Kin

by Lesley Crewe

  Kisses all around, and just as they were backing up out of the driveway, Mom came running out.

  “Before you leave, go to the Superstore. We’re out of teabags and your grandmother wants some chocolate digestives.”

  Colleen came out of the house and added ten more things, seeing how they were going anyway.

  When they got to the parking lot, Hilary wasn’t sure what to do. “Do we leave Grampy in my purse or here in the car?”

  “Leave him in the car.”

  “He’ll be lonely.”

  “Then keep him in your purse, or I can stay out here with him if you like.”

  “No, I want you with me. This is where Grampy and I would come to get our groceries for the summer.”

  They went into the store and Hilary pushed her grandfather around in the seat of the shopping cart. “This is weird, Grampy. What shall I buy?”

  They picked up the groceries her mother wanted and were heading for the cash, when they passed the aisle with the sugar cereals her mother used to get.

  “Grampy would never let me have this crap in the summer, so he bought the plain cereal in little boxes instead.” Reef picked some up and put it in the cart.

  They delivered their groceries and set off for the bungalow. By now it was mid-afternoon.

  “I hope I can find this place. I only went here once.”

  They walked hand in hand past the long beach and then into the woods. At first she wasn’t sure if she was right, but she remembered Grampy saying if you could see the water on your left you were going in the right direction.

  It seemed a longer walk than when she was with her grandfather, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to let him go, so she wasn’t hurrying. For the most part, she and Reef didn’t talk.

  And then there it was, the huge ballerina tree in the middle of the clearing, the wind blowing its raggedy branches to and fro.

  “Does it look like a ballerina to you?”

  “It looks like someone trying to hail a cab in New York. It’s quite something, isn’t it?”

  “Grampy said this was his favourite place in the whole world. Round Island beach is the second. He used to play here with his sister Annie, and he told me that a tree fairy and a magic cricket live here.

  “Your grandfather liked to tell stories.”

  Hilary looked at the ground. All of a sudden she wasn’t sure if she could do it. Reef put his arm around her.

  “I loved him so much. He was…a very special man.”

  She inhaled a deep breath, took her grandfather’s ashes, and scattered them around the tree. It was over in a moment. She couldn’t see him anymore.

  “I need to sit down.”

  They went to the spot where she and her grandfather sat when she was a child. They leaned against a tree and watched the water below. She cried against Reef’s shirt for a few moments and then she wiped her tears, took his face in her hands, and kissed him. He was perfect.

  “I love you, Reef. I want to tell you here, near Grampy, that I would love to marry you.”

  “How did I know you’d say that?” He took a small box out of his pocket.

  Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? Darn it! I ruined your moment!”

  “This is the best moment of my life.” He opened it. “This was my great-grandmother’s engagement ring. I’ll buy you your own, when I make some money.”

  “You will not. I love it!”

  He put the heritage ring on her finger and they whispered promises and dreams to each other. They thought no one had ever loved someone as much as they did. That no one had ever felt this way before.

  It was time to go. He reached for her hand and pulled her up. They paused by the ballerina tree.

  “Goodbye, Grampy.”

  They walked hand in hand through the woods and onto the beach, heading for home.

  “I can’t wait to see the world and write about it,” he said.

  “I’m going to write stories,” she said.

  “I know. And there will be so much inspiration for you when we’re travelling.”

  Hilary stopped and looked at the beach where she swam, the field where she ran, and the woods that held her grandfather’s secret.

  “I don’t think I need to go that far to find good stories.”

  “What will you write about?”

  “My kin.”

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I’d like to thank my family, friends, and neighbours for sharing with me their memories of growing up in Glace Bay, Mira, and Louisbourg during the thirties, forties, and fifties: Bill and Edie Phillips, Erna Jean Scott, Jean Crowell, Gladys Smith, Neila Johnston, Beverly Macdonald, Barbara MacDonald, Donald and Bev Smith, and Myrna Steele. I’ll always be grateful.

  HEIRLOOM RECIPES

  Some of my favourite recipes from my grandmother’s

  collection…enjoy!—L. C.

  LEMON MERINGUE PIE

  Filling:

  1 cup sugar

  1¼ cups water

  1 tablespoon butter

  ¼ cup corn starch (dissolve in 3 tablespoons cold water)

  6 tablespoons lemon juice

  1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

  3 egg yolks

  2 tablespoons milk

  Mix. [I’m assuming this means cook on stovetop until thick. She doesn’t say! —L. C.]

  Bake pie shell

  Meringue:

  3 egg whites

  6 tablespoons sugar

  1 teaspoon lemon juice

  Whip!

