Free Tales From Sea Glass Inn by Karis Walsh Page A

absence like a wound, but the memory of holding her
made her smile. “Yeah,” she said. “The bed was very comfortable.”
    “I’ll bet it was.”
    “What room were you in?” Danny asked, looking
back and forth between the two laughing women. “Did you get a new mattress,
Mom?”
    “We’re going to miss you when you go back to
school, Danny,” Jenny said, changing the subject. “You’ve been a great help at
the center.”
    “Are you in college?” Lars asked. “What are
you studying?”
    “What school?” Eve chimed in.
    Jenny rolled her eyes. She recognized the
eagerness in their voices. They were asking simple questions, but they could
become serious medical-profession recruiters at any moment. She sometimes
wondered if they got a commission every time they talked a student into
pursuing a medical degree.
    “I’m on scholarship at Oregon State
University.” Danny smeared grape jelly on a thick slice of toast made from
homemade bread and passed the jar to Jenny. “I haven’t picked a major yet.”
    “I think he’d be a brilliant professor,” Mel
said, elbowing him in the side. “Maybe literature?”
    “Yeah, right,” Danny said with a laugh. He
looked at Jenny. “Can you see me in a tweed blazer with elbow patches?”
    “You probably can wear whatever you want. I
don’t think there’s a required uniform,” Jenny joked. She took a bite of her
toast. Crunchy outside and soft in the middle. Flecks of whole grains and
chopped walnuts gave it good texture and complemented the sweet jam. She’d bet
anything Helen had made the bread. Was there anything she couldn’t make? Money
out of thin air, Jenny supposed. She sighed and tried to get her mind off Helen
and back on to the conversation going on around her.
    “Yes, Mom, I know Pam wants me to be an art
major, but you saw my final project for the drawing class I took last semester.
What a disaster.” Danny wiped his hands and neatly folded his napkin.
“Actually, I’ve kind of been thinking of vet school. Jenny and I were talking
about it, and after working with the animals here at the center, I’m even more
convinced I’d like to try.”
    “Really?” Mel asked with a proud smile on her
face. “You haven’t mentioned it before, but I can see it being a good fit for
you. You’ve always been great with animals.”
    “If you’re interested in the medical field,
you might want to consider working with people instead of animals,” Lars said,
taking a sip of coffee. “The opportunities for helping others are limitless,
and you’d be making a real contribution to the world.”
    Mel and Danny sent shocked looks Jenny’s way,
as if they were hoping she hadn’t heard the comment. She’d heard it too many
times to be bothered by it anymore. She took another slice of toast and coated
it with butter and a drizzle of honey. “I think you’re a natural, Danny. If you
need a letter of recommendation, count on me. Vet school admissions committees
love to see this kind of volunteer work on applications.”
    “Thanks, Jenny,” he said. “I just might take
you up on that.”
    Jenny didn’t miss the look her parents
exchanged. She could already feel them gearing up for The Talk.

    *

    Jenny was silent on the way to the center.
Her parents had talked nonstop yesterday about Cannon Beach, the beauty of the
area, and the work Jenny was doing here. Today, they had already moved on and
were focused on their upcoming trip. She wouldn’t be surprised if they left as
unexpectedly as they’d come. She was sure they’d remember some city or research
library or colleague they desperately needed to visit before they left the
States. She wouldn’t take it personally when it happened. By now she knew they
weren’t trying to cut their visit with her short but merely shifting ahead to
the next stop on their never-ending journey. They couldn’t stop their itch to
get moving again. It was their nature as a couple and as doctors.
    Even as she listened to