Beach House For Rent Quotes
"The beach house was a survivor. As was she, Cara Rutledge thought, staring up at the house."
"Living by the sea was a constant exercise in the art of nip and tuck, especially for an old cottage like Primrose."
"Only the good memories, she corrected herself with a wistful smile as her thoughts floated back to the halcyon days of her childhood."
"Primrose Cottage had been her mother’s beach house. No, Cara thought on reflection. More than her house. The cottage had been her mother’s sanctuary. Her place of refuge. Her source of inspiration."
"When Cara was eighteen, to her traditional father Stratton Rutledge’s disappointment, she had refused to become the southern belle she was expected to be."
"After graduating high school with honors, Cara had informed her parents, in a tone of voice that implied she was well aware they would not approve, that she wasn’t going to the local college they’d selected for her but would instead attend a northeastern college."
"What goes around comes around," her mother used to say. Cara chortled and shook her head. As usual, her mother was right."
"Cara sighed, slipping into the vortex of memories."
"Fifty certainly wasn’t the new forty, not in Cara’s opinion anyway."
"But the silence from her mother upon finding out that he’d made good on his pledge had hurt."
"Heather did not know when she fell asleep. Somewhere after Orangeburg, she supposed."
"Welcome to Charleston. No city like her anywhere in the world."
"I thought we were pretty happy," he said at length.
"I don’t like getting old," she said with a slight whine.
"It wasn’t Natalie’s fault your mother died."
"Her father wasn’t booting her out, he’d assured her. Heather snorted. Right. . . ."
"The rain, the highway. . . it was too close to that night. The memories. . . I can’t control when I get the flashbacks."
"I am moving on. Clearly you’ve moved on."
"She wasn’t unhappy. In fact, Heather was quite content with her life."
"Primrose Cottage was perched on a dune between wispy clumps of greening sweetgrass and leggy stalks of sea oats that grew wild, a sharp contrast to the meticulously landscaped properties of the mansions beside it."
"Those birds sing all day. And I mean all day."
"Her beloved canaries were the one subject she could open up about without feeling anxious or forced."
"I remember my grandmother had a canary in her front room on East Bay Street."
"That little bird’s song lifted her spirits during the desperate days of her mourning."
"Each bird was a pet with his own personality and quirks."
"She was quite young. How did you get interested in canaries?"
"She caught her father’s eye and he returned a sad smile of understanding."
"The most stunning blue eyes she’d ever seen. It felt like she was looking into the ocean."
"The birds were her first bird models and taught her how to pay attention to the telling details."
"The sound of their evening song was comforting, like whispered good nights from dear friends."
"She wasn’t frightened by it. On the contrary, she felt comforted, soothed. Even welcomed."
"Her imagination became a terrible thing, conjuring up burglars and worse."
"Heather was grateful to him for smoothing over the awkwardness created by her shyness."
"She was suddenly aware that she was alone in a big, dangerous world."
"The ocean was one vast, unbroken blackness."
"As the sky slowly shifted from lilac to purple to indigo she grew increasingly aware that she was alone."
"Heather realized then that she’d misread him. He was, in fact, eager to leave."
"I’ve always felt my mother’s presence in the beach house."
"She felt like a guest in her own house."
"Talking to her birds, especially living alone and with her anxiety keeping her from others, connected her to other living creatures."
"Her canaries were her greatest allies. Her dear little friends that let her know in a thousand chirps each day that she was important to them."
"Time after time the woman carefully slid the metal probe into the sand. Each time Heather could sense the collective intake of breath from all the onlookers."
"It’s the first nest of the season!" another member exclaimed.
"Has anyone seen Cara since the funeral?"
"I don’t imagine it’s sunk in yet. It was so sudden."
"How does anyone prepare for news like that? He was too young."
"I’m Heather," she said with a swift smile. "Actually, I believe we’re neighbors."
"You’re lucky to be here today. First nest of the season," the woman said with pride.
"Life goes on," Flo said, reaching up to give his shoulder a slight shake of encouragement.
"I’ve heard a lot of stories in my time. They went along with the sound of a tinny piano playing in a parlor downstairs."
"One of the hard-won wisdoms of old age."
"I’ll ask you every night, if you like," Bo said. "Till you say yes."
"Shorebird populations have shrunk on average by an estimated seventy percent across North America since 1973."
"It’s hard work, but I love it. Love being out with the birds."
"But if you can’t manage to take care of yourself, then maybe it’s time to get some help."
"I expect to see him walk into the house any minute," Cara said quietly, feeling another wave of anguish.
"Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I’m proud of that deck; it’s the last project I worked on with Brett. It really means something."
"Thinking of another person had made her open up and heal herself."
"Nothing left to give. So she sat, staring vacantly at the television hour after hour."
"I hear you say please, sister mine. But I’m still not going away."
"None of us are perfect. I’m lying prostrate on the floor."
"You try to be so strong, Cara. Always did."
"I remember the last time you came crying to me."
"You’re exhausted. You try to be so strong, Cara. Always did."
"Time’s the one thing I don’t have right now. Mortgages are due, payroll has to be met."
"But you’ll get up again. When you’re ready. You always do."
"I wasn’t expecting to see anybody today."
"You know how I feel about Primrose. Palmer, I simply cannot live here because I’m surrounded by memories."
"But if you sell this house, where will you move?"
"My father used to say it was because I needed more meat on my bones."
"It’s all right," she said in the same crooning voice in which she sang to her birds. "It’s all right."
"I need my mother," Cara choked out. She leaned against Heather. "I miss my mother."
"I understand," Heather said. "I miss my mother, too."
"Why not?" Heather nodded, a weak smile on her face. "Why not?"
"I would rather die of passion than of boredom."
"You’re my family now. I only want what’s best for you."
"We’re both grown women, only a few years apart. I’d love to have a relationship with you."
"Heather is my dear friend," Cara said in a steely tone. "Everything that concerns her is my business."
"I don’t believe in candy-coating my words, either."
"Because you’re my friend. And no one talks to my friend like that."
"You’re afraid because this isn’t just another job. This project represents what you really want to do. It’s creative. It’s art. And it’s important."
"I’m grateful for the opportunity," he replied modestly.
"Then I asked her if she’d tell him. Because you weren’t going back home to that toxic environment."
"I’ve been waiting my whole life to make my own decisions. Now I have—and I can’t wait another minute."
"I hear you," she said to her birds. "It's time for me to shed all my insecurities and fears. Let them fall to the ground. It’s time for me to find my voice and fly."
"I love him. He loves me. What else do I need to know?"
"It’s time for her to be more like the sea turtle she’d been named after. To be resilient in the face of tragedy."