Welcome to Moonlight Harbor

by Sheila Roberts

  She nodded, took the toast out of the toaster and put jam on it.

  “I’ll take it to her,” he snarled, grabbing the plate out of her hand.

  For once, he actually wanted to be useful, so she didn’t argue with him. Instead, she made tea and followed him up the stairs with her aunt’s favorite mug, a large white ceramic one with blue seagulls soaring across it. Gulls Just Want to Have Fun, it reminded her. Yeah, they were having fun now.

  By the time she got to the bedroom, Pete had put an extra pillow behind Aunt Edie’s head. He was sitting on the side of the bed and coaxing her to have a bite of toast.

  “Come, on, Edie old girl. It will do you good.”

  “I’m not hungry,” she said querulously, and turned her face away.

  Pete looked ready to cry. Jenna already felt the tears welling.

  She knelt at the bed. “How about a sip of tea?”

  “I just want to rest,” Aunt Edie said, eyes shut, tears slipping down her wrinkled cheeks.

  Jenna bit her lip and patted her aunt’s arm. She and Pete exchanged worried glances.

  Silence reigned in the room as they waited for the doctor to come. It seemed like an eternity before the doorbell rang.

  Jenna went downstairs and opened the front door to find a man who looked to be somewhere in his fifties with red hair, a slightly jowly chin and a deep tan. He was wearing golf clothes and carried a medical bag.

  “I’m Dr. Fielding,” he said. “I understand our Edie’s not feeling well.”

  “She didn’t come down to make breakfast,” Jenna said. That made her sound like a disappointed child. “She’s always up early and puttering in the kitchen.” Her voice caught.

  “Let’s check her out,” he said, and Jenna led him upstairs to her aunt’s room.

  Aunt Edie lay still as death, her face turned away. She looked so pale.

  “About time you got here,” Pete snapped as they walked in.

  The doctor ignored him. “Well, now, Edie, what’s going on?”

  “I don’t need a doctor,” she said, her face still turned.

  “Probably not,” Fielding agreed. “Let’s check you out, anyway.”

  Jenna and Pete watched as he took her pulse and her heart rate. “Can you smile for me, Edie? Raise your eyebrows? Squeeze my hand?”

  Aunt Edie complied but didn’t look happy about it.

  “Have you been taking your aspirin?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes. I just want to rest,” she said irritably. “Every once in a while a woman needs to rest.”

  “Very true,” said the doctor. “How long have you been feeling tired?”

  Since Jenna let her down.

  Edie was done talking. She clamped her lips together and closed her eyes again, and her three visitors left the room.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Pete asked once they were in the front hall.

  “Her heart and blood pressure are fine. She has no symptoms of stroke or heart attack,” said Fielding.

  Pete threw up his arms, losing patience. “Then what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing physically.”

  “Well, then, what?” Pete demanded.

  “I think she’s depressed. Have you had some bad news recently?” the doctor asked Jenna.

  She nodded. Damien again. He’d been bad news for years.

  “Edie’s never depressed,” Pete insisted.

  The doctor ignored him. “Rest and relaxation will do her a lot of good. I can prescribe something,” he said to Jenna.

  The one thing her aunt needed most, he couldn’t help with, but she nodded. He wrote out an illegible prescription, told Jenna to call him if anything changed and left her and Pete standing in the hall.

  Pete held out his hand. “I’ll go pick up the prescription.”

  She nodded and handed it over, then went back upstairs to her aunt’s bedroom, pulled up a chair beside the bed and settled in to keep vigil. Aunt Edie said nothing.

  Pete returned half an hour later and sat down on the other side of the bed. “The doc prescribed some pills for you,” he said to Aunt Edie.

  She plucked at her bedspread. “I don’t want any pills. I just want to sleep. Can’t you both go away and let me sleep?”

  Gruff old Pete seemed to cave in on himself.

  “Okay, Edie,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m here if you want anything.”

  He and Jenna tiptoed out of the room. “What are we going to do?” he whispered once they were on the landing.

