An Unlikely Family

Claire took Evie through the kitchen, out the back door and down a brick pathway to a charming cottage that could have been out of the pages of a child’s book. It had a peaked roof with scalloped shingles over the eaves, small casement windows with flower boxes at the sills and a leaded-glass front door with a brass knocker shaped like a crescent moon. The entire structure was painted yellow and white to match the main house.

Claire opened the door and stepped aside. “I just had the cleaning lady here today,” she said as Evie went in. “If there’s anything you want to change, feel free. Aunt Pet packed up her personal belongings when she moved into Finn’s place, and what’s left is just the furniture that’s been here for a while. It’s still serviceable I guess, but I have no great love for any of it. You can bring in your own things.”

Evie quickly appraised the cozy parlor. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t change anything. Besides, I’m not moving the furniture from my apartment down here. It’s all in storage in Detroit.”

She was more than pleased with the bright chintz sofa, overstuffed wicker chairs and glass-topped wrought-iron tables covered with magazines dedicated to herb growing and the celestial arts. It was Evie’s taste with a touch of the unconventional Pet, and once she filled up the empty bookshelves along one wall and set out a few precious treasures, she knew she’d be comfortable here for as long as Claire allowed her to stay.