by Judith Keim
“Don’t prejudge,” I said, remembering how I’d wrongly judged Rhonda for being so demanding, so sure of herself, so crude. Now I knew she was one of the best friends I ever could have.
Rhonda’s cheeks flushed prettily. “I wonder what she’ll say about the baby?”
“I’m sure she’ll be delighted.” Rhonda’s excitement was contagious.
Rhonda glanced at the clock. “I can’t wait any longer to go to the airport. You’ll come with me, won’t you? Ange told me that Reggie is very proper and she wants me to make a good impression on him. With Will at an investment meeting, I need you to be there with me.”
At the idea of Rhonda striving to be “very proper”, I hid a smile. Rhonda was Rhonda, and she was fine as she was.
“Sure. I’ll go with you.” I was pretty anxious to meet Reggie Smythe myself.
As we drove to the airport, Rhonda chatted nervously about the baby. “I can’t decide what I want to name a girl. If it’s a boy, naturally he’ll be a William Junior. Both Will and I agree on that. Though I wouldn’t want to call him Bill. Will and Bill? That’s too awkward. But Will’s middle name is Andrew so we’ll probably call him Andy. What do you think?”
“Andy Grayson? I like it. Has a good strong sound to it.”
“Thanks.” Rhonda’s eyes lit with excitement. “I can’t wait to tell Angela. She’s wanted a baby brother or sister for years. Who knew she’d get one now? Not me.”
I chuckled. “It’s quite a surprise, all right.”
We parked the car at the airport and went inside to wait for the plane’s arrival.
Dressed in a light blue caftan, Rhonda’s pacing reminded me of a bluebird flitting about.
I placed a hand on her arm. “Settle down. She’ll be here soon. The plane is at the gate.”
“You’re right. Let’s go sit. I told her I’d meet her in baggage claim, but I can’t leave this spot. This is where they’ll enter the terminal.”
We took seats in a row of chairs that faced the hallway that led from the gates. I ignored Rhonda’s restless movements and let my mind settle on my recent conversation with Liz. Was there another reason she hadn’t said much about Angela’s visit?
The sound of a group of passengers heading toward us ended my musing. I got to my feet and stood by as Rhonda scanned the crowd.
“There she is!” Rhonda cried, waving her arms enthusiastically.
Angela noticed her mother and frowned. The young man beside her asked Angela something. Looking miserable, Angela nodded.
Rhonda didn’t seem to notice. She continued waving and calling out to Angela.
As Angela and her boyfriend drew closer, Rhonda rushed forward and pulled Angela to her for a bosomy hug. “Oh, baby girl. I’ve missed you so much!”
A smile crossed Angela’s face and then she stepped back. “Mom, I want you to meet Reggie Smythe. Reggie, this is my mother and,” she turned to me, “Ann Rutherford, my mother’s business partner.”
“Very nice to meet you,” Rhonda said in a quiet polite voice, unlike her usual exuberant manner. She glanced at me.
“Yes,” I said, “It’s so nice you could make a visit.”
“Thanks,” he said, eying Rhonda with an expression of surprise.
As Angela and her mother chatted about Will’s absence, I studied Reggie. With his hair slicked back, horn-rimmed glasses and preppy clothes, he looked more like a thirty-five-year-old than the young man I knew to be a senior in college.
“How’s business?” Reggie asked me. “Before I came here, I read up on The Beach House Hotel. It looks nice.”
“Thank you. I think you’ll be impressed. Our guests love it.”
“Love what?” said Rhonda.
“I was just saying our guests love the hotel.”
Rhonda elbowed Reggie. “Wait ‘til you see it. It’s a bit fancy, but we’re real proud of it. Aren’t we, Annie?”
“Oh, yes,” I said, wondering at the look of distress on Angela’s face. As we headed out for the parking garage, I held Angela back. “Hey, are you okay?”
She frowned. “Mom sometimes embarrasses me.”
“I can’t believe you said that. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Your mother is one of the nicest people I know.”
