Back to the Lake Breeze Hotel

by Amie Denman

  “Not downhill. Just a close call. When he went in for his chemo treatment, they told us any infection could be bad. He already had a fever over a hundred when I got home last night.”

  Nate had had no doubt his father needed to go to the hospital, and he was thankful his quick call to his dad’s oncologist helped them bypass the emergency room. His memories of walking through those doors fifteen years earlier still sliced him raw. He couldn’t walk back out of the hospital without his father.

  “How long do you think they’ll keep him?” his uncle asked.

  “At least a day, maybe more, depending on how he responds to the antibiotics.”

  His uncle nodded. “We’re leaving for Florida in another week, but we’ll stick around if you need us. My wife wouldn’t mind spending Thanksgiving at home.”

  “We’ll be okay. Dad and I have been through a lot.”

  “You have. Never saw anyone braver than Murray, not even among my fellow police officers. He was really strong for you and your sister after...what happened.”

  Nate wondered if Warren knew his brother had cried at night in his bedroom when he thought no one could hear him. Nate had stood outside his father’s closed door many times in his early teens, wondering if he should go in. Fear had stopped him every time. Fear that he would break down and be the one consoled instead of consoling. He’d broken down at his mother’s funeral, and the image the photographer from the local paper had captured still haunted him. His tearstained and devastated face had been the centerpiece of the newspaper’s anti-drunk driving campaign for a year after his mother’s death. As a police officer, his uncle had led the charge and received accolades for his work, but Nate had been ashamed every time that picture ran in the paper.

  “Always admired how tough you all were,” Uncle Warren continued. “It’s the only way to face things.”

  If Alice were here, she’d have something to say about that.

  Nate’s spontaneous thought shocked him. Why was he thinking about her at one in the morning? Her particular brand of honesty would throw a major wrinkle in the perfectly smooth relationship he had with his uncle. Keep it light, avoid emotional displays, offer manly support up to a certain point. Maintain the appearance that everything’s fine.

  Alice would ask Uncle Warren what he was hiding under that flimsy veneer and why he wasn’t giving his nephew a hug right now instead of standing shoulder to shoulder as if they were facing an enemy battalion.

  “Do you need anything?” his uncle asked. “Coffee? A ride home? Change for the vending machine in the lounge?”

  “I’m not a teenager,” Nate said, smiling. “I have cash and a car. I’ll probably go home soon because there’s nothing I can do here. I’ll check in with work and come back later in the morning.”

  “Keep me posted,” his uncle said. He patted him on the shoulder and strode away with a straight spine, as if he’d just issued sensible orders on how to face the fact that Nate’s father was slowly dying.

  Nate turned and looked through the window to his father’s room. His eyes blurred with tears and he was glad the nurse had her back turned so there was no one to see him almost cry.

  * * *

  SNOWFALL DURING THE first week of November wasn’t unusual in Michigan, but Virginia marveled at how different Starlight Point looked when it was open for business while covered with snow. Seeing lights and holiday decorations through the drifting snowflakes made her family amusement park look like a strange and new land.

  Gladys danced happily at the end of her leash and pulled it from Virginia’s grip. Henry grabbed for the leash, but Virginia laughed. “Let her go. She can’t get in too much trouble, and I can always lure her back with the treats in my pocket.”

  “I feel as if I’m getting away with something. I’m in an empty amusement park in the snow with a beautiful woman.”

  Virginia sucked in the cold, wintry air. “The park is not officially closed, just on weeknights like this.” She shuddered and Henry put an arm around her.

  “I could give you my coat,” he offered.

  “Then you’d be cold, too. If we keep walking we’ll warm up. Especially if we have to chase Gladys.” As she and Henry passed the quiet carousel and the closed food stands on the midway, their footsteps were muffled by the snow. But Virginia could still hear the sounds of Starlight Point that were written on her heart. How many times had she strolled the midways with Ford? Every patch of concrete under the snow and the vacant cable cars overhead still sung with his memory.

  Henry caught her hand and strode alongside her, swinging her arm cheerfully. They both wore gloves, but she still felt the warmth of his fingers. “It was a great Halloween last weekend with the kids and costumes,” he said.

  “The wedding was a disaster, but the rest of the weekend was perfect, including the weather. I’m glad the snow waited a few days.”

  “I’m ready to fast forward through Thanksgiving and get right to Christmas,” Henry said. “And the festivities we’re having here.”

  “Don’t rush,” Virginia said. Life goes much too fast. For a time after Ford died, her entire world had slowed down, but lately it had seemed to swirl faster like the snowflakes around them. Her family was growing, the Point expanding its season, and she wasn’t alone in the snow.

  Gladys ran ahead and jumped up on the bench where the path split and led to the Wonderful West.

  Ford’s bench. A place he’d loved to sit and watch the crowds advance down the midway. And it was where he’d lain down to die alone on a spring morning before the park opened more than five years ago.

  “I think your dog must have found something interesting on that bench,” Henry commented.

  Virginia’s heart was colder than the steel structures of the roller coasters. She wanted to call Gladys back, lure her in with treats instead of approaching her as Gladys licked the bench furiously.

