At the Bus Stop ~ Castle in the Air?

It was an ordinary day. Not too hot but hot enough. I hadn’t worn a hat against the brilliant sun so I stepped into the bus shelter to wait. Turned out, it was a longer wait than I planned. So I looked around at the ordinary street scene. Traffic, walkers, nothing special. Glancing up to the clouds ~ I love clouds ~ I was transported into fantasy land. I blinked, cleaned my glasses and looked all around me. It really was only a reflection, but where……..what? I’ve been in many bus shelters on hot days but this effect was absolute magic. I stepped out of the bus shelter - the ‘castle’ had vanished from the clouds. Back in ~ the castle reappeared. 

My bus was coming so I had no time to see which building it was……..but the sense of magic has stayed with me. 

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you 

because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. 

Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

~ Roald Dahl

At Sunset ~1

Lost in the trees 

at sunset ~

the peaceful dark

is blessed by gilded 

purple-blue and mauve.

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places

 where other people see nothing.”

~ Camille Pissarro

Book Review: Bluebird by Genevieve Graham

I bought this book out of desperation. At a grocery store. Because I wanted something to read while I had coffee at Starbucks. It couldn’t be all that riveting. I don’t know if I could call it riveting, but it certainly kept me turning the pages. The Prologue introduces Cassie Simmons, in the Present Day, when Matthew Flaherty, covered in fine white dust, brings her a dark green bottle: “It’s just a whiskey bottle.” Renovating an old house, this stranger to Cassie, was tearing down a wall when he broke one bottle and found more; he brought one bottle to the museum hoping to learn more.

To find out more, I read the book ~ twice. I could have written this review after the first read, or without a second read. The story, however, takes us into World War I where Adele Savard and Jerry Bailey meet. Canadian nurses entered the war when there were insufficient nuns to maintain the field hospitals. Because of the blue shade of their uniforms they were called Bluebirds. Jerry Bailey and his brother John were in the same Canadian regiment and were tunnellers. I had never heard of this devastating part of World War One. These soldiers dug tunnels beneath the German trenches, mined them and blew them up ~ unless detected by the German soldiers. Jerry was injured in this dangerous work, Adele cared for him. 

This next part of the story is set in Windsor, Ontario in 1920. Rumrunning was often the only work that returning soldiers could get. Although very lucrative, it was dangerous. One man, Ernie Willoughby, had taken control of most of the alcohol traffic in the Windsor area; he was cruel, ruthless and had been a childhood chum of Jerry and John.

In the meantime, Cassie and Matthew, back in the present day, are trying to piece together what could have happened. Cassie has family history connecting her to this saga. She is keeping it from Matthew. 

Wonderful characters, Canadian history including World War 1, Prohibition, Temperance, rumrunning and a nod to the Spanish flu all wrapped up in two ordinary human beings who fell in love in a war-time field hospital.

p.s. Don’t neglect to read A Note to Readers at the back of the book. Genevieve Graham makes it as interesting as the novel itself. She spells out interesting details about Canadian history in the 20’s.

“Bailey. John Bailey. No, Sister. It’s not me.”……… 

“He’s my brother,” he said quietly. “Please help him.”

Title: Bluebird 

Author: Genevieve Graham

Copyright: 2022

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Type: Novel

Format: Soft Cover

ISBN - 9781982156657 (Soft Cover) - Canadiana

ISBN - 9781982156664 (ebook) - Canadiana

ISBN - 978-1-9821-5665-7

ISBN - 978-1-9821-5666-4 (ebook)

Chapter Two, Episode Ninety- four - Hiding in Plain Sight - Situationally Theirs

Hiding in Plain Sight 

Calming music, soft voices of Spa employees and clients, and an aura of peace surrounded Dez. The gentle tinkle of the bell at the door gripped her. The pert young thing who had oriented her to the telephones, the importance of new client forms and general office management had gone off to Mexico for a destination wedding that they all had talked about in the staff room. She was on her own. With a new modern hairstyle, manicured and painted nails, her new wardrobe ~ she felt uncomfortable. Pretending to file something and make notes about something, she had not seen who came in. It was probably just the mail but, annoyingly, she was nervous. She’d been a waitress in more that one diner, slung beer with the best of them, cleaned restaurant kitchens, worked in a dry cleaning store, managed an apple orchard and set up beehives. How was she to greet clients? Her mouth had gone dry. 