  “I don’t know,” Jenna whispered back. How did you help someone find hope when she’d lost it?

  Chapter Twenty

  To Do:

  Make soup for Aunt Edie

  Clean Roger’s cage

  Cry

  Jenna cleaned Roger’s cage and made some chicken soup for her aunt. It seemed silly to be making soup in July but it was all she could think to do to help Aunt Edie feel better.

  Actually, the only thing that would make her aunt feel better would be to learn that Jenna had been able to catch hold of the money that was slipping away. She was going to try and dribble out money to Damien in as small amounts as possible, but he’d demanded a chunk up front. That coupled with what she owed in taxes had crippled them, blowing away much of her windfall. Herbie didn’t extend credit and her charge card was maxed out. And then there was that bank loan, lurking in the shadows.

  “I’ve been a foolish old woman,” her aunt had said after the party broke up Friday night. “Trying to hang on to the past and drag it with me into the future. Things change. Things fall apart. Things die.”

  And right there, before Jenna’s eyes, a part of her aunt had died.

  She wasn’t interested in the soup when Jenna took some up to her. Pete, who was still sitting by her bed, passed up the offer of food also. He was almost in as bad a shape as Aunt Edie.

  Jenna went back downstairs, did some paperwork, cried. Cleaned the downstairs bathroom. Cried. Baked cookies—they weren’t as good as Aunt Edie’s—and cried some more.

  She checked on her aunt, who was awake but in no mood to visit and refused to take her medicine. Finally, she got in her car and drove to the pier, sat down and watched as a little fishing boat bobbed out to sea. How easy life looked out there on the water. No worries. No disappointment. Just the sun and the summer breeze.

  Aunt Edie wouldn’t have any worries once they sold the place, Jenna reminded herself. She’d be able to live quite comfortably.

  Comfortably, but not happily. Her life’s blood was the Driftwood Inn. She was fading away right along with their hopes for keeping the place going. If they lost the Driftwood Inn Jenna knew she’d lose Aunt Edie, as well. The woman would die of a broken heart. She already was.

  Her mom’s shift at the grocery store had ended. Jenna put in a call. “Aunt Edie’s not doing well.”

  “Oh, no,” Mel said. “What happened?”

  Jenna relayed their latest misery and her mother listened, making the appropriate sounds of sympathy as she talked.

  “How about you?” Mel said at last. “How are you doing?”

  “Rotten. It seems so unfair. All that hard work and then that money came in, like a fairy tale. But instead of a happy ending we got hit again. And now, we’re almost back to square one.”

  “Not quite. You have some money.”

  “Not enough. I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Do you want me to come down there? I have tomorrow off.”

  There wasn’t anything her mother could do to improve their circumstances but Jenna said an emphatic yes.

  “I’ll pack a few things and start down right away,” Mel said.

  Her mother would have to work on Monday so it would be a short visit, but even a short visit was better than nothing. A shot of moral support and
maybe Jenna could find a way to keep going.

  A few minutes after she finished talking to her mom Jenna’s cell rang. Sabrina!

  She pressed the phone icon and eagerly accepted her daughter’s call.

  Sabrina barely gave her time to say hello. She was crying. “I want to come home.”

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

  “Daddy doesn’t want me here. All he cares about is Aurora.”

  No, all he cared about was himself.

  “Please, Mommy, let me come home.”

  Mommy. She hadn’t been Mommy in a long time. Once more her daughter was a little girl. With a big hurt. What on earth had happened?

  “Of course, you can come home. Grandma’s coming down. I’ll have her pick you up.”

  “Okay,” Sabrina said, catching in a ragged breath.

  “I’ve missed you. It’ll be good to have you back.”

  “Oh, Mommy!” And the crying started again.

  It took a few moments to calm her daughter, and several reassurances that no, Aunt Edie wasn’t mad at her for what she’d done. “But you’ll have to earn the money to pay her back.”

  “I know. I will.”

