Magnolia Bay Memories

by Babette de Jongh

  “Great, thanks.” Abby gave an appreciative little clap for Adrian, then looked at Heather and Reva in turn. “Everybody grab another cookie. We’ve gotta finalize the details of the grand opening and fund-raiser.”

  Adrian turned to leave the room. “Well, I’ll leave you girls to that. Event planning is not my—”

  “Sit,” Reva commanded, softening the harsh word by handing him a cookie. “Event planning is not just for girls.”

  “But I’m really just here to give business advice, so—”

  “Well,” Reva said in her comforting, motherly voice, “we might have to fill in a form or get a permit or something, so I think you should stay. Abby? Heather? What do y’all think?”

  Heather would be just as happy if Adrian left now. But Abby put a hand on Adrian’s forearm and coaxed him back down. “Stay, please. Quinn wants you to be here in case anything comes up in the inspection that y’all need to talk about. And I’m sure he’ll want to have a cold beer with you by the pool after that.”

  Adrian sighed a long-suffering man-sigh. “Fine.”

  When he sat back down, he moved his chair a fraction of an inch, and Heather could now see the side of his face, almost enough to catch the impossibly dark-blue iris of his right eye. She scooted her chair over and focused on the daisies again. “I have kids to pick up after school, just so y’all know. Let’s talk fast.” (An oxymoron to most Southerners—including the ones sitting around this table—but still. Her time constraints were worth mentioning.)

  “We’ll hurry,” Reva assured everyone. As promised, the meeting was short—if not sweet—and everyone was happy enough to take on responsibilities they’d rather not have in order to have the thing over and done with.

  Reva was nothing if not persistent. If anyone on earth had ever won an argument with Reva, Heather hadn’t heard about it, and she was sure that such an event would’ve made the evening news.

  Quinn came around the corner. Dressed in jeans and a dark T-shirt, he only looked slightly wilted from trekking around the shelter’s grounds with the inspector. He held a folded sheaf of papers in one hand. “Welp, which do y’all want first, the good news or the bad news?”

  ***

  “Good news first,” Abby demanded.

  Quinn sat in one of the vacant chairs at the long table. “Good news: We mostly passed the inspection.”

  Adrian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He was past ready to go home. “What didn’t we pass?”

  “The existing generator is old, it’s not up to code, and even if it was, it doesn’t have enough power to keep all the buildings and outbuildings cool in case of an extended outage. We will have to buy and install a new generator for each of the different zones: the house, the garage, and the pool house—a.k.a. the shelter, the kennels, and the infirmary.”

  “Okay,” Adrian said. “So how long will that take?”

  Quinn gave his friend a sheepish look. “That sort of depends on you.”

  “Me?” Adrian pointed to himself, as if there might be another person Quinn was talking about while staring straight at him. “Why me?”

  “The inspector told me about a place in New Orleans where we can get the generators we need at a good price. But Abby can’t go—she has a bunch of wedding-planning appointments—and Reva can’t go because she has something scheduled at Bayside Barn. That leaves Heather—”

  “I can’t go,” Heather piped up. “I have kids.”

  “So,” Quinn said with a shrug, “that leaves you, Ade. You can take my truck and the flatbed trailer. They’re expecting you to pick up the generators anytime after 10:00 Wednesday morning.”

  “Great. Fine.” Not great, not fine, but Adrian reminded himself that this whole gig had a fast-approaching end date. He may as well pitch in as much as they needed until then.

  “Yoo-hoo,” a high-pitched female voice yodeled from the front room. “Where is everybody?”

  “In here, Edna,” Reva answered with a smile in her voice. “Come on in.”

  Edna, a short, rotund, grandmotherly woman with tight gray curls and a commanding presence, came into the room followed by a tall woman dressed in CEO style. “Y’all know Tammy Goodson, the city council’s president?”

  Everybody but Adrian nodded, and a couple of the women said, “Hey, Tammy.”

  Adrian stood and introduced himself.

  “And Mayor Wright?” Edna introduced the slightly stooped, silver-haired man who’d come in last.

