Blue Whale was again a hub of activity year-round.
I pulled up through the circle drive and parked by the old hitching post. As I got out of the golf cart, I spotted a set of keys on the ground. I stooped down and picked it up, thinking someone would miss it. There was only a single key—a car key—on the key ring, and a fob—maybe a dolphin?—broken in half.
Immediately, I was swamped with emotions that came from the object. I couldn’t make out the woman’s face as she threw the key ring at someone, but I felt her anger and frustration. Whoever the key ring belonged to was having a very bad day. I pocketed it, then turned to go inside.
“Where have you been?” Nancy Boidyn, the town clerk, demanded in an uncharacteristic tone of panic. She was waiting for me on the verandah. Normally she was an unflappable Banker, unmoved by any outside force. “This place is going crazy! We have to do something.”
I was drenched, and my teeth were chattering. “You have Barbara and Althea helping you. What can I do?”
Nancy’s eyes flared with anger for an instant. Her narrow lips pressed tighter together.
I realized we were all under a lot of stress. I didn’t know what was going on that they couldn’t handle, but I knew Nancy didn’t get upset over just anything. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been here. I’m soaked and freezing. I was with Shayla. It’s October 15.”
Her pretty face softened instantly and she hugged me, totally disregarding my wet clothes and hair. “I’m so sorry, Dae. I completely forgot the date with all this rushing around. Did you hear anything?”
Nancy wasn’t surprised by my attempts to contact my mother. Most people from Duck believed having the dead in your life was part of living. Ghosts weren’t a big deal. Curses and pirates were our daily fare.
“No. Not really.” I didn’t go into the spirit balls. I’d probably tell her about them later. Right now, the living needed attention. “So, what’s going on?”
She took out a large pink notebook. “The mayor from Elizabeth City needs seltzer water with a twist of lemon, not lime. The mayor from Manteo needs a room with a bigger window. The mayor from Virginia Beach needs a bigger room—with a view of the Atlantic. Some of the schedules were blurry. There may not be enough wine, but it’s too late to get any more.”
“Why aren’t Kevin and Marissa handling these problems?” I wiped away streams of water that kept dripping down my face.
“He’s cooking for the reception tonight and getting the ballroom set up. Marissa is in there running back and forth, trying to keep things organized. I thought this was why you assigned me and the girls to the event. Kevin and Marissa can’t do everything.” She smiled in a more Nancy-like fashion. “But whatever Kevin’s cooking smells divine! I can’t wait!”
“Let’s make it to dinner first. Where are Althea and Barbara?”
Nancy walked me into the crowded lobby of the old hotel. I felt a little out of place, dripping water, my clothes plastered to me, and my sun-bleached brown hair hanging in wet rat’s tails all over my head. But I put on my big mayor’s smile and began to put things in order.
The first thing I did was drop off the broken key ring with Marissa at the front desk. She was the new manager Kevin had recently hired. Her parents had moved away from Duck before she was born, but she’d come back to take care of her ailing grandfather, Joe Endy.
She was a beautiful young woman, probably in her late twenties, who dressed well and seemed to have an affinity for getting along with people. But there was a sadness about her—something in her eyes that was unspoken—that made her seem like more than just another pretty face. I didn’t know her well enough to ask questions.
“Do you have any idea who this belongs to?” she asked, swinging her long blond hair out of the way as she handed out Duck brochures to the people attending the conference.
I told her about finding the key ring outside. “I guess someone will need it before they can go home. We’ll see.”
I kept glancing back at the key ring until she put it away. Sometimes, I feel emotions for the things I find—it can be hard to set them aside. I had to focus on something else, like changing clothes before too many people saw me this way.
It was warm and dry inside, with a pleasant fire in the old hearth. I avoided people I recognized who were drinking coffee and talking quietly. The old iron-lace elevator was moving slowly up and down, taking guests from the lobby all the way up to the recently completed third floor.
I’d helped in a lot of the renovation—even helped coat the outside of the old hotel in its original blue color. Most of the work was Kevin’s, though. He’d done a great job restoring the 1930s atmosphere and charm while modernizing everything for his guests.
I was prejudiced, of course, since Kevin and I had been dating for several months. Sometimes it seemed as though he’d lived in Duck forever even though he’d been here less than a year. He’d blended in as a Banker, joined the chamber of commerce and the volunteer fire department.
But he was more than a responsible Duck resident, or even a boyfriend, to me. He understood my gift in ways even my grandfather didn’t. He never seemed to be surprised by anything that happened. Pirate curses and ghost stories left him unphased. He might not have been born in Duck, but he belonged here.
I popped my head in the kitchen. Kevin had four other cooks working with him. They all wore white jackets with cute little chef’s hats—except for Kevin, who wore an apron over his tuxedo. I watched him as he directed, tasted, and got everything ready for the reception. He was like a conductor with a kitchen full of gastric musicians.
“Dae?” He looked upset and unhappy when he saw me. “What happened?”
“Bad storm outside. I suppose you couldn’t hear it.” If I’d forgotten how awful I looked, his face reminded me.
“But you’re speaking at the reception.”
“True. Not to worry. Nancy always prepares for the worst. She brought my outfit over earlier. I’ll be polished and ready to go when it’s time.”
He took my arm and we moved away from the frantic energy of the meal preparation. “How did it go with Shayla?”
“Nothing new happened.” I shrugged. “At least not message-wise anyway. There were these strange balls of light that floated around the room and disappeared.”
“That’s different. What did Shayla say?”
“That we should keep trying.” I rubbed a spot on my head that was beginning to throb. “I don’t think I have the heart for it anymore, Kevin. I don’t know.”
He managed to kiss me exactly on the spot that was beginning to ache. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you. Somebody set October 15 as the day for the conference and then nominated the Blue Whale to hold it.”
I smiled, since that somebody was me. “That’s true. Believe me, I would’ve done it another day if I could have. Has it been terrible?”
“I’m not complaining. The money will look nice on my balance sheet.”
“Then I’m glad I could help. Anything else I can do?”
“What you need to do is change clothes.” He pushed me toward the kitchen door. “You don’t want people to see the Honorable Mayor of Duck looking like she rode over in the rain in her golf cart. Then get out there and network. That’s why you did this, right?”
He was right, I thought, heading up the stairs instead of trying the elevator. I don’t know why, but looking at it always made me queasy.
The conference was my baby. Twenty mayors, two days talking about our problems and strengths, getting together to make important things happen. I was ready for it—despite the strangeness of the day. I wished it wouldn’t have been this particular day in October, but that’s the way it had worked out.
I took a long hot shower and pushed the seance and the storm from my mind. I was the first elected mayor of Duck, North Carolina. That meant something to me because this was my home. I wanted to leave my mark here—to have people remember me as more than just a picture on the wall in town hall.
I wanted sidewalks to make walking safer going up and down Duck Road. I wanted community watchdog groups that would help fight bad development, the reason Duck incorporated in the first place. I wanted this to be a good, safe place to live during the summer when we were swamped with fifty thousand tourists and in the winter