  “Okay. You get your things together and Grandma will be there soon.”

  “Okay.” Sabrina sounded relieved.

  She wasn’t half as relieved as Jenna. She put in a call to her mother and explained what had happened.

  “I’m on my way,” Mel said. “See you soon.”

  Soon couldn’t come soon enough. Sabrina wasn’t the only one who wanted her mommy.

  Jenna called Damien and told him Sabrina had had enough.

  “That’s fine with me,” he said. “She’s been a real handful. You’ve let her turn into a brat.”

  “She wasn’t a brat before you left,” Jenna snapped, and cut off the call.

  He didn’t deserve his daughter’s love. He didn’t deserve anyone’s love. She wondered how long before Aurora would figure that out.

  Who cared? The important thing was that Sabrina would soon be back where she belonged. Jenna drove to the house feeling as jubilant as a woman who was about to see her dreams go up in smoke and possibly lose a dear relative could feel.

  Maybe seeing Sabrina would perk Aunt Edie up, give her a reason to keep going. Jenna hoped so.

  Back at the house, Pete was still sitting vigil and Aunt Edie was lying in bed with her eyes closed. “Why don’t you take a break?” Jenna suggested. “I’ll sit with her.”

  He nodded. “I need a drink,” he said, and left the room.

  “How about you, Aunt Edie,” Jenna whispered. “What do you need?” As if she couldn’t guess.

  She fetched herself a glass of water and tried to coax Aunt Edie into trying one of her cookies.

  “I’m not hungry,” Aunt Edie said, eyes still closed.

  “I don’t blame you for not wanting one. They’re not as good as yours.”

  No reply.

  “Really, nothing I make in the kitchen’s going to be as good as what you make. You’re still the best cook ever.”

  Still no reply.

  “I have a little bit of good news,” Jenna ventured. “Sabrina’s coming home. I think she missed us.”

  Aunt Edie responded with a light snore.

  A snore was better than nothing. Hopefully, seeing Sabrina would perk her up.

  It was nearly eight when her mother and Sabrina rolled in. Jenna had been sitting on the front porch waiting, and at the sight of them she raced down the steps.

  Sabrina dashed from the car and into her arms. “Mommy! I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

  “I know,” Jenna said, and kissed the top of her head. “Now, come on. Let’s see if your grandma needs help with her suitcase.”

  Her mother had packed lightly and so, other than a bag of groceries, her mom’s vintage train case and Sabrina’s backpack, there wasn’t much to bring in. “I’ll take your things up to my room,” Jenna said to her mother. “You can sleep with me. Sabrina, why don’t you go put that milk and orange juice in the fridge.”

  Sabrina nodded and disappeared into the kitchen and Jenna led her mother upstairs. Once they were in the bedroom and out of earshot, Jenna asked, “How is she?”

  “Pretty unhappy. I’m afraid she’s had a rude awakening.” Mel shook her head. “Every girl wants to think she’s her daddy’s little princess. Sadly, Damien has another princess.”

  “So, they ignored her,” Jenna guessed.

  “Pretty much, and the times they did take her out I guess Aurora got bossy. I think the final nail in the coffin came when she overheard them arguing about her. Aurora wanted her gone and I’m afraid Damien didn’t exactly stick up for her. He said something to the effect of them having to suck it up. At least, that’s what Sabrina heard.”

  “Good Lord,” Jenna said in horror. How it must have hurt to hear that coming from the father she adored. “What did I ever see in him?”

  “A handsome, talented man. One can hardly blame you for assuming he had a heart.”

  “I hate for her to see what a jerk he is.”

  “She was going to at some point. Find some good male role models down here and she’ll be okay.”

  Jenna thought of Seth Waters, white knight. And Brody, who’d been unwilling to take so much as a penny of the money she’d won. Yes, her daughter did have some good role models here.

  “How’s Edie?” Mel asked. “Any better?”

  Sabrina was in the room now. “What’s wrong with Aunt Edie?”

  Jenna’s right eye began to twitch. “She’s not feeling good.”