  Adrian shook hands with the mayor.

  “Well,” Reva said, “since we’re all standing, shall we let Quinn take us on the grand tour? I just got a text from Mack that he can’t get away from the vet’s office. Let’s all grab a few cookies and some lemonade or tea and let Quinn show us around.”

  Everyone helped themselves to refreshments, then followed Quinn through the main level of the renovated Craftsman-style home.

  “Quinn built the laundry room of my dreams,” Heather said to the group when Quinn opened that door. “Two washers, two dryers, a long table for folding, and an entire wall of storage cupboards and shelving.”

  “I aim to please,” Quinn said. In the main building’s hallway, he opened doors one by one, then stood back for the visitors to look inside. “These used to be bedrooms, but now we have playrooms where we can do behavior training or where visitors can get to know a shelter animal one-on-one.”

  Then they all followed Quinn upstairs. “The second floor will house the shelter cats and small animals,” he explained. “The first room on your right has been outfitted with floor-to-ceiling stainless-steel enclosures with wire doors and pullout trays for easy cleaning. These enclosures will be for any of the smaller incoming residents, including cats, kittens, ferrets, rabbits, whatever.”

  Everybody on the planning committee took turns peeking into the room, while Edna and Tammy and Mayor Wright walked in for a closer look.

  “The first room on your left has adjustable shelving to accommodate any cages and hutches that might be surrendered along with the animals they belong to.”

  Quinn opened the new, glass-windowed door to the communal cat colony residence. “This used to be the master suite. The master bathroom has been renovated to provide a mop sink, extra storage, and a laundry chute to the downstairs laundry room.”

  Quinn stood with his hands in his pockets until everyone filed into the room. Built-in cat towers went from floor to ceiling in all four corners, and built-in shelves and ramps and steps and hiding spaces filled each wall. Quinn stopped next to a set of wider-than-usual shelves on the exterior wall, where several cutouts had been framed in and installed with cat doors that led out to the two-story outdoor play area.

  Heather sidled up to Adrian. Quinn started talking about the Formica laminate he’d used for the climbing installations, chosen for their ability to endure spray-downs with antibacterial cleansers. She bumped Adrian on the arm with her elbow. “I’m sorry about before,” she whispered.

  What was she talking about? He tried to find the answer in those green eyes of hers, but all he ended up doing was noticing the gold starburst around the iris. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” she whispered. “Talking about your car, I mean.”

  Quinn had moved on to explain how he had cut into the exterior wall to install several cat doors at different levels so that cats could access the outdoor play area attached to the exterior of the renovated house. “Having multiple doors accessed at multiple levels was Reva’s idea,” Quinn was saying. “Otherwise, one or two cats could decide to guard the door and keep the others from going outside or coming back in.”

  Adrian hadn’t thought twice about her little comment. He’d known at the time that she was working just as hard to shut him out as he was working to stop thinking about her. And that little joyride that Reva had sent them on hadn’t helped. “Forgiven,” he whispered
back.

  Of course, she blushed. Her rosy cheeks got a shade rosier, which made the tightrope he was treading all the more dangerous. The thing was, no matter how much he wanted to lure her into a light flirtation that could lead to something more, he knew that nothing lasting would come from it, and Heather wasn’t the kind of woman to accept anything less. She was all wrong for him, and he was even more wrong for her.

  “Ade, Heather, y’all coming?” Quinn said from the doorway. Apparently, everyone had begun trooping downstairs to view the cats’ outdoor playground.

  “Sure,” he said, keeping his tone as even and smooth as always.

  “Lord,” she muttered, blushing all over again.

  He refrained from putting his hand at her waist as they both turned to head downstairs.

  ***

  On Wednesday morning, Heather drove straight to the shelter after cleaning Charlie’s stall and dropping the kids off at school, but as she turned into the gravel lot, Adrian’s car was already in its usual space in the far corner. Covered with its fitted tarp, the car’s hood sported a new ornament: a black-and-white cat. At first, she thought it was Reva’s cat, Glenn, but as she got closer, she noticed the feral tomcat’s big-jawed jughead.

