Changing Tides

by Meredith Summers

  Maxi and Claire glanced at each other, and Jane caught a look between them. What was that about? Thinking about Cooper and Mike reminded her that she also thought she’d seen James. “I guess he is staying up in those cottages at the north end. Did you say you were looking into buying one of those, Maxi?”

  Maxi scrunched her face. “What? Buy a cottage? No. Why would we do that?”

  Jane was confused. Maxi wouldn’t lie to her, and she seemed surprised by the question. The man probably hadn’t been James at all. Plenty of men were his height with dark hair. Jane glanced down at her drink. “No reason. I thought you mentioned that a while ago, and the cottages there are adorable. Very artsy.”

  “So, this guy you met at Tall Pines and his dog live there?” Claire asked.

  “Just renting, I guess. He’s from Seattle and just here to get his grandfather settled at Tall Pines.” Jane looked from the beach to her friends. “I told you guys this before, didn’t I?”

  “You did. Having a dog is always nice. I wish I could have a pet.” Maxi looked out at the beach wistfully.

  “I have Urchin, but he doesn’t run on the beach. The only place he runs to is his food bowl,” Claire joked.

  Maxi laughed. “You could have a dog at Tides, Jane. A mascot for the inn.”

  “I don’t know. Not everyone likes dogs.” The idea wasn’t totally unappealing. She’d always wanted a dog as a kid, but her parents had said that the inn was no place for pets. But that had been forty years ago. Times had changed, and now dogs were welcomed everywhere. Even the local restaurants were starting to allow them. Jane filed that away for future thought. She had more important things to talk about. “I’m dying to know if you heard from Tammi. Did she have any marketing advice? I really need to get on this.”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, she had some great suggestions.” Claire paused as the waitress slid a large white bowl filled to the brim with steamed clams onto the table then set down another for the shells and a few small bowls of broth and butter. “She suggested advertising in papers, but not local, of course. You need to go to the big cities people will want to get away from for a seaside vacation.”

  “That makes sense. What else?” Jane grabbed a shell and peeled the clam out. She swirled it in the broth then the butter then popped it in her mouth.

  “She suggested some getaway specials, especially in the slow season.” Claire picked through the bowl, coming up with one of the larger clams.

  “Every season is slow lately. Did she suggest anything I could do now?”

  “Well, you need a website first and foremost, but you’re already working on that.” Claire tossed her shells in the discard bowl and dug for another clam.

  “I’ve only heard back from one of them so far, and they can’t do it for three months.”

  “Three months! That won’t work. Tammi said a website with a way to book online is critical these days. No one wants to call anymore. She looked at your website and said it’s outdated, and a contact page with just an email and phone number won’t do.” Claire dipped her clam in the butter. “And she said you need to get set up on Google and Yelp and all that.”

  “You might want to check with the chamber of commerce here. I think they have a website with all the local businesses listed. Might be good to get on there with a link to your site,” Maxi added.

  “Hopefully one of the other website designers will reply soon. Maybe I should email them again.” Jane would definitely need help with the website. She was technically challenged. “What else?”

  “She mentioned something about a unique selling proposition, you know, something that sets Tides apart,” Claire said.

  “Sort of like your sandcastle cakes set your bakery apart?” Jane asked.

  “Exactly!”

  “Sally suggested doing things that make the inn more appealing, like maybe having tables set up on the back porch for dining. But lots of places have that now. I don’t know if it’s unique enough.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Maxi sipped her drink. “Oh! Maybe you could have a special event out there. Like maybe a wine tasting or something?”

  “Hmm… I like that train of thought. That might bring in a bit of money, but we’d have to make it something really big to entice people to stay overnight,” Jane said.

  “Maybe you could offer some sort of package,” Claire said.

  “It would be great if we could combine a money-making event with a reason for guests to stay over.” Jane was starting to feel hopeful.

