Barb left shortly after Paul as she had several guests arriving and properties that needed inspection. Tripp was busy trimming back some of the tall grasses that framed our walkway. Business was steady in the store and the waves of people kept my focus on the present. My day was filled with some of my regulars and a good mix of new faces, some just on Mongin Island for the day. After the afternoon rush, I paused to look around the shop that I had brought to life. The sun had already done its work for the day and was on the other half of its job. There was still a lot of natural light in the room, but it was now a gentle glow, as if everything was in its proper place. The room was warm, not by temperature, but by feeling. It was as if, at this moment, everything was exactly as it was supposed to be.
With renewed energy, I thought I would start emailing my contacts regarding Paul’s request. I gathered my laptop and his list and started outside to the rockers. On my way through the store, my eyes went to Buddy and his new friend, a child who looked about 10 years old, snugly sitting in one of the club chairs. He reminded me of my Nicholas, with medium brown hair and a sun-freckled nose. The tips of his tennis shoes did not quite touch the floor. He had a couple of scabs on his knees and shins, a likely homage to days playing a sport or riding a bike. The boy’s head was bent into Charlie Bone and the Red Knight and Buddy was curled into his usual donut position, with his head resting on this boy’s leg.
“I see you met our mascot, Buddy,” I said, smiling at my young customer.
“He is awesome,” the boy replied. “He hopped up with me. Is that okay?” He looked worried.
“It’s more than okay,” I reassured him. “It’s wonderful you are so nice to him. He has had a lot of change recently and he might be missing a good friend of his. Dogs are a good judge of character and it looks like Buddy chose you to be his friend.”
In the span of a few minutes, I learned Jacob just moved to Mongin Island. His mom was enrolling him in the island school and had given him a few dollars to spend as he waited.
“Your principal loves island families and is so excited for a new student, she opened the school on Sunday to get you registered! I bet you will love your new school. I really am glad to meet you and I know Buddy is, too. Summer vacation will be here soon. What would you think about coming to a reading group, here in the store, every now and then? I am thinking about having some events like that for readers like you.”
He frowned a little and said, “I don’t think I can. My mom will be working at the resort and I don’t think, well—I am not sure we can buy books right now.”
“Well, sometimes people like to trade books. I have a whole room just for trades. How about if I make you a deal? If you read that Charlie Bone book, come and tell me about it. If your mom agrees, you can pick a few more things that look interesting from the Trading Floor. Someday, you may have a few things to drop off, but for now, you can pick whatever you like and maybe talk about it with other readers your own age. How does that sound?”
He bit his bottom lip, just like Nicholas used to when he didn’t know what to say. “I don’t think I have enough money to buy this book.” He looked up so sadly. In this simple exchange, another puzzle piece of my mission clicked into place. I wanted to share my love of reading, and here was the perfect candidate. Like Allen a few months before, Jacob gave me the gift of this opportunity, this ability to share what I love in a place that I love.
“I understand that. Sometimes we don’t have enough money to buy everything we may like. I’ll tell you what, you take this book and read it. When you are done, come and tell me about it. How does that sound? Please give your mom this card.” I handed him one. “It has my name and how to reach me. She and I can talk about my idea and if it doesn’t work out, that’s okay too. I just wanted to thank you for being so nice to Buddy when he needed a friend. It was really nice to meet you, and thank you for visiting my store. You are welcome here any time! Oh, and welcome to Mongin Island, Jacob! There are quite a few people around your age who live here, too. Before you know it, you are going to have some new friends, I am absolutely sure of it.”
Jacob slowly stood up, gently moving Buddy’s head. “Thank you for the book. Yes, I’d like to come back here. I wasn’t able to bring my old collection so this will be the first book here in my new room.” He looked up shyly and then hugged me quickly. If I learned anything from being the mother of a boy, it was to relish these spontaneous, heartfelt displays of emotion.
“Jacob, you are very welcome. I am looking forward to seeing you again, hopefully soon.”
“I am going to tell my mom all about this place. She will be happy, I know it.” He smiled at me and then curled back up in his chair. Buddy readjusted himself and the two were once again blissfully enjoying each other.
As I settled myself on the porch with my laptop and Paul’s list, I sent emails marked with the red high priority exclamation point to all my book contacts. All I could do was wait for their responses.
I started thinking about how to help Julie. What should my next step be? I noticed a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair walking quickly toward the store. She had a canvas bag with a long strap over her shoulder and was dressed in a long sleeve shirt and a windbreaker.
“Can I help you?” I asked as she climbed the stairs.