  Ford’s bench. Tears stung her eyes and contrasted sharply with the cold air. What if Ford were there now, watching over her and all of Starlight Point? Would he want her to move on? What would he think of Henry, the tall man swinging her arm and urging her toward the bench she always avoided.

  Evie loved that bench and often sat there just to feel close to her father, but Virginia had never been that brave. She always hoped someone was already sitting on it when she went by.

  What was on it now?

  Henry reached the bench a few steps before Virginia and grabbed hold of Gladys’s collar. He laughed and the sound echoed off the nearby roller coasters.

  “Leftover Halloween candy,” he said. “Suckers and licorice. Glad it’s not chocolate or we’d have a serious problem.”

  Gladys looked at Virginia with happy eyes, her tongue slapping the edges of her mouth and lapping up the sugary treat left by a child from the Halloween weekend.

  “You’re sweet enough already, Gladys,” Virginia said. “You should...you should let that go.”

  Henry put an arm around Virginia and pulled her close. His lips brushed her forehead at the edge of her knitted cap. His mouth moved lower and a kiss trailed along her cheek. Virginia closed her eyes, imagining how nice it would be to let herself be drawn in by his warmth and tenderness. She’d missed that in the years she’d built her own life since Ford’s passing.

  Building her own life so she could never again be completely devastated by the loss of another person had been her goal and lifesaving mission for five years of holidays. Five Thanksgivings, Christmases and first snowfalls.

  It was too soon to give up on the thing that had pulled her through the darkest times.

  “It’s getting colder,” Virginia said. “Time to go home.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Virginia met Alice in her office to go over upcoming special events.

  “Henry is bringing coffee,” Alice said. “We need it with this cold we
ather. I’m certainly thankful to use this time for indoor planning instead of being out there with the crews taking down and putting away the Halloween decorations.”

  “Look who I found at the coffeepot,” Henry announced as he came through Alice’s door with Nate behind him. Nate lingered in the doorframe.

  “How is your father?” Virginia asked. “I heard he was in the hospital the past few days.”

  Nate smiled, but Virginia noticed lines of fatigue around his eyes and mouth. “Better now. It was an infection, but it’s under control and he can go back to chemo treatments in two weeks.”

  Virginia got up and gave Nate a hug. He didn’t push her away, but he stood stiffly, accepting the embrace as if it was something a person had to endure. She wasn’t offended—he was going through a tough time.

  “It’s hard,” she said. “You should let someone help you.”

  “I have a sister,” Nate said. “She’s only an hour away if I need her.”

  Henry distributed coffee to Alice and Virginia and carefully peeled the white lid from his own. He sat at a side chair and crossed one leg over the other.

  “Can we join the meeting?” Henry asked. “It’s nice and warm in here.”

  “Sure. I can tell you all about next weekend’s wedding,” Alice said as she opened a folder and spread out the contents on her desk. “Classic autumn theme with dark red as the color. The wedding will take place in the hotel rotunda and the reception in the lobby. We can finally use that space now that the hotel is closed for the season.”

  Virginia remembered her wedding and honeymoon at the Lake Breeze Hotel more than thirty-five years ago. Her dress had puffy lace sleeves that exuded youth and optimism. Owning an amusement park throughout their thirty years of marriage had kept them both young and happy, even though Ford was hiding a dark secret of stress and financial strain that contributed to his fatal heart attack.

  “It’s a second-time-around wedding,” Alice continued. “I love those. I think it’s nice they want to celebrate it here, and I don’t expect any drama out of an older couple.”

  “Hey,” Henry said. “Don’t count us old folks out. We can cause drama if we want to.”

  Nate laughed. “Do you want to?”

  Henry winked at Alice. “I’d rather have a good cup of coffee these days.”

  “I know the bride,” Virginia said.

  “You do?” Alice asked.

  “Judy is a good friend of mine.” Virginia paused and swallowed. She felt the attention of everyone in the room and wished she’d kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to talk about it, especially with Henry in the room. Knowing everyone was awaiting an explanation, Virginia shook her head and muttered, “I think she’s making a mistake.”

  Alice sat back in her desk chair. “I’ve met both the bride and groom and they seem really happy to me.”

  “She hardly knows him. They just met last year even though they’ve both lived in Bayside all their lives.”

  “It’s a fairly large city,” Nate said. “I’m sure there are plenty of people I’ve never met.”

  “But if they never met before, it seems logical they didn’t have the same interests,” Virginia insisted. “Right?” She knew she sounded unreasonable, but Judy had lost her husband about the same time Virginia had. They’d bonded as widows, poured their energy and time into volunteering. If Judy was moving on, did that mean she’d forgotten her husband? Was it so easy to replace someone?

  “They must have found some common ground,” Henry observed. Virginia kept her head down and fussed with a loose thread on her pants.

  “So you must be planning to attend the wedding,” Alice said. “I’ll make sure I cover you with one of our seasonal employees.”

  Virginia nodded. “The bride actually asked me to be her stand-in matron of honor in case her sister can’t get here from Arizona. I guess her sister takes care of her in-laws and they have health problems.”

