A Beach Wish

by Shelley Noble

  Eve wandered around the empty cottage, straightened a poster of Les Deux Magots in Paris. Mel said it sounded gross, like worms, instead of a café where famous intellectuals had met to drink espresso and argue about art.

  Mel would be gone soon. The last of her three girls to leave the nest. She was resisting so hard, but Eve couldn’t let her stay. There was more in the world for her daughters than Eve had managed to find for herself, and she was determined that they would at least get a taste of another life.

  Not that her life had been bad. She loved the inn—at least she’d learned to love the inn. And she’d grown to love Walter. A foolish teenage mistake could have ended much worse. He stuck by her, even though it was hard always being under Hannah’s thumb and not able to support his family the way Hannah constantly reminded them he should. So he took off with a friend to the Alaskan oil fields. The money was good; he sent it home every month, but he rarely returned. They got used to living without him. Mel never even got to know him. Then one day, Eve received a phone call saying he had died on the job, and that was that.

  And the strange thing was that she and the girls didn’t really miss him, as if he was still working the Alaskan oil fields.

  Would she have been happier if she had gone to college, traveled the world like she’d dreamed of? Maybe not. Especially knowing now what joy her girls would bring her? Maybe Mel wouldn’t be happier either. But at least she would have the chance to find out.

  And now Noelle had a job in New York City.

  And Eve had a celebratory dinner to prepare. She walked over to the bookshelf, pushed aside a miniature painting of the Grand Canyon, and reached for her favorite cookbook.

  She’d just opened it when there was a knock at the kitchen door. She went to answer it.

  Henry Gladstone stood in the doorway. “Let’s take a walk.”

  Chapter 23

  Zoe was still playing when the lights to the bar suddenly popped on and Mike the bartender walked through the door.

  She stood and hastily covered the keys.

  “Hello, I thought I heard music.”

  “Sorry, the door was open, and I—I shouldn’t have come in.”

  “Don’t apologize. It sounded nice. And after all, you’re one of the family.”

  “I guess everybody knows.”

  “Is it supposed to be a secret? You couldn’t get a better sister than Eve. And her girls, too. I hope you’re not upset.”

  “No. I’ve always wanted a sister. Just didn’t expect to get one this way.”

  “Come over here. You like white wine, right?”

  She nodded.

  He reached under the counter to a half fridge and took out a bottle of Chardonnay. He poured a glass for Zoe.

  “I keep this for Eve. Grand cru. The local house wine is good, but this . . .”

  He kissed his fingers, a gesture so incongruous to his burliness that Zoe laughed.

  “That’s better,” he said. “Have you seen Eve lately?”

  “No. I saw her this morning. Kelly’s got closed down. She was there but I didn’t get to talk to her. I’ve been out.”

  “Yeah. It’s been a long time coming. Though I’m thinking that this time Hannah may have overplayed her hand.”

  “What do you mean?” Zoe asked. She took a sip of wine. “Oh, that is good.”

  “Stick around, kid. You’ll get an education in the finer wines of New England.”

  “So how did Hannah overplay her hand? Will Kelly’s be able to open again?”

  “If Kelly’s regulars have anything to say about it, yes and soon. She’s been jerking this town around since I can remember, but you don’t get between folks and their favorite diner. They’re already planning a pushback. I wouldn’t want to be Hannah if they follow up on the talk I was hearing this morning.”

  “They won’t hurt her, will they?”

  “Just where it hurts her most, in her purse and her ego. She’ll survive. But maybe next time she’ll think twice about lashing out against people who never did her any harm.”

  He took out a white cloth and wiped the scrupulously clean bar.

  “Mike, did I cause all this?”

  “Nah, it’s always festering beneath the surface. Hannah’s just a mean, old, lonely woman. She doesn’t have to be. It’s her choice.”

  She watched him set up the bar, while she sipped on the delicate, crisp wine. She liked it here. She’d really like it here if things would just calm down. The inn’s guests went back to their homes, refreshed and revitalized. But Zoe was wound as tight as an E string.

  “There’s the boss lady,” Mike said, looking past Zoe.