“I am here to pick up my son. I asked him to wait for me here,” she said, her voice flat and without any emotion. She continued up the stairs, almost entering the store before I could introduce myself. “You must be Jacob’s mom. I am Carr. This is my place. It is wonderful to meet you.”
She looked at me sharply, “I’m Katie. Was he causing you a problem? I told him to just sit quietly. He won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“Bothering me? Certainly not! He was one of the highlights of my day. I gave him a card that I asked him to give to you so we could meet and talk. You have a lovely, well-behaved, boy there. Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea with me?”
“You want to have a cup of tea with me?”
“Yes, I would love to, and please, let me show you my shop. I hope you and Jacob will spend some time here. He told me you will be working at the resort, so maybe when your schedule allows, you can come to events here and meet some of your neighbors.”
I held the door open for her and, as she walked through, she said, “My neighbors? I’m working in housekeeping. We live in the employee housing on the resort property. I don’t have neighbors.”
I smiled at her, “Yes you do. We are all your neighbors. I only live about three streets away from you. I live on the resort property, too. Would you like some peppermint tea?” We walked into the main room, where she saw Jacob and Buddy in the chair together.
“Hi, Mom! Come meet Buddy!” he said excitedly. Katie walked over to Jacob and ran her fingers through his hair. She looked over at me and I saw the first glimpse of a smile. We were getting somewhere. “Come make yourself at home at this big table in this room. I will bring the tea.”
My last two customers were ready to check out. I quickly rang them up, made our tea and walked back to Katie. “It’s a good time to talk. It’s just the four of us now: you, Jacob, Buddy, and me,” I said as I brought our mugs to the table.
As she sipped from her cup, I thought I would take the first step in swapping our island arrival stories. I focused mine on how Meredith and Nicholas had enjoyed their time on the island as children when they were Jacob’s age. I couldn’t help but share how much Jacob reminded me of Nicholas and offered my own opinion that as moms, we have to look out for each other's children. I tried to be as reassuring as I could. I paused between anecdotes, not wanting to overwhelm her but hoping she might volunteer her own story.
Finally, Katie reciprocated, guardedly at first, but then more and more openly: She had Jacob when she was just a teenager, desperately trying to escape the wrath of an abusive father and uncle in southern California. Her family was broken in so many ways and she knew she could never raise a child there. Jacob’s father ended up in prison before her son was born, which meant she had to work night and day to carve out a safe life for the boy. She bounced through a long list of menial jobs in that region, always moving on if she felt Jacob was at risk in any way. She intentionally started looking for job postings on the Atlantic coast when Jacob’s father finally got out of jail and began stalking her. She actually came to the area to work on the mainland because it’s such a tourist spot, with lots of hotels and restaurants that were always hiring.
“But someone else had directed me here to Mongin. I heard some people can hide here, without a bridge and all. Makes it easier to not be found, if you don’t want to be. Then I took the ferry over one day—and I was sold. I want my son to know the stability I never had. I want him to be someplace where he can just be a kid,” she said. “If I watch my budget, we can make it here. And I’ve got talents. My job is housekeeping for now, but I can move up here. I can see that plain as day.”
Our tea was gone. I collected her cup as I said, “You know, school’s out soon and I wouldn’t mind having Jacob around the bookstore for some book clubs or events. There are many island children who are good readers. I have been working with the school to plan some events for the children. I want to do a summer reading program, or something like that.”
Katie was silent for a moment. “Jacob has never been invited anywhere, really. This is really quite amazing. Thank you. He will be in the summer camp the resort provides for the employees’ families. But I know he will want to wander over here after camp or on the weekends. It’s close enough that he can walk from the resort to this shop. Since the roads aren’t busy, I know he can do it. Please, you have to tell me if he doesn’t behave or if he steps out of line.”
“Wonderful, Katie! I definitely will let you know if we have any bumps along the way, but I am not expecting that. And, I will also let you know when we see the good things that I really think Jacob will do. I think this will be a great summer. I hope so, anyway.”
Katie finally broke out a broad smile. “I hope he makes some friends and finally doesn’t have to worry about moving, packing up in the middle of the night and leaving without ever saying goodbye to anyone.”
It was such a simple hope for a mother to have for her child. She just wanted her son to be home.
“Katie, before you go, look around the Trading Floor and see if there is anything in here that interests you. I am about ready to close up and head home. Can I give you guys a ride?”
“That would be great, but let me clean up these mugs, at least,” she said, quietly.
“Absolutely not, you pick something from here and I will shut off the lights and gather our boys—one fuzzy one and one freckled one! Be back in a minute.”
Just a few minutes later, we piled into my cart—all of us heading home.