“I’m sure you can. You just have to pay attention. And it won’t lead anywhere else. We both have avocations.”
“You mean you’re not interested?”
“I don’t know. I’m not jumping into anything. I think we’ve all learned that doesn’t pay. And I get the feeling he’s not ready to take the plunge either. We’ll just take it as it comes.”
Van was dressed and just putting on a touch of makeup when the downstairs bell rang.
“Gawd, it’s just like going on a date,” Suze said in a falsetto.
“I bet that’s a quote from somewhere.”
“Probably,” said Suze. “You don’t have to hurry back. I’ll survive.”
“I’ll be back,” Van called as she jogged down the stairs.
“Now, that is a quote. Have fun.”
Chapter 25
JOE WAS STANDING ON THE PORCH WHEN VAN OPENED THE front door.
“You could have just called my cell. You didn’t have to get out of the truck.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So gallant,” she said and headed down the steps. She was trying to act more relaxed than she felt. She’d managed to push the idea of seeing the Enthorpes again to the back of her mind while everything else was happening, but now it seemed like one more thing that was threatening to derail her . . . could she possibly call this a vacation?
She realized Joe had gone ahead of her and was holding the truck door open.
“Are you sure?”
“Get in. They’re expecting you. Granddad even said he’d put on a tie.”
“He didn’t.”
“He did, but I told him it was going to be casual since I had ulterior motives.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
He leaned in through the door opening until his face loomed awfully close to hers. “I’m planning to hit you up for some free advice about the still room.”
She breathed out. “After plying me with good home-cooked food?”
“That’s the plan.” He raised his eyebrows and closed the door.
She waited until they were pulling away from the curb before she said, “I don’t know anything about wineries. You should have given me a heads-up, and I would have done a little research.”
“Well, there’s plenty of time. I installed all the vats and things last winter on the outside chance the vines produce enough grapes for a trial run.”
“You didn’t consider selling to another winery until your own vines get established?”
“Sure I considered it. But the whole point is to have something that is wholly Enthorpe.”
She looked at his profile. “Like the dairy was. That’s neat.”
“Yep, if I don’t lose my shirt, along with Drew’s and Brett’s.”
“You’ll be successful.”
He glanced quickly over at her then back to the street. “Thanks. So what have you been up to besides revamping the Crab?”
She laughed. “Since yesterday?”
“No. Since we’ve hardly had time just to talk. So much weird stuff going on, and stuff being dredged up. And you letting me rattle on about the vineyard. You haven’t really had a chance to talk about what you’ve been doing all this time . . . since you left.”
“You said you’ve seen my website. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
“Just working?”
“Yeah. I spent some lean years while I worked my way through business school. Started the business and luckily it’s really grown.”
“Wait. Start at the beginning. How did you get to business school?”
“I just . . . well, after I . . . after I was better, I got a job cleaning houses. I lucked out. It was an established firm, and I had a pretty regular schedule so when I’d saved up enough money, I registered for night classes.”
“But where were you living?”
“With some other girls who worked for the same service. They were from all over and some barely spoke English, but . . .” She smiled. “They were all very clean.”
As Joe returned her smile, his eyes softened and Van hurried on before he asked more. There had been eight of them living in a one-bedroom fourth-floor walk-up. The stairs to the apartment might as well have been Mount Everest after a full day of cleaning.
“Occasionally clients would ask me to do something extra like reorganize a closet, help them move some furniture. All after hours, so I made a little extra money. By the time I graduated, I had a nice little side business going and had managed to save some money. I was able to quit the cleaning job and do my own business full-time. I’ve been lucky.”
“You’ve been smart.”
“I guess. I really didn’t have a choice—” She stopped. She’d had a choice once. And she’d blown it. She wouldn’t have a choice like that again. “Anyway, the business has really taken off.”
“So much so that you’re thinking about expanding.”
“Yeah. It seems like the natural thing to do.”
“What do you do for relaxation?”
“I don’t.”
“Don’t you ever take time off?”
“You’re looking at it.”
Joe laughed. “I guess you haven’t had any time to relax since you got back.”
“Nope. It’s like I showed up and the kid pulled his finger out of the dike.”
“I was thinking it must be like one of those reality shows where they put a bunch of people in a house and wait for them to go berserk.”
“Just like it. And my staff are going to be so disappointed that I haven’t gotten a tan.”
“You have another week.”
“I’ll probably go back on Saturday once I see that the restaurant is up and running.”
Joe was silent. “Well, that’s a few days.”
“Except that I have a lot of stuff to get through. Like the house and deciding whether to see my father. I feel sort of bad. I met with my uncle Nate this morning to discuss Gigi. He insisted on telling me the story of my parents.”
“And?”
“I won’t forgive my father.”
“Surely Nate didn’t expect you to.”
“No, but Joe, he told me things that, well, it doesn’t make what he did right, but it helps me to understand.”
“So will you see him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s better to leave things alone. What if all the old anger and bitterness boils over for either one of us? Maybe seeing him will just be awful. What if he . . . I don’t know. It just seems like asking for trouble.
