry off my mind. When I looked at our very pretty empty red barn before I left, my mind started whirling. Danny knew that look and came out with a piece of fudge.

  “Here. What are ya thinkin’?”

  I took a bite. “We’re going to turn this into an antique store. It will be a great way to introduce people to the B&B.”

  “We don’t have any extra antiques, unless you count Mavis.”

  “We’ll gather some up. On the days you’re not busy, you and Maud will scour the countryside.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to know about antiques before you sell them?”

  “Did I know anything about fishing cabins or rentals or bed and breakfasts? No. I learned on the go. This will be the same thing. Antiques are just old things. We have enough stuff floating around this county to keep us going for years. We won’t be Sotheby’s. People who come from away are looking for butter churns to put on their front porch at home. They’re not interested in pedigree. A lobster trap and some fishing rope will do.”

  He nodded slowly. “Did you ever notice that whenever you have an idea, it always involves other people?”

  I hugged him. “I won’t be fat and pregnant for long.”

  “Pregnant, no. Fat, never.”

  My due date was December 11. In the week leading up to it, Mitch found me outside, cleaning up the woodpile. He marched me into the house and lay beside me on the bed, with my head snuggled into his shoulder.

  “I forbid you to leave this room. Everything is done. Everything is spic and span. The baby’s clothes are ready to go. The diapers are bought. Mom has filled the freezer with suppers. Will even washed the dogs for you. Your three enterprises are filled with a variety of oddballs, and the money is rolling in. All you and I have to do is basically nothing until baby arrives, so I order you to go to sleep. Do you hear me?”

  I was asleep.

  Thankfully, God let me have this one boring moment. Everything went like clockwork. On December 11, I woke up to contractions. I sat around all morning because they weren’t amounting to much, until Mitch called his mother and she and Danny roared over in a panic. Then they watched me most of the afternoon until they couldn’t stand it and called Patty and Mavis, who showed up around five.

  I asked if we should call Aunt Betty, and they all shouted, “No!”

  “But she’s Mama’s sister.”

  She showed up at five thirty.

  At seven, they staged a mutiny and insisted Mitch take me to the hospital. Will waved goodbye from the barn. Our five mother hens had their set of car headlights about six inches behind us the whole way.

  “They’re going to cause an accident,” Mitch grumbled.

  “Ignore them.”

  “Ignore Danny, Patty, Aunt Betty, and Mavis? That’s like ignoring a bowl of porridge overflowing on the stove.”

  “At least we have your mom.”

  “Thank God for small mercies.”

  We were a three-ring circus running into the hospital, and then thankfully, Mitch and I were escorted away from the madding crowd and it was just us for the rest of it. Mitch was so calm that I was calm. He’d kiss my forehead and tell me what a wonderful woman I was, and I’d focus on the life that was insisting on arriving to meet us.

  She arrived with no fuss at all. All the funny business she put me through, and in the end it was like a soft breath escaping. She looked at us both with big eyes. She didn’t cry, but her father and I cried enough for three.

  Mitch kissed me over and over. “I love you, Bridie. And I love our baby girl.”

  I took note of this.

  28

  Nell

  My bed-sit is so cozy. When I look out the windows the snow-capped mountains are there to greet me, with the small town nestled in and around the lake. Everything in Norway reminds me of a Santa’s village, the kind toy railroad tracks wind around, with lights in every window pane, street lamps, and the stars twinkling in the night sky. The northern lights are what drew me to this place, and even now there are green and bluish streaks in the sky, as if someone is doing a paint-by-number. The sky on Spinster’s Hill was mostly velvety black. Very beautiful, but black.

  I want colour.

  In the morning, I get dressed, make my bed, and put the kettle on. It feels odd not to have animals to feed, but it’s also so freeing to not have to think of such things. I put down my toast and wait for it to pop up so I can smear it with peanut butter and jam. I’m looking forward to doing my crossword puzzle now that Bridie isn’t here to fill it in on me. I’m sipping my tea when I hear the mail drop though the door.

  It’s no doubt an advertisement of some kind. Bridie’s too busy to send many letters. The last one she sent I keep on the small refrigerator, with the pictures of the new Spinster on the Hill Bed & Breakfast and their staff. What a clever girl she is. Everyone knows where the spinster on the hill is in that part of town, and to use my reputation for advertising is pure genius.

  Reaching down, my heart leaps. Bridie’s handwriting. Just in time for New Year’s Eve. She has scotch tape on the envelope seam, which annoys me, but I realize it feels like there are pictures inside, so I forgive her. Now to find a sharp knife. I slide the envelope open, and out comes pictures of a family. Whose family? I look closer and catch my breath.

  Tears keep getting in the way, so I have to compose myself to look at the pictures properly. It’s definitely Bridie and Mitch looking down at a small bundle. Bridie has a baby. She never even told me she was pregnant. Because she didn’t want to worry me, probably. That’s the kind of girl she is.

  A closer picture shows the baby with blond hair and the most perfect little nose and mouth. It has to be a girl. She’s too pretty to be a boy, even at this age. I quickly unfold the letter.

  Dearest Nell,

  Meet our new daughter, Jane Eleanor. She’s the sweetest little thing and she’s so good. She never cries, just looks at the world with a curiosity that would make Pops proud. She’s ever so dainty, the complete opposite of me, and Mavis is beyond in love with her, buying her poufy dresses, which should annoy the crap out of me but doesn’t.

  Mitch is so smitten. He carried her out to the barn the other day, even though I thought that was a bit much. He introduced her to all the animals, and he said she smiled. I think it’s a bit too soon for her to be smiling, but if he says so, who am I to argue?

  The businesses are doing well. You wouldn’t believe the crazy people we get, but Danny puts them in their place if they get too weird. He says he can out-weird anyone, and I believe that’s true.

  I am so happy, Nell. I miss you, but I know you are finally free to live the life you want. We’ll see each other again. We’ll come to you, most likely. I’d love to visit Norway! We can take Jane skiing and drink hot chocolate.

  I owe you everything.

  Bridie

  There’s a soft knock on the door. I wipe my eyes and open it. It’s Ar
ne, the man who lives down the hall.

  “Good morning, Nell.”

  “Good morning, Arne.”

  “I’m just checking to make sure you don’t forget the party we’re having in the lounge area tonight.”

  “I’m not likely to forget that, Arne.”

  “Because it’s New Year’s Eve. Of course.”

  “No. Because you’ll be there.”

  His eyes crinkle. “Oh, Nell.” He shakes his finger at me. “No wonder you’re so popular with the men.”

  I smile. “I’ll see you tonight. I have a few errands to run.”

  Quickly, I put on my coat, boots, hat, and mitts, and I grab my purse. I step outside and take a deep breath of clean, crisp, cold mountain air.

  It’s a brand new year tomorrow. A time for new beginnings.

  But right now I’m off to the shops to buy red velvet for the coat of a doll that belongs to a little girl named Jane.