  “Has she got a cold?”

  “No, it’s a little more serious.”

  Sabrina’s eyes got wide. “Is she going to be all right?”

  What to say to that? “I hope so.”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “She’s wearing out, honey,” Mel said softly.

  Sabrina’s brows knit. “No.” She shook her head. “No, she can’t...die.” She rushed from the room.

  “Sabrina!” Jenna called, and ran after her, chasing her into Aunt Edie’s bedroom.

  Aunt Edie was still as a corpse. Sabrina fell by the side of her bed and threw herself on the old woman’s arm. “Don’t die, Aunt Edie. Please don’t die. I’m sorry I took your money. I’m so sorry. I’ll pay you back every penny. I love you. Please don’t leave us. Please.” She started sobbing and, watching her, Jenna felt her own tears returning.

  A moment later, an age-spotted hand with blue vein ridges lifted and rested on Sabrina’s pink hair.

  “We need you. Don’t leave us,” she begged.

  Jenna took her daughter’s arm. “Come on, let’s let Aunt Edie rest.”

  Sabrina sobbed her way out of the room, ran into her own room and slammed the door.

  “Let’s go downstairs and have some iced tea,” said Mel. In the kitchen, she found the cookies Jenna had made sitting on the counter and bit into one. “These are good.”

  “Not as good as Aunt Edie’s.” Jenna fell onto a kitchen chair. “She’s dying, Mom. I let her down and I’ve done nothing but bring stress into her life. I got her hopes up when I won that money, and shot them down again. I don’t have enough money to fix the roof and get linens and...” She shook her head. “The vinyl in the bathrooms. I had myself convinced we could actually get people to stay here with that crumbly old vinyl. I just wanted a roof, damn it.”

  Mel sat down next to her and laid a hand on her arm. “Honey, this isn’t about you failing. It’s about you trying. Your aunt knows that. We all know that.”

  Jenna rubbed her face, trying to scrub away her misery. “I always loved it here. I wanted to be back. To stay back.”

  “You can still stay. Yes, you may have to sell the Driftwood, but that do
esn’t mean you can’t rent a little house down here, run your massage business. Date those handsome men your sister’s been telling me about,” she added, a smile in her voice.

  Jenna dropped her hands and frowned. “She told you?”

  “Of course. You know your sister can’t keep a secret. And you wouldn’t be able to keep it from me much longer, either, you know that.”

  “I’m so done with love,” Jenna said.

  “But maybe love’s not done with you,” said Mel. She got up, poured a glass of iced tea and set it in front of Jenna along with a cookie on a napkin. “Come on, drink up. Eat. Your adventure’s not over and I suspect you’re going to need your strength.”

  She needed more than strength. She needed money.

  And her daughter needed her. Sabrina surfaced from her room with red, swollen eyes. Cookies held no appeal and she didn’t want to text or watch TV. It seemed all she wanted was to stick to Jenna’s side. Finally, at ten, worn out by her emotions, she went to bed.

  Pete came back shortly after she’d gone, wanting to know how Aunt Edie was doing. “No change,” Jenna said, and introduced him to her mom.

  He doffed his hat and said the required, “Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Mel said. “And thank you for being such a comfort and help to my aunt these past few years.”

  He shot a look Jenna’s direction as if wondering what she’d been saying.

  Tonight she had nothing bad to say about him. She merely smiled.

  “I try,” he said. “I care about Edie.”

  “I can see that you do,” Mel said. “I’m sure she’ll be better in the morning.”

  He nodded, looked at the floor, then left.

  “He’s driven me nuts ever since we arrived,” Jenna said, “but tonight I feel sorry for him. He really does care about Aunt Edie.”

  They sat up talking until almost midnight, when Mel finally yawned and said, “I think I need to go to bed. You coming?”

  “In a little bit,” Jenna said, and let her mother go on up without her. She looked out the kitchen window. No fire on the beach tonight. Maybe Seth was over at the Drunken Sailor, playing pool.