Lunch at the Beach House Hotel

by Judith Keim

  After more time passed, Tina sighed. “Thanks, Ann. I needed that.”

  I turned to her. “Your mother?”

  “She called.”

  At the concern I couldn’t conceal, she patted my arm. “Don’t worry. I’m going to stay right here where I can work with Barbara. It’s sad, in a way, that my mother will never be a real mother to me. She has never been, you know.”

  “Yeah,” said Troy, placing a protective arm around Tina. “No mom should be like that.”

  They headed back to the hotel, and Vaughn and I walked down the beach away from them. I worked to keep my stride with his. It felt good to breathe in the tangy salt air and move in tandem with him. Seagulls and Caspian Terns performed white-winged dances above us, circling around and around like soft-feathered water spouts. Sandpipers skittered along the water’s edge pursuing insects and small snails.

  “I have just enough time to freshen up before the next shift of diners arrive,” I said, checking my watch.

  We headed back to my house.

  “I’m going to call Ty and then relax by the pool. I’ve got to go over my script for the end of this movie.” He paused and sighed. “And I suppose I’d better look at the stuff for the TV show. They want me back, and I think I should do it.”

  As we walked back home hand in hand, I was all too aware of the separate obligations we had—obligations that would always keep us apart. People often wondered aloud how long our relationship would last. Sometimes I did too. Then I reminded myself that Vaughn was a much different man from Robert. He wouldn’t desert me.

  Later, as I was preparing to leave my house, my cell rang. I checked caller ID. Liz.

  “Hi, honey! How are you?” I said, clicking onto the call.

  There was a pause and then Liz said, “Okay, I guess.”

  “But?” I prompted.

  “But now Dad is saying he won’t pay for me to bunk in with Angela and her friends in their apartment. He thinks I should live at his house and commute to school.”

  “And how would you commute?” I asked, feeling my insides grow cold.

  “He said he’d give me Kandie’s old car, that she wants a new one, anyway.”

  At the tearful sound of her voice, the Mama Bear in me rose up. With effort, I held back a snarl. “ What did you tell him?” My forced calmness didn’t stop the angry pulsing of blood in my body.

  “I said I’d talk it over with you. That really pissed him off.” Liz paused. “But, Mom, I do need your advice.”

  This time, I couldn’t hold back. “Staying with Angela would cost less money than buying a new car for Kandie, who, as I recall, insisted on a new car only two years ago. And I think it’s important to enjoy college life with your friends. Furthermore, you told me you might have a job on campus, working as a TA for one of your professors. And ...”

  Liz’s laugh stopped me. “Thanks, Mom! That’s all I need to hear. Besides, Dad only set this up so I’d be their live-in nanny. Robbie is a cute little boy, but he’s totally out of control. Kandie won’t discipline him, and Dad is overbearing with him.”

  I knew it was important not to put down a divorced spouse, but I wasn’t feeling that nice. “You make it clear to him and Kandie that any money he’s spending for your education was yours to begin with. And there was certainly more than enough set aside for you to live on your own.”

  “Yeah, I will. Oh, here he is now.”

  I heard muffled voices in the background, and then Robert’s sharp voice penetrated my ear. “Ann? What did you tell Liz? Any deal I make with her is between her and me. Got it?”

  “If Liz asks for my opinion, I’m going to give it, Robert. Got it?”

  “I don’t know what I ever saw in you, Ann,” he snarled. “You’re not the woman I married.”

  “Thank God,” I muttered, hurt fighting anger.

  “By the way, remember that ski lodge where we went on our honeymoon?” said Robert. “Kandie loves it.”

  Hearing the disdain in his voice, I had the urge to choke him. I drew a deep breath, forced my fists to unclench, and told myself to calm down. Neither he nor Kandie was worth wasting my energy on.

  “Here’s Liz,” Robert said. “She wants to talk to you.”

  “I’ll call you later when we can really talk,” said Liz. “It’s a mess here. Kandie is yelling at Dad and Robbie is crying. But, Mom? Thanks for your support. Sometimes Dad makes me so crazy I forget to think logically.”