“I just want Reggie to like her,” Angela said, looking distressed.
Reggie turned back to us.
As Angela hurried to catch up to him, I had no time to follow up with more discussion. But I was disturbed by Angela’s reaction. It wasn’t like her. Rhonda being Rhonda had never been a problem for her daughter before. Had being with Reggie changed her?
On the ride back to the hotel I tried to keep the conversation going.
“So tell us about yourself, Reggie,” I said. “You’re a senior at BU. What’s your major?”
“I’m taking business courses,” he said. “Someday I want to go into business with my father. He’s with an investment banking firm in New York.”
“Oh,” said Rhonda. “Will does investment work too. They probably have a lot in common.”
“I doubt it,” said Reggie. “My father’s in international investment banking.”
At Rhonda’s look of dismay, I said, “Financial consultants today are well aware of international markets. That’s how it works.”
“Of course. But my father’s firm is considered one of the best in the world.”
“So, do you live in New York?” I asked.
“My parents have a large penthouse there. But I like to spend time in Newport. We have a summer cottage there.”
“It’s no cottage,” said Angela. “It’s almost the size of The Beach House. We went there for a weekend.”
Rhonda glanced at her daughter through the rear-view mirror. “Sounds to me like you’re doing a lot of traveling. You’re not forgetting your schoolwork, are you, Angela?”
“Oh, Mom. I work hard during the week. Don’t I, Reg?”
“She’s a good student.”
Angela grinned at him. “I got a better grade than you in the Business Relations course we took together.”
He laughed. “Like I said, you’re a good student.”
Some of the tension inside the car eased.
By the time we arrived at the hotel, I decided Reggie wasn’t as stuffy as I’d first thought. Angela seemed to bring out a warmer side to him.
As we pulled into the front circle of the hotel, Tina came down the steps toward us. Seeing me in the front passenger seat, she waved and went on her way.
“That looked like Valentina Marquis?” said Angela. “Is she here?”
“Wow!” said Reggie. “She’s hot!”
I turned around and faced Reggie. “I don’t know if Angela told you about our privacy policy, but our guests are asked to refrain from addressing well-known persons without being asked. Lots of famous people come and go here for that kind of anonymity.”
“Okay,” he said agreeably.
“She’s staying with me for a few weeks,” I said, following our rule of not giving out any particulars.
I climbed out of the car. “Thanks, Rhonda. See you later, after the kids are settled at your house.”
“I’ll be back,” she said.
I waved Rhonda off and went inside to check for messages.
Tim and his new assistant were working together at the front desk computer. He looked up. “I’m teaching Julie the reservations system.”
“Good. As things get busier, we all need to be able to know what’s going on. Any messages?”
He handed me a piece of paper.
At the name on it, my heart sped up. “Thanks!”
I hurried into the office and closed the door. After punching in the number, I waited nervously for Brenda to pick up the call.
She greeted me with a cheery, “Hello”.
Blood pulsed through me in anxious beats.
“Hi, Brenda. I hope you called us with good news.”
“As a matter of fact, I did. I’ve heard
back from the family regarding the wedding and they’ve chosen The Beach House Hotel as the place for their small private wedding. For political reasons, they don’t want to make a big splash of the marriage.”
I sank down in my chair with a sigh of relief. Having the wedding at the hotel would mean a lot to our bottom line.
“That’s wonderful news,” I said. “Can you tell us about the family?”
“As you might know, the monarchy of Bavaria was abolished in the early twentieth century. Though there have been movements through the years to re-establish a monarchy, that has never really happened. But there has been a succession of pretenders to the throne and the royal family is well-respected. A cousin once removed to one of them claims a certain royal status. That’s who I’ve been working for—Joseph and Charlotte Hassel. Their youngest daughter Katrina is marrying a young man from New York. The Hassels are not happy with their daughter’s choice, but have chosen to go along with it, preferring to give an older daughter the more public wedding they want for her.”
“How soon is this quiet wedding to take place?”
