Rebecca’s Cove

Chapter 6

“I thought we were getting clothes.” BJ looked confused. “We are.”

BJ followed Hobie’s lead and eased herself out of the vehicle. They stood before an old Victorian home. Cedar shingles on the roof, bay windows, and bright white paint made it look like the place BJ had dreamed of turning into a bookstore. Unfortunately, there weren’t many of these structures in downtown Chicago. A large bay window presented a display of best-selling books. BJ smiled to herself when she saw the latest Harriet Teasley novel out front. “This looks like a bookstore.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Hobie grinned and continued. “Let’s just call it a private clothing store. The owners are the Dilby sisters.”

“What, those books in the window are just fakes and the whole front of the store opens up like a garage door, right? It opens up into some sort of bat cave?”

“Are you ever serious?” Hobie asked. “Let me think a minute. Hmm, no.”

“The Dilby sisters do run a small bookstore, but it’s a store within a store.”

“You mean a front.” “A private store.” “Right. A front.”

Hobie let out an audible sigh. “You make it sound like they make book on the horses in a backroom.”

“Sorry,” BJ said with a sheepish grin. She hadn’t expressed regret over her actions in years, yet this was at least the third time that day she had apologized to Hobie.

“Let me explain. If the locals bought their clothes in the same spots as the tourists did, we’d go broke. It’s either that or go to the mainland. Our answer is the Dilby sisters’ shop.” “I feel like I’m in a surreal spy novel.”

“Come on,” Hobie said as the two made their way up the stairs to the large porch.

“This house is a work of art. It’s magnificent.”

Hobie didn’t expect such a sincere tone from BJ. Everything was usually a joke to her. She turned to look up at the dreamy expression on BJ’s face.

BJ suddenly realized that Hobie was staring at her and she lowered her head. “I guess it’s just ’cause you don’t see homes like this in the city.”

“I suppose it’s just what you’re used to. It’s probably the same thing I felt when I visited Chicago. I got off the train at the Daley Center and just stood on the street corner like some hick, craning my neck to look up at the tall buildings.”

“You’ve been to Chicago?”

“Yes, I was just—” Hobie quickly shut her mouth, having forgotten to whom she was speaking. “I go there occasionally for seminars and such.”

BJ’s face took on an odd expression. “Huh” was all she said. They stood before the door with its etched glass window, and

BJ couldn’t help herself. “Is there a secret knock, maybe a Morse code signal I should use? Will I have to know the handshake?”

“Shut up,” Hobie said with a smile. She opened the door and they stepped into the air-conditioned shop.

“Hobie Lynn!” An older woman, perhaps in her seventies, waddled up to her. She was short and squat. Not exactly fat, but built in a compact fashion. She had close-cropped hair so black that it was apparent she colored it. She wore a blouse and skirt that clung around her middle a little too tightly. “What can we do for you today?”

“Hi, Helen. Actually, I’m here with—” Hobie was unable to finish the sentence. She had no idea what to call BJ Warren. What was she to Hobie? She could hardly call her a friend. Luckily, Helen Dilby saved her the embarrassment.

“Evelyn’s granddaughter. We were over to see Evie yesterday and she told us all about you, Miss Warren. It’s so good to finally meet you.” The old woman turned and shouted toward the back of the shop. “Katie, come see who’s here.”

BJ turned at the sound of a creaking door. Another woman, about the same age as Helen Dilby, walked through a set of bookshelves that parted mysteriously. BJ had to do a double take to see that what the older woman came out of was actually a strange-looking sliding door. The trompe-l’oeil design resembled an elegant library with a sitting area. It was amazing and BJ realized that because of the quality of the work, it must have cost the owners a pretty penny.

“See, I told you there was a bat cave,” BJ murmured to Hobie.

“Stop,” Hobie whispered back.

“Katie, this is Evie’s granddaughter, BJ,” Helen said. “Katherine Dilby,” the other woman said in a gravelly voice.

She grasped BJ’s hand and shook it brusquely.

Although the two older women looked to be about the same age, their physical appearance was as different as night and day. Katherine was tall and lean. Her hair looked to have been blond when she was younger. It was cropped so close to her head that it rose in even spikes. She wore a polo shirt and cotton slacks, but her clothes looked wrinkled and worn in comparison to Helen’s sharply pressed outfit.

“BJ needs to get a few things, especially some pants that she can cut one leg off,” Hobie said, nodding toward BJ’s cast.

