A Newport Sunrise

by Cindy Caldwell

Faith sighed and looked out toward the horizon as the waves crashed against the shore.

  “No, honey. It’s okay. I guess I’m proud we tried, too, but I’ve got to just get my head straight about teaching for a few more years. It’s not like I don’t know how.”

  “Aw, Mom. Don’t give up.”

  “I’m fine with it. I’ve already decided. And I really appreciate you helping with all of this. You sure are talented. I’m very proud of you, too.”

  They walked back to the house in silence, and Faith quickly changed as Mrs. Grover would be arriving soon to head to the boutique.

  “You leaving?” she asked Maggy before they left.

  “No, I think I’ll stay for the day. Maybe go see Bethany, take her out for a coffee. Then I can have dinner with you guys. I’ll head back after that.”

  “That’d be nice, sweetheart. See you tonight.”

  Mrs. Grover stepped out of her house and bumped right into Earl, with a handful of flowers—a daily occurrence now.

  Faith waited by the gate, but couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.

  “Mrs. Grover, today is our last day on the job next door. And I want you to know that getting to see you every day—and the cookies you’ve been bringing—have been the highlight of my professional life as a contractor. Er, my personal life, I mean.”

  Faith chuckled at the look on Mrs. Grover’s face—she couldn’t help it.

  “And I was wondering if you might do me the honor of stepping out sometime. The thought of never seeing you again has me all wrapped up in knots like copper wire gone crazy.”

  Faith raised her eyebrows at the analogy, but Mrs. Grover seemed quite impressed.

  “Why, Earl, I’d be delighted,” she said as she took the flowers he held out, his hat over his heart.

  “Yippee,” he called up to Keith, who was on the roof trying not to watch. “She said yes.”

  “Way to go, Dad,” Keith called down, with a whoop of his own.

  Mrs. Grover now looked mortified, and she walked as fast as she could, grabbed Faith’s arm and pulled her toward the ferry.

  “I hope I didn’t just make the biggest mistake of my life,” she said under her breath. But she smiled and sniffed the flowers, so Faith was pretty sure she didn’t mean it.

  “You girls really did a bang-up job here,” Patti said when they walked into the boutique. “I can’t believe how many pillows you sold. It’s just amazing.”

  She held out an envelope to Faith. “It’s very generous of you to want to donate that to the shop, but they were your pillows. I left you high and dry. I kept ten percent just because I’d lose my ‘good businesswoman’ card if I didn’t, but you need to take the rest.”

  Faith looked down at the envelope, and her eyes widened at the number scrawled on the front. That would go a long way toward her early retirement fund, even if it hadn’t become the business of her dreams. It was better than she’d expected, and she decided that she’d settle for knowing she did her best.

  Thirty-Two

  Faith thought she was going to just rest and relax for the rest of the week, but she actually was glad she had something to do. After she got home from the boutique, Maggy had shown her that she’d had two pillow orders, and they were each one of her favorite designs.

  She made both of the pillows on Monday, and then set about finding packaging, and deciding what was the prettiest way to wrap them. She went to the post office and got a postage scale, and Maggy walked Faith through printing the labels from her computer.

  Faith and Jen had gone through the bolts of fabric Jen brought back, and they’d spent the evenings designing even more pillows.

  “You know, this is fun. You can have a hobby now that actually makes money,” Jen said.

  And Faith agreed. She had learned a completely new job, and it was fun, too. She got to be creative, and still make people happy with her pillows. And the money wasn’t bad, either. Even though she wasn’t selling much, every little bit helped.

  She and Jen had gone shopping, and they got up early on Thanksgiving to stuff the turkey. They’d had Thanksgiving together for years now, and they got in a rhythm—Faith chopped, and Jen cooked. Carrie would be stopping by the store later on her way over—her specialty.

  “How many are we?” Faith asked when it was time to think about getting out the dishes. They would be doing a buffet with this many people, but she wanted to be ready.

  “Well, you, me, Carrie, Maggy, Bethany, Dirk and Abby, I’m pretty sure. And Amber and Michael.”