  Maxi snapped her fingers “I’ve got it! You could do beach weddings.”

  Jane frowned. “Weddings? I don’t know anything about putting on a big wedding. Seems like that could lead to disaster.”

  “Not big weddings, small niche weddings.” Maxi was on a role, her gestures animated. “The beach wedding could be your unique selling point, at least for weddings.”

  Claire jumped in, just as excited. “And weddings bring in a lot of money.”

  Jane appreciated that her friends were excited for her, but all she felt was anxiety. This wasn’t something she could pull off, was it? She’d never done anything like this before. “But it would take permits, and we’d have to have it catered, and need tents and a dance floor—”

  Maxi put her hand on Jane’s arm. “All things that are easy to do. Think about it. We have the tent-rental place right in town, and there are plenty of good caterers. Claire could make sandcastle wedding cakes. Lots of people would want a wedding like this.”

  “And who would deny you a permit? Your family has been a mainstay in the town for generations. Everyone wants you to succeed,” Claire assured her.

  “It would be guaranteed bookings since the whole wedding party would want to stay at Tides.” Maxi sat back and sipped her drink. “You could take out an ad in Niche Wedding Magazine. My daughter-in-law scoured that thing to find a good wedding venue for their wedding.”

  “I suppose it might work. Mom’s gardens have gotten overgrown, but we could spruce those up and put the dance floor next to them. Sally could probably build a portable one that we can store in the old garage.” Jane glanced at the beach. “Maybe we could do a lobster bake right on the beach, you know, to set Tides apart.”

  “Now you’re thinking,” Claire said. “Why not take out an ad and see what happens? It could generate a huge influx of money.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, but I suppose I could send some feelers out.” Jane sat back and sipped her drink, her mind reeling with possibilities. How much profit could a wedding bring in? She pushed down a wave of panic at the thought of taking on something so big. If this would help her save Tides, she’d have to step out of her comfort zone.

  Chapter 9

  The next morning, Jane woke to an email at the business address for Tides. She had a booking! She hadn’t even put any of Tammi’s suggestions into play, and already things were looking up.

  She called the number in the email and talked to a pleasant man named Chandler Vanbeck. He was an art appraiser coming to town to scope locations for a new art gallery. He’d seen Tides on a previous trip. Jane happily booked him for the week and went downstairs.

  Mrs. Weatherlee was seated in the dining room with her breakfast, and Jane swung in to exchange some pleasantries then went outside. She wanted to take a walk on the beach and think about the opportunities she’d talked about with Maxi and Claire at Splash. Walking on the beach always helped her think things through.

  She’d lain awake for most of the night, going back and forth on the idea of weddings. What if she booked a wedding and failed? It would be a risk, but it would bring in the most money and could be the thing that saved Tides. Of course, there was no guarantee that anyone would want to book the inn for a wedding. Maybe it would be better if she focused on smaller events like a wine tasting or clambake.

  She slipped off her sandals and let the sand warm the bottoms of her feet as she walked down to the surf. She miss
ed her sister. Even though they weren’t close now, it would be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Of course, she had Claire and Maxi, and they cared about her more than Andie did, it seemed. But Tides wasn’t their family inn, it wasn’t a part of them, and only Andie would know exactly how it felt to weigh these decisions. But maybe Andie didn’t care about their family legacy like Jane did. Andie still hadn’t returned her last call.

  The freezing water of the Atlantic turned Jane’s toes numb even in the heat of summer as she splashed in the froth at the waves’ edge. She headed toward the north end of the beach, keeping her eye out for Cooper and Mike.

  A ding from her phone signaled that she’d received an email on the Tides business account.

  Another booking? She looked at her phone eagerly only to be disappointed. It was one of the web designers, this one replying to say that they were booked for four months. Shoot! Hopefully the third time would be the charm. She needed a website desperately, according to Tammi.