  Jasper whined from the back seat, pressing his nose against the glass.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she warned. “You’re not gonna mess things up this time.”

  She took her foot off the gas and let the car coast through the lot, then eased to a stop as far from Adrian’s car as she could manage.

  Jasper whined again, making a gearing-up-to-bark sound in the back of his throat. “No speak,” she commanded.

  He knew what she meant. He sat, sending her a worried glance before gazing out the window again.

  She turned off the car and sent a group text to the shelter team. The tomcat is sitting on Adrian’s car. I am stuck in my car with Jasper. Please advise.

  Reva texted back. On our way. Sit tight.

  A minute or two later, Adrian and Reva walked casually toward Adrian’s car from the shelter’s main building. Abby followed some distance behind with a small cat carrier. Quinn walked toward Heather’s car from the direction of the kennels, while his wolf dog shadowed him from a safe distance. The whole event was beautifully choreographed, and all Heather had to do was watch.

  Quinn tapped on the back-seat window with one of Georgia’s tennis balls, distracting Jasper to keep him from barking.

  Adrian and Reva eased up to the cat, and Adrian gathered the sleepy-looking feline into his arms. Abby held the crate and opened the wire door. With no apparent hesitation, the cat allowed Adrian to shift him into the crate, and Reva gently closed the door. It all happened in less than five minutes.

  Quinn stood by Heather’s car, waiting until Reva had carried the crate up the front porch and into the shelter before giving Heather the go-ahead to open her door. Then he let Jasper out of the back seat. The dog, who apparently had the attention span of a goldfish, danced around Quinn’s legs, ready for him to throw the ball.

  “Wow, that was amazing.” Heather got out of her car and clipped the keys to her purse strap. “I can’t believe they managed to catch that cat so quickly.”

  “Reva and Adrian have been working on him,” Quinn replied. “Thanks for letting us know he was out here.” Quinn tossed the ball, and Jasper eagerly scuttled across the parking lot after it. Wolf, apparently uninterested in the ball and unconcerned about Jasper, sat near the play yard gate, watching.

  Jasper trotted back with the ball, eager for another toss. He dropped the ball at Quinn’s feet and wagged his whole self, quietly idling side to side like an off-kilter ceiling fan.

  “Do you think it’s okay to let Jasper come into the shelter? Or should I put him up in a kennel?”

  “He can come in.” Quinn hurled the ball again. “Reva will take the cat straight to the vet to get neutered and vaccinated. I’m sure she’s got him in her car by now.”

  “That’s good.” They walked toward the shelter together. “Do you know what’s on tap for today?”

  Quinn took the ball from Jasper and threw it again. “You’d have to ask Abby. I know Adrian is getting ready to go to NOLA to pick up those generators. Reva has a group of folks from the Magnolia Bay retirement community coming to Bayside Barn in”—he glanced at his watch—“under an hour. So maybe Abby’s the one taking the cat to the vet.” He shrugged. “You know how it is. We go with the flow, and around here, the flow keeps changing course.”

  At the shelter’s front porch steps, Quinn held the ball up and made eye contact with Jasper. “Last one, buddy. Are you ready?”

  Jasper barked with excitement, and Quinn launched the ball. The dog took off, and Quinn wiped his hands on his jeans. “He’s all yours now. I’m heading back to get some more stuff done before something else happens.”

  “Okay.” Heather and Jasper went into the shelter, where Jasper flopped down on the wood floor in the reception area. Heather went to her desk. Abby had left a note on the computer keyboard. Normally, there would be a long list of things for Heather to do to prepare for the shelter’s opening, stuff like Please wash/dry/fold the donated towels or Talk to Quinn about storage options.

  Today, the note only contained one impossible marching order: We need you to go to NOLA with Adrian today. Please see me or Reva as soon as you get in.

  The dog beds in the office were all empty, and Georgia wasn’t patrolling the area and inspecting everyone’s work, so Reva must be next door at Bayside Barn. Abby must be halfway to the vet’s office by now.

