for a moment before asking, “And how many have there been after you?”
“All I know is Una was crazy about Noah. Una and Jacinta had been best buddies. But Glowena got preg—”
She stopped short as a man came toward them. Lori recognized the pub owner.
“I caught you,” he shouted. “Ches asked me to drive ahead of you so you don’t take the wrong turn again. He had to go home, couldn’t wait any longer.”
It struck Lori that he made no mention of Patience, as if she didn’t exist. But Ches’s thoughtfulness impressed her.
“She can follow me,” Mavis said, butting in. “I’ve got to drive home while I still can.”
Lori wavered, but Mavis grabbed her sleeve.
“Come on, I won’t lead you astray.”
Lori was going to need some convincing.
CHAPTER 12
A drowsy Lori was having breakfast in her bathrobe the next morning when the side door was yanked open. These sudden intrusions always made her wince.
“Paper!” a voice rang out, which explained the disruption of her privacy but didn’t restore it. She quickly combed her hair with her fingers and peeked around the corner. The paperboy, a freckled kid in oversized running shoes, brandished the Cape Lone Courier .
“You’re in it,” he exclaimed. “Page four.”
She made a face. “Will it ruin my day?”
The boy seemed baffled but then laughed.
“No, no, it says you took pictures of Justin Timberlake when he was in Vancouver. I’m a huge fan.”
Aha, Will Spence had sniffed around her website.
“A fan in Stormy Cove! I would love to have told Justin. He’s interested in things like that.”
The kid beamed. She pressed two dollars into his hand and threw the paper on the table. Best to get this over with quick.
First the picture. Well done, she found. She didn’t look like a ghost or ten years older. That was something. But the caption! “Lorelei Finning Wants to Succumb to the Fascination of the North.”
Not off to a good start.
Sorry, St. John’s! The well-known Vancouver photographer Lorelei Finning has snubbed Newfoundland’s capital and intends to spend several months in our neck of the woods. The result will be a coffee table book portraying the faces of our families, the boats of our fishermen, and the traditions of our everyday life.
She skimmed over the rest of the article—Justin Timberlake was actually mentioned—until she landed on a passage.
Incidentally, the name Lorelei is part of a legend where a beautiful mermaid would sit on a rock above the Rhine River in Germany, combing her golden hair and bewitching the fishermen in their boats. They were so besotted that they didn’t watch out for dangerous whirlpools and were pulled under to their doom. Their ships were wrecked on the rocks. So fishermen, you’d better watch out!
Lori stared at the words. She could see they were meant to be funny, but that was cold comfort. This wretched name would hound her all her life. She pushed the paper away. She was furious at Spence, furious at herself for not changing her name by now, and furious—yet again—at her mother for foisting it upon her.
Lisa Finning didn’t have to listen to constant allusions to her name. For these dumb jokes to follow her all the way to Stormy Cove, the end of the Earth! But her anger also led to feelings of guilt. Her mother was all the family she had.
She recalled how her mother had rescued her in Germany. She’d shown up out of the blue on the estate. She could still picture her shocked face and hear her saying, “My dear child, I don’t recognize you”—words that Lori could have said to herself every day in front of the mirror. Skinny, hollow cheeked, dark rings under her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned down. This was another person, not her. As soon as she got her alone, her mother said, “You’re coming home with me to Canada and the boy’s coming too.” Lori knew she was right. She was afraid that Volker would try to get in the way, but amazingly,
“All I know is Una was crazy about Noah. Una and Jacinta had been best buddies. But Glowena got preg—”
She stopped short as a man came toward them. Lori recognized the pub owner.
“I caught you,” he shouted. “Ches asked me to drive ahead of you so you don’t take the wrong turn again. He had to go home, couldn’t wait any longer.”
It struck Lori that he made no mention of Patience, as if she didn’t exist. But Ches’s thoughtfulness impressed her.
“She can follow me,” Mavis said, butting in. “I’ve got to drive home while I still can.”
Lori wavered, but Mavis grabbed her sleeve.
“Come on, I won’t lead you astray.”
Lori was going to need some convincing.
CHAPTER 12
A drowsy Lori was having breakfast in her bathrobe the next morning when the side door was yanked open. These sudden intrusions always made her wince.
“Paper!” a voice rang out, which explained the disruption of her privacy but didn’t restore it. She quickly combed her hair with her fingers and peeked around the corner. The paperboy, a freckled kid in oversized running shoes, brandished the Cape Lone Courier .
“You’re in it,” he exclaimed. “Page four.”
She made a face. “Will it ruin my day?”
The boy seemed baffled but then laughed.
“No, no, it says you took pictures of Justin Timberlake when he was in Vancouver. I’m a huge fan.”
Aha, Will Spence had sniffed around her website.
“A fan in Stormy Cove! I would love to have told Justin. He’s interested in things like that.”
The kid beamed. She pressed two dollars into his hand and threw the paper on the table. Best to get this over with quick.
First the picture. Well done, she found. She didn’t look like a ghost or ten years older. That was something. But the caption! “Lorelei Finning Wants to Succumb to the Fascination of the North.”
Not off to a good start.
Sorry, St. John’s! The well-known Vancouver photographer Lorelei Finning has snubbed Newfoundland’s capital and intends to spend several months in our neck of the woods. The result will be a coffee table book portraying the faces of our families, the boats of our fishermen, and the traditions of our everyday life.
She skimmed over the rest of the article—Justin Timberlake was actually mentioned—until she landed on a passage.
Incidentally, the name Lorelei is part of a legend where a beautiful mermaid would sit on a rock above the Rhine River in Germany, combing her golden hair and bewitching the fishermen in their boats. They were so besotted that they didn’t watch out for dangerous whirlpools and were pulled under to their doom. Their ships were wrecked on the rocks. So fishermen, you’d better watch out!
Lori stared at the words. She could see they were meant to be funny, but that was cold comfort. This wretched name would hound her all her life. She pushed the paper away. She was furious at Spence, furious at herself for not changing her name by now, and furious—yet again—at her mother for foisting it upon her.
Lisa Finning didn’t have to listen to constant allusions to her name. For these dumb jokes to follow her all the way to Stormy Cove, the end of the Earth! But her anger also led to feelings of guilt. Her mother was all the family she had.
She recalled how her mother had rescued her in Germany. She’d shown up out of the blue on the estate. She could still picture her shocked face and hear her saying, “My dear child, I don’t recognize you”—words that Lori could have said to herself every day in front of the mirror. Skinny, hollow cheeked, dark rings under her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned down. This was another person, not her. As soon as she got her alone, her mother said, “You’re coming home with me to Canada and the boy’s coming too.” Lori knew she was right. She was afraid that Volker would try to get in the way, but amazingly,
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