  “Okay,” Faith said as she reached for the plates.

  “Oh, and I invited Joe and Mrs. Russo. And Mrs. Grover. And Earl and Keith.”

  Faith laughed. “Earl and Keith?”

  “Yeah. They said they weren’t doing anything for Thanksgiving, that they usually just had Fudgsicles. I couldn’t not invite them.”

  “Oh, okay. Good thing we got the biggest turkey in the store. I was wondering.”

  Jen looked a little sheepish. “You know how I always like to invite people. It makes me happy.”

  “I do know that about you,” Faith said, and she gave her friend a hug. “In fact, it’s one of the things I love most about you, Jen.”

  “I love you, too, Faith. And I have to say again, I’m so very proud of you. You really put yourself out there. And you have a new income stream. You can probably quit at the store if you want.”

  Faith nodded. “Pretty sure I will. Patti doesn’t need two people, and Mrs. Grover really likes working there. It’s all perfect, really.”

  “It is,” Jen agreed. “So much has happened since we came for summer vacation. Who ever would have thought?”

  Faith shook her head. “Not me. That’s for sure. And even though it hasn’t all been how I’d hoped, it’s all been perfect. I’m glad I tried.”

  Jen patted her friend’s hand and nodded. She looked around the kitchen and smiled.

  “Me, too.”

  “Am I too early?” Maggy asked as she came through the front door. “I probably should have called.”

  Faith kissed her cheek and took the pies and bottle of wine she held out.

  “You’re never too early. In fact, you can move right in, if you want,” Jen said as she hugged Maggy, too. “Do you mind holding down the fort while we go change? The turkey’s roasting, potatoes are peeled, and we can’t make gravy until later. Other people are bringing everything else. Nothing to do but get dressed.”

  “Fine by me,” Maggy said. “Don’t blame me if there’s any stuffing missing when you get back, though.”

  Faith laughed. “That always was your favorite. We’re having a ton of people, so don’t eat too much.” Faith wagged her finger on the way upstairs. She hadn’t been this happy in ages, and it felt good. Very good, and she said a little prayer of thanks, grateful for everything.

  Thirty-Three

  Jen and Faith each showered and dressed, meeting back in the kitchen.

  “Perfect timing,” Jen said as someone knocked on the door. “We’ve really got this down. And this year, we have a lot extra to be thankful for.”

  “Definitely worthy of celebration,” Faith said.

  They high-fived each other, and Faith headed into the kitchen to uncork a bottle of wine.

  Jen opened the door and Mrs. Grover entered, followed by Joe and Mrs. Russo.

  Jen took the warm dishes from her, and Mrs. Russo planted a kiss on Jen’s cheek.

  “Thank you for inviting us,” she said as Joe helped his mother off with her coat.

  “Of course,” Jen said, setting the dish on a trivet. “Joe, would you see what your mother wants to drink?” Jen said as she headed to the door with the next knock.

  She gasped when she opened the door. Michael and Amber held out some flowers, and Jen couldn’t get over how big Amber’s tummy was getting. It was all she could do not to put her hand on her daughter-in-law’s belly.

  “You can, Mom,” Michael said as he kissed his mother on the che
ek.

  Amber nodded, and Jen felt warm tears tumble as she gently rested her hand on her new grandbaby.

  “Oh, my,” Jen said softly. “Thank you. How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

  “Good,” Amber said with a vigorous nod. “Just trying to keep up with the baby kicking me all night.”

  “His father was like that, too,” Jen said as she smiled up at Michael.

  A voice sounded from behind Michael and Amber. “Did I kick you, too?”

  Jen froze, hoping against hope that it was who she thought.

  “Max?”

  Michael and Amber stepped aside, their smiles wide.

  “Oh, Max,” Jen cried, tears spilling freely now while he grabbed her in a bear hug and lifted her off the ground.

  “Hi, Mom. Been a long time,” Jen’s younger son said.

