The Hummingbird

A phone rang, rousing a woman from sleep quickly as it increased in volume.

“A phone call this early can only mean trouble,” the woman grumbled, reaching for her phone and tiredly answering it. “Hello, Vivian speaking.”

A tinny voice came over from the other side. “Vivian? It’s Delilah.”

Vivian frowned, “Delilah? Is that really you?”

“The one and only!” Delilah replied excitedly, causing Vivian to cringe at the loudness.

“As far as I remember, it’s not our Skype day today. Wait, what time is it?” Vivian questioned, squinting her eyes at her analog clock.

Delilah sighed, “You dummy, it’s 9:30 am! I need you to get up and come meet me at the Hummingbird Inn, don’t make me wait too long.”

Vivian heard the dial tone as Delilah hung up. She lay on her bed for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts, until one particular thought struck her.

“The Hummingbird Inn?” Vivian gasped aloud, sitting upright on her bed. “She’s in Silverlea!”

Vivian grinned and jumped into action. She hadn’t seen Delilah in four years, as Delilah had been too busy at college doing her degree to visit. The Hummingbird Inn had also shut down two years ago, meaning there had been even less reason to visit in the summer, if she’d been able to.

Vivian hurriedly got ready, throwing on a simple red-toned shirt and plain jeans, slipping on ballet flats before rushing out of her room and down a flight of stairs, snatching toast from her mother as she left her family home.

“Going to Hummingbird Inn, I’ll see you later!” Vivian yelled behind her, clipping her helmet on grabbing her bicycle and racing off, much to the amusement of her parents who stood in the doorway, watching her go.

Vivian’s house lay in the off-centre of town. Silverlea only had one main road, with many side roads on which the houses of townspeople were situated. Her family home was on such a street, and she only had to cycle past two or three houses to get to the main road. Even on an early Monday morning, the town centre was bustling, with shop-keepers organizing their products in their windows and opening up their shops for business.

Vivian smiled as she made her way past the residents, waving to a few of her friends as she raced by. The main road quickly came to a fork before her, Vivian turning right towards Hummingbird Inn, her back facing the road that led to a larger town.

Vivian huffed as she cycled up a hill, Hummingbird Inn slowly rising over the slope. As she came closer to the large house, finishing her journey over Hummingbird Hill, the unofficial name the Silverlea people had given the hill, she saw a lone figure standing against the house and grew excited, ringing her bell so that the figure looked up.

Vivian came close enough that she could get off her bike, jumping off of it and setting the kick-stand down so that it wouldn’t hit the ground, then running towards who she knew had to be Delilah, as she was the only person outside.

Vivian was only just able to recognize her friend, but only because Delilah’s style in clothing hadn’t changed much. As a teenager, she had always worn oversized sweaters, patterned tights and scuffed-up converse shoes, but the hair had never changed.

“What did the big city do to you?” Vivian gasped, staring at the loose curls that cascaded from a black beanie. “Did you fall into a vat of pale lilac dye?”

Delilah frowned, quirking an eyebrow at Vivian, “It’s called a creative outlet!” she huffed, pouting at her childhood friend.

Vivian grinned at Delilah, causing the two of them to stand there grinning stupidly before running at each other, hugging hard.

“You were gone for too long,” Vivian laughed, “a lot’s changed since you left.”

“I can tell,” Delilah shot back, “you’ve got boobs all of a sudden.”

The girls giggled, happy to be making jokes with each other in person, before Delilah sobered, her face serious.

“Listen up Vi,” she said, looking her in the eyes, “I might need your help with something. How would you feel about co-owning Hummingbird Inn with me?”

“You own Hummingbird Hill? Old Aunt Lemay gave it to you?” Vivian was shocked, as all of the residents of Silverlea had thought that old Aunt Lemay was giving it to the town in the event of her death.

“Well, I am her favourite niece,” came Delilah’s reasoning.

Vivian blinked. “You’re her only niece.”

“That’s besides the point,” Delilah laughed, “What do you think?”

“Really Lilah?” Vivian whispered, “Does this mean you’re here to stay?”

“Definitely,” Delilah said with confidence. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Considering my family’s bakery is closing on account of my parents retiring and I don’t want to move away, why not? Let’s do it,” Vivian smiled, happy to have something to do at last.

“Good, because I need your riches to renovate the place! We’ll get you signed on as a co-owner now, on the deed. Then we can figure out how we want to decorate it and how we want to run the business. Lucky I have a degree in Business Studies then isn’t it?” Delilah spoke, making light of the situation before getting serious.

Vivian sobbed dramatically, before crying “I knew it! You only wanted me for my money! You’re nothing but a gold-digger Lemay. How could you treat me this way?”

Delilah rolled her eyes before pushing Vivian up the stairs and closer into the house.

“I love you only for the treats you bake,” she stated with a playful grin, entering the house.