  Her hopes dampened, she turned back. She didn’t have time for a long walk, and she wanted to get started on researching what types of events she could have so she could get the ball rolling on setting them up. Would the efforts be a waste without a website? Claire had given her three names, and two were booked solid. She should probably look for more designers just in case the third was booked up too.

  Her phone plinked, signaling a text message.

  It was Andrea. She was flying in today, and she’d be here in the late afternoon. Jane hadn’t expected her to come at all. And now she’d be coming to see Tides was run-down and had no guests. Suddenly the state of Tides felt like a reflection on Jane. Like she’d somehow fallen down on the job and was responsible for ruining the family business.

  She started walking with purpose, suddenly realizing that more than anything she wanted to prove that she could revive Tides. As she walked back, she googled “niche weddings” and found the magazine Maxi had told her about. There was a form where you could apply to be listed as a niche wedding venue.

  Squinting at the screen, she thumbed in the information. It asked for the usual basic info but also wanted to know anything that made the venue special or unique. Jane figured an old home with a gorgeous view of the ocean right on the beach was pretty special, so she took a picture of Tides, angling it to show off the wide porch and avoid the overgrown gardens. Then she turned and snapped a photo of the ocean. Later on she could add pictures of the guest rooms and dining room. None of these pictures were truly unique, though. What could she offer to make someone’s wedding different? A thought occurred. She had one more photo she could add, and she was sure no other wedding venue would have anything like it. That photo she could only get at Sandcastles.

  Her thumb hovered over the submit button for a few seconds, then she pressed it. Maybe she could make this work after all.

  Sandcastles was bustling with customers, and Claire was behind the counter cashing out a woman who was buying two boxes full of pastries when Jane arrived.

  “I see business is good,” Jane said.

  “Yeah.” Claire secured a strand of auburn hair into the clip on the back of her head. “I was afraid people would forget about this place when we were closed to repair the pipes, but I guess they didn’t.”

  “I told you they wouldn’t. Your stuff is too good to forget about.” Jane glanced over at the case where Claire kept her signature sandcastle cakes. “Speaking of which, if I’m going to do weddings, I was thinking to make them really beachy. Maybe a lobster bake on the beach, and I thought that including your sandcastle cakes for the wedding cake would be something really unique. Would you make them for the weddings?”

  “You decided to do weddings! That’s great.” Claire slipped out from behind the counter and walked over to the case with Jane. “Of course I’ll make them.”

  “Good, I was thinking about taking a picture of one to submit to that magazine Maxi talked about.” Jane held up her phone.

  “Let me find a spot that will look good in a photo.” Claire turned slowly. “How about this table in front of the window?”

  “Perfect.”

  They took the cake out and arranged it on the table. Harry and Bert, well-known regulars at Sandcastles, were seated beside the table, having their usual coffee and reading the paper.

  “What’s this about weddings? Are you having one at Tides?” Harry winked at Bert. “I hope Claire and Rob decided to get married?”

  Claire blushed and swatted at Harry. “No. Jane is offering weddings at the inn.”

  Claire might have protested, but Jane could see she kind of liked the idea of marrying Rob. Of course, it was way too soon, but maybe someday she would be hosting Claire’s wedding. It warmed her heart to see her friend so happy.

  “Oh, that’s a great idea. Such a pretty spot,” Bert said.

  “Who doesn’t love a beach wedding?” Harry added.

  “I think it will be a great way to expand business.” Sally’s voice drifted up from the floor. Jane hadn’t seen her crouched there, painting the baseboard. “Tides is a beautiful venue for a wedding. I can just picture the back porch set up with tables, flower vases, candlelight, white linen cloths.”

  Jane smiled at her. “That’s part of the plan. Of course, I’m also going to need some other things, like a dance floor.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that.” Sally balanced the brush on the top of the can and stood, wiping paint off her fingers with a cloth. “I can whip something up. You’ll probably need an arbor for the happy couple to get married under. And I think we need to spruce up the common areas for guests to mingle inside. Well, with Shane helping, all that will be no problem.”