  She stepped back and took a good, long look at him as he knelt to pat Daisy—his dog, actually, that he’d left when he’d gone to Boston. He looked older, somehow, certainly wiser. She couldn’t wait to hear all about his internship.

  “How long are you staying?”

  “Until Wednesday, actually. I have a job interview on Monday.”

  Jen clapped at her good fortune and turned to look for Joe and Mrs. Russo. She introduced them, and Joe shook Max’s hand.

  “I haven’t seen you since you were—oh, heck, maybe three? You’re much taller now,” Joe said as he looked up at Max.

  “You were probably too young to remember, Max, but Joe was Dad’s best friend. And does he have stories.”

  Jen smiled as they moved into the living room, and Joe and Michael showed Max the pictures they’d gotten out of storage of their father.

  “What a lovely family,” Mrs. Russo said as she looked around. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  “You’re family, too, Mrs. Russo. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  Mrs. Russo cocked an eyebrow and gave Jen a sly smile. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she said as she lifted her glass of Chianti and set out to find Mrs. Grover.

  Jen headed to the door with another knock. She opened it with a smile, and realized she’d completely forgotten to invite her father.

  “Not like you to have a party without me, Jen,” he said with a customary hint of a growl in his voice.

  She reached out and hugged him. “I’m sorry, Dad. Come on in. And hello, Susanna,” she said as he pulled his girlfriend through the door behind him, her blonde beehive almost hitting the top of the door.

  She exchanged a glance with Faith, who mouthed, “oops,” and reached for two more plates.

  Fortunately, he spotted Max and headed into the living room, the slight forgotten.

  “Not so fast, ma’am, not so fast. We come bearing Fudgsicles,” Keith said as he climbed the porch steps, his father behind him. And sure enough, he held out a box of them.

  “Couldn’t possibly be Thanksgiving without Fudgsicles.” Earl followed Keith in the door, scouting the room for Mrs. Grover. He handed Jen a bottle of wine also, leaning and whispering, “We’re not complete heathens. Thanks for having us.”

  Carrie said, “Wait,” as Faith began to close the door against the cooling afternoon. “I’m sorry we’re late.” Dirk was right behind her, and Bethany and Abby brought up the rear.

  “Hi, Aunt Jen,” Bethany said as she and Abby set two casserole dishes on the island. “My mom said she never brings anything, so Abby and I got some recipes online. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all, thank you,” Jen said and smiled at Carrie. “This is a first.”

  Carrie shrugged as Dirk took her coat and hung it on the rack by the door.

  “I can’t believe there are so many people here,” Faith said. I think we might need to clean off the table outside. We can draw the curtains and it’ll be warm enough. I saw some candles we can light, too.”

  “Good idea,” Jen said as she met Joe in the kitchen.

  “Whew,” he said. “Quite a shindig.”

  Jen nodded. “Sure is. And looks like we have a lot to be thankful for.”

  “I know I do,” he said as he turned her toward him and kissed her.

  “Everybody will see,” Jen said. “I haven’t told the boys.”

  “They already know. And they gave me their permission to date you. It was all quite adult,” he said with a laugh.

  Jen’s eyes widened and she laughed, too. “Oh, glad you all agreed who I could see.”

  “Don’t do that. You know they just love you. And we all know Jen Watson only does what she wants to do.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” she said.

  “This year, I’m thankful that I’m included in whatever that is,” Joe said as he pulled his apron from his back pocket and got ready to carve the turkey.

  Thirty-Four

  Faith, Carrie and Jen settled onto one of the couches as the men headed into the kitchen to do the dishes. Well, the younger set, anyway. Jen had trained her boys well, and Joe and Dirk were happy to lend a hand.

  “Your dad seems to have hit it off with Earl and Keith,” Carrie whispered when she leaned forward, trying to arrange pillows behind her back and not finding any.

  “Weird, isn’t it. I never would have guessed that,” Jen said as she handed Carrie one of the old pillows that had been in the beach house for decades.

  Carrie tried to punch it and put it behind her back, but she groaned. “I miss Faith’s pillows.”

