An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(110)
“I saw you at the opening of Jessie Bryant’s show. I’ve been working with Emma since she opened the center, but I’m taking the next few weeks off. My daughter just took over the florist shop on Locust Lane—Jack Schuster retired, you know—and she’s in over her head, so I told her I’d give her a hand. Emma’s very understanding, and she offered to let me come back part-time again if I want. After we get things straightened out at the shop.”
“Well, I wish your daughter all the success. The town definitely needs a florist. I’ll stop over one day.”
“We’ll be having a grand opening right before the Fourth. Please come. Joanna—my daughter—is hoping to have some centerpieces ready for the holiday.”
“I’ll definitely be there.”
“Oh, there you are, Maggie.” Carl appeared around the corner. “Be with you in a minute, Marian.”
“No rush. I’ll just wander a bit.” Marian turned to Maggie. “I’ll make sure you know when the shop opens.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Maggie smiled, then looked over the chairs Carl carried.
“No more of the turquoise. I can order those, but they won’t be here for four weeks, I’m afraid. I have lots of the navy, though. And the red’s been popular this year as well.”
Maggie looked over the available color selections and went with the red, which had that sort of faded Nantucket vibe she liked, so in her mind, the color scheme was once again red, white, and blue. Carl offered to have one of his guys deliver the chairs, and she readily agreed.
Before she left, she found a badminton set and a firepit, and asked Carl to have those delivered as well, along with some tiki torches and two big red-and-white-striped planters she could fill with flowers for the front porch. At checkout, she noticed a bin of blue-and-white-striped crepe paper streamers, so she bought some of those to wrap around the front porch railings.
Next year—window boxes. Mr. and Mrs. Gribbin would have been proud.
The Fourth of July promised to be a hot one, and humidity was rising along with the heat. Not the best weather for all-day outside activities, but you took what you got in July. With luck, the wind would shift and blow ashore from the harbor, and by afternoon, the air would be bearable if not pleasant. Maggie woke early and dressed in holiday-appropriate garb of a white denim skirt, a navy-and-white-striped T-shirt, and red sandals. She’d always loved the Fourth of July celebrations in Wyndham Beach for their winning combination of patriotism and the showing off of local pride.
But this year was unlike any other holiday. Today all the threads of her life were coming together, and she prayed the eventual result would be seamless and beautiful. She planned an early but simple breakfast for her immediate crew—fruit and scrambled eggs—and put on a pot of coffee. The preparations made, she stepped out to the patio, a mug of coffee in hand, and eased herself into a comfy chair while she waited for her daughters to join her. She sat back and closed her eyes and took a deep breath of air heavy with salt from the harbor and floral from her garden, an odd but surprisingly pleasant combination.
She was tempted to pinch herself, so unlikely would a day like today have been even one year ago. Today everyone who meant the most to her would be under her roof. She still wasn’t certain what the outcome would be, but she knew the time had come. Hopefully everyone would find a way to get along.
Last week, she and Brett had met Joe and his two children for dinner. Lulu had enchanted them both. She was a fairy child, a garden sprite with almost ethereal beauty with a shy smile. Jamey had been tougher, but Brett had won him over with tales of his football days as well as his years on the police force. That Brett had played multiple sports just like Joe and Jamey had won him big points. Maggie, not so much, but she was okay with that. After all, it had been their first meeting, and Joe had assured her in time Jamey would be eating out of her hand. She hoped he was right.
Alexis, Brett’s fourteen-year-old California-raised daughter, had arrived the previous week. Maggie’d met up with them when she’d taken Daisy to the ice-cream shop in town, and Alexis had taken to Daisy immediately and had offered to babysit anytime.
Grace questioned the wisdom of tossing everyone together all at once, but Maggie had stood firm in her belief it was best to simply dive in. Would time make the journey easier to take? Maggie doubted it. The situation was what it was, and it wasn’t going to change. Why put it off and miss out on whatever time they all might have together? Maggie knew all too well tomorrow wasn’t promised to anyone.
Natalie hadn’t waited to take that dive—earlier in the week she’d met Joe for dinner and had come home singing his praises. She couldn’t wait to report to Grace how wonderful he was, that he was exactly the way she’d pictured him, that they’d had a great time.
“I felt like I’d known him my whole life,” Natalie’d said. “He’s the brother I always wanted. You’re going to love him, Gracie. I promise.”
Maggie mentally marked an imaginary scoreboard: one down, one to go.
The back door opened, and Grace wandered out, coffee mug in hand, followed by Natalie and an even-chattier-than-usual Daisy, who couldn’t wait for all their guests and the parade and rides on the carousel. She wasn’t really sure what a carousel was, but she was excited about it all the same because the grown-ups seemed to be. After a quick breakfast, there was a sort of dead silence while they all watched the clock, waiting for their guests to arrive.