  CORN BREAD

  ½ cup sugar

  ¼ cup shortening

  2 eggs, beaten

  1¼ cups flour

  4 teaspoons baking powder

  ¼ teaspoons salt

  1 cup cornmeal

  1 cup milk

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening, then beat in eggs. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal. Add gradually to the cream mixture alternately with the milk, stirring just enough to blend after each addition. Pour into a well-greased 9 x 9 baking pan and bake 30–40 minutes.

  MACARONI AND CHEESE

  2 cups macaroni

  cheese

  butter or margarine

  salt and pepper

  1½ cups milk

  Gradually add 2 cups macaroni to rapidly boiling salted water (little salt), so that the water continues to boil. Cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender to a fork. Drain well. (When I drain the macaroni I let some cold water run through and then drain well.)

  Put half of the macaroni in casserole, place layers of cheese on top. I use old cheese (sharp). Over this put some dots of butter and then the rest of the macaroni, more cheese, little butter or margarine. Salt and pepper.

  Pour over this 1½ cups milk. Bake 375 degrees for around 40 minutes.

  MOTHER’S WHITE FRUITCAKE

  [This is Cynthia’s recipe…my grandmother Abbie’s mother. —L.C.]

  ¾ pound butter

  2 cups white sugar

  3 cups fine coconut

  4 ½ cups flour (use ½ cup flour to dredge fruit)

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  Mix together. Add:

  8 eggs

  ½ pound almonds [chopped? —L. C.]

  1 teaspoon lemon juice

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 teaspoon almond flavouring

  ½ cup milk

  1 package red cherries (8-ounce package)

  1 package green cherries (8-ounce package)

  1 package white citron

  3 packages pineapple

  1 package golden raisins

  Bake at 275 degrees. [Usually 4 to 5 hou
rs? It doesn’t say on the recipe. —L. C.]

  WHITE BREAD

  2 cups milk

  ¼ cup sugar

  4 teaspoons salt

  ¼ cup shortening

  2 packages dry yeast

  1 cup lukewarm water with 2 teaspoons sugar dissolved in it

  5 cups flour

  Scald milk. Pour into large bowl. Add sugar, salt, shortening. Stir until shortening melts. Cool to lukewarm.

  Meanwhile sprinkle dry yeast over lukewarm sugared water. Let stand for 10 minutes (Keep at temp of about 80 degrees [I’m assuming she means Fahrenheit, which is about 26 degrees Celsius —L. C.]). Then stir briskly with a fork.

  Add softened yeast to the lukewarm milk mixture, stir. Beat in flour. Work in the last of the flour with a rotating motion of the hand. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 8–10 minutes. Shape into a smooth ball. Place dough into a greased bowl. Grease top, cover and let rise until double in bulk, around 1½ hours. Keep dough in warm place (80 degrees [again! —L. C.]).

  Punch down dough and cut into four pieces. Form each into a smaller ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Shape into loaf and place into greased pans. Grease top. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 1¼ hours.

  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

  [A real time saver for the modern woman. —L. C.]

  A reader’s guide to Kin by Lesley Crewe

  Kin has an enormous cast of characters. Are there any you feel particularly drawn to? Are there any you dislike? Why?

  Why do you think Crewe changed perspectives so much between the characters? Is there anyone whose perspective you wanted more of?

  Crewe introduces Annie, Colleen, and Hilary in the same way. What traits and circumstances do these three characters share? In what ways are they different?

  Lila is, from the moment we meet her, frail. And yet she lives through one of the worst losses imaginable, the death of her child, and even thrives afterwards. Where does she find the strength to live through her grief? What would you do or have you done in similarly devastating circumstances?

  After all his professions of love, David ends up acting very badly towards Lila and to Kay. Does his subsequent journey redeem him?

  There is a lot of detail about food in Kin, and even recipes from Crewe’s ancestors included at the back. What are some of the most significant and memorable food-related moments in the book? What role does food play in the book? Does it have a similar place in your own life?

  How is reading a book that’s multi-generational different from reading a book that focuses on a more specific amount of time? Does the broad perspective we have of the characters change how you feel about them? Would your impressions of Ewan, for example, be changed if the book stopped before he and Lila reconciled? And does seeing a character die change your impressions of their personality?

  Round Island is a very important place to a number of characters in Kin. Is this sense of connection with a place common? Do you have your own retreat from the world?

  Each generation we meet in Kin is full of optimism and ready to change the world. Will any generation actually succeed in changing the world? Has any generation done so? Does it matter if they don’t? Is it a goal we should keep striving for?

  About the Author

  Lesley Crewe is the author of Her Mother’s Daughter, Hit & Mrs., Ava Comes Home, Shoot Me, and Relative Happiness, which was shortlisted for the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. Lesley was previously a freelance writer and columnist for Cape Bretoner Magazine and Cahoots online magazine. Born in Montreal, Lesley lives in Homeville, Nova Scotia.

  www.lesleycrewe.com