Read A Sea Change for Free Online

something that holds something else. It’s how the world should be. Each of us providing a sanctuary for someone.” She reached into a cupboard and took out a teapot. The glaze was a luminous aquamarine.
    Maddy couldn’t take her eyes off the woman as she talked and gracefully prepared the tea. She supposed people would describe her as “handsome.” But to Maddy, Mary Delfino was truly beautiful. There was a stateliness about her softened by her calm, gentle manner.  She was a good six inches taller than Maddy, yet there was nothing angular about her. And there was no way to guess her age. Her face was remarkably unlined, yet her deep blue eyes held the wisdom of several lifetimes. She wore her long, white hair in a braid that reached the middle of her back.
    “I hope you like this.” Mary Delfino’s voice held such a lyrical quality that Maddy had to make a conscious effort to comprehend her words. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the only tea in the world.” Maddy smiled inanely as Mary held up a green box with white lettering. “Murchie’s Darjeeling blend. Once a year I make a special trip to Victoria to get my supply. I’m told I can order it through the mail, but what would be the fun in that?” She poured the boiling water over the loose leaves, then turned to Maddy. “Black? Or white?”
    “I’m sorry?” Maddy was mesmerized.
    “How do you take your tea?”
    “Oh, uh – cream and sugar, please.”
    The next thing Maddy knew, she was sitting in a wingback chair holding a cup and saucer of the same vivid color as the teapot. She drank and it was heaven.
    Mary sat across from Maddy, studying her. Then she asked, “What do you do, Madeleine?”
    “I’ll be taking care of Jaed’s business.”
    Mary crooked her head to one side, questioning.
    “You know,” Maddy continued. “Accounts, brochures, bookings.”
    “No, no. What is your passion in life? What do you do?”
    Maddy thought for a long moment. No suitable answer seemed forthcoming. She finally said, “What you do is very beautiful.”
    “Surely there is something you love?”
    Maddy shifted in her seat and shrugged apologetically.
    “I can see I’ve made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.” A playful smile came to her lips. “I can also see you dressed very hurriedly. I hope the tea has relaxed you a little.”
    “I guess it did.” Maddy smiled back. “I completely forgot why I knocked on your door in the first place. Could I borrow your ladder?”
    “Certainly. No need to ask. We all try to share down here on the beach. If you need anything and can’t find the owner, just leave a note.” Mary set her cup on the small table between them. “I hope there’s no danger involved?”
    Maddy shook her head. “Just a clogged gutter. And I hate to say this, but I’d better go take care of it.”
    The two women stood together at the front door watching the rain. Maddy didn’t want to leave this peaceful place.
    “You can come back anytime, Madeleine.”
    Maddy looked up in wonder, but Mary still gazed out at the drizzle. “Thank you,” she said.
    “Tell me, have you met Nick yet?” Mary asked.
    “No. Nick who?” Maddy put Jaed’s hat back on and braced herself for the cold and damp once again.
    “We like to call him Nick-of-Time. He very much does it all, and doesn’t charge nearly enough for his services. He can be fairly monosyllabic – there was a time we all wondered if English was his second language – but I happen to know his spirit is quite gregarious. He’s the man to see if you need help with anything. If Nick can’t fix it he’ll find you someone who can.”
    “Thanks, but I’m pretty handy myself.”
    “You never know, Madeleine. Someday there might be something you’ll need him for.” Mary turned her enigmatic smile on Maddy again. “Just remember. He’s right next door to you. Number seventy-four.”
    Maddy nodded and held out her hand, but Mary Delfino’s arms enveloped her in an embrace, and