  “Love you, sweetie. Happy Thanksgiving.”

  We hung up and I sat a moment, thinking back to my marriage. Had I been a doormat to Robert’s wishes? His ego? If so, I might have set a horrible example for Liz. I’d have to remind her from time to time to hold onto her own desires. Isn’t that what mothers did for their daughters?

  “Everything all right?” Vaughn asked, coming up beside me.

  “It’s Robert. He’s trying to force Liz to live with him. And both Liz and I know why. He wants her to babysit Robbie, who, I gather, needs a lot more than a babysitter.”

  Vaughn rubbed my back. “Hey, Liz will be fine. She’s got a mother to help her figure things out.”

  I leaned into him, unsure at the moment what, if anything, I could do for Liz. Maybe this is what parenting was all about. Teaching young children what you could, and then watching them struggle, hoping they’d learned something valuable from you.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The days following Thanksgiving remained busy. It was at times like this when I wondered why I’d ever gotten into the hotel business. Vaughn was a pretty patient guy, but even he chafed at the lack of time we had together. And I couldn’t blame him. Some of our guests were easy to please, others were not. Rhonda and I prided ourselves in providing a lovely setting and top-notch service to them. It stung when people complained about the smallest thing.

  On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Rhonda lost her patience.

  “What a bunch of crap!” Rhonda snapped at me after one of the waitresses returned a mostly eaten luncheon plate to the kitchen, claiming the guest had announced she wasn’t paying for leftovers.

  “That chicken salad was made fresh this morning. And look, she’s eaten most of it. I’m going to tell her exactly what I think of her.”

  I grabbed hold of Rhonda’s arm. “Cool it. That woman has a lot of friends in Naples. We can’t antagonize her.”

  “You’re right, but I’m tellin’ ya, Annie, these people sometimes drive me crazy!”

  I turned to the waitress. “Tell Mrs. Winston the meal is on us.”

  “But don’t show her the dessert menu,” said Rhonda. “She can go without.”

  At my look of disapproval, Rhonda sighed. “If she asks for it, give it to her. But, between us, I don’t care if she ever comes back.”

  With the lunch rush over, Rhonda and I sat in our office going over my forecast and checking reservations. It was a tricky time of year. People were staying at home to prepare for the holiday season. To help fill the hotel, we’d advertised a special, pre-holiday spa package. It had helped us, but the big push into the high season wouldn’t happen for a couple of weeks.

  “Rhonda, I know how tired you are. Do you want to go home for a rest?” As outspoken as Rhonda was, she wasn’t usually snappish at guests.

  “No, no, I’m all right. It’s Angela’s situation that’s made me so irritable. It breaks my heart to see her so unhappy. I swear if I ever again lay eyes on Reggie or his dreadful parents, I won’t hold back. How could he just leave like that? Poor Angela has cried herself silly. Will tried to talk to her, but she clams up with him the same as she does with me. I’m going crazy worrying about her.”

  “I’m worried about her too.” I wished I could say more.

  “For the first time, I’ll be glad to see her go back to school,” said Rhonda. “She can be with her friends and forget that someone like Reggie ever existed.”

  I remained silent.

  Rhonda sat up with a sudden start. “I think I felt t
he baby move.” A smile spread across her face. “Oh, Annie! It’s so exciting! I never thought this would happen to me. Not now.” Her smile disappeared. “Reggie’s mother was appalled when she found out I was having a baby. Do you think others feel that way?”

  “Reggie’s mother is such an iceberg I’m amazed she even had Reggie,” I retorted. The look of disapproval on Katherine’s face when she’d learned Rhonda was pregnant still made me angry. “Don’t worry about what she or anyone else thinks. We had our daughters very young. Lots of women your age have healthy pregnancies.”

  “You’re right. I can’t let Katherine or anyone else ruin happiness for Will and me. Babies are such a miracle.”

  A tap on the door interrupted us.

  Vaughn stuck his head into the room. “Thought I’d see how your afternoon is going.”

  I smiled. “Come on in. The lunch rush is over.”

  “Can I steal you away?” The look Vaughn gave me sent a message loud and clear.