  “Come on, Jasper,” she called. Always on it, Jasper was at her side in half a heartbeat. Together they went through the shelter’s back door into the kennels, then through the kennel’s door to the pool area. Jasper bounded toward the pool’s sparkling water, eager to try out the beach-style entry.

  “No,” Heather said sharply. “No swimming today.” If she was going to go to New Orleans, she’d have to take Jasper back home first. And the trip would have to be a quick turnaround because she had to get her kids after school. It could be done, but honestly, it all seemed like a bit of a stretch, and Heather couldn’t imagine why she’d been nominated.

  When Heather and Jasper walked through the swing gate to Bayside Barn, Jasper bolted toward Georgia, who was standing next to Reva, Edna, and two other volunteers Heather didn’t know outside the big red barn. Ready to welcome the crowd of retirees who would soon be arriving for a tour, the women were all dressed in jeans, barn boots, and assorted colors of Bayside Barn T-shirts. Jasper dropped Georgia’s ball. Georgia took it and ran, instigating a happy game of chase-whoever-has-the-ball.

  Reva waved and came toward Heather. “Hey. Did you see Abby’s note?”

  “Yes, but you know I have to be back by 3:00 this afternoon, right?”

  “Sure, sure. No problem. But you do need to go with Adrian. Abby has back-to-back appointments, Quinn’s up against his deadlines, and I’m expecting a tour group to arrive any minute. I’ve already spoken with Adrian, and he says that getting back in time shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Well yeah, but what if it is?” Heather’s friend Sara was her only fallback plan, and Sara had taken her son, Max, to a specialist in New Orleans to find out what was causing his seizures. They were spending several days there while Max underwent tests. “Sara’s my only option if I can’t make it back in time, and she’s out of town.”

  “If anything happens to hold y’all up, I’ll get your kids and bring them here. The tour group will be leaving by two. That gives me more than enough time.”

  “But you’re not on the list.”

  Reva’s arched brows came together. “Huh?”

  “You know, the list of people who are approved to take my kids from school. The middle school doesn’t monitor that, but the elementary school does.”

  “Oh, of
course.” Reva smacked her forehead with her palm. “Why didn’t I think about that? Why don’t you get Adrian to swing past the school on your way out of town and put me on the list? Even if you don’t need it today, I’m happy to be on call in case you can’t get there for some reason or another.”

  “Thanks.” It would be great to have more than one person she could trust to help out if she needed it. “I’d appreciate that.”

  The deep, rumbling whine of a large vehicle turning onto the street made Reva look up. “What info do you need from me to get me officially on the list?”

  “Copy of your driver’s license, front and back.”

  “Well, shit. All that’s in the house.” Reva winced at the squeal of the tour bus putting on brakes in preparation for turning down the drive. “Let’s hurry.”

  Reva called Georgia, Heather called Jasper, and the four of them ran across the gravel drive toward the blue farmhouse. Once inside, Reva quickly made the necessary copies, while Georgia and Jasper flopped down on the polished-wood floor with their tongues hanging out.

  “You never said why I need to go with Adrian to New Orleans today.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. You remember that Abby had reached out to the nearest shelters about taking any canine amputees they might have when we won that grant?”

  Heather took the printer copies Reva gave her. “Yes, I remember.”

  “Well, we got a call this morning from a rescue organization in New Orleans that recently picked up a dog who’d been hit by a car. His right back leg was completely mangled and had to be amputated. He’s ready to be released from the vet, and they wanted to know if we were equipped to take on any dogs yet. Abby said yes. They’re expecting us to pick him up today.”

  Heather thought for a second about offering to take her own car instead of riding with Adrian in the truck but then thought better of it. She didn’t want to be by herself with a dog she didn’t know in case something went wrong. Better to have backup. “Okay, so I’m guessing I need paperwork?”

  “Adrian has all that. He’s already waiting for you, parked by the road with the truck and trailer. Jasper can stay here with Georgia. I’ll make Georgia stay inside and keep him company instead of helping out with the tour this time.”