Starfish Street

By June Bliss

Most new college graduates are trying to figure out what they are going to do with their lives. That is just the case with Magnolia who goes by Maggie. She is a cynical, art graduate who has become bogged down with her life circumstances. She finds herself at home with her fragile, single mother when she receives a call from her great-aunt Lorraine.
Lorraine offers Maggie a summer job watching over her cottages in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Maggie accepts and her experience at the beach changes her life entirely. Maggie’s particular affections for the magnificence of creation and the kind people at the beach lead her to a new life guided by faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: June Bliss
• Release date: Jul 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310591129

June Bliss

June Bliss had a song in her heart and a love for big productions from the very beginning. Since every song and every production needs a good story, writing became an obvious career choice for her. Bliss originally worked full time at Nickelodeon and then transitioned into freelance video production and writing. She is a graduate of Biola University and completed a program at The Los Angeles Film Studies Center. She hopes to continue telling stories in various mediums. Bliss resides in New Mexico with her husband Ben and her happy-go-lucky dog named Cannoli.

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by

June Bliss

Copyright © 2015 by June Bliss

Published by Visions of Bliss at Smashwords

All Scripture quotations, in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be copied to sharing sites or be resold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

About the Author

Chapter 1

The morning after graduating from art school Maggie sleeps for hours and hours until she cannot sleep anymore. After squirming around in bed for a while, she lets her head drop off the side of her four-poster bed so that she is surveying the landscape of her bedroom upside down. Her long, light brown wavy hair falls off the side of the bed, dangling piece by piece. She looks around at the mostly dark paintings and posters she has on her walls and then stares at her cap and gown crumpled up in a pile on the floor next to her black combat boots. She wonders what good an art degree will do and how she will make a living.

The piercing voice of Maggie’s mother interrupts her thoughts and breaks the silence. She yells, Maggie! Maggie is startled, jerks her head and ends up bumping it against the wooden frame of the bed. Get out of bed already. It’s ten thirty and I’m up. You must be feeling better than I do. Get your lazy self out of bed!

Maggie is still hanging upside down, grimaces, rubs her bumped head and sarcastically responds only in a low voice to herself, Oh the joyous sound of my mom’s sweet, melodic voice in the morning. Maggie stretches her arms out too far, loses her balance and falls out of bed. Ugh…figures. What’s her problem on this first day of the rest of my life?

Maggie walks down the dim hallway to report to duty, only to find her fragile mother Carol in the kitchen sifting through junk in a cabinet, looking for pills. Maggie leans up against the wall between the hallway and the kitchen. Carol’s morning greeting consists of, Well it’s about time. Have you seen those pain killers I put in here?

Maggie responds, No. Why would I have anything to do with your stupid drugs?

Carol is frazzled, which is her common state ever since she developed a dependency upon prescription medications. She takes her focus off of the cabinet and looks directly at Maggie.

You’re not taking drugs are you?

No, Mom, you are. Maggie grimaces back at her mother finding it unbelievable that she is being asked this question.

Well, I don’t know what you are talking about. The doctor gives me medicine.

Maggie turns away and only comments under her breath, Yeah I know.

Carol returns to digging through the cabinet and suddenly shoves all of the bottles making them topple over, bounce off the counter and fall to the ground in a loud ruckus. She leans over on the counter with her hands running through her dark hair and moaning. Maggie turns around abruptly at the crashing noise, but offers no consolation. She can only look upon her mother with disappointment. She rubs her eyes and starts to return to bed when Carol’s phone rings. Carol miraculously perks up and hurries to her phone to answer.

Much to Carol’s surprise a peppy Aunt Lorraine is calling and asking how she is. Carol responds, Oh, better than some, worse than others.

I hope there are less worse ones. May I speak to Maggie?

Oh, okay, she’s right here. Maggie, it’s for you.

Maggie takes the phone wondering who is calling her on her mom’s phone, but she quickly recognizes the voice. Her great-aunt Lorraine cheerfully offers congratulations, Congratulations on your graduation!

Thanks!

Besides wishing you congratulations I just had one of my brilliant ideas, so I had to call you right away.

And what idea is that?

I want you to come to Cannon Beach and watch over the cottages for the month of June.

Chapter 2

Maggie stares out the window of the bus, getting excited since she is just about in Cannon Beach for the first time in a long time. Going to Cannon Beach was an easy decision for her. She loves visiting the beach, loves her aunt and jumps at the chance to get away from her mother for a while. She has often thought about moving out of the house when she graduated, but she does not have a job lined up and she does not know what would happen to her mother if she does. So, this month is a test. Will Carol reach a breaking point or will she pull herself together and own up to being a single woman living alone?

As the bus barrels along Highway 26 Maggie admires the beauty of the scenery. There are so many towering, green trees only doused in sunlight for a moment or two. The closer she gets to the water, the cloudier the sky becomes. She memorizes the colors, the angles and the light to keep them in mind for a painting someday.