“They’d like to plan the wedding for January 5th, Epiphany Eve. In Germany, it is traditionally a time to drink to the health and luck of family and friends in the coming year. They’ll want to come here a couple of days early, of course, and leave a day or two after the wedding.
“They plan to arrive on January 3rd and will need the Presidential Suite, the Bridal Suite, and at least eight other rooms. Can you arrange that?”
“Yes,” I said, relieved it hadn’t been planned before Christmas or New Year’s Eve and that they wanted fewer rooms than we’d thought. To make things even easier, Tina would be gone by then.
“As I did before, I’ll send you a list of requirements. The bride has very definite ideas about what she wants. I’m afraid she’s somewhat of a bridezilla.”
I held back a groan. “Thanks so much, Brenda. We’ll take good care of both the bride’s family and the groom’s.”
Her voice held a smile. “I know I can count on you. Talk to you soon.”
As soon as I clicked off the call, I phoned Rhonda.
“Yay! I knew it!” she shrieked into my ear. “I’m on my way back to the hotel. I’m bringing the kids with me so Angela can show Reggie around.” She lowered her voice. “I’m trying, Annie. I’m really trying to understand what Angela sees in him.”
“Good work. See you soon.”
I was in the office, working on rearranging reservations for the week following New Year’s when Rhonda burst into the office. She grabbed my hands, pulled me out of my chair and had me do a little dance with her.
“I knew it! Royalty at The Beach House Hotel. Perfect!”
“Whoa! It’s not exactly the happiest occasion apparently. We’ll have to be careful about announcing it.” I passed along the information Brenda had given me.
“Sounds like a typical family, huh?” Her expression grew grim. “Annie, that Reggie is a regular little prick. How dare he say Will and his father would have nothing in common? I’m glad Will didn’t hear that.”
“Have you told Angela about the baby?”
“Not yet. I’m waiting for Will to be there when I do.” Rhonda shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on with her. She’s acting so quiet, so strange. She agrees with everything Reggie says. I don’t like it.”
“She may be nervous. It’s the first time she’s brought home a boy from college. Take it one day at a time.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. I’ll give them both a chance to mellow a bit.”
Angela appeared at the office door with Reggie. “And this is where all the decisions are made.” She indicated our office with a flourish.
“Nice,” Reggie answered.
“We’re going for a swim before going back home and getting ready for dinner. We’re eating here tonight, right?” said Angela.
“Jean-Luc and I are preparing a special meal. Annie is going to join us for dinner in the private dining room.”
“Too bad Vaughn couldn’t be here,” said Angela, smiling at me.
“I wish he could, but he’s gone back to Ireland to do more filming.”
Reggie’s eyes widened. “Vaughn? Vaughn Sanders?”
“I told you about him,” Angela said, elbowing him playfully.
“I thought you were joking. First Valentina and now Vaughn. This place is a lot...well, different than I thought it’d be.”
At the stern look that Rhonda gave him, the smile on Reggie’s face evaporated.
“Come on. Let’s go take a swim,” said Angela.
As they left the room, Angela turned around and frowned at her mother with disapproval.
Rhonda plopped down in a chair. “See what I mean? It’s different between Ange and me. It’s almost as if she doesn’t like me.”
“It must be nerves,” I said. The family reunion Rhonda had hoped for was off to a shaky start, and I had the awful feeling it wasn’t about to improve.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dinner in our small private dining room was always special. Tonight I sat at the long, linen-covered table and silently monitored the dining staff serving us our first course.
Three Oysters Rockefeller sat on a bed of rock salt atop a small glass plate. I could hardly wait to taste the lemony hollandaise sauce that had been dabbed on top of the baked oysters. In deference to her pregnancy, Rhonda was having only one.
“My favorite,” said Will, waiting for Rhonda to pick up her seafood fork so we could begin.
When she did, the rest of us dug into the appetizer eagerly. All but Reggie, that is. He sat silently while we ate ours.
“You don’t like oysters?” Rhonda asked.
