Read Through the Door for Free Online Page B

a casual bun. She smiledat Cedar, who didn’t quite know how to start. “Can I help you?” the woman asked.
    Cedar cleared her throat. “Yes,” she said. “I called earlier this morning. I think I spoke with your husband, Rohan. I’m an old friend of Finn’s, and I’m trying to get in touch with him. My name is Cedar. Your husband told me Finn doesn’t live here, but, well, I was hoping maybe if I came here in person you might be willing to help me. I just want to get back in touch with Finn, that’s all. Do you know how I could get ahold of him?” Cedar took a breath and realized she had been rambling. The woman gave Cedar a hard look, but not an unkind one. “May I ask why you want to contact Finn?” she asked.
    “Oh…well…” Cedar said, and then fell silent for a moment, kicking herself for not thinking this through, for not making up some plausible story. She still felt rattled from her encounter with the strange woman on the walkway. “Er, Mrs. Donnelly?” she began again.
    The woman smiled, and then said, “I’m so sorry. I haven’t even introduced myself, and here I am keeping you out on the doorstep. Yes, I am Riona Donnelly. Riona will do just fine. Please, why don’t you come in for a minute?” She stepped back from the door and waved an elegant arm, indicating Cedar should follow her inside.
    Cedar walked into the house and stood in the small entryway, not sure what to do next. Riona closed the door and gave her an appraising glance.
    “In fact,” she said, “why don’t we have some tea?”
    “Oh, I don’t really…” Cedar was about to say that she didn’t have time, but it didn’t seem like Riona was going to just jot Finn’s phone number down on a Post-it note for heranytime soon. Maybe a cup of tea would be a good way to break the ice. “Sure,” Cedar corrected herself. “Tea would be lovely, thank you.”
    Riona led her into the living room and told her to make herself comfortable, then disappeared into the kitchen. Cedar looked around. It was quite possibly one of the most beautiful rooms she had ever been in. Compared to Cedar’s minimalist, black and white apartment, this room was a riot of color. Green potted plants sat on the sill of the large picture window and hung in woven baskets from hooks in the ceiling. The walls were adorned with richly colored paintings and intricate wooden carvings. A harp stood in the corner of the room, the sunlight glittering off its polished wood. Across from the chocolate brown sofa was a tightly woven wicker papasan with a large bright red cushion. Under Cedar’s feet was a thick rug in many colors. The effect of so much going on in this one room should have been cacophonous at best, but Cedar felt that it worked perfectly. It was a room filled with life. It made her heart ache a little.
    Riona came back from the kitchen carrying a tray laden with the tea things and a plate of small sandwiches and set it on the coffee table. “When I was in the kitchen I realized that it’s lunchtime, so I brought out a few sandwiches in case you’re hungry,” she said.
    “Oh. Thank you.”
    Riona sat on the other end of the sofa and poured the tea. As she handed a delicate china cup to Cedar, she said, “That’s better. Now, you were about to tell me why it is you’re looking for my son.”
    “I haven’t heard from him in a few years and wanted to get back in touch. See how he’s doing,” Cedar said with an attempt at a casual shrug.
    “Mmm,” said Riona. “Yes, Finn has been abroad for the past several years. I’m afraid my husband told you the truth if he said we don’t know exactly where he is.”
    Actually, he just said he couldn’t help and hung up on me,
Cedar thought. “But surely you must have a way of getting in touch with him for emergencies or something,” she said.
    Riona stirred her tea. “Well, as I’m sure you know if you were friends with him, Finn is a bit of an independent spirit. We haven’t heard from him