“Midnight at the Blackbird Café”

Chapters 1 & 2

I headed back to the deck, but stopped first to apologize to the undeserving zucchini for my mean
look earlier. It was then that I noticed a dark gray cat with light eyes watching me intently from its seat
on a white stone bench in the center of the garden.

Chapters 3 & 4

My nerves were running wild as I turned around to say goodbye to Summer and to give her the piece of pie.
But she was already gone.

Chapters 5 & 6

About ten feet from me, the cat stopped. Sat. Looked over his shoulder. He took another few steps. Sat. Glanced back.

“Reow.”

It could have been my imagination, or perhaps heat exhaustion setting in, but I could have sworn
there was a hint of impatience in the cat’s voice.

Chapters 7 & 8

My eyes stung with frustrated tears as I watched the birds take flight, soaring,
then dipping low to return the way they’d come. The birders applauded.

Chapters 9 & 10

She glanced at the newspaper article she’d been reading. “I feel like a kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.”
I glanced at the headline that had been zoomed in on.

Car crash kills local Wicklow standout

Chapters 11 & 12

The following morning, I crouched in the garden, a basket at my feet as I filled it with the day’s bounty.
“I see you’ve forgiven me,” I said to the zucchini plant closest to the deck steps. I tugged a small zucchini from its stem,
its beautiful green skin seemingly more vibrant in the hazy morning light than it would be in full sunshine.

Chapters 13 & 14

The small brown bird that I’d been seeing a lot lately sat on the fence railing next to my car, not looking
the least bit disturbed by my presence as it used its beak to clean under its crooked wing.

Chapters 15 & 16

Anna Kate clutched a foil-wrapped platter with both hands. “Having my head examined might not be a bad idea. I’m not sure what I’m doing.”

Chapters 17 & 18

Between the humidity and the exertion, I was out of breath by the time I reached the tree and stumbled
to a full stop when I came upon Aubin Pavegeau. He was sitting in front of a headstone next to the tree.

Chapters 19 & 20

Pulling out my keys, I unlocked the door, then pushed it open. Chilly air washed over me as I set the package
on the kitchen counter, tore the paper, and gasped. It was the framed photo of the doe and waterfall.

A note slipped out onto the floor.

Chapters 21 & 22

We’d been here a few hours now, and we were waiting on Daddy to be discharged against medical advice.
He insisted there was nothing the hospital could do for him that couldn’t be done at home,
and there was nothing anyone could do or say to talk him out of it.

Chapters 23 & 24

Staying on task was proving to be difficult. I chopped mint, and its scent did nothing to soothe me this afternoon.
I was worried about Doc, about Natalie, about me.

Chapters 25 & 26

“This is going to sound crazy, but I could have sworn I saw Mr. Cat run behind those buildings with a sparkler in his mouth.”

Chapters 27, 28, & 29

It was then that I noticed a blackbird among the mulberry branches, watching me.
She dropped to the ground, and I could see the green in her eyes.

Mom.

She hopped around, pecking at the ground. I thought at first she was scratching
for mulberries like the other birds, but her pattern wasn’t random.

It was a message for me, her own love note.

Midnight at the Blackbird Café
Illustrations to accompany AARP’s serialized
release of the novel "Midnight at the Blackbird Café" by Heather Webber.

Client: AARP
AD: Josef Edmonds