Story Hour

Any "Story Hour" title will now be for...

Fishing For Pennies

Part 2:

Bird Dive Mansion was its name. Not formally, of course. It had earned the reputation of being infested with crows, which swooped at the slightest provocation or with no provocation at all. The title, “mansion” was at the very least a stretching term; “dive” was decidedly more accurate. In reality, it was a rather old, once grand Southern farmhouse on the edge of town. Recently converted by Fae’s former protégée Madge, it was considered the ideal final destination of the rather old, once grand residents of Atlanta. Not only was Madge was a marvelous cook of the standard Southern tradition, but she had the good sense to leave well-enough alone. To Fae’s consideration; a dying art form which she openly grieved. Madge knew Fae from the time she was small; knew the majority of her residents for a lifetime and treated them with the respect and care that only a family member would.
Romi and Frankie never worried about Fae living there. Firstly because she was notoriously as tough as burnt turkey and had an established history of outspoken opinions. Furthermore, her closest friend in the world Beau lived at Bird Dive Mansion in the room adjacent to her own. Frankie secretly thought Fae would have sooner married Beau than any other man in the world though Beau often preferred the same men Fae did. Considering all this, Romi and Frankie came to see her every so often; however, lately their visits had become more and more frequent. Fae was nearing the end of her life and their only real worry was never finding out the whole truth. Until recently it had seemed Fae either did not care or that it was too painful for her to discuss. It was, after all, a completely different generation.
“Well, don’t just stand there gaping at me! Close your mouths and sit, sit, sit.” Her eyes and fire red hair ablaze in the sunlight. Lord, it was hot in the dead of July. Georgia could be hotter than the seventh circle of Hell at this time of year.
She hesitated. Then said, “I will tell you what I know, but I warn you both: it’s not much though granted it will be more than you have heard before.”
Frankie and Romi could not believe what they were hearing. Was this actually happening? They had waited what seemed like an eternity to hear details concerning their maternal grandmother’s adoption. With their own mother’s passing and absolutely nothing to go on, they had asked Fae repeatedly to tell them at least something. In some small way, maybe it would give them a piece of their own mother back.
Or maybe it was more than that. Romi and Frankie waited with baited breath.