He shook his head. “I’m allergic to shellfish.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” said Rhonda. “May we serve you something else?”
“No, that’s fine,” Reggie said agreeably. “I’ll wait for the main course.”
“I think you’re really going to like it.” Rhonda smiled at him. “Veal Parmesan is one of my specialties. It’s actually one of my mother’s recipes. I make it with her famous tomato sauce.”
A look of distress crossed Reggie’s face. He turned to Angela, sitting next to him.
“Reg doesn’t like tomatoes,” Angela said. “They make his skin itch.”
I knew Rhonda well enough to know what a blow that was to her. But, to her credit, she spoke in a soft, controlled voice. “What can we get you for dinner then?”
“Can you serve him the veal without the sauce?” Angela said, giving her mother a pleading look.
“Sure. Excuse me while I go talk to Jean-Luc.” Rhonda rose from her chair and left the room, her back straight.
Reggie gave us all a weak smile. “Pretty funny, huh? Being with an Italian family and not liking tomatoes.”
I returned his smile, but it was a bigger problem than he knew. Rhonda was a fabulous cook and a full-blown foodie who came from a family that showed and reciprocated love by providing one another with good Italian food.
Rhonda returned. “It’s all been taken care of,” she said, avoiding Angela’s gaze.
During the main course, Will gently prodded Angela and Reggie to talk about themselves and how they met. Reggie told of his weeks at the camp in New Hampshire offering financial advice to the owners of the camp as an internship project. Angela and Liz had spent two summers there as counselors.
“You should have seen Angela the first time a snake crawled toward her,” said Reggie, shaking his head. “She was screaming like crazy.”
Angela gave him a wide smile. “But you saved me. I’ll never forget it.”
The look he gave her could’ve steamed his glasses.
I couldn’t help smiling. They were adorable together.
Rhonda’s eyebrows lifted. “So why haven’t I heard more about the two of you being together?”
Reggie shifted in his seat. “At the end of the summer, we decided to brea
k up.”
“Yeah, we thought it was a summer romance sort of thing, but then we decided we wanted to be together. Right, Reg?”
He smiled at her. “Yeah, I couldn’t break up with you, after all.”
Dessert was served. After we’d eaten our fruit tarts and finished our coffee, Angela got to her feet. “Thanks for a nice meal. May Reggie and I be excused?”
“Sure,” Rhonda said. “See you later. Don’t be too late, okay?”
Angela glanced at Reggie and grinned. “Well, not too, too late.”
Reggie laughed, and they left together.
Alone in the room, the three of us looked at each other and sighed.
“Young love. I’d forgotten how fresh and new that is,” I said.
Rhonda shook her head. “It’ll never work. How can Angela be serious about someone like that? He doesn’t even like my food! What is that all about?”
“Now, Rhonda,” said Will, “the boy has allergies.”
Rhonda placed her napkin on the tablecloth with a little slap. “Angela has grown up with good food all her life. Good Italian food. How is she going to get by without it? And before Reggie came here for dinner, I heard them talking. Every time Angela said something, he corrected her as if she didn’t know anything.”
“What were they talking about?” I asked.
“Some course they were taking together.” Rhonda’s jaw jutted out. “My Angela is a smart girl. She doesn’t need anyone making her think she’s dumb.”
“Was Angela upset by it?” Will said.
Rhonda shook her head. “No, of course not. She thinks he’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.”
“Then what’s your problem?” I said.
“I don’t want Ange to get hurt. He’s from another world. Not ours.”
Will placed an arm around Rhonda. “Let things unfold naturally, honey. Like you said, Angela is a smart girl. She’ll figure it all out.”
Rhonda dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “It’s these hormones racing through me.” She shook her head. “But I really am worried about her. She’s been so upset with me, so distant, I haven’t even told her about the new baby.”
“All in good time,” Will said. “Why don’t we get you home so you can rest?”
Rhonda gave him a loving smile. “Guess that would help. I’m so tired. Do you mind, Annie?”