“Oh, my. Evie didn’t say anything about that,” Helen said. “It’s a recent event. My grandmother doesn’t know about it yet.”

“I’m sure we can take care of everything you need, dear. Why don’t you follow Katie into the back? She’s the clothes expert, and she can show you where everything is.”

Katherine led the way through the sliding door. BJ looked in astonishment at the racks of clothing around her, then let out a low whistle as she looked around, taking in the selection. She spent the next thirty minutes picking out an assortment of clothes. Katherine’s no-nonsense and at times gruff attitude appealed to BJ, and the older woman was helpful in selecting the right sizes.

Hobie walked around the shelves of books. She spied the large display of romance novels and picked one up, examining the jacket. After reading the synopsis and a blurb about the book’s author, Harriet Teasley, Hobie tossed the book back onto the table. “Who buys this stuff? They call this writing?”

“Oh, you’d be surprised, dear. I can’t keep Teasley novels on the shelf.”

“Go figure. So how was Evelyn when you saw her?” Hobie asked. “It’s been a couple of days since I’ve seen her.”

“You know that gal. All she does is talk about her granddaughter.” Helen looked toward the backroom and lowered her voice. “I heard that...well, that BJ isn’t exactly...um, she’s a little different from the quiet girl that Evie described.”

Hobie chuckled at the remark. “That’s the understatement of the year. I can hardly believe that woman is related to Evelyn.”

Helen smiled, almost to herself. “Well, you didn’t know Evie when she was your age. She was a lot different than she is now.”

“She couldn’t possibly have been anything like her granddaughter. One minute she’s so arrogant I just want to punch her lights out, then she gives you one of those charming looks or goes and says something nice or sweet, and I...I—”

“Just can’t help being attracted to her,” Helen finished. “Yeah,” Hobie said in a distracted fashion. “No!” she quickly

cried out. “Not in a million years, Helen. Get that smile off your face right now. That woman is just too, well, just too too for me. I can’t believe that Baylor Warren could ever change enough for me to want to spend more than passing moments with her.”

“Hmm, that’s understandable. There’s Noah, too. It’s funny, though. When I see the way that girl and you get on, it reminds me of Katie and me. Like fire and water most of the time, complete opposites. We spend more time snapping at each other, but it’s really only teasing. Funny the way life is, eh?”

Hobie smiled at the older woman. “Katherine seems to be able to deal with her well enough. She must be buying out the store back there. Oh, that reminds me, can you charge me for BJ’s things?”

“Oh?”

“She forgot her wallet. It’s nothing more than that.” “We can bill it directly to her if that would help.”

“I think she might like that a lot better. She’s not very big on having others do for her. I’d be surprised if Katherine wasn’t tearing her hair out right about now.”

“Speaking of which, you did tell BJ about Katie before you left them alone, didn’t you?”

“What about her?”

“I mean Albert. Did you tell BJ about Albert?”

“Oh, shit!” Hobie cried out. She tore through the book shop and into the clothing store. She hoped she was in time.

“What in the hell are you talking about? I don’t see anyone there.” BJ was about near the end of her patience when she saw Hobie rushing toward them.

“What do you mean you can’t see him? He’s sitting there as plain as the nose on your face!”

“There is no one there, you stu—”

The moment that Hobie ran up to the two women, they nearly pounced on her. “Hobie!” they exclaimed in unison.

Hobie looked from one woman to the other. Katherine and BJ were red in the face. BJ wore an expression that Hobie was learning to recognize. The look meant that in another five seconds she would be cutting through someone with that sharp tongue of hers.

“Will you tell this woman to just give me my clothes so we can—”

“She sat on Albert!” Katherine nearly screamed. “Who the fuck is Albert?” BJ shouted back.

BJ knew she probably shouldn’t be cursing at an old woman, but her patience had ended. Katherine had been placing the new clothes into bags when BJ decided to rest her leg and sit in the comfortable-looking chair beside the cash register. She hadn’t a clue as to what was wrong when the usually silent old woman had begun shouting hysterically at her.

BJ had jumped up, only to become embroiled in one of the most inane arguments in which she’d ever been involved.

Katherine insisted BJ had sat there on purpose, telling her that even Albert had better manners.

“I’m sure she didn’t see him, Katherine,” Hobie said soothingly.

“How could she not see him?”

“See who?” BJ shouted again. The tenuous grasp she had on her temper was rapidly slipping away.