  “Go on, Annie. I’m here for a while,” said Rhonda. She grinned at Vaughn. “Guess you need a little time alone, huh?”

  He returned her smile. “I have to take advantage of every spare minute Ann has. I got a call from the director’s office. I have to leave a day earlier than I thought and there’s something I want to do before I leave.”

  I left the hotel with Vaughn expecting to walk over to my house. Instead, he led me to the hotel’s white limousine.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, surprised.

  “You’ll see.” His smile was mysterious as he got in the backseat with me. Paul was driving.

  “So you’ve hired the limo?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, with so little time left I didn’t want to waste it driving.” He slipped an arm around me and brought me close.

  I sighed. He was such a romantic.

  Paul delivered us to one of the biggest marinas along the coast.

  Raising my eyebrows, I wondered what Vaughn was up to.

  “I wanted some peace and quiet with you,” he said. “So I’ve rented a sailboat for a couple of hours.”

  “A sailboat? Who’s going to sail it?”

  “You’ll see.”

  We got out of the car. I waited while Vaughn gave Paul instructions, and then he took my arm. As we approached the dock, a man wearing white shorts and a blue T-shirt came toward us. “The Lady Jane” printed in white block letters crossed the chest of his shirt. He saluted Vaughn.

  “We’re set to sail, sir.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” said Vaughn happily. “Meet my lady, Ann.”

  The captain gave me a little bow. “Bill Withers. Welcome aboard.”

  He led us to a sleek, blue-hulled, single-masted sailboat.

  “She’s a beauty,” Vaughn said to the captain. He turned to me. “She’s a forty-six-foot sloop, a Bristol, I believe.”

  A younger man offered a hand to help me step aboard.

  Gripping his hand firmly, I stretched a leg and hopped onto the deck of the boat, grateful to be wearing slacks.

  A pretty, young woman came up on deck from below. “Hi, I’m Jane.” She bobbed her head in the young man’s direction. “And that is my husband, Chad.”

  I glanced at the captain.

  “My father,” said Jane, answering my unasked question.

  He and Vaughn came over to us.

  “It’s a beautiful afternoon for a nice sail. The wind is about perfect. We’ll motor out through the channel and set sail. Get comfortable.”

  I sat in the cockpit beside Vaughn.

  He put his arm around me. “Thought you’d like a little break. Sailing seemed like the perfect way to spend a few hours with you away from the hotel.” He winked. “She can be a demanding bitch, huh?”

  I grinned. Hotel work never ended. Depending on its daily demands, being part-owner of even a small one like ours was either a joy or a pain in the behind.

  As the boat got underway, I leaned over the side, watching the wake the boat made as it glided through the water.

  We soon reached open water.

  Working together, Chad and Bill hoisted the sails and set a course.

  I leaned back against the cushions in the cockpit with a sigh of satisfaction as the boat responded with a steady movement forward. The wind in my hair and the warmth of the sun shining down on us loosened the taut muscles brought on by the stress of the past few days.

  “Nice, huh?”

  I grinned at Vaughn. “Very nice. I haven’t done much sailing, but I love it.”

  “I’m glad. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

  A gray shape rose out of the water and then dove.

  “Oh! A dolphin!” I cried with delight.

  Moments later, a familiar-looking snout rose out of the water. Dark eyes along the sleek gray head gleamed as the dolphin stared at us, smiling as only dolphins can do. It swam in circles near us and then dived again.

  I waited, hoping to see it again. Then, unbelievably, it rose straight from the water, arching its back before diving into the water once more.

  I clapped. “Wonderful!”

  “He’s quite the show-off,” said Jane, handing us each a bottle of water.

  As if it heard her, the dolphin’s smiling face appeared once more, drawing close to the boat. I leaned over the side of the boat and reached out a hand to touch its nose. Coming closer to the boat, the dolphin rose out of the water, nosed my hand and then disappeared.

  “Wow!” said Jane. “I’ve never seen him do that before.”

  “Everyone loves Ann,” said Vaughn, giving me a squeeze as I settled in my seat again.