  Eve came in and sat down next to Zoe. Mike poured her a glass of wine.

  “The oddest thing just happened.”

  Mike handed her the glass, and he and Zoe gave her their undivided attention.

  “Henry just offered to sell me Wind Chime—house, grounds, beach, everything.”

  Her announcement was met with a minute of total silence. She was pretty gobsmacked herself. Henry and Floret were willing to give up their lifelong home to get the Kellys out of Hannah’s sights. It was more than she could bear.

  “You can’t,” Zoe said, at the same time Mike said, “It’s worth a fortune. Can you afford it?”

  “As it turns out, I could. He was offering it for a song, on time, the dear man. He hoped to save the Kellys from losing everything to Hannah. That’s why he made the offer. He didn’t see any other way. And quite frankly I don’t either.”

  “So he’s giving in to Hannah?” asked Zoe.

  “Or making it so that Eve has to deal with her,” Mike said. “Selling to you is not going to solve the problem. It will just roll over the problem to you.”

  “Would it? With Floret and Henry gone, what more could she want?”

  “Gone?” Zoe blurted. “But where would they go, and what about the professor?”

  “They would have to consult with the professor, but Henry suggested one of the old cottages on the old road.”

  Mike snorted. “Where Lee lives? They’re barely standing. Talk about out of the frying pan—”

  “I know. And there were certain caveats.”

  “For instance?” Mike asked.

  “Mainly, that I’d keep the glen as a memorial garden and let others continue to be buried there.”

  Mike reached across the bar and put his large hand over hers. “Is this what you really want?”

  “No, it’s not what I want.” At the moment, Eve just wanted to take her family and get far away. But she couldn’t let the Kellys lose everything because her grandmother was a heartless old witch. “It’s a lot of land, but I’m not sure I want to expand. Ever. I like the intimacy of the inn. I don’t want a big convention center. What would be the point? Besides . . .”

  She didn’t want to put any more 24/7, life-sucking hours into expansion. She wanted to kick back a little. Enjoy life. See the Grand Canyon.

  “I’m full to the gills already. In a few weeks I lose the last of my summer staff to college and high school. And we’re already booked solid into the New Year. Totally unfeasible.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I turned him down, of course.”

  “So the Kellys are still in danger of losing everything,” Zoe said.

  “Maybe not,” Mike said.

  Eve and Zoe both looked at him.

  Mike shrugged. “Evidently, after the closure this morning, there was an impromptu meeting at the lodge house. Some of the local businessmen—and women—have called for a general boycotting of your grandmother.” Mike winced. “Sorry, but they’re serious. She’s made a lot of enemies in this town. Closing Kelly’s might have been the last straw.”

  “I heard some grumblings this morning, but do you think anything will come of it?” Eve asked.

  “Mr. Paxton at the market already canceled her account and refused to deliver groceries.”

  “No. Where did you hear this?”
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  Mike laughed. “I’m a bartender. Actually, I was in the barbershop. The only place you hear more gossip than behind the bar. If everyone sticks to their guns, the cleaners, the landscapers, and all the other services she uses will no longer have her as a client. And while I was there, Judge Briggs came in for his weekly rearrangement of the three hairs he has left. He said his wife, who is best friends with Sheila Kelly, said Hannah is about to be blackballed out of the Woman’s Club.”

  “Harsh, but she can’t say she hasn’t been asking for it,” Eve said.

  Zoe put down her glass. “Do you think they’ll all really stand together?”

  “Without losing the best, cheapest diner around as the other option? Yeah, I think they will,” Mike said.

  “Poor Hannah,” Eve said.

  “Don’t start feeling sorry for her now. It will do her some good to see what it feels like being on the other side.”

  The bar began to fill up, and Zoe and Eve returned to Eve’s cottage to make plans for Noelle’s celebration dinner.

  “I guess we should invite my—our—father. If that’s okay,” Eve said as they pored over recipes. “He probably won’t come.”

  “It’s okay. I guess. Actually, we kind of talked this morning. I’m not sure how it went.”

  “You met him? How did this happen?”

