Two Weeks in August Read Online Free PDF Page A

waved, pausing several times on her way through the dining area to answer questions and accept condolences and hugs from several of the regulars. She adroitly hurried through, knowing from experience that if she lingered too long, she’d lose the entire day to reminiscences about Captain Tom and every sea voyage he’d ever taken. As she gained the counter, she could hear the renewed buzz of intense chatter behind her, all of it about her grandfather and his life on the island.
    Bren waited behind the counter, smiling at her, dark eyes shining in welcome. Nina settled herself on one of the high leather and chrome barstools and cupped her chin in one hand, elbow on the counter. She regarded Bren, noting that she had gained a little more weight and that it added to her motherly charm. She’d had a recent haircut and her riotous salt-and-pepper curls hugged her round head closely.
      “Lor’ an’ if you ain’ a sight for sore eyes,” Bren said, her island accent strong. “I see where Tom lef’ you ta house?”
    Nina nodded. “He did and I’m moving here. Here for good.”
    Bren set a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea in front of her. “Ta. Neighbors are a goodness.” She handed Nina a menu. “Got fresh bread in from Ella. ’Sgot little nutmeats in it this time. You know she’s always tryin’ the new, don’t you.”
    Nina smiled. “Some of her recipes do get pretty wild but they’re always delicious.”
    Bren nodded, then lifted the coffeepot and moved along the counter offering refills to the half-awake old salts sitting there.
      After eating a filling breakfast of nut and cinnamon filled toast, jam and scrambled eggs, Nina walked slowly back to her car and headed to Grandpapa Tom’s.
    Mander was already at the house working when she got there.
    “Boy, you’re the early bird, aren’t you,” Nina said, smiling as she entered the living room, a to-go cup of hot tea warming her hand.
    Mander grinned at Nina from her perch atop a sawhorse. She was sawing a thin strip of framing. “Yeah, just trying to get the job done. Early bird gets the worm, they say.”
    Voices sounded from other rooms and Nina realized, from the strong smell of fresh paint, that Mander’s employees weren’t slug-a-beds either.
    Nina rubbed her nose as she walked toward the pantry. She saw immediately what Mander meant about the configuration. The odd-shaped space could be laid out in two different ways, two sets of deep shelves or three sets of narrow ones.
    “What do you think would work best in here, Mander? The wide or the narrow?” she called out.
    Suddenly Mander’s form filled the space behind her and she smelled the strong woodsy scent of her. The close proximity made Nina’s skin prickle uncomfortably and she was reluctant to turn about and face her in the small confined area.
    “It all depends on what you want. Do you buy a lot of large, bulky groceries or a lot of cans?”
    She twisted around and stared disbelievingly at the carpenter. “What? How do I know what I’m going to buy?”
    Mander looked calm, reasonable, but clearly amused. “What do you usually buy? Most people buy pretty much the same from week to week. If you buy a great amount of canned goods, they’d get lost in deep shelves and you’d have to dig around all the time to see what you have. If you buy a lot of bulky items, potatoes, pasta, fresh produce, breads, stuff like that, you’ll be needing larger shelves so things won’t fall on the floor and you can stack bins in here on the shelves.” She paused for a breath, eyes twinkling in an errant shaft of sunlight. “So, which is it?”
    Nina stared at the back wall, lost in thought. Who would think of a thing like that? She never would have, not on her own, anyway.
    “Bins, I guess. You’re good at what you do,” she sighed finally. “I never would have considered it.”
    Mander seemed to glow under Nina’s praise but looked downward shyly. “Well, these things are important when you’re