Chasing Wind by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Author:Kellie Coates Gilbert [Gilbert, Kellie Gilbert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amnos Media Group

10

The days on the Oregon Coast were getting warmer. Flowers were now sprouting along the roadsides and trails. It was turning beautiful in and around Pacific Bay. To her surprise, Stacey was enjoying every minute of her time there.

While this was not how Stacey had envisioned her summer, she found herself not missing shopping trips with her mother’s credit card in hand, not missing pool parties with her friends, not lacking a single thing by not binge-watching endless hours of television. Truth was, spending time with Gram had proved to be a lot of fun.

In the short time she’d been in Pacific Bay, she’d visited the whale museum several times, on each occasion learning more about the magnificent creatures her grandmother raved about. She learned all about their ideal habitat and their mating habits. A whale gives birth every two to three years, and the pregnancy is almost a year long. After birth, the calf spends another year with its mother. Unlike some humans, the bond between mother and calf remained strong.

Initially, being around her grandmother was a little overwhelming. She hugged often, sometimes for no reason at all. With no warning, she’d reach over and pull her into an embrace. And she touched her hair often, stroking it. This was often followed by squeezing her shoulders.

She smelled of laundry detergent and had dirt under her fingernails from working in her flower garden.

One night, she and Gram sat out in the Adirondack chairs out on the front porch. She was surprised to learn her grandfather had been a liberal activist and served on the advisory board of a national organization to legalize marijuana before many states reformed their stance on the issue.

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, wondering why her mom had never told her any of this.

Gram shook her head, smiling. “No. You would have loved him. I know I did. I didn’t always agree with his political stance on matters, but I admired his determination and grit. He didn’t fit any mold, was an outspoken rebel with a heart of gold. Would do anything for anybody.”

Stacey gazed up at the stars, brilliant pearls cushioned upon pure black velvet. “That is so dude. I mean, really. I wish I’d known him.”

Her grandmother patted her knee. “I wish you would have known him too, darling.”

“So, what did he do? For a living, I mean?”

Gram tilted her head and fingered the hair at her temple. She smiled. “Well, lots of things. Not long after we were married, he started his own bio-diesel company in our garage. He made fuel from vegetable oil.” She shook her head, smiling wider still. “He was quite the environmentalist. That venture didn’t really make much money, so he expanded his effort to include music. He was a bass musician and played several venues in town, even became the disc jockey at our local radio station. When everything went digital, he said he couldn’t support anything that ‘extended the electronic tendrils of commercialization deep into our state’s designated wilderness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.