  “It wasn’t exactly planned. I sort of told him I was leaving and to call Hannah off. I’m afraid I wasn’t very nice. I’m usually more diplomatic than that, but . . .” She shrugged.

  Eve closed the cookbook and sat down at the table. “You want to share?”

  Zoe started with the call from Errol and his threats to sue her for Jenny’s ashes.

  Eve got up and went to the fridge for wine.

  “Then I was so angry and confused, I was going to dump the ashes and go back to Long Island. Don’t look so shocked. I’m still here. And so are they. Anyway, the damn things were enclosed in indestructible plastic, so while I was fighting to get them open, Lee sneaks up on me and grabs them out of my hands.”

  She looked at Eve and wasn’t sure if her sister was about to laugh or cry.

  “Sorry,” Eve mumbled, and burst into laughter.

  It was infectious. Zoe succumbed. “It was totally ridiculous, I know. Not to mention embarrassing, and humiliating. He told me I couldn’t scatter her ashes in anger, then gave me a lecture on my life.”

  “Really? That’s a start, I guess.”

  “A start? I’m not so sure. Then he got up and left without a word. I waited a few minutes and came back here.”

  “Don’t feel bad about that. That’s what he does when he has to think about stuff. He just leaves. Then he’ll come back in a few hours, sometimes days, and give you his reaction. That’s when the fun begins.” Eve took a sip of wine.

  “Oh, goody. I can hardly wait.”

  “So you’re not taking the ashes back to Long Island?”

  “I don’t know. I’m going to wait until Chris gets back and consult with him. He’s probably talked to my other brothers already. Maybe he’ll have some insights. But it’s ultimately my decision. She instructed me, not them, to dispose of them.”

  “Then we won’t worry about that now. If I invite Lee, I’ll have to invite Hannah. Don’t worry, she won’t come unless it’s to deliver some sort of threat and make an exit. Maybe we should keep it to the four of us. Or five if Mel comes back.”

  “She’s still at Floret and Henry’s?”

  Eve nodded. “I’ve texted her. Apologized. But I’ve only gotten radio silence. Henry says to give her a few days, she’s working through stuff.” She sighed. “I hope I haven’t pushed her in the wrong direction.”

  “Can’t help you there, sis. I don’t have any experience with teenagers.”

  Eve smiled across the table. “There’s still time.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes and reached for the wine bottle.

  Chris and Noelle rolled into the inn the next afternoon, loaded down with Noelle’s suitcase and several large shopping bags.

  “Presents and some updated wardrobe for me,” Noelle announced, dropping everything on the cottage couch and giving Eve a big hug. “I’ve got a job.” She hugged Zoe. “I’ve got a job.” She danced around the room singing, “I’ve got a job. I’ve got a job.”

  “She has a job,” Chris said drily. “In case you’re wondering.”

  “How about you?” Zoe asked.

  “Eh. Nothing in my inbox at the moment. But hey, it’s the theater. These things happen.”

  “So you don’t have to go right back?”

  “No, Dilly-Do. The only thing on my dance card is brokering the ‘what to do with the ashes’ deal.”

  “I thought they might have called you.”

  “Not to worry. After Errol’s first call, I called back and got the lovely Allison on the phone. She’s tired of the whole rigmarole—her word, not mine. The lady has a short attention span, but Errol is putty in her hands. She promised to dissuade him and Robert from suing. Robert will go whichever way Errol goes. So I don’t think we’ll be visiting you in the slammer quite yet. You still have the ashes?”

  “Yep,” Zoe said, suddenly glad Lee had stopped her.

  “So, where’s Mel?” Noelle asked. “I have something for her.” She rummaged in the bags and pulled out a mug probably bought at one of the tourist shops in Times Square. World’s Best Sister. “Peace offering,” she said. “I also brought her a great sweater for fall, compliments of Bloomingdale’s. Wow, what a store.”

  “I take full credit—or blame—for this wacky shopping spree,” Chris said. “But who can resist Bloomies?”

