infinity. Its beauty struck him with such force that he was distracted from the memories, and in the last moments those memories were lost to him, fading away like a foamy wave rolling off a sandy beach, drawn back into the greater ocean.
The ocean. Water. It had always been his sustenance, his greatest love, his only mistress. It would accept him for a final time now, and he would give himself fully to it.
But still, he had regrets. Too much left undone, too much life still left to be lived. And again, he wondered — how had this happened? How had he come to this moment?
His mind raced in those final few flutters of the hummingbird’s wings, and it was only then, in the last milliseconds of his life, as his body broke on the rocks, crushing the air from his lungs and stealing away his life, that the final flash of memory and realization shot through his screaming brain. The clarity of it was striking, and he knew in that last instant who had driven him to his death. No, she hadn’t pushed him off the cliff herself. Her hand wasn’t the one that had struck him in the chest, ending his life. But she’d been there in spirit, in the dark shadows of motivation. Hers was the hand behind the hand, her words the whispers in the ear, her thoughts the seeds that led to this tragic end. Scheming and manipulating behind the scenes, she’d driven the killer to murder, flicking domino-block events out to this final, inexorable moment.
It had been her, he was certain of it.
His last thought was of Sapphire Vine.
From
Cape Willington, Maine
July 23rd Edition
Are you ready to par-tay? Of course you are! Once again, good citizens, it’s time for Cape Willington’s world- famous Blueberry Festival! As I’m sure you well know, the fabulously fruity festival is an all-day event scheduled for Saturday, July 27, and it’s usually the town’s busiest day of the year. (Tourists are
Don’t forget to check out the many wonderful booths that will be lined up along Main Street and Ocean Avenue during the festival. There will be plenty of goodies for everyone. See you there!
Seems like our attractive little town has been a celebrity magnet lately. A few weeks ago we reported sightings of big-time chunky-hunky TV and movie star Patrick Dempsey (he’s sooooo McDreamy!) and the lovely missus, who toddled about town with their brood and sampled the wares at a local restaurant. (Patrick was born in Lewiston, you know.) Now a more literary celeb is gracing the starstruck streets of our village — none other than Sebastian J. Quinn, he of the revered poetic tome,
Little Kimmy Whitebridge is all grown up and planning to marry D. Douglas Douglass III of Cape Willington. Both are graduates of CWHS. Kimmy is currently working in hotel management at the Motel 6 up on Route 1. Douglas is employed at D. D. Douglass & Son Realtors. (I wonder how he got that job?) A September wedding is planned. Happy honeymoon, kids! Do they have heart-shaped beds at the Motel 6?
Once again we have to thank the amazing (and seemingly tireless) Wanda Boyle for her committee work at our local schools. In the last year, Wanda planned the teacher luncheons, the Soccer Extravaganza, and the Music Club Money-Makers Fair; worked on the planning committee for reading evaluation of our gifted children; made costumes for the third-grade play; baked cookies for the Halloween and Valentine’s Day parties; chaired the PTO — and didn’t miss a single meeting. (I think she even cleaned the classrooms a few times.) Wow! Have you seen your own kids lately, Wanda? Ha! Just kidding!
Get out your trowels and dig your way to the Cape Garden Club’s First Annual Flower Festival, to be held at the Cove Inn on Sunday, August 2. The theme of this very merry special event will be “Tea in the Garden.” (Make mine Earl Grey, please!) You can call Lily Verte for all the flowery details. We hope this turns out to be a blossoming event for them.
Apparently Lyra Graveton can carry more than buckets of ice cream. She can carry a tune as well! We normally see Lyra at the Ice Cream Shack scooping up gobs of delicious homemade ice cream. (Have you seen those ice cream cones? They’re humongous!) Starting next weekend, you can see (and hear) Lyra belting out tunes in Cape Summer Theatre’s musical version of everyone’s favorite cowboy show,
Rumors that Town Council Chairwoman Bertha Grayfire will wear her outrageous Dolly Parton costume (a favorite with the kids at Halloween) when she emcees the annual Blueberry Queen Pageant Saturday night are completely FALSE! (We have heard, however, that the costume has fallen into disrepair lately. You should take better care of your assets, Bertha!)... My spy tells me that Melody’s Café, that new restaurant up on River Road, is doing a booming business. The lobster rolls are supposed to be absolutely scrumptious! (Don’t tell the tourists, though, or I’ll never be able to get a seat!) My spy’s only request — better desserts, please!... Official Judicious F. P. Bosworth sightings for the first two weeks of July — Visible: 9 days — Invisible: 5 days. Sounds like Judicious has been out enjoying this glorious Maine summer weather! Be sure to pass on Judicious sightings to the Grapevine for future publication!
One
Candy Holliday was standing at the kitchen sink, cleaning up after making another batch of blueberry pies, when she looked out the window and saw Doc’s old pickup truck rattling up the dirt driveway way too early. Curious, she glanced at the clock on the wall over the kitchen table. Usually he wasn’t back home until ten thirty or eleven, preferring to linger over his coffee cup as long as possible. But here he was at a little past nine.
She knew right away something was up.
The kitchen wasn’t Candy’s favorite place to be; she had never considered herself much of a domestic sort. She would rather be outside, tending to her chickens, fiddling around in the barn, taking care of the gardens, or walking the fields behind the house. But when you had a blueberry festival to prepare for, you did what you had to do.
