“Thanks.” I tried to adjust the coat again. No use. It was big and bulky, no way to make it less so. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“Never mind that.” He ran his hand down the side of my hair. “You look like your mother. Those big blue eyes and your hair all bleached out from the sun.”
“And a coat that’s too big.” I grinned so I wouldn’t tear up. Talking about my mother always brought both of us to tears, even though it had been many years since her death. “I can’t cry right now. You don’t want my face to be all blotchy on local TV, do you?”
“You go ahead. I’ll mind the shop. There’s not much fishing going on right now with all the swimmers and surfers. Looks like a real high tide tonight. I hope there’s not a storm coming.”
“Nah. Not today. My storm knee isn’t bothering me. Remember not to sell anything marked with a red tag.”
“I know. Get their names. Get their phone numbers. If they pass inspection, you’ll sell your treasures. If not, they’ll have to find some others.”
“That’s right. I’ll see you in a while.”
I swept out the door with all the energy of a damp sponge. It was too hot for anything more. A breeze had come up from the Atlantic in the thirty minutes or so I’d been inside. Gramps was right. It smelled like a storm was brewing. So why wasn’t my storm knee bothering me? Ever since I’d dislocated it surfing when I was fourteen, it had let me know when a storm was coming.
“Over here, Mayor O’Donnell.” A friendly faced man beckoned me into the Duck Shoppes parking lot. Cars were starting to move again after the parade. “I thought we’d shoot out here. That way everyone gets a good look at Duck at the same time they get to meet you.”
“That’s a great idea.” I looked around at the crowd swarming along Duck Road and across the sidewalk. The rough material of the large mayor’s coat made my neck itch. It was too hot for anything except sandals and shorts, but this was what the people of Duck expected the mayor to wear on the Fourth of July. I reminded myself that it was probably no hotter today than it had been for the pirates who’d dressed like this and they’d survived.
“Mayor, we have to do something to protect the new crop of sea turtle eggs on the beach,” Mary Lou Harcourt advised me as I stopped where the TV producer told me to stand. Her craggy gray eyebrows were knit together across her forehead like a headband.
“I don’t know what we can do about them right now,” I answered, distracted.
“There’s an extra-high tide coming, and the eggs could be washed away,” she persisted. “We have to get everyone together. We’ll save as many as possible.”
“As soon as I get done here,” I promised, knowing full well I’d have to go check on Miss Elizabeth first. “What time is high tide?”
“The paper said six P.M., but the almanac says five. I’d trust the almanac before the paper. Do you think you can get the volunteer fire department to help out?”
“That’s a good idea, Mary Lou. You should go talk to Gramps. He’s at the shop. I’m sure he’ll have some ideas.”
The producer of the news show that originated in Virginia Beach counted down as the cameraman prepared to film me with the show’s host. A small crowd of people, mostly citizens of Duck, gathered around to watch what was happening. It wasn’t everyday TV shows were interested enough to come down here.
“Just relax, Mayor O’Donnell.” The show’s host, Jerry Richards, was a reed thin man with gray-streaked black hair. He wore a white suit and a blue “Duck, NC” T-shirt. “You’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure I will.” I tried to reach the spot on the back of my neck that began itching like fire as I started sweating, but it was no use. “I hope I don’t look like an idiot.”
“Not on my show!”
The taping went very smoothly considering people were giggling in the audience as I answered Jerry’s questions. The questions were simple enough: Where was Duck located? How long had I been mayor of Duck? What was the Fourth of July celebration like?
After we’d talked, Jerry shook my hand and thanked me for the interview. I was kind of impressed since I’d watched him on TV most of my life. But I couldn’t wait to get back inside and change out of the mayor’s coat. Even though the breeze had picked up, carrying with it the scent of the ocean, the temperature was still in the high nineties.
“How did it go?” Gramps swiveled on the tall stool behind the register to look at me.
“It went okay.” I stripped off the coat, medallions and ribbons again. A person could learn to hate wearing that outfit. Thank goodness it wasn’t something I had to wear everyday. “Sell anything?”
“Nothing important. You don’t have to worry. Nothing you’ll miss left the shop.”
“Do you think you could manage for a few more minutes? I promised Miss Mildred I’d go check on Miss Elizabeth.”
“I thought I saw Millie leaving the shop earlier.” He shook his head. “What is it this time? Did she and Lizzie have another fight?”
“She’s looking for her mama’s watch. Miss Mildred loaned it to Miss Elizabeth and wants it back. Funny thing about that. She told me it was lost. I looked and saw it on Miss Elizabeth’s arm. At least I think it was her arm. I didn’t think I’d see it since it’s not really lost.”
“I wouldn’t mess around with it, Dae. Let them hash it out. You know how they are.”
“I know. But I already promised. And it might be something serious. Miss Mildred said she hasn’t heard from her for a few days. I’d hate to ignore it and find out it was i mportant.”
“Go on then. Just don’t blame me if someone buys your Roosevelt jelly jar by mistake.”
“Gramps!”
He laughed. “You know I wouldn’t let a thing like that happen. While you’re down that way, you could stop in and welcome the new owner of the Blue Whale Inn. I hear he’s from somewhere up north.”
I checked my hair in a mirror I’d found in Cape Cod. It was a modern piece, probably not more than a few years old. It had intricate African carving around the wood handle and frame. I didn’t know what the symbols meant, but I knew it was something special. I kept it behind the counter since I had no plans to part with it.
My hair was a mess from standing outside in the strong breeze. I ran my fingers through it, wishing I had a matching comb to go with the mirror. “Up north? You mean like Virginia Beach?”
“No. Like New York. Or Boston. I took him out for a cruise. He’s an interesting man. Joined the Dare County Chamber of Commerce this week too.”
“By interesting, you don’t mean single, do you? I know you aren’t ever planning on doing any matchmaking again after that last fiasco.”
“What fiasco? You’re too skeptical, Dae. And too picky. At this rate, you’ll be too old to care when you meet that perfect man you’ve been looking for.”
“I’ll have to hope he’s old too.” I smiled and opened the door to the boardwalk. “You just mind the shop and don’t worry about me finding someone. It’ll take care of itself.”
I closed the door before I could hear his retort. It was always the same anyway. I knew Gramps worried about me, especially about leaving me alone. I couldn’t complain because he loved me. I only wished he was a little more careful about the men he tried to set me up with.
It was a short walk to the Atlantic side of Duck where Miss Elizabeth lived in a slightly less grand style than her sister. Of course, it was a short walk to everywhere in Duck. It’s not a big place.
The roses swooned in the heat around the white clapboard two-story whose windows were shrouded with lace curtains. Johnny Simpson might’ve been wild, but he’d left a nice house for his abandoned wife. Atop the roof, spinning in the afternoon breeze, was an old lightning rod made to look like a fisherman holding his fishing pole with a dog yapping at his heels.