Jerome leaned into the microphone. “Or, like we says around here, miss, we loves you some lot.”
I could feel tears pricking my eyes as Beverley sang. Her accent was perfect. Afterwards, the three musicians came to my table and I gave each of them a hug. “I’m going to miss you guys next year,” I said.
“If we’re playing in the pub, will you join us?” Roseanne asked.
“Definitely,” I said, “but you might be out of my league by then.” I pointed to Mike, who was coming over to talk to them.
It was getting warmer, and the tea and cakes had been replaced by beer. Patrick came to join our table for a drink.
“Well that was a fine finish to the year,” he said, clinking glasses all around. “I don’t know how we could ever top that.”
“I’ve got all summer to think about it,” I teased.
By five o’clock the crowd was mostly gone. A faithful crew of students along with Eddie, Phonse, Patrick, Judy, Bill, Doug and I cleared up the grounds. By the time we were done, I was exhausted. I arranged to meet Doug at Tony’s later and, car laden with booty, I pulled out of the school, heading for Clayville.
Just past the Little Cove sign, something made me pull over. I crossed the road and stood where I had ten months earlier. Sunlight flirted with the waves. Boats swayed in the water, and I could see a few men squatting on the wharf near the stairs I’d scrambled down to rescue Ruthie. I looked up above the wharf and found Lucille’s house, remembering my first night there and all the evenings I’d shared with her and the Holy Dusters. They were good women. Finally, my eyes alighted on St. Jude’s, the school where, even though I was the teacher, I’d learned such important lessons.
There was a scrabbling noise behind me, and when I looked over my shoulder, it was Phonse, up above on his bicycle.
“You lost?” he shouted down at me, grinning.
“Nope,” I said and happiness surged inside me. “I’m found.”
Acknowledgements
Almost ten years ago, I sat down and wrote the opening chapters of what would become New Girl in Little Cove. Following countless rejections and a few near misses, I shelved the manuscript. But Rachel and the inhabitants of Little Cove kept nudging me, so I entered the 2019 Caledonia Novel Award. When my opening chapter was long-listed, I had six days to completely rewrite the novel. A subsequent short-listing convinced me to try one last time.
There are 389 inhabitants of Little Cove; I wouldn’t be surprised if an equal number of people, on both sides of the Atlantic, supported me on the journey to becoming a published novelist. I couldn’t possibly name all of you, but heartfelt thanks to my fellow writers and friends who’ve cheered me on, particularly the Law Girls.
Enormous gratitude to my brilliant agent, Hilary McMahon. When I discovered she was the daughter of Newfoundlanders, I dared to dream. In our first phone call it became clear that Hilary cared about my characters as much as I did. The fact that we share a similar taste in books and now swap recommendations is an unexpected bonus.
Thank you to everyone at HarperCollins Canada. I’m hugely indebted to Janice Zawerbny, who acquired my book. Her sage editorial comments and guidance helped make the story a much better one. Thanks also to Natalie Meditsky, my ever-patient production editor, and to Catherine Dorton and Sarah Wight for stellar copy-editing and proofreading, respectively. Gratitude also to Susan Swinwood and the team at Graydon House Books.
My brothers, Barry and Sean, provided helpful comments on an earlier version of the novel as well as constant encouragement. My cousin Ann Martin read several drafts and gave invaluable advice on the Newfoundland dialect, place names and folk music. Ann delighted everyone at my wedding reception when she sang “Sweet Forget Me Not,” which might be why it features in this novel.
Three women deserve particular mention; you could say they’re my Holy Dusters: Bobbi French, Ellen Goldstein and my sister Siobhan. I met Bobbi and Ellen online via the comment section of Betsy Lerner’s blog. In no time, I was swapping chapters and lamentations with both. Each was an excellent beta reader and a constant source of much-needed mirth. Bobbi’s feedback on all things Newfoundland was especially welcome. I look forward to holding her novel in my hands one day. It’s quite possible that Ellen has read more drafts of this book than me. Without her ALL CAPS emails of encouragement during the Six Day Caledonia Crisis (as I have come to call it), I doubt I would have met the competition deadline. Siobhan is my sounding board, my dial-a-therapist, and my biggest cheerleader. She too has read multiple drafts over the years and her constant counsel to “Keep the Faith” buoyed me during the tough times.
Much love to my children, Ben and Rebecca, who are apparently proud of me, and gave me space and time to write, especially during the Caledonia Crisis when they ate sandwiches for dinner every night. Even more love and gratitude to my husband, Nigel, who supports my writing in every possible way, not least financially, and whose constant refrain has been “Don’t give up.” I’m so glad I didn’t.
Finally, I was inspired by the handiwork and instructional videos of Deanne Fitzpatrick at www.hookingrugs.com.
About the Author
DAMHNAIT (pronounced Downith) MONAGHAN grew up in Ontario and Newfoundland. A former teacher and lawyer, Damhnait is an award-winning flash fiction writer with numerous publication credits. Her novella-in-flash, The Neverlands, was voted Best Novella in the 2020 Saboteur Awards. She lives in the south of England with her husband, two children and the family dog. New Girl in Little Cove is her debut novel, inspired by the years she spent teaching in outport Newfoundland. Find her online @Downith (Twitter) and www.damhnaitmonaghan.com.
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New Girl