“Do you see what I mean? She’s just like those doctors in Tampa. I don’t know if we can do business with your friend, Hobie Lynn.”

“Hobie,” BJ said calmly—perhaps too calmly, in Hobie’s estimation. Hobie could practically hear BJ’s teeth grinding together. “Do you see this Albert in that chair?”

Hobie bit her bottom lip as she looked between the two women once more. If she told BJ the truth, she risked losing Katherine’s trust. “Um...yes?”

BJ stared down at Hobie as Katherine snorted in triumph. BJ looked at the chair once more, beginning to feel as though she were the crazy one. “So you actually see something...here?” She waved her hand in front of the seemingly empty chair.

“Of course she does, and it’s not something, it’s Albert!” Katherine interjected. “And quit slapping him in the nose with your hand like that, you twit!”

“Speaking of slapping someone in the nose...” BJ took a step closer to the angry woman.

Hobie stepped between them. “Can I see you over here for a second?” she whispered, pulling on BJ’s elbow.

“She can’t see him. People like her never will,” Katherine said.

“I bet it was just the light, Katherine. Look how dark it is back here.” The convincing tone to Hobie’s voice made Katherine pause to look around. During those moments, Hobie managed to maneuver BJ a few feet away.

“If you even think about saying you really saw anything over there, I’m going to throw you out the window and run for my life,” BJ hissed through her teeth.

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Hobie would have laughed aloud at the sheer confusion coupled with uncertainty on BJ’s face. “Look, have you ever seen that old movie with Jimmy Stewart?”

“Dear God in heaven! You are not seriously going to tell me that Albert is a six-foot white rabbit?” BJ whispered.

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. He’s only three feet high, and he’s a hamster.”

“What?” BJ raised her voice. “What is this island—lunatic central?”

“Shh. Please, just go along with this and I’ll explain later, I promise. Please?”

Hobie looked up at BJ with such a pleading expression that BJ realized at that moment she couldn’t have refused Hobie anything. Large green eyes tugged at BJ’s heartstrings. That insight made BJ uncomfortable. She’d never felt like that before.

“You owe me big-time” was her response.

Ten seconds later, BJ was standing beside the same comfortable chair. She gestured with one arm. “Of course. I can’t believe I missed him!”

“Bullshit!” Katherine exclaimed. “You’re making it up now.”

“Okay, that’s it. I’m going back to Chicago.” BJ turned to leave.

“What color is he?” Katherine suddenly spoke up.

BJ quickly looked to Hobie, who tugged on the neck of her T-shirt.

“Brown.”

“What color are his eyes?” Katherine raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

Hobie and BJ panicked, but for different reasons. A quick look over to Hobie showed that she seemed to be pointing to her own eye. At least that’s what BJ hoped it meant.

“Green,” BJ said with a confident smile.

“There ya go.” Katherine slapped BJ on the shoulder enthusiastically. BJ knew she would have a bruise there before the day was over. It was as if Katherine had forgotten that moments earlier she had been in a screaming match with BJ. “Guess it was just too dark for you to see him. I’ll have to talk to Helen about more lights back here.”

The fact that BJ knew the color of her eyes hadn’t been lost on Hobie. It was such a little thing, but it stuck in her mind in a way that worried her. So far, it fit into the same category as many of her other dealings with BJ Warren. She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or concerned. “Thanks for the backup,” she whispered sarcastically to Helen as she and BJ were on their way out of the store.

“I think you two did very well. Besides, I have to live with Katie. It’s always best if I stay out of the Albert debate unless it gets too far out of control.”

“Goodbye, you two,” Katherine shouted after them. “Come back soon.”

“Not in this lifetime,” BJ muttered so that only Hobie could hear. Looking back at the two older women, BJ arched an eyebrow at the way Katherine had placed her arm around Helen’s waist. In BJ’s opinion, there seemed to be more than a sisterly familiarity to it.

Once they were well on their way to the hospital, BJ turned to Hobie. “You owe me one very big story about Albert the giant, yet invisible, hamster.”

“I know. Let me explain.”

“Oh, and by the way,” BJ added, “if those two dykes are sisters, then I’m Mother Teresa.”

“So you met the Dilby sisters,” Evelyn Warren said.

