Selkie

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

It was quaint and lovely in the little house across from the Church. I woke up the next morning to the sound of Church bells, snuggling into the covers with a smile. More often than not, church bells are ominous, but these were sweet, even in hindsight. Nothing about them felt like the spectral fingers of a dying power clawing for relevance over an indifferent city. Less creepy - more whimsical.

Maybe it was all the soft pinks I was surrounded by, but everything felt safe, rosy, and hopeful. I woke up with a smile and lightly tousled hair - more at peace than I had been since my Dad got sick.

Looking out the window at an impossibly blue sky dotted with wisps of clouds, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and considered the meetings I had booked for the day. The first was with the investment firm that handled my inheritance, and the second was with the company managing the property. It shouldn't have surprised me that such a little town would have an investment firm - there is money everywhere - but it did surprise me. Why would my Mother have chosen this nowhere place? Taylor felt like it was cut out of the Boreal forest by sheer determination. Man pushing back against the supremacy of nature. No judgment to you, but I've always been on nature's side.

I was lost in my thoughts when Rev Sampson knocked on my door at 10 am.

"I thought you could maybe use a chat."

"Oh? Thank-you. Come in." It didn't feel invasive - just sort of nice - that the Vicar was stopping in. Maybe that's what priests are for, stopping by for a chat when your life is falling apart. Offering some sort of perspective and hope. I invited him in and offered him a cup of coffee.

"You look just like her, really."

"Who?"

"Edith. Your Mother." He pronounced her name in the french way as if the 'h' at the end was silent.

"You knew her?"

His smile crept across his face, once again transforming his appearance.

"I did know your Mother. I hope it's not too much to say, but I loved your Mother." He looked sheepish now - almost apologetic.

"Like, she was a favourite old lady or like... love love?" I asked, but his tone had already made it clear.

I don't know how you would react to the realization that your Mother took young lovers. I didn't take it particularly well. Something about the combination of this young man in front of me and my own lack of information about my Mother was just too much for me.

I started laughing. Hard. "You and my birth mother?"

"Yes. Edith is the only woman I have ever loved." He pulled an old, worn photograph out of his wallet and handed it to me. It was black and white, and something about it didn't look like it was taken at a vintage photo booth. It looked real. Like somehow, my Mother and this young man were the same age. In the late 1940s.

There are moments in everyone's life. Tipping points. I thought back to the coin I'd flipped before I started this journey - and in my mind's eye, I flipped another. Heads, I would see where this would lead. Tails, I would pack up and get out of crazy town. The toss came up heads.

"You're not funny, Reverend."

"No, I am not. I loved your Mother, and she loved you very much." He reached into his jacket pocket and took out an old letter. "She wrote this before she left Taylor. I've had to leave myself now and again over the years, but there is something about this place that always calls me back. Even now that I've delivered this to you - finally - I think I will stick it out here. It's home."

"You're asking me to believe you are what? 115?"

"Lord, no! I'm more like 800. I was born in the 1200s sometime. It was tricky then. I wasn't anyone important, you see and we didn't keep track of births like we do now. That didn't start until the 1500s. Parish registries really were a brilliant idea. We have an awful lot to thank the Church for. Even if it did make things more difficult for people like me." He smiled winningly at me as if he weren't asking me to suspend disbelief.

"Ha ha ha."

"This again, it's no joke, Child. I'd like to help you if I can, for your Mother's sake. But you are in grave danger. It was brave of you to come here but also very foolish. I am fairly certain that your father watches this place. His people have probably already let him know that you're here. Barry is a good man. He is competent and conscientious. I've known his family for a few generations, and he takes after his Grandfather, with whom we established the trust. Edith, your Mother, she was running from your Dad when we met, and it took us some time to find a way for her to figure out who she could trust and who she couldn't. But, the McCormacks are good people. You're quite rich, you know."

"I'm meeting with Barry later today."

"That's excellent. If I might make a suggestion. Consider setting up a chequing account under a different name that he could transfer a significant amount into that you'd be able to access without raising the alarm. Perhaps under an assumed name, have you considered Cassandra?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, child. I have no doubt that your father has already determined where and who you are. You will have to move quickly."

"Where exactly are you suggesting I go?"

"Why, I'm suggesting you go home."