On the porch, Alice had arranged pieces of Princessa jewelry in such a way as to show off the delicate beauty or dramatic flair of each one. Inside, she displayed Divine Décor to demonstrate how various pieces could enhance a room. In the parlor, on two borrowed long library tables, Alice’s cookies, pies, cakes, and other treats had been carefully packaged, ready for sale. A huge honor jar had been set up in the center of one of the tables, and buyers contributed what they felt was a fair price for baked goods that they chose to have.
Annie crossed her fingers that this party would not only bring together and enhance the community, but that it would give Alice a respite from financial worry for a while. She prayed it would also kick off fresh interest in the woman’s businesses.
At one point, Annie stood on the top step of her shady front porch and watched her visitors mingle. She listened to their laughter and lively conversations, knowing that this brainstorm had been one of the best ideas she’d ever had.
At the west end of the porch, where Alice had arranged her jewelry, Stella Brickson browsed through the necklaces. She picked up one, a delicate gold chain that held a single teardrop-shaped amethyst pendant. Annie walked over.
“Isn’t that lovely?” Annie said. “Look how it catches the light.”
Stella held it up higher, tipping her head to one side and watching the light hit the stone.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. I’ve been looking for something like this—” She broke off as she focused on something beyond the porch. Annie followed her gaze and saw Papa Dexter getting out of a vintage panel wagon, complete with wooden side-panels and an external visor above the windshield.
Stella laid the necklace aside and rushed into the house.
Annie’s mouth flew open, and then she hurried in after the older woman.
“Stella Brickson!” she said, finding her in the kitchen filling a glass with water from the tap. Stella drank deeply, and then set the glass down with a little gasp of breath. “What on earth! Are you afraid of Papa Dexter?”
Stella glared at her. “Of course not! That’s the most foolish question you’ve ever asked, Annie Dawson.”
“Well, something is going on. If you aren’t afraid of him, then you surely dislike him a lot. Why?”
Stella started to speak, stopped, started and stopped again.
“Annie, too many years have gone by, and I am far too old to be dating.” She uttered the word with the same emotion with which she would have uttered “stealing.”
“Dating? You mean you and Papa have gone out?”
“No! I just said I am too old for that sort of nonsense.”
Annie stared at her, and then burst into laughter. Stella glared.
“Oh, Stella, are you too old to have fun? To enjoy dinner or a movie? Or a nice drive?”
“No, but …”
“No buts. Just because Papa Dexter is interested in you—as a woman—does not mean you have to run off and marry him tomorrow. It doesn’t even mean you have to kiss him or hold hands. What are you afraid of, that he’ll ask you to the prom or to go steady?”
Stella blinked at her. “I … I … I don’t know! Oh goodness!” She got another glass of water and drank half of it. “Annie, do you know how long it has been since I’ve been out with a man?”
“Too long, I’m thinking. Nothing has to happen that you don’t want to happen, Stella. And from what I know of Papa Dexter, he’s a sweet fellow. He’s not going to make any unreasonable demands.”
Stella drew herself up straight and composed her face, though her pink cheeks might remain rosy for a while.
“I suppose you’re right, Annie. I really haven’t given the matter a lot of thought beyond recognizing that a woman my age has no business chasing after a man.”
“You aren’t chasing, Stella. My stars! You are running, as fast as you can, like a scared rabbit.”
The older woman’s mouth flew open. “I am not a scared rabbit!”
Annie lifted one eyebrow skeptically.
“Prove it,” she said. “Go out there and talk to him. Be friendly, be courteous, and if he asks you on a date, for heaven’s sake, go for it! Unless you’re too afraid.”
“All right, Annie Dawson. If for no other reason than to prove to you I am not afraid, I’ll go talk to Alexander Dexter.” And she marched right out of the kitchen, down the hallway, through the front door and outside. Annie followed with a smile, but then she stopped dead in her tracks.
Is that what I’ve been doing with Ian? she thought. Have I been so scared of appearing to be chasing a man that I’ve been running like a scared rabbit? As Annie stood on the porch of Grey Gables, she saw Ian Butler, the ubiquitous mayor of Stony Point, helping with the barbecue—her barbecue and her party. She thought of the praise Grady had heaped upon her—how she had moved on in her life with courage and conviction. Ian caught her gaze and returned it warmly. Maybe I haven’t moved on as well as Grady imagined, she thought. She vowed she would try, in the future, to stop running like a scared rabbit. She waved a warm greeting to Ian, who returned it with enthusiasm.
Later, while mingling with her guests, Annie found herself grabbed and hugged. When the hugger pulled back and let go, Annie was looking into the face of Alice MacFarlane.
“Annie, this is the best party ever! I’ve already sold some jewelry, several pieces of Divine Décor, and more cookies than I can count. Oh, and that barbecue smells heavenly. Thank you! Thank you for being such a great friend!”
“I’m happy it’s going so well, Alice!”
“It looks like everyone in Stony Point is here,” Alice said, looking around. Then she stopped with her gaze fixed. “But I don’t think those two are from Stony Point,” she said, nodding her head toward the end of the driveway. “At least I’ve never seen them. He is a dish, a dreamboat and a hunk.”
Annie turned to look.
Grady Brooks was strolling up the walkway with a lovely dark-haired woman on his arm. The way he was looking at his companion removed all doubt as to how he felt about her.
“It’s Grady,” she murmured to Alice.