Hobie and BJ sat beside her bed. The elderly woman had been heartsick upon seeing her granddaughter’s cast. When Hobie explained what happened but left out the fact that she was the driver of the vehicle that hit Baylor, Evelyn raised an eyebrow at her. Hobie’s remorseful expression apparently conveyed more than words could manage because Evelyn patted her hand affectionately. She spent the next twenty minutes treating BJ like a helpless invalid, going so far as to call the nurse to make her more comfortable. BJ, of course, lapped up the attention as shamelessly as Arturo receiving a belly rub.

“Yes, I met the Dilby sisters, and I use the word ‘sisters’ loosely.”

“It’s not for us to judge, Baylor.”

“I’m not talking about judging, Tanti, I just think it’s a crime that they have to hide who they are. Why don’t they move away? There are a lot of places more progressive in their thinking. Shoot, Key West isn’t that far away.”

“They were young women who lived in a different time, dear heart. It has nothing to do with wherethey live. It’s something they grew used to doing out of necessity. It’s not an acknowledgment of right or wrong. Some things in life, well, you continue to do them because you’ve grown comfortable with things that way. Change can be hard on the soul. Sometimes, you just accept things and people the way they are. So,” she continued with a mischievous look in her eye. “Did you meet Albert?”

Hobie laughed and BJ glared at her. “She sat on him,” Hobie blurted out through her laughter.

“Oh, my. What did Katherine do?”

“Her eyes bugged about, her head spun around, and smoke came out her ears,” BJ said. “I thought she was having some kind of an attack.”

Hobie couldn’t stop laughing.

“And this one,” BJ pointed to Hobie. “She stood there and encouraged the delusional woman.”

“I had to,” Hobie said soberly.

“I agree, Baylor. It took Katherine a long time to get to where she is today. It would have done more harm than good for Hobie Lynn to deny Albert’s existence,” Evelyn said.

“You said you’d tell me the whole story,” BJ said to Hobie. “I suppose I can tell that one best, considering I was there

when it all happened,” Evelyn said. Hobie nodded.

“It’s not as much of a story as you were probably hoping for. Katherine Dilby was a research scientist, quite a feat in the 1950s. There weren’t many women doing that kind of work in those days. I suppose no one knows what makes folks go a little loopy. I think Katherine finally dissected one lab animal too many. She had a breakdown and refused to speak or eat. They had her in a hospital in Miami for a number of years. She never said one solitary word to anyone. That’s where she met Helen.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” BJ interrupted to say. “Helen wasn’t a patient at the hospital, she was a volunteer.

She started coming by every day to read to Katherine. Just as quickly as it had started, it ended. One day, Katherine woke up and she was her old self. There was only one small change.”

“Let me guess. Albert was born,” BJ said.

“Correct. The doctors thought the creation of Albert was Katherine’s way of compensating for the years of experiments on the animals she loved. They released her a short time later and she and Helen began their relationship.”

“I can’t believe it. A woman tells the doctors at a psychiatric hospital that she sees a three-foot hamster everywhere she goes, and they release her?”

“Honestly, Baylor, where did you come by all this lack of compassion? Didn’t seeing what your father did teach you anything? Katherine hurts no one. She is a wonderful and faithful partner to Helen and a loyal friend to those who take the time to get to know her. Learn to accept, dear heart. Accept people the way they are, all their flaws included.”

“Sorry. I’ll try, but frankly, the people on this island are just giving me too much to work with right off the bat.”

“So what do you think about the rest of our island?”

“I think that if what I’ve seen of the people so far is as deep as the gene pool gets, then somebody is gonna bash their head open by diving in.”

“Oh, stop. I’m glad to see the two of you have made friends,” Evelyn said with a nod in Hobie’s direction.

“Yeah, well.” BJ smirked. “We kind of...ran into each other.”

Hobie returned BJ’s half smile and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t elaborate. It was one more thing for Hobie to ruminate over, however. BJ seemed to love humiliating people. Why hadn’t she told her grandmother that Hobie was to blame for the broken ankle?

They sat and talked for another hour until Evelyn grew tired. Hobie mentioned that they should be going anyway since she had to be in her office in a couple of hours.

Evelyn thanked her granddaughter once more for caring for her cherished home. “Take good care of Arturo,” she said just before the two younger women left. “And take better care of yourself, Baylor. You sound as if you’re becoming accident prone.”

BJ ground her teeth together. She detested having her grandmother think the broken ankle was her own fault, but for some reason, she didn’t have the heart to implicate Hobie. The funny thing was that she had no idea why. She kissed her grandmother’s cheek and said she would be back as soon as she could.