  “We shopped the whole Upper East Side and Soho and the Village,” added Noelle. “But don’t worry, I didn’t buy things in every one. Some of them were really expensive. You wouldn’t believe. But I did need to spruce up my wardrobe. Chris insisted.”

  “Me?” He wobbled his head à la H.M.S. Pinafore. “Okay, maybe me.”

  “So where is Mel?”

  “We had a bit of a scene; she’s been staying at Wind Chime House.”

  “Ugh. She is such a head case. No wonder she hasn’t been returning my texts.” Noelle took a deep breath. “What’s that divine smell?”

  “Your favorite. Boeuf bourguignon. The kitchen is sending over lobster patties. And I have asparagus and homemade hollandaise. And . . . pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.”

  “Lord, I won’t be able to fit into my new clothes.”

  “It may just be the four of us,” Eve said apologetically. “I asked your grandfather. And I left a message for Hannah, but . . .”

  “They’re both being buttheads. It’s okay. We’ll have a feast. I’ll call Mel and tell her she has to come.” She sashayed into the other room and closed the door.

  “She’s a little enthusiastic,” Chris said. “Plus we had a little sugar on the drive up,” he added in his deadliest deadpan. He reached into one of the bags. “Compliments of Godiva, Greenberg’s, and”—he rattled the bag—“a couple of chocolate chip cookies from your favorite bakery.” He groaned and clutched his stomach. “There were a dozen. We’re both riding a sugar-caffeine high.”

  “Good thing we’re having lots of protein for dinner,” Zoe said, and reached for the bag. “You have to try these, Eve.”

  Noelle came out while the two of them munched the last two cookies. “Her princess-ness has said she’ll come. I invited Eli, hope you don’t mind. She’s feeling a little fragile. I thought Eli’s presence would help.”

  “Of course it’s fine,” Eve said, wiping the crumbs off her jeans. “That was delicious, but I’d better go check the stew.”

  Mel and Eli arrived just as Zoe and Noelle finished setting the table. Mel was wearing a bright red baseball cap with the university’s logo across the front.

  Noelle gave Mel a hug, which Mel returned tentatively.

  “Like the cap,” Noelle said.

  “It’s Eli’s.”

  “Does
this mean you’re going steady?”

  Eli blushed.

  “He’s letting me break it in,” Mel said, and went into the kitchen.

  “Congratulations on the new job,” Eli said. He held out a bouquet of flowers. “Floret sent them.”

  Noelle took them. “Thanks. I’ll just go put them in a vase. Park it with Chris. You’ve met, right?”

  “Yo,” said Eli.

  “Yo-ho,” said Chris. “Try one of these cheese puffs.”

  Eli laughed and sat down on the couch.

  Eve was serving the main course when there was a knock at the front door.

  A moment passed when they all looked at each other; then Eve shrugged and went to answer it. Mel and Eli looked as if they might run for the back door.

  “I’ll just get some more plates,” Noelle said, and slipped into the kitchen.

  Eve opened the door, stepped back, and Lee Gordon stepped into the room. “Dad. Glad you could make it. We’re just getting started.”

  “Just like Scrooge at Christmas dinner,” Chris whispered to Zoe.

  She nudged him in the ribs.

  Lee nodded toward the people at the table.

  Chris popped out of his chair. “Sit here. I’ll get another chair.”

  Zoe watched her father walk across the floor. He was freshly shaven; his hair was pulled back in his usual ponytail, but he was wearing black jeans and a black button-down shirt. He was actually kind of handsome, something Zoe hadn’t noticed in their few brief encounters.

  He nodded to Chris and sat down without looking at the others. Chris trotted off to the kitchen, rolling his eyes at Noelle as they passed the doorway.

  It was left to Noelle to carry on the conversation. Thank you for all that sugar and caffeine, Zoe thought. The rest of them seemed totally tongue-tied. Mel and Eli didn’t even look at each other. Eli turned to Zoe, but she had nothing. She was too busy reconciling herself to the fact that she was sitting down to dinner with her father. Her biological father. It was weirder than she could have imagined, if she had ever imagined it, which she hadn’t. She hadn’t really thought he would come.