Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
“It’s supposed to be a spider,” Kitty said. She was standing beside Jane at the bakery counter, placing black-and-white candy circles on the cupcake’s black frosting.
Lydia was draped over a nearby table, glaring at them. “It looks like a mold spore.”
Jane sighed. “It’s not a mold spore.”
“It should be a mold spore,” Mary murmured from the floor where she sat with paper towels and a squeegee, cleaning the glass display. It was one of the janitorial duties she had taken on as penance for her arrest. “Fungi are the backbone of the natural world.”
Lizzy peered over the final pages of The Oracle of the Damned as Jane considered the cupcake again, her bottom lip now between her teeth.
“Maybe we should make a sign,” Jane finally said.
Lizzy smiled. The conversation continued, sure to escalate to an argument that would inevitably fizzle out when something else grabbed their attention. It was a Bennet sister trait. But despite the bickering and laughing and rolling of eyes, Lizzy had to admit that it was nice not working a shift alone. In fact, as she watched her sisters navigate around one another, she realized it was the first time in ages that all five of them were there together. A small bit of life falling back into place.
A sense of normalcy had returned to the village, too. In one of her first journalism courses in undergrad, Lizzy had learned that news stories take about seven days to cycle in and out of people’s minds until the next salacious story redirects everyone’s attention. Thanks to a local teenager stealing a lobster ship and crashing it into the marina, HamptonFestgate—as it had started to become known—was forgotten after five. Now, a week later, East Hampton’s news cycle had died down to a low rumble, and, like clockwork, Hank was back to discussing next year’s plans for HamptonFest like nothing had happened at all.
“Are you okay?” Jane appeared beside Lizzy.
“I’m fine.” Lizzy forced a smile. She wasn’t, but she couldn’t admit that. She had spent the past week working so hard to appear okay that she hadn’t bothered to make it true. So instead, she kept pretending. Pretending not to be disappointed about how she hadn’t heard from Columbia yet, or how embarrassed she was about the way she’d left Montauk and Will behind. So embarrassed, in fact, she hadn’t even tried to find a way to contact him, to reach out and apologize. This is what happened when she didn’t think things through and just reacted in the moment. Maybe she was a mess.
“How about some coffee,” Jane said, already reaching for the sleeve of cups. “You look tired.”
Kitty had a pile of candy googly eyes in her hand as she leaned across the counter to assess Lizzy. “Really tired.”
Lizzy glared at both of them. “You two can go home now, you know. The morning rush is over.”
“Why don’t you go home?” Jane suggested.
“Because I never go home.”
Jane shrugged. “Well, it’s about time things started changing around here, then, don’t you think?”
Lizzy could read the meaning behind Jane’s words, mostly because Jane was also giving her a less-than-subtle look that drove it home. This was a family bakery; it was time they all started acting like it.
“Does that mean someone else is going to clean the bathroom?” Mary asked, standing up with a wad of paper towel in her hand.
Lizzy laughed. “No.”
Mary frowned. “Fascists.”
“Here,” Kitty said, reaching over to hand her a black cupcake. “Have a mold spore.”
Mary accepted and took a huge bite.
“Seriously, though, what’s wrong with you?” Lydia asked Lizzy, her arms splayed across the table and her chin resting in her hand.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Lizzy replied.
“God, you’re the world’s worst liar.” Lydia snorted out a laugh.
Suddenly, Lizzy was aware that all her sisters were staring at her, waiting. She had hoped that if she continued to deny it, kept pretending she was okay, people would stop caring enough to ask. But she hadn’t considered how that wouldn’t work here. Her sisters would never stop caring. They would annoy her and berate her until she finally opened up because here, with them, she mattered.
Her heart ached with the realization. And while she knew she didn’t have the strength to reveal all the details about Will, she suddenly knew she had to tell them about Columbia.
“Okay,” Lizzy said, releasing a long breath. “Promise you won’t freak out.”
Kitty perked up. “Who’s freaking out?”
“No one,” Mary said around a mouthful of cupcake.
“Well, maybe Lizzy,” Lydia added.
“Everyone stop talking!” Jane demanded in her best first-grade-teacher voice.
Lizzy smiled. “I just… I think I’m ready for grad school. I’m going to get my master’s.”
A moment, then the room exploded with screams.
“Finally!” Jane exclaimed. “You were talking about it last year, but then you just dropped it after everything happened with Dad!”
“It’s about time!” Kitty threw her arms around her. “Have you applied anywhere? Are you sticking with foreign affairs journalism, or thinking about something else?”
Even Mary was smiling. “You could do an investigative piece on Long Island’s lack of recycling centers!”
“Oh my God, you should do celebrity reporting!” Lydia squealed. “You could work at TMZ!”
The five of them were dancing around now, jumping up and down, laughing and hugging so much that Lizzy didn’t know why she hadn’t told them before. Suddenly, everything was on the tip of her tongue—her acceptance to Columbia, the lingering hope of starting in January—but she was interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing out from the bakery’s front door.
