Secrets And Tea

Chapter 4

Damien wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been at his new home for only a day to clean the worst of the overgrown weeds up.  He sipped on the bottle of water. He looked at the huge pile of weeds he had already pulled. 

They were mostly thistle and nettle plants. He had made sure to wear long sleeves because the nettle's oil caused rashes and breakouts. Once on the skin it became irritating and would cause blisters.

"Wow, that's a lot of compost," a woman's voice declared. Damien spun to face the woman standing behind him on the sidewalk. 

He noticed that she was petite, and her curly blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail. She held a box and a carrier with two cups in it.

He remembered her from the cafe where he had told the woman Rionna Woods about Thomas's death.

"Hi. I'm Abigail. Your resident psychic medium," the woman said thrusting her hand out to him, "You should call May she would love to take that whole bunch of stuff off your hands. She loves composting." 

Damien eyed the woman. She was looking around the property with a cheerful look. 

"Who is May?" he inquired.

"Oh, May Grover. She and her sister own a farm just outside of Witch's Cove. They own at least 50 acres of land. They garden and provide for most of the town if no one else likes to plant things. They also run the community gardens so residents have containers for paper and weeds to provide for composting." Abigail said, she set the box on the top of a fence post and shoved a hand in her pocket. When she pulled out her hand in it was a card.

"Here, give them a call. You'll need to get rid of that stuff and they need it. Oh. I brought you some of Isabelle's blueberry muffins and a tea," she said, "Thomas said you liked green tea with a bit of milk."

The mention of his old friend had Damien's heart aching. He took the offered food and drink. How she knew that he liked green tea with a bit of milk and no sugar baffled him. She couldn't really speak to spirits like she was claiming.

He sipped the tea to find it lukewarm, most likely due to the fact that she had walked here. He opened the box to see that there was indeed muffins and a note saying 'Welcome to Witch's Cove'. 

He bit into the muffin and found his stomach growling as he scarfed it down. He looked at his watch to find it was already noon and he hadn't eaten any lunch yet.

"Someone is hungry. If you want great food head on over to King's Wharf. The lighthouse has a restaurant inside it where visitors can eat. Plus, it has a lovely view of the ocean," declared Abigail, "Okay, I guess I'm off to the cemetery. Spirits need help and I have a job to do."

She waved, and then walked away humming under her breath before calling out to something down the street. 

Damien watched her go with amusement and bafflement. She seemed like she was pretty nutty that Abigail. He was thankful she had brought him food and something to drink. He looked at the pile of weeds once more than at the card she had handed to him.

Pulling out his cell phone he dialed the number. He grabbed another muffin taking tinier bites as the phone rang.

"Misty Grove Botanical's, Brigid speaking," a woman's breathless voice came over the line, "Sorry I had to run to get the phone."

"It is no problem, I was told by Abigail that the weeds I'm pulling would be helpful to you for compost. Is this correct?" inquired Damien. 

"Oh. Yes, definitely. What is the address? I'll have Derek come by with the truck," the woman said, "We do all our own composting here on the island. Derek is in charge of picking it up." 

Damien told her the address and she said that someone would be by later to pick it up and just to leave it on the curb outside his yard. 

"I'll have Derek bring some bins for you. Along with our pick-up schedule. Thank you so much." the woman said, "I gotta go, someone, is calling outside."

Damien hung up the phone wondering how someone could sound so overworked over the phone. He grabbed his gloves and shoved his sleeves down and filled the wheelbarrow once more with weeds to dump them on the boulevard just by the street.

He pulled a few more wheelbarrows full of weeds before calling it for the day and stepping into his beat-up truck he had bought for cheap from some old guy on the mainland. He had told him that the regulations for Witch's Cove were nothing bigger than a 1/4-ton truck. 

Damien had spent the afternoon after buying the house on the mainland making arrangements to have his address changed. He had returned his rental car and bought a used truck. He got all the relevant documents and information to have his license and medical stuff done.

He opened an account at the local bank and then had hit the hardware store on the island.

As he drove along the coast he found that he rather enjoyed the ride. It wasn't long before he spotted the tall lighthouse. A house attached to it and a large parking area where cars and small trucks were parked. 

Pulling into the parking lot he was surprised to see so many people walking in and out of the building.

The moment he entered the house he found that it was filled with people. The house had two stories and was attached to the main floor of the lighthouse. The tables were filled with people.

"Hello, Welcome to King's Wharf. Here is our menu. Take a seat and we will find a seat for you in a moment." a man said, handing Damien a menu with a picturesque view of the lighthouse on the cover.

He took a seat on the bench beside a couple who were murmuring to themselves about whether they really wanted to wait for a table.

"Okay. A table for two opened up, come with me," a waitress said, gesturing to the couple who smiled and got up to follow her upstairs.

Damien watched as the staff worked fast and efficiently to get their customers served and out the doors in a timely succession. They were polite and didn't rush the customers but still it seemed like just as people entered the establishment people exited it. Like magic.

He got up when his turn came and gave his order to the waitress the moment she approached. He saw how the process was done. As the place was full they allowed the people waiting to view the menu while they waited. Giving them ample time to choose their preferred dishes before they even sat down at their table.

Once at their table they could order their dishes almost as soon as the waiter or waitress approached the table. They would eat, maybe chat a little but soon they would leave. 

Clever and interesting.

Damien ate his meal. Impressed by the taste and quality of it. He'd been to a few coastal towns and cities and nothing tasted as good as this meal.

As soon as he paid his bill he headed back to the house to find that the weeds were gone and in their place were four bins. One had a brown envelope attached.

Inside the envelope was a typed letterhead saying thank you for the contribution of composting and recycling. A schedule of their pick-up days for each part of Witch's Cove and what they required to be placed in their bins.

Newspapers, weeds, branches, stones, and table scraps were all allowed to be placed inside the bins provided. They even included a full list of acceptable items for composting. A catalog of their products and a free coupon for your first order.

Damien set the papers into his truck and went to place the bins by the gate. Inside the fence. He went back to work thinning out the overgrown yard until dusk fell. 

As the moon rose he stood at the window of his hotel room to stare at the sea as the silver light glowed over the calm waters. The stars shone brightly in the sky. It was beautiful.