  Alice’s eyebrows were up and her mouth open just enough to make it clear she was surprised.

  I shouldn’t have withheld this information so long. It makes it seem as if I have something to hide.

  “That’s wonderful,” Alice said quickly. “How fun to be asked to stand up for your friend on her second time around.”

  “I was there the first time, too,” Virginia said. “They got married in a church downtown the summer after I did. Her reception was in the park. It was a hot day, and we were all worried about the cake sliding right off the table.” Virginia smiled, thinking about how that was their greatest worry at the time. “Her husband was a wonderful man. He was the superintendent of the water plant until he passed away.”

  “I hope her new husband will be wonderful, too,” Alice said kindly. “Mike is retired from the county sheriff’s office and he’s a widower. He seems really nice.”

  “We’ll see,” Virginia said. “Of course I hope for the best for them.”

  Virginia had put down a “plus one” on the RSVP two months ago. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to go to the wedding, but she’d thought she might ask one of her daughters to go with her if she did. Recently, she’d considered asking Henry, just as a friend, but now she felt foolish bringing it up. Especially since she hadn’t mentioned it before, the wedding was coming up soon and Alice was almost certainly counting on Henry to help organize the event.

  “I should have mentioned it sooner,” Virginia said.

  “Don’t worry. We have some great seasonal staff still around,” Alice said. “And I know they’ll appreciate getting the hours, especially with the holidays coming.”

  Virginia focused on her hands and twisted her wedding band around her finger. Even after five years of widowhood, she’d never taken it off. Soon, Judy would have a new wedding band. Was it as easy as that?

  “Let’s talk about the Christmas weekends since we’re all huddling here and avoiding the snow,” Nate suggested. “We’ve been so wrapped up in the fall festival that I feel I hardly know what to expect from Santa and his elves.”

  Alice raised a shoulder and grinned. “Fine with me. The snow put me in the holiday spirit.” She grabbed her mouse and scooted closer to her computer screen. “I can even put on Christmas music while we go over the plans if no one objects.”

  “No objection here,” Henry said. “This will be the first Christmas I won’t be on an airplane. I always volunteered to work the holidays since I didn’t have a family.”

  “That was nice of you,” Virginia said. She was glad the conversation had shifted away from her friend’s wedding and the sensitive subject of second-chance romances. “I love Christmas. I always thought it would be fun to open Starlight Point for the holidays, but it’s a risk Ford and I never worked ourselves up to take. All the planning and hiring it requires. My kids are braver than I am.”

  Alice turned the computer speakers on low and found an online channel with holiday music. “I hope the December weekends will be great,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m most excited about.”

  * * *

  ALICE WONDERED WHY Nate had followed Henry into her office and why he had chosen to stay. He could have said a polite hello and retreated to his office with his coffee. He could have claimed he had work to do, a believable excuse with Halloween over and Christmas coming fast. After missing several days of work to take care of his father, he was almost certainly behind.

  But instead of making excuses, he appeared to be making himself comfortable in a chair near the door of her office. Even the subject of second-chance weddings hadn’t driven him out into the cold. Was he lonely after spending days with his ill father? Alice wished she could give him a hug and offer to help as Virginia had, but she had ended any hope of a relationship like that the moment she’d put down her napkin and stood up at their rehearsal dinner.

  That was the past, and the future plans of Starlight Point had a
lot more potential. Alice was happy to run through exact details of the December weekend plans with her guests so she could think out loud. She had the ice rink, tree lot and Santa’s arrival mostly figured out. Food service, sleigh rides and other activities were fairly solid.

  She was interested in hearing Nate’s plans for promotions—something she’d left to him and had not heard much about—and also getting a practical take on parking and logistics from Henry and Virginia. How many people could they reasonably expect? Would they be able to change plans on the fly to accommodate the unexpected, such as a bumper crowd or a surprise snowstorm?

  She was halfway through her list of questions when her desk phone rang.

  “Any chance you could come out to the parking lot?” Jack Hamilton asked. “I’ve got the guys from the ice rink company out here. I need help answering their questions because I know next to nothing about ice skating.”

  Although she didn’t delight in a trip to the windy and snowy parking lot, Alice quickly agreed. “I can be there in just a few minutes.”

  “Thanks,” Jack said on the other end of the line.

  As she spoke on the phone, Henry, Virginia and Nate all gave her curious looks. She held up one finger as if to say she’d explain in a moment.

  “Any chance you could track down Nate and bring him along?” Jack asked. “I’ve got the newspaper out here, too. They’re looking for a story on the Christmas weekends. Can’t believe they just showed up and thought they were going to get pictures.”

  “He’s right here,” Alice said. She looked at Nate as she spoke. He sat up straighter and cocked his head as if he was awaiting orders. His dedication is commendable. I hope it includes freezing outside.

  “Good,” Jack said, relief in his voice. “He can wrangle the reporters while I set up for the Winter Olympics out here.”

  “We’ll hurry,” Alice said, laughing. “And I like your idea for a sports competition. Maybe next year.”

  She hung up the phone.

  “When I said my children were brave, I didn’t know they were planning to host the Winter Olympics,” Virginia said.