  Faith laughed. “I’ve designed a whole bunch of new ones and will be working on them even tomorrow. I’ve got lots of new ideas, and this couch will be the first place they go.”

  “Thanks,” Jen said. “Hey, Faith, I’m sorry this didn’t work out differently, but I’m still glad you did it.”

  Jen had said it already, so Faith was pretty sure they were feeling sorry for her.

  “I know you are, guys, but I’m really okay. I’m glad I did it, too, and we’ve got a trickle of orders. It’s fine. And it’s fun.”

  “Good,” Jen said.

  Faith pointed to the window out onto the deck where the loveseat was. “Hey, check that out.”

  Jen and Carrie turned, and they both giggled. “Look at that. Maggy and Max. With their heads together. Dare we hope?”

  Faith shrugged. “They haven’t seen each other for a long time. Who knows? We can dream.”

  As they watched the two of them look at Maggy’s computer, Maggy hopped up and showed something to Max. He gave her a thumbs-up, and they both came inside.

  “Mom, can I see you for a minute? Outside?”

  Max headed toward Jen and sat down in the seat Faith had just vacated. They had a lot of catching up to do, Faith knew, and she was really glad to see him.

  “What is it, sweetheart?” Faith sat down on the loveseat beside Maggy and leaned back. The air was crisp, but it felt good after putting on such a big dinner. It was nice to get some fresh air.

  “Um, I have to apologize. I haven’t done a ton of website storefronts, and I may—well, I did do something wrong. I was showing Max the site, and he knew exactly what to change.”

  “He was born smart like that,” Faith said. “I’m glad it’s all fixed now. Nice of him to come.”

  “Yes, yes, it’s nice to see him,” Maggy said. “But I want to show you something. What he fixed is the order counter. Somehow, I had them re-directed to the wrong place. He fixed it. Take a look.”

  Faith reached for her glasses on her head, but she must have left them in the kitchen. She leaned forward and squinted, but she wasn’t at all sure what Maggy was wanting her to see.

  “Can you just tell me? I don’t have my glasses.”

  “Mom,” Maggy said with a twinge of irritation in her voice that reminded Faith of when she was a teenager.

  “What?”

  “The number of orders, that was five. It should have been fifty.”

  “What do you mean?” Faith asked slowly.

  “It means you have a hundred and fifty orders,” Mag
gy said, barely able to contain her excitement. “That’s a lot of money, in just five days.”

  Faith blinked and stared at the screen. “I—are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Faith leaned back in the love seat and rubbed her forehead. “I don’t have fifty pillows. What am I going to do?”

  Maggy patted her mother’s knee. “Don’t worry. When I set this up, I put in a four to six-week delivery time. And if I need to, I can put on there that something is back-ordered.”

  “Oh, my gosh,” Faith said, and she jumped when Maggy’s computer made a little ding. “What’s that?”

  “I’ve set it up so that every time someone orders, it makes the sound. To inspire you. I’ll put it on your computer, too, first thing tomorrow.”

  Faith’s smile began to spread as what she’d just heard sunk in. “I can’t believe it. This is perfect.”

  “For now,” Maggy said. “But if you’ve gotten this many orders in four days, we’d better figure out how to scale up. You personally aren’t going to be able to make all those pillows, especially with your job, and when the orders come even faster—”

  “Sshhh,” Faith said, and she reached for her daughter’s hand. She sat for a moment and looked at the stars, the waves crashing against the beach.

  “I just want to take a moment to be thankful. To thank you, and to appreciate that we did this together. We can worry about scaling tomorrow, whatever that is.”

  Maggy laughed and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Okay, Mom. But you did it. You started a business.”

  Faith nodded. “We did it, sweetheart. We did it together. I would never have had the courage without you.”

  Maggy sighed. “And I wouldn’t have had any courage without you either, Mom. Thank you. For everything.”

  Faith’s heart was full, and she glanced one more time at the stars twinkling brightly in the night sky.

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart. We’re quite the team,” she said, and she meant every word of it.

  Epilogue