“Excuse me.” A deep voice interrupted them.
The sisters turned around in unison to see Charlie Pierce in the middle of the room, his hands in his jeans’ pockets.
“Hi,” he said meekly.
Jane inhaled sharply, Kitty and Lydia glared at him, and Mary picked up her squeegee like it was a weapon. Meanwhile, Lizzy looked to see if he was alone.
He was.
“Hello,” Jane responded after a moment.
Silence descended on the room. No one moved. Lizzy wasn’t even sure if they breathed.
Then the front door swung open again and Mrs. Bennet fell into the shop, her neon-green leggings blinding. “Guess what! Donna just called and said that Hank called Tristan to thank him for repaying everything, and Tristan didn’t know what he was talking about! And then Barb said that someone saw Charlie Pierce in town and now everyone thinks he—”
Her gaze found Charlie and she froze like a deer in headlights, her eyes wide and purse still precariously balanced over her arm.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Bennet,” he said with a small smile.
Mrs. Bennet blinked, as if to reset her brain. “Oh! I didn’t know you were here, Charlie! How lovely.” She moved sideways to the front table and slowly set her purse down, her eyes clocking each person, then lowered herself into a chair, as if all she needed was some popcorn to watch the show.
Charlie’s gaze was locked on Jane’s.
The room fell silent again until Lydia finally spoke. “Did you need something, or what?”
Charlie cleared his throat. “Right. Yes. Well, I just wanted to stop by. I haven’t seen you in a while, so I thought I’d see how you were doing…”
Jane opened her mouth, but Kitty spoke first. “You mean, after you left without an explanation?”
“And tried to pull the slow fade afterward?” Lydia said, head tilted to the side.
Mary continued, “And then you—”
“You came back after possibly saving our town’s biggest event after Mary’s little episode!” Mrs. Bennet responded quickly, shooting them all a pointed look.
Charlie’s expression contorted in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“The money you paid to reimburse HamptonFest,” Mrs. Bennet clarified.
“Oh,” Charlie said. “Well, that sounds very generous, but that wasn’t me.”
Mrs. Bennet’s wide grin fell and she turned back to her daughters. “What were you saying?”
Mary opened her mouth to continue where she left off, but Jane interrupted.
“It’s okay. I think we get the gist of it.” Then she turned to Charlie. “Is there anything we can help you with?”
He hesitated. “I just… wanted to see you. Say hello.”
“That’s… very nice of you,” Jane replied softly. “But you can’t come here after all this time to just say hello.”
His face blanched, even as he nodded. “I know. But I wanted… I had to make sure you were okay.”
“I am now.” Tears began to line Jane’s eyes. “But I wasn’t. Not for a long time. Because I fell in love with someone who just… disappeared.” Her voice cracked as Mrs. Bennet gasped. Lizzy, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia watched, mouths hanging open.
Charlie’s expression softened. “You fell in love with me?”
Jane nodded. “And you left before I could tell you. Before I could apologize and explain.”
“Jane—” he whispered.
“You gave up so easily, Charlie,” Jane said. “You can’t just walk in here and expect to pick up where we left off.”
Charlie’s gaze dropped to the floor as he nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Jane replied. Silence fell again, and it was another minute before Jane continued, “I just don’t know what to do now.”
He looked up, meeting her gaze. “We start over.”
He turned around and left the bakery, the bell above the door the only sound in the room until a stunned Mrs. Bennet jumped up from her chair.
“What is happening!” she cried.
Before Jane could answer, the door to the bakery opened again. Charlie stood on the threshold and cleared his throat, then he walked by a gawking Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, Lydia, Mary, and Lizzy to stop in front of Jane.
“Hello.” He held out his hand to Jane. “I’m Charlie.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Jane’s mouth as she tentatively placed her palm in his. “Hi. I’m Jane.”
“It’s a pleasure,” he said softly. “I’m new to town and heard there was a really nice bar nearby. Donato Lodge?”
Lydia scoffed under her breath. “Really nice?”
Lizzy elbowed her.
“I was hoping you might like to grab a drink with me sometime,” Charlie continued.
Jane’s smile broadened. “I’d like that.”
“Really?” Charlie replied, as if genuinely surprised. “That’s great!”
“You should go now!” Mrs. Bennet smiled brightly, her hands clasped together like she was watching the end of her favorite romantic comedy.
Jane laughed and shook her head. “I don’t finish here until five.”
Charlie smiled. “Okay. I’ll be back to pick you up at five.” Their gaze remained locked on one another, then he turned to the rest of them. “Nice to see you all.”
They nodded, barely able to wave goodbye as he walked out the door and disappeared down the sidewalk.
A moment of pure stillness passed before the room erupted in chaos again. Laughter and screaming and smiles. Lizzy joined in, too, her heart practically bursting for her sister. But she couldn’t help how her eyes traveled back to the window, just to make sure Will didn’t suddenly appear.
He didn’t.