The skin care room is at the back of the house, with a window onto the garden, and it is Willa's. You can tell the moment you walk in. The lamp is low. There's a folded blanket at the foot of the chair, because she noticed years ago that people get cold when they sit still. The window is cracked open in summer so you can hear the leaves of the alder.
Willa has been doing this for ten years, and she pays attention the way a gardener does: patiently, closely, over time. She notices small things and remembers them for next season. She's gentle and unhurried, and she likes a quiet room, though she'll happily talk if you'd rather. She lets you decide.
Outside the room she looks after most of the garden. The mint in the porch tea is hers, and so are the tomatoes everyone pretends not to take home in August.
A small thing
If you ask her what's blooming out back, plan to stay a little longer.
Ask for Willa by name.
Also at Alder House