“And it’s not something I can just run out and do between working on Dorie’s kitchen and trying to get help for Gigi.
“A lot of stuff has happened that needed to happen. I get that. Still a lot to take care of. Which reminds me, Suze is taking Jerry Corso to her mother’s cocktail party tonight. I told her I’d try to be back around five to help her dress.”
“I heard. We can do that. I can blame her if I ask you to go out to the farm again and take a second look.”
Another glance toward her and back to the road.
The warning flutter in her chest told her not to make any promises. “Sure, that works.” And if lunch was a disaster, she could come up with some excuse. Or he could.
“So Suze is going out with Jerry. It’s the biggest news of the year down at Mike’s. Every one is giving him sartorial advice.”
Van laughed. “Yikes.”
“I wouldn’t worry. He’s a hometown boy, but he cleans up pretty good.”
Jerry wasn’t the only one. Joe looked at ease and comfortable with himself. He was wearing clean jeans and a polo shirt that was wrinkle free. Van thought he’d probably dressed with extra care, not for Van but for his mother.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing everybody again. But, Joe, are you sure—”
“Don’t even finish that thought. My mother is probably ironing the tablecloth. Matt has gone back to school, but Brett’s coming with his wife
. Did I tell you he got married?”
“No.”
“Nice girl. Wendy. You’ll like her. And Dad will probably smother you with attention. So don’t worry about what’s going to happen today. It’s all good.”
“But they’re not expecting us to . . . you know, be back together.”
“I don’t know. You’re coming to lunch. Relax. Enjoy it; there are no strings. You don’t even have to look at the vines if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.”
“Good. So it’s all good.”
It was a relaxed drive out into the countryside. Joe talked more about the grapevines and how he came to be running Grandy’s Marina. Van told him about Gigi and Suze’s letter. “Suze and I apologized to Dana and asked her to come back. But I haven’t confronted Gigi yet. I don’t know how strong she is right now. I did tell Uncle Nate.”
“I never got why everyone always tried to take care of Gigi.”
“Funny, Dana and Suze said the same thing.”
“Because Gigi took advantage of you. All of you but particularly you. Everybody was aware of it.”
“I wasn’t. Being back, though, I see that we didn’t do her any favors by always shielding her.”
“Gigi is . . . Gigi. And not your responsibility. She never was. And she tried to step into your place when you left. I didn’t like her. She took advantage of Clay Daly, the poor jerk. That was his fault with all that stubborn macho stuff. No wife of his was going to work. She was going to stay at home to raise the kids. And it’s just what Gigi wanted. He stopped coming to Mike’s. He just dropped us. Probably because he was working two jobs to keep Miss Princess at home.
“Then with the hurricane, Gigi just packed up the kids and went home where it was safe and comfy and there was someone who could pay attention to her while Clay—well, it was too much for him. He lasted a couple of months, then I guess when it became apparent that Gigi wasn’t interested in finding temporary lodgings, he moved out and went back to his property.”
“Jeez. Is that the way everyone feels?”
“Mainly that Clay screwed up and didn’t take advice or ask for help. And he paid the ultimate price.”
“Nate and Amelia are worried about her, but they seem unwilling to do anything serious about it. Like send her to a therapist.”
“They’d rather let her sponge off them? For how long? Some things you just can’t fix, Van.”
“I know. I really do . . . And Nate wants me to go see my father.”
“Yeah, you’re batting two for two for awkward meetings.” He reached over and cupped the back of her head. “But we forgive you.”
“But will I forgive him? I won’t. I can’t. I wasn’t thinking straight when I ran to you yesterday. I just needed to be someplace . . .”
“Safe where someone understood?”
“Yes. Thank you. But I’ve been thinking since then. Nate said my father had gotten a scholarship to art school and wanted to marry this girl, and then he got my mother pregnant during a one-night stand.” She sighed.
“He’s not the first guy who had to marry a girl he knocked up. Men aren’t the brightest in that situation. And in his particular case, I can’t complain.” He gave her a quick smile.
“Sounds like a familiar situation in our household.”
“Van, don’t. It was just a screwup people make all the time.”
“That’s why he threw me out, because it was happening to him all over again. Maybe he even thought I was expecting him to take care of me. But I wasn’t. I didn’t expect anyone to take care of me.”
“You never did, Van.”
And she still didn’t.
“He was and is an artist, Joe. His paintings are good, filled with emotion—not the kind of emotion that he meted out at home. But beauty and softness. And he’s living with some woman named Ruth,” she added on a harsher note.
“So, are you going to see him, or not?”
“I don’t know. I just remember the horrible things, but when you look at his paintings, you can’t imagine the artist as anything but sensitive and caring. It’s a little too much to handle. An artist. That’s what I just can’t wrap my mind around.”
As they left the traffic behind and turned onto a two-lane county road, Van opened the window. The air was hot and dusty but it smelled so familiar, and she gratefully breathed it in, dust and all.
They came to the gate that used to mark the Enthorpe dairy but was now just an empty gaping clearing. Farther in the distance, Van could see the roofs of townhouses where once Enthorpe cows had grazed.
