Brooke wasn’t showing up at The Clover until after eight these days. None of her real estate clients wanted to see homes until at least ten, and the owners needed time to get ready. So if she got to the office around nine, she was still the first one in. Blair had suggested how eight […]
Book
Chapter 9: And on the Seventh Day, They Nagged
“Prepare your hearts for worship,” came the call from the new minister. Brooke was seated in the family pew, near the front, across the aisle from the one she had crawled under during her great-grandmother’s funeral. Her mother let her stay under the pew that day. At least curled up in a ball their little […]
Chapter 8: A Right-Brained Girl in a Left-Brained World
The Clover was usually empty in the very early morning. Business regulars would start coming in around eight (they didn’t need to be uptown until nine). Artists never arrived until at least ten, unless they were like Dorothy and there weren’t many of them. So it was a surprise on the morning Brooke arrived to […]
Chapter 7: Tales of the Pacific Northwest – and Big Dogs
The Clover Café opened at six, or thereabouts. The faded red sign, where a black felt-tip wrote in the hours, had fallen behind a case near the door years ago. These days the hours seemed to be, “We’re open when we’re open – not when we’re not.”
Chapter 6: Xennials are People Too
Brooke started showing up more at The Clover. Blair poured her coffee, making sure to push the ground ginger she always sprinkled on top within reach and said, “I’m glad you keep stopping in Brooke.” “Thanks,” said Brooke. “You guys make me feel like I fit in, as if I belong here somehow. I like that.”
Chapter 5: Everyone Has A Story In Them
The Clover Café (or simply, “The Clover” as people who knew it called it) was inside a courtyard formed by some old buildings in a neighborhood near uptown. “If you don’t know, you don’t go,” could have been its tagline, if it had one – but it didn’t.
Chapter 4: The Best Stories Live in the Best Neighborhoods
Brooke knew this day would come. She graduated in May and now needed to start making her own way. Brooke’s parents made it clear. School would be on them. After grad, it was her turn.
Chapter 3: A Time for Colors and Stories
When the Adams’ children cleaned out the place, they didn’t leave much behind, just the long-forgotten shotgun Jane had hidden in the attic and four broken Adirondack chairs which were stacked in the corner of the barn.
Chapter 2: Lives Take Shape
Jane and Martin stoped by often for a visit. They liked seeing the young couple and keeping up with the changes. They approved of everything, except, maybe, the large jacuzzi Peter put in the main bath. Brooke wanted to explain, but decided it could wait. On nice days, Brooke took Peter’s car to town so there would be room to carry Jane, with a few of her friends, to the market; especially when the heirloom tomatoes …
Chapter 1: A Change Comes
Change happens slowly in the mountains, and sometimes it can go unnoticed unless the story is told. The old Adams’ Place had covered the mountain for as long as anyone could remember. It had been a land grant bestowed to great-great grandfather Edward in 1863 by a government torn apart by a war many in […]