The Impossible Wish (Liberty Series Book 3) by Christine Nolfi

Author:Christine Nolfi [Nolfi, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christine Nolfi
Published: 2014-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Finny’s harsh advice accompanied Birdie out of The Second Chance Grill and all the way to practically nowhere given how far she’d walked.

Many of Liberty’s tree-lined streets were familiar, the close-knit neighborhoods with kids’ bicycles flung across lawns and couples sipping tea on front porches swathed in dappled shade.

The streets extended from the nexus of Liberty Square like the arms of a starfish, the pretty shops at the town’s hub giving way to wealthier neighborhoods that boasted Gothic mansions of golden stone and rambling Colonials with spring tulips bursting from well-tended flowerbeds. But those streets were now behind her, mostly ignored and unappreciated as the memory of the conversation she’d shared with Finney at The Second Chance carried her further, over railroad tracks and past a small convenience store. Her heart was bruised and her thoughts cluttered after the blunt advice she’d received from the cook.

An odd sensation darted through her, and she looked around quickly to ensure she wasn’t being followed. A car sped past, the three children in the backseat shouting something at their harried mother. No other cars, and the street was void of pedestrians. Shrugging off the sensation, Birdie paused to take note of her surroundings.

She wasn’t familiar with this quiet cul-de-sac at the town’s southern end and a good two miles from The Square. A neighborhood of working-class families, the houses snuggled close as if in defense of harsh economic times. There were no lavish displays of tulips here, and more than one house needed a fresh coat of paint. On the front stoop of one bungalow, a snowy-haired man sat gazing at the clouds.

He acknowledged her with a jaunty tip of his head as she strode past. It was probably close to 3 P.M. and time to return to the Post, although she didn’t have copy to write or articles to edit. Without fanfare Hugh had handed off most of her workload to the newbies he’d hired, allowing her to do whatever she wanted, which meant, given her state of mind, she wasn’t doing much at all.

If her lack of motivation wasn’t enough to stir the guilt, she now had Finney’s comments ringing through her head like the disagreeable sounds of an early morning alarm.

The offer she’d made to cover the cook’s losses had been a goodwill gesture. It seemed the right thing to do after Wish robbed Finney of her hard-earned savings. Losing over six thousand dollars—the loss represented several month’s pay, a fortune to a single mother raising two kids. If Birdie’s offer came across as misguided charity, the insult wasn’t intentional.

She loved Finney and would never purposely hurt her.

Now, after walking for miles in deep reflection, she still didn’t understand what the cook meant about giving charity to herself before offering it to others. The comment was as puzzling as it was vexing.

Trying to work it out, she wondered if kindness was the root of all charity.

Weren’t people with kind natures considerate and generous, and more apt to lend a

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