“Oh, Joe.”
“Yep, you get used to it after a while. Sort of.”
They drove on in silence. A few minutes later they turned onto a narrower road. Joe reached over and squeezed her hand then let go.
She smiled over at him. And she thanked the fates that the boy she had once loved had grown into the sensitive yet strong man sitting beside her.
Everyone was standing on the porch when the truck pulled to a stop in the drive of the sprawling farmhouse.
“The welcoming committee,” Van breathed.
“They’re harmless, and they love you.”
Joe started to get out of the truck, but Van grabbed his arm. How could they still love her after she deserted Joe? What were they expecting from her now? Suddenly she had way too many questions that she should have been asking on the drive out instead of talking about Gigi and her father and other things that didn’t require immediate attention.
“Van!” Mrs. Enthorpe was already hurrying toward them.
“What do I call her?” Van whispered urgently to Joe.
“Just call her Mom, like you always did.”
“But—”
“Stop worrying.”
Van didn’t have time to worry further. As she got out of the truck, Mrs. Enthorpe wrapped both arms around her and hugged. “You look wonderful. Big-city life must agree with you.”
“Oh, move over, honey, and give the girl some breathing room.” Mr. Enthorpe, big and tall and lanky, bent over to kiss Van’s cheek. “Come on inside. We got the air conditioner on.”
They turned toward the house. Granddad Enthorpe was waiting on the porch. “Well, it’s about time you came to visit an old man. Come on, girl, it’s hot as blazes out here.” Behind him Joe’s brother Brett nodded and introduced Van to his wife, Wendy, as Granddad swept Van past them.
Inside was exactly as it had been, except for a new set of living room furniture, which was all color coordinated except for Granddad’s recliner, even though it was worn and old and clashed with the rest. It was an act of family. Maybe stubbornness, maybe love, but familial. Van always felt that coming here.
She’d basked in that feeling, felt safe and nurtured, like she belonged. Today she only felt unbelievably sad. She was no longer a part of this wacky, boisterous, arguing, scrapping, kidding, laughing family.
“Come on, Van and Wendy. Help me out in the kitchen.” Mom Enthorpe hustled the two younger women away.
“Whew,” she said as soon as the kitchen door closed behind them. “I didn’t really need any help so just have a sit while I finish up here. I was just trying to give Van a chance to catch her breath from the onslaught of men.”
She began spooning beans into a colander and transferring them to a serving bowl and then into a warming oven. It just seemed natural that Van and Wendy found themselves joining in the preparations.
“I feel so privileged to have two female companions at once. Since Maddy moved off to Ohio, it’s been testosterone city around here.”
She chatted on, answering Van’s questions about Maddy, and encouraging Wendy to tell how she and Brett had met. Soon all the dishes were ready to be served. Mom Enthorpe called her husband in to carry the roast to the table. Van and Wendy helped her transport bowls and platters loaded with enough food to feed a lot more people than were actually eating. Years of hearty meals for a working family.
They all sat down, and Grandda
d said grace. While the food was passed, wineglasses were filled halfway at each place. Granddad pulled himself up from his chair. Took his glass.
“Well, we don’t expect this wine to taste as good as the Enthorpe wine when it finally gets here. But until then, here’s to family and returning friends. Van, honey, we’re proud of you and that fancy business of yours.”
Van blinked in surprise.
“He follows you on the Internet,” Joe’s father said.
“And you’ve done real good.” Granddad winked, and they all drank.
There was general hubbub while dishes were passed, while Van struggled with a sudden urge to burst into tears. She pulled herself together and smiled across the table at the older man.
He smiled back. Nodded a couple of times and took a big helping of mashed potatoes.
Conversation slowed as they ate. It was all delicious and homemade including the seven-layer cake that Wendy and Brett had brought.
“You made this?” Van asked in disbelief. “I can’t imagine.”
“Oh, it’s just a little time consuming. But it was one of my grandma’s favorites so I learned to make it as sort of a rite of passage I guess you’d say.”
“You gonna stick around for a while, Van?” Granddad asked over coffee.
“I’m staying at Dorie Lister’s for a few days in Whisper Beach. I’m helping her do some streamlining at the Blue Crab.”
“Haven’t been there in years,” he said. “That no-account Harold still gumming up the works?”
“He’s off on some adventures at the moment. Suze Turner is there. I think she’ll stay for the fall at least. She’s working on a paper for the university she works for.”
“Well, if it gets too crowded, you should come stay out here with us.”
“Here, here,” said Joe’s dad. “There’s plenty of room. When are you finishing up at the marina, son?”
“Tomorrow or the next day.” Joe pushed his chair back. “Now I want to take Van out to see the vines; she has to be back in town by five.”
“You go ahead,” his mother said. “Maybe you can stay longer on your next visit.”
Van smiled. “Lunch was delicious. Thank you.”
“Don’t be a stranger.” Granddad winked. “I’m sure Joe won’t mind. And the rest of us wouldn’t mind another sprout on the family tree. Lord knows we waited long enough.”
Whisper Beach Page 30