“Excuse me, please. I have an appointment with Sarah.” Swinging her computer screen to face her, she asked “Your name please?” Her fingers were poised to pull up Sarah’s appointments, when Sarah approached. 

“Mrs. Beaufort, it is so good to see you after all this time.” Before Dez could say anything, Sarah and Emelina walked down the hall to Room 2. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister glanced back once, but Sarah ushered her into the Aesthetic Room. “Is she a new employee? What is her name?” 

“I’m not sure what her name is, but yes she is a new employee. Now, here. I have your foot bath for you. Slip your sandals off and I’ll set them aside. There’s a hook for your purse. Have you decided on a colour for your nails - both toenails and fingernails? Same colours or something different.We have some new ones here.” Scarcely taking a breath, Sarah knew Emelina from a previous location and had recently joined this Spa.

“I have really missed our regular appointments, Sarah. I’m pretty good doing my own pedicures, but I’m not so good at the manicures. I’ve had to have my sister help me with that when I can.” Sarah looked up at her from massaging her feet and legs.

“I don’t recall you talking about a sister before.” She lifted one foot out of the warm water, wrapped it in a towel and set it on a pad beside the foot bath. “Well, we were lost to each other for many years. We left on not very good terms.” She took a breath. “That’s why I asked about your receptionist. She looked so very familiar but the hair. The make-up. They were all wrong. Even her voice was different.”

~~~~~

It seemed like there were new clients waiting outside the door to come in and keep Dez busy for the next hour. Actually there were only three, but Dez had been so rattled when Emelina almost recognized her, that if felt like there had been twenty-three. When the clients were all being massaged, or manicured, or were relaxing to some other Spa treatment, Dez took a big drink of water, leaned back in her chair and looked for a way out before her sister could see her. Sure, in the mirror she looked good, but she just didn’t look or feel like herself. Maybe if she told her boss she was really sick she could just leave. She had always envied Em for being so very ‘put together’  ~ that’s what their mom would say, anyway. Now she just wanted to be in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair all unruly, little make-up if any and definitely no long painted finger nails. She loved the foot soak and leg rub but the rest of it she could really do without. Oh, she’d tried before, and each time felt almost as uncomfortable as she did now. Now, if she wanted to stay in this job ~ the only one available to her right now ~ she’d have to put up with it. Maybe she could tone it down some how, but probably not today. She saw the door to the Aesthetics room open.

She shoved her chair back and escaped to the bathroom just in time. Sarah would have to take care of payment and rescheduling. Dez needed time to think. Think about when and how she would contact her sister about why she didn’t acknowledge her. Maybe she’d just go out to the Estate? Contact Martha to see when her sister would be there? 

Dez slammed the flat of one hand on the sink counter. “I am almost forty years old and acting like a scared teenager! What the ^&*() is wrong with me? 

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.”

~ Mark Twain

On an Afternoon Walk - Between Rain Drops

Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Wascana Park

Clouds rolled across the sky

spattering heavy raindrops 

drenching city streets and parks

‘til grey clouds rolled past

opening onto the blue 

in time for an afternoon walk

to a visit with my sister in the park, sitting on a dry table top ~ only minutes before clouds 

rolled in to spit tiny drops at us

daring us to run, but we strolled

to her car and let the rain drop.

“Into each life 

some rain must fall.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Re-Imagined

 

Poking his head 

from his ancient shell, 

tortoise lumbered 

over earthen humps ~ 

long grasses tickled his nose.

“If you fall in love with the imagination, you understand 

that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.”

~ Alice Walker

Brave Enough ~ 1

I sat in the shade of ancestors

protected from

 errant winds

   burning sun

     slashing rain

       biting snow

Until

Brave enough to step into

the present with

  belief

    hope

      gratitude

        humility.

“It is hard to be brave, when you’re only a Very Small Animal.”

~ A.A.Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh