life.'
“But Roger would have been quite a bit older than Bird,' Faith said.
“Only five years. She and Roger were always close. I'd say like brother and sister, and maybe it was for Roger, but not for my daughter. She never looked at any of the boys in her class. If she went to a dance, it was with Roger or not at all. When he went away to college, she was very unhappy. He'd come home from time to time, but it wasn't the same. Then there was a while when his mother didn't know where he was. They'd quarreled. Bird left soon after that.”
He picked up one of the crusty slices of bread. His hands were covered with age spots, which stood out against his smooth, untanned skin. Whatever he had done with his life, it hadn't been outdoors. He broke the bread in half with studied care. Faith was torn between wanting him to eat and needing to hear the story.
“I came home and there was a note on the table. Said she had to get away. Find herself. That sort of thing. I guess I wasn't too surprised. There wasn't much in the town for her.
I knew if I tried to go after her, she'd just leave again, so I waited. I didn't want to lose her.”
Did that first step lead to this end? Faith wondered. Oh, why didn't Laura Sue stay at home, get married, and start a health food store! Was she looking for Roger?
“She'd phone every once in a while so I'd know she was all right, and she'd send funny postcards. They came from all over. She started calling herself Bird after living with some people in New Mexico. `I feel free as a bird, Daddy,' she said, so Bird it was.
“Did you know she was going to have a baby? The police told me.' His eyes filled, and he stopped speaking. Faith poured some hot coffee into his cup.
“I don't know why she didn't tell me—or about Zoe either. Maybe she was planning on surprising me, turning up with two babies. I'd never pushed her to come back to visit, but she always said she would. She knew how much I wanted to see her.”
Would she have come if he had asked, sent her a ticket? Faith was sure money was never plentiful for Bird. But her father must have been afraid she would stop getting in touch if he made any demands. Maybe he had been right.
“I knew she was in Maine, because I got a postcard with a sea gull on it. It had been mailed from Camden. I looked it up on the map. I always did that. I knew Roger lived in Maine. His mother told me, and I planned to tell Bird the next time she called. But I never got another call.' He broke down completely at this point and, putting his face in his hands, sobbed uncontrollably. Faith got a box of tissues from the bathroom and stood with her hand resting lightly on his shoulder. There was nothing she could say. All those years of longing and separation. It was the saddest story she'd ever heard. Why did people have children anyway? If Ben had any ideas of cutting out when he was seventeen, he could just forget it right now.
Mr. Warner lifted his head, wiped his eyes, and blew his nose. 'I feel so foolish. Please forgive me. Since I got the news I don't seem to be able to stop.'
“Please, don't apologize. This has been such a shock for you.'
“I have to see the police again. I've made plans to leave tomorrow morning. I want to take Bird home. She'll be next to her mother.”
A tiny cry drifted down to the kitchen. Faith smiled. 'That's Zoe. She's a slow waker.”
They went upstairs, and Mr. Warner took his granddaughter in his arms. She stopped crying immediately and burrowed down against his suit jacket with obvious pleasure.
“She's a sweetheart,' Faith told him. 'Your daughter must have been a very fine mother. Zoe has such a lovely disposition. We're going to miss her.”
Mr. Warner was gently stroking Zoe's cheek. 'Don't worry about her. I come from a big family, and she has more relatives than she'll know what to do with and they're all standing ready to give me all the advice I want and some I don't.'
“What about tonight? Would you like to leave her here? You could stay too. There's plenty of room,' Faith offered.
“Thank you for offering, but I think we'll stay at the Holiday Inn. I already ordered a crib, and it's nearer the police and the airport. I stopped at the Shop and Save on my way down, and the car is loaded with everything from diapers to toys, so we'll be fine.”
Faith took Zoe and changed her, then put on a warm sleeper. Arlene had appeared on Saturday with a bag of baby clothes from her mother's stockpile. Faith added a sweater and handed the little girl over to Mr. Warner. Ben had been running around waving toys at her. When they got to the front door and it became apparent that this big man was taking Zoe away, Ben started to howl. Faith felt much the same way.
Mr. Warner looked upset.
“Don't worry, he'll be fine,' Faith assured him.
He managed a smile. 'How can I thank you for all you've done, Mrs. Fairchild?”
He looked out toward the cove. From there it wasn't possible to see the water, but the sound of the steady pulse of the waves was plain. 'I don't know why she came to Maine.
Bird hated cold weather and she never liked to be near the water. I couldn't even get her to learn to swim when she was a kid. She probably never did learn.' He gazed into the fog again.
Faith gave Zoe a last kiss and picked up Ben, who had attached himself to her leg like a suction cup and was still crying. Mr. Warner shook her hand awkwardly, both of them encumbered. 'We'll be in touch. I'll let you know how things are.'
“That would be nice,' Faith answered. She knew she would never hear from him again. She waved good-bye and bundled Ben back into the house for an intensive dose of quality time. He wasn't fooled and cried off and on for an hour for the baby to come back. Faith was exhausted and it was only two o'clock. It always seemed to be only two o'clock when she felt this way.
She dug out some homemade playdough and installed Ben at the kitchen table with a garlic press and a small rolling pin. Soon he was happily making 'sketties' and she was thinking of food too. She had a few quarts of fresh tomatoes, and she ought to make sauce before they went bad.
She had just finished seeding and skinning them when Pix called.
“Are you feeling as out of sorts as I am? Whenever I think about Bill, I sit and cry. The poor Fraziers have completely broken down. Their daughter and her husband arrived from Boston, and I left them to it.'
“My news is not going to make you—or the two nannies—feel any better. Bird's father just left with Zoe.'
“Oh no! I was beginning to think you would keep her!'
“Maybe I was too. It was quite a wrench to see her go, but Mr. Warner is a lovely man and he was so happy to have her. He didn't even know he was a grandfather. You should have seen him, Pix—he was grieving terribly for Bird. She'll never be back, but he has a part of her in Zoe.'
“Bill and Bird gave her an appropriate name.'
“Yes, and by the way, Bird's real name was Laura Sue. I don't blame her for changing. It sounds as though `Tips for Teens' or ‘Original Recipe Brownies' should follow, but I would have picked something with fewer comedic possibilities to replace it.'
“Like what?'
“Oh, I don't know. Portia or Deirdre. Something, anything.'
“I disagree. Bird was Bird. It suited her.'
“That's only because you were used to it being her name, and is this conversation going anywhere or are we just bored?'
“Just bored.' Pix agreed.
“Well, I'm going to finish my spaghetti sauce, then read a million stories to Ben. It's too foggy to take a walk. We'd tumble into the sea. But if it lifts later, we'll come your way if that's all right.'
“Of course. And just be happy you don't live on Whitehead Island. It's the foggiest place in Maine. They have eleven weeks of it a year.'
“How many do we have?' Faith was slightly startled by her own use of 'we.' Had she said good-bye to the Hamptons and civilized life as she knew it forever? She hoped not.
“About five weeks—and sometimes all in a row, or it seems that way.'
“Don't worry, it will lift before Hope and Quentin arrive. There isn't a fog that creeps on little cat or any other