  The wind, the waves, and the sun took their toll. I rested my head sleepily on Vaughn’s shoulder. I don’t know how long I’d snoozed before Vaughn nudged me.

  “C’mon! Let’s go to the foredeck. I want to show you something.”

  I eagerly made my way behind him, past the mast to the bow of the boat, where we settled on the foredeck.

  Feeling the wind on my face, I stared ahead at the open water. Impulsively, I raised my arms and shouted, “I’m flying!”

  Vaughn pulled me close against his chest and laughed in my ear. “Love it! Love you!”

  I turned around and placed my lips on his.

  Aware of his response, I deepened my kiss.

  He groaned and pulled away. “You’re killing me, woman!”

  Self-satisfied, I couldn’t help the way my lips curved. Robert and I had never had this kind of sexual relationship.

  Vaughn’s expression turned serious. “There’s something between us that we need to get settled.”

  Alarmed by the change in him, I swallowed hard. He wouldn’t look at me but stared straight ahead of him.

  He shifted so that he and I were facing each other straight on.

  “Yes? What is it?”

  “Ann, will you marry me?”

  Relief mixed with joy. “Yes! Of course, I will.”

  He kissed me soundly, surely. Then he fumbled in his pocket and drew out a small, black-velvet box.

  I held my breath.

  Opening the lid, he lifted out a sapphire and diamond ring that looked an awful lot like the royal ring Princess Diana and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, wore.

  I gaped at it. It meant so much more to me than a beautiful ring. With it, Vaughn, who could choose any woman, had chosen to spend the rest of his days with me.

  “Are you ready to put it on?” Vaughn prompted, lifting it out of the box.

  Tears filled my eyes. I nodded, too touched to speak.

  He slid it onto my finger. “Perfect.”

  Though my cheeks were wet, I smiled. “You are perfect.”

  We reached for one another as Captain Bill shouted, “Better get back here, we’re going to come about.”

  Laughing, Vaughn and I hurried back and sat in the cockpit, just as the boat swung around for the return trip home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Preparations began for our seco
nd annual Christmas Open House at the hotel. Over the past two years, the guest list had grown exponentially. Now, we included dignitaries from Miami and other localities important to us, as well as other influential guests. It was an occasion for us to strut our stuff and recruit more customers.

  Rhonda waved me over to her computer. “Look at this, Annie! A maternity dress for the holidays! Isn’t it cute?”

  I looked at the red knit dress with a white fur collar and hesitated.

  “Just kidding,” said Rhonda, arrowing down to a dark green dress that flowed easily from the model’s shoulders. “This is the one Will liked. He thought the other one was a little too fancy for me.”

  “The green is perfect for you.”

  “What are you going to wear, Annie? Why don’t you choose something red?”

  With my dark hair, red looked good on me. “I’ll look for something.”

  “I’ll help you.” Rhonda grabbed hold of my left hand. “Every time I see that ring flashing like a rainbow, I can’t help smiling. Vaughn and I had the sailing trip all planned, you know.”

  I smiled. Rhonda was proud of the friendship she and Vaughn had formed.

  We were perusing a clothing catalog, looking for a dress for me, when a knock sounded on the office door.

  Tim stood in the doorway. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure,” Rhonda and I said together, sounding like a chorus.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” Tim began, looking unusually tentative. “I’m going to leave ...”

  My heart froze mid-beat. Leave? We could never replace him.

  “... the apartment and move in with my girlfriend.”

  Weak from relief, I sank onto my chair.

  “Oh,” said Rhonda softly, and I knew she was thinking of Angela. After Reggie left, Rhonda had hoped that Angela might have another chance with Tim.

  “We understand,” I said. “No problem, Tim.”

  “Uh, I’m wondering if we can talk about adjusting my salary.”

  “Yes,” I said before Rhonda could object. I’d do anything to keep Tim. I was counting on his steady presence to help me when Rhonda had her baby. Then, Rhonda’s time wouldn’t necessarily be her own. And as always, I wanted to be able to spend more time with Vaughn. Gentleman that he was, he was becoming impatient with my lack of attention.