“Are you kidding?” Alice almost shouted in outrage. “With another woman at his side? I thought you and he were an item!”
Annie gave her an exasperated look. “Oh, hush that kind of talk. We were an item only in your matchingmaking little head,” she said. “Excuse me. I need to greet them.”
“Annie!” Grady called as she approached with a big smile.
“I’m so glad you could make it, Grady!” she said, giving him a quick hug. She turned to the woman. “And this must be Chris?”
“This is Chris,” Grady said proudly.
She shook hands warmly with Annie. “It’s so nice finally to meet you. Grady has told me so much about you, Annie. And please, let me thank you for giving him whatever nudge you gave him.”
“I’m glad to have done it,” Annie said, laughing, “whatever it was. Grady, are you going to tell me now?”
He smiled and gave a little nod.
“I think now is a good time. Long ago, I lost Chris because I was afraid. Afraid I couldn’t succeed in a serious relationship; afraid I couldn’t provide for us the way I wanted to; afraid I couldn’t make her happy. When Chris got in touch with me a few months ago, I was afraid of disappointing her a second time.”
Goodness, Annie thought. I’ve been around a lot of fear lately. There had been Alice’s fear of losing her business, her own fear of letting go of the past, Stella’s fear of living fully in her old age, and Peter Starne’s fear of letting go of his guilt.
“Somehow, reconnecting with you, Annie,” Grady continued, “has recharged my batteries. As I told you the other day, you never let change or fear of the unknown stop you. I needed that boost, and you gave it to me.” He grinned largely and slipped his arm around the woman’s slim shoulders. “Chris and I are getting married!”
She lifted her left hand and wriggled her fingers so the diamonds of her new ring caught the light.
“That’s right. And I’m moving to Arkansas to become first lady of Cooper City.”
Annie clapped her hands, laughing in delight. “Oh, I am so happy for you both! This is wonderful news.”
Chris leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Annie’s cheek.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“I’m glad I was able to help.” She indicated the milling crowd, the chairs, the displays, and the food. “Let me introduce you to some folks, and please feel free to mingle. You’ll find us Stony Pointers a friendly bunch. Whatever you do—please eat! We have more food than you can shake a stick at.”
Annie was making her way through the crowd an hour or so later when her eyes fell on the bright red hair of the young woman from Seaside Hills Assisted Living. She was seated next to Peter Starne in a patch of shade near the front porch. He was gazing at the crowd, his expression curious, cautious, and yet somehow bright. The young woman was smiling warmly at him as he talked to her.
“Mr. Starne!” Annie exclaimed, approaching him with her hand out. He reached up and grasped it. “I am so happy you could come.”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about what you said. Then Joy here kept encouraging me to come today, and I decided to make some changes. Do you think ninety-four is too old to make changes?”
Annie laughed and squeezed his hand before letting go. “Not at all! Joy, thanks for your help. Now, can I get either of you anything to eat or drink?”
“I don’t want anything just yet,” Joy said.
“I believe I’ll just sit here and watch everyone for a while,” he said with a smile. “But thank you, Annie. You need to play hostess to your other guests now. Looks like you have a lot of them.”
Later, when the afternoon had worn down, Ian, Wally, and Mike Malone pushed the piano out onto the front porch. She and Jason stood on the top step, and she called for everyone’s attention.
“We have a special treat today,” she said. “I think you all know Jason.” She threw him a smile. “We know he can drive Stella Brickson all over Stony Point quite well, but did you know he can play the piano beautifully? Well, today he’s going to give us a mini-concert.”
As he walked behind her to the piano, he muttered, “I hope I don’t mess up too badly.” He seated himself with a confidence that belied his words, drew in a deep breath, and began to play with as much grace and skill as any concert pianist Annie had ever heard. He played a variety of music, from The Maple Leaf Rag to Amazing Grace to Rhapsody in Blue.
When he finished to thunderous applause, Annie gave him a hug and said, “Jason, you have found your second calling.”
Just as the men were about to move the piano back into the house, someone called from the crowd. “Annie! Can you have them leave the piano outside a little longer?” The red-haired young woman approached, Peter Starne leaning heavily on her arm.
“Would it be all right if Mr. Starne plays something for you?”
Her heart swelled.
“Oh, yes! That would be lovely.”
She raced down the steps and walked on his other side, helping Joy to steady his climb up the porch stairs.
As Joy settled him on the piano bench, Annie said to the curious onlookers, “We have another brilliant musician in our midst today. Some of you know him, but for those who do not, Mr. Peter Starne, Stony Point’s favorite piano tuner, will share his talent with us. Mr. Starne, the stage is yours.”
The audience murmured and applauded. The old man smiled at them, bowed his head graciously, turned to the keyboard and flexed his fingers. Within the few notes, Annie recognized the sonata he had written for Olivia. The light, melancholy tone hushed the crowd as they listened, enraptured. When he reached the part where the music had ended on the handwritten score, the chords changed and the melody took on an even sweeter sound, a tune that caused tears to sting Annie’s eyes.
She gazed at the composer—the man who had so long ago borne such hope and promise, and then had buried so much of himself in regret and pain. As Annie watched, it seemed that the years fell away. She could almost feel the presence of Olivia—ultimately Peter Starne’s first and only true love—as if the young woman had been watching, listening, and loving the sonata that was, at long last, finished.
The Unfinished Sonata Page 18