  “Great. I knew I could count on you.” Jane warmed with the support of everyone, and now the task didn’t feel so monumental.

  “What’s this I hear about a wedding?” The grating voice came from behind Jane. Sally’s smile slipped.

  Jane turned, and her own smile faded when she saw it was Sandee Harris. She hadn’t even noticed her in here, the place had been so crowded. Why had she even come here? Was it to rub it in that she’d stolen Claire’s husband? It was mean—just the sort of thing Sandee would do. Though Jane doubted Claire cared about that anymore. She had Rob now, and he was way better than Peter. So Sandee was the loser in this one.

  “I’m thinking about having a wedding venue at Tides,” Jane said.

  “Oh?” Sandee’s brows rose. “So you aren’t going to sell the place? I’m surprised.”

  “No, we’re going to try to revive it, bring it back to the way it was before my mom got sick,” Jane said, the snooty look in Sandee’s eyes only adding to her determination.

  “Good luck. The place needs a lot, but I’m sure you can handle it.” Sandee gave her a fake smile, her tone implying that she wasn’t sure of that at all. She turned and left.

  Jane turned back to Claire and Sally in time to see Sally stick her tongue out.

  “That woman is bad news.” Sally crouched again and picked up the brush then glanced at Jane over her shoulder. “I’ll be out tomorrow, and we can talk about specifics.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  Jane helped Claire put the cake back. Once it was safely in the case, Claire leaned against the side and crossed her arms over her chest. “Weddings are going to work out great. You’ll see.”

  Jane held up crossed fingers. “Let’s hope.”

  Claire’s expression turned serious. “That’s going to be a lot of work. If you need help, just shout. I know you’ll be there all alone, and trying to run the inn and set up weddings could be a lot to take on by yourself.”

  “Thanks, but I won’t exactly be all alone, at least not for the next few days. I just found out that Andie is coming.”

  “Oh, that’s great. I’m sure she’ll be a big help.”

  Jane held up crossed fingers again. “Again, let’s hope.”

  Jane wasn’t sure if Andie would be any help. She usually just breezed in
and left quickly, but she had to admit that she would love it if her sister did help. Somewhere deep inside sprouted a seed of hope that their mother’s illness and resurrecting Tides could bring her and Andie close again.

  As she left Sandcastles, she called Maxi. If she was going to pull off this wedding venture, she was going to need some help decorating.

  Maxi fluffed the pillow on her couch for the fifth time that morning. She stood back, arms crossed over her chest, surveying the arrangement.

  Maybe if she put the two white pillows on the ends and the gray-and-black striped in the middle.

  She turned away with a sigh. What did it matter? Rearranging the decor in the house was like taking a grain of sand from one side of the beach and putting it on the other. The house already looked great, but she was bored and didn’t have much to do.

  Her gaze fell on a family photo on the whitewashed hutch next to the stairs. She and James stood in the back, the three kids lined up in front of them. The kids had been small, ages five through ten. The picture brought up happy memories. She missed the sounds of kids running through the house, but this was the course of life, wasn’t it? She cocked her head and looked toward the kitchen, picturing a dog or cat padding toward her. Not quite the same as a toddler, but a lot less work. Perfect for the stage of life she was at. Now if only she could get James on board.

  She’d expected that the kids would eventually leave home, but what she hadn’t expected was the way her relationship with James would change. She never anticipated that they would grow apart.

  Maybe it was normal to go through some growing pains once the kids left the nest? She supposed she should give it more thought before she started to worry that something was wrong in their marriage.

  She didn’t get a chance to think about it too much because then her phone rang. It was Jane.

  “Hi, Jane. What’s up?” Jane rarely called. They usually texted. Maxi’s heart fluttered. The last time Jane had called was when Addie had wandered away from Tides and gotten lost. Hopefully nothing was wrong.