The bus turns south, heading out of the woods to Cannon Beach. Maggie knew to sit on the side of the bus that is opposite the driver so she could have a good view of the ocean as soon as it came into view. She shifts in her seat, anxious to get up and walk around. She stretches out her lanky legs as far as she can, but it isn’t much even though there is an empty seat beside her. She looks back up from her toes to the window and there it is… the great Pacific Ocean. A small smile sneaks out from one side of her mouth even though there is no one with her to see it. The sun is lowering against the water creating perfectly, warm light.

As the bus slows down at the bus stop Maggie spots Aunt Lorraine coming around the corner up ahead in her bright red, 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk. She has had that thing forever! Even though Maggie is not in to cars, the artist in her can appreciate the unique design of the eye-catching vehicle. Maggie quits staring at the car and quickly gathers up her belongings to get out of the cramped up seat.

Wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt Maggie steps out of the bus and breathes in the salty sea air. She sets her bag down and stretches her arms up to the sky. Only a few other people get off at her stop. She looks around the corner of the bus to see her aunt coming her way. Maggie smiles big and waves.

Well hello there, Maggie, Aunt Lorraine calls out.

Hi! Maggie continues to wave enthusiastically.

Lorraine meets Maggie with a great, big hug. Oh it’s so good to see you here, here at the beach!

And it is so good to be here at the beach and see you!

They separate and Lorraine pats Maggie on the back. Look at you, the fabulous art school graduate right here in the flesh.

That would be me, I guess. Maggie shrugs her shoulders, not feeling so successful.

Come on, you must have more luggage.

Yeah, the driver’s unloading down there.

Lorraine looks to the end of the bus. Oh, I see and thank you so much for coming on the bus from the airport. It saves me oodles of time since I have to drive to the airport tomorrow.

It’s no problem. I liked seeing the scenery. Maggie sees the bus driver set her black, rolling suitcase at the curb. She motions in his direction. There’s mine.

Only one for a whole month?

Yeah, I’m easy.

Maggie picks up her shoulder bag and walks to her suitcase as Lorraine follows her. Lorraine steps ahead while Maggie grabs the suitcase and rolls it across the street to the only red, 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk for miles and miles around. Lorraine chatters on as Maggie nods along. Maggie, like most people, finds Lorraine to be extremely entertaining. She loads her suitcase into the trunk and both ladies take a seat in the car decked out with white interior. Lorraine lifts her head to check on her spikey, gray hair in the rearview mirror even though gale-force winds couldn’t shake those spikes out of position with all of the hair product she loads on her head. She comments, Oh, you know how there’s always this sea breeze here.

Maggie chimes in, I love it! My hair’s always a straggly mess anyhow. Where to next?

Well, it’s straight to the cottages. Time is of the essence tonight.

Okay then. Cozy Cottages it is!

The pair drives just a short while through town. Maggie is comforted by familiar sites along the way like the candy store and a park where she would play as a child. She looks up to see the street sign reading, Starfish Street when they turn the corner to the special street that leads straight to the beach. The cottages are just a block down the road and the beach is about five blocks further down the road. Lorraine’s small house sits at the front of the property with three small cottages behind it. At the corner of the property, low to the ground a painted wooden sign with a white background and pink letters reading, Cozy Cottages marks the property.

Lorraine turns in to the right, past four open parking spaces to the one car detached garage next to her house. Maggie steps outside and takes in another big breath of sea air. She takes a few steps further to look down the street to catch a quick peek at the beach in the distance, beyond the houses and trees. Lorraine has started to pull the suitcase out of the trunk. Maggie quickly stops her. No, no. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. She reaches in front of Lorraine and gets ahold of the handle on the suitcase. Lorraine puts her hands up and backs away while continuing to chatter.

The ladies walk down the paved path, past the front lawn in between the parking spaces and the house. The same path leads first to Lorraine’s house and then continues to each cottage and back around to the garage in a meandering circle. In the middle of the pathway and the cottages there is a garden area with benches, flowers, small yard sculptures, lots of greenery and an antique, white fountain right in the center. Lorraine stops at the entrance to her house, which is painted white like all of the structures on the property. Each cottage has a different color trim and front door to make them easily identifiable to guests. The entrance to the main house is on the side of the house facing the six-foot cedar, picket fence that is shared with the neighboring Victorian house. Once inside the living room Maggie props up the suitcase on its wheels near the hallway, sets down her shoulder bag and plops into a cushy beige upholstered chair with wide armrests and relaxes. She looks around at the room taking in the same, old furniture that has always been there and looks out the front window past the parking spaces to the wooden shingle house across the street. I loved coming here. Too bad it wasn’t more often.

I agree! Well, I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but I best get to giving you instructions for running the place because I have to hit the sack early. Lorraine turns on the oven in her eat-in kitchen and pulls out a casserole from the refrigerator. Let me just get this in the oven and then I’ll show you around while it’s cooking.

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