Page 47 of The Fae’s Treasure

Earl snorts. “The people in Pine Ridge, he says. Like they’re different from people anywhere else. What are they, gods?”

Vampires, krakens, mothmen, Orcs, gargoyles... I smirk, even though he can’t see it. “No, but they’re the next best thing.”

Cathy

“I can’t meet for coffee. I’ll be lucky if I make it to Friends-giving before you leave for Cape May.”

Cindy’s voice is breathless in my ear. Normally, that might make me suspicious, since she and Lennox, her huge mountain man of a hubby, seem to be in a permanent state of breathlessness lately, but during the school year, we barely see each other unless we’re working a catering event together. I don’t think she’s missing one of our super-rare coffee breaks just to fool around.

“What’s wrong? You sound flustered. Is it hanky-panky flustered, or something-bad flustered?” I close my laptop and push aside the pile of Thanksgiving acrostic poems I’m grading, each one topped with a scented sticker and some specific praise and critique.

“Something-not-awesome. You remember Marlow?”

“Lennox’s brother?” I’ve only seen him once, at the wedding. He was quiet, kept to himself, and stayed near their uncle, who was blind. He looks a lot like Lennox, same enormous build, same long black beard, same shyness. At least, I think it was shyness. Maybe he’s just not a big wedding person.

“I know you only met him once, and he and Len don’t always get along, but things have been better since Lennox uh—left home. They had a complicated childhood, raising each other without parents from the time they were young teens. Just... a lot of power struggles. A lot of very different personality traits.”

“Cin, you don’t have to explain anything to me. Remember, I have a bunch of sisters.”

“Yeah, and you all get along. I mean, how could you not? You’re like five copies of the same person. It’s like your mom and dad had one and then hit the ‘clone’ button.”

I can’t argue with that. My family is super Hallmark Channel-esque, but as a teacher with a bunch of students who all share different life experiences, and as someone who has lived on my own for the last seven years, it’s not like I don’t understand that my family is the exception, not the rule. “You’re spiraling. Stressed?”

“Do you remember Earl, the old man who came with Marlow?”

“He’s an uncle? Right?”

There’s a pause, and I hear mumbled conversation—well, I sort of hear it.

“Adopted uncle. Yes. More like a dear old friend of the family. Of Marlow, really. He’s in trouble. He’s in danger of losing his spot at the senior facility he lives in. Marlow knows he needs more care than just an assisted living community—he needs a place where the residents get checked on daily, not just given the bare minimum of their meds delivered each week. And um... Marlow isn’t in the best position to help him out where he lives. It’s a little town in West Virginia, and there aren’t a lot of options. There aren’t a lot of nursing homes, and—and he’s not a blood relative. Some nursing homes won’t let you in, won’t let you be part of making care decisions—and they’ll take his dog. Earl’s blind, and Tilly’s not an official guide dog, but she’s pretty close... Ugh. Marlow wants to move Earl and Tilly here, find a job here—start over in Pine Ridge, like Lennox did.”

“Well, it sure worked out for Lennox. What’s wrong with that, other than Marlow and Lennox not really hitting it off all the time?”

I can picture Cindy mentally ticking off items on her fingers. “We’re a small town, too! I don’t know what jobs he can get when he doesn’t even have a... driver’s license. And he has to get Earl up here, and he doesn’t have a... car.”

“Why the pauses? Oh, my God. Cindy.” My voice drops, and I look around my classroom like someone’s going to overhear me. “Does Marlow have a criminal record?”

“No. More like he has no records at all. God. There’s just a lot to explain and a lot to figure out. That’s all. Lennox and I were supposed to be spending the extra time when the lawns and gardens at White Pines are out of bloom on our own little ‘planting project.’ Instead of trying to make a baby, we’re going to be raising a grumpy old man, an annoying brother-in-law, and a dog. The dog is the best part.”

“Baby!? I’m going to be an aunt?” I screech.

“You have four older sisters and a handful of nieces and nephews already.”

“But a Cindy and Lennox baby? I’m going to be a Cindy-and-Lennox-baby aunt?” I reach for the tissues and dab at my eyes. “My bestie is having a baby...”

“Not any time soon,” Cindy laughs, then sighs. “We were just having fun trying. Winter is the off-season for gardeners, so...”

“So, the sooner you get Earl and Marlow settled, the sooner you’ll go back to making me a niece or nephew? Don’t give me any details, Cynthia, just say yes or no.”

“Yes.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Huh? Nothing, just don’t mind if I bail on you for coffee for the foreseeable future. Do you know how many nursing homes there are in Broome County? Like twenty. Do you know how many of them offer just the right level of care and who will let Marlow be involved with decision-making for Earl’s care? I mean, he’ll have to get medical power of attorney. That’s not what Marlow’s asking us to help with, but Len asked around, and that’s the thing he needs to have if he wants to be the one who makes emergency medical decisions for Earl. Do you know how many hoops you have to jump through to get that? Especially if you’re not a relative?”

“That’s like three questions in one, and I have no idea—but I do know that Hilltop Home has meals served each day and everyone has their own rooms and bathrooms—mini apartments, really. It runs more like a family home or some nice hotel than a nursing home. And they allow pets, including dogs.”

“Hilltop? That’s the place in town that only opened up a few months ago.”