Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Julia stood on the sidewalk in the rain, holding the handle of her rolling suitcase tightly. She stared at the familiar restaurant in front of her, The Lighthouse Grill, Rosewood Beach’s most beloved local pub.
A wave of nostalgia swept over her, and also a sudden reluctance to go inside. It was her family’s restaurant, and she’d grown up surrounded by its friendly customers, cheerful noise, and mouthwatering smells. Now, however, things were different. Her father had passed away, and she was a whole new person. She didn’t know how it would feel to go back inside, and even though it was raining, a few seconds passed before she could bring herself to start walking toward the door.
She stopped under the striped awning, where raindrops were still dripping down occasionally but it was generally out of the downpour. She inspected her raincoat and her muddy heel, wanting to make herself look more presentable before going inside. She took a tissue out of her tissue pocket pack and wiped some of the mud off her shoe. Then she turned to her coat sleeve, frowning in frustration as she looked at the paint that was flaking across it.
She brushed her hand over it, and to her relief, most of the paint came off in flakes. Only a few small spots remained, and she knew she would be able to get those out with a little laundry magic.
She thought about the handsome stranger who had caught her so unexpectedly. He’d had very kind eyes, and she’d realized as he was leaving that he’d dropped his coffee to catch her.
I shouldn’t have been so rude to him, she thought regretfully, picking at one of the remaining pieces of dried paint on her coat sleeve.
She’d let the stress she was still feeling over losing her job and joining her family for her father’s funeral get the better of her. The mud all over her shoes had felt like the final straw, but then it had turned out that seeing white paint smeared across the sleeve of her favorite coat had been the final straw. She’d snapped a little with frustration because it had all felt like too much at once.
She glanced down the sidewalk in the direction he’d kept walking in. He was out of sight by that time, but she found herself wondering where he’d gone. She almost had an impulse to run after him and apologize for how rude she’d been. She was still frustrated that he’d gotten paint on her coat, but he’d meant to be kind.
And more than that, she felt drawn to him in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
He might have been dirty, rugged, and rough around the edges, but there was something oddly magnetic about him. She’d looked at him long enough to appreciate the slight wave in his almost-black hair and the brightness in his chestnut-colored eyes.
She found herself secretly hoping that she would get a chance to see him again. She looked down the sidewalk in the direction he’d gone again, trying to speculate about where he might have been coming from.
Don’t be silly, Julia , she told herself. It’s been so long since you were in town, everything’s probably completely different from how it used to be.
Turning back to The Lighthouse Grill, she took a deep breath. There was no point in procrastinating the moment any longer. She needed to go in there and talk to her family members.
She reached out and touched the door handle. It seemed to mold to her touch, and with the familiar feeling of it came back a host of memories that had been half-buried in her mind. She took a deep breath, smelling the familiar savory aromas of the restaurant, and it was as if part of her was being transported into the past.
Her throat tightened a little as emotions swept through her. Her parents had run that place for as long as she had been alive, and she had just as many memories of The Lighthouse Grill as she did of her childhood home.
She took another deep breath, tugged on the door handle, and stepped inside.
It did feel a little bit as though she was going back in time. The room was filled with memories, darting through her mind like ghosts. She couldn’t help smiling, but at the same time, an achy feeling filled her chest.
Nostalgia washed over her as she rolled her suitcase through the dining room. Her eyes traced over the familiar booths and tables, and the sound of people laughing and clinking their silverware reminded her of all the times she’d heard those sounds there before. The scent of fried fish and tater tots permeated the air, and she took a deep breath, feeling her stomach grumble. She was unable to keep from smiling over how good it smelled. Her family’s restaurant was the most popular pub in Rosewood Beach for a reason.
She made her way to the swinging wooden doors that led into the kitchen. She pushed them open carefully, knowing how busy the kitchen always was, and as soon as she poked her head inside, she heard people call out her name in excitement.
The next thing she knew she was being crushed in a hug by Allison, who had been working at The Lighthouse Grill since it opened, and patted on the back by Tom, another one of the cooks who had known her since she was a little girl.
“Look at you.” Allison was grinning from ear to ear, and she adjusted the hair net that covered her silver hair. “So tall and elegant.”
“Well, the tall part is because of these.” Julia laughed and lifted her foot to point out how tall her heels were.
Tom whistled. “Don’t you trip in those things?”
“Uh, sometimes.” She grimaced. “But enough about me—how are you two doing? How’s this old place been holding up?”
“Oh, we’re great.” Tom leaned against the wall, grinning. “Still kicking and screaming. And this place is as popular as ever.”
“Mm, more so.” Allison nodded, looking proud. “We’re all getting even better at our jobs, and the reputation of the place is so engrained in the town by now that almost everyone who passes through stops here for dinner.”
“Or lunch. Or breakfast.” Tom lifted his brows.
Julia laughed, realizing how much she’d missed the two of them and their cheerful senses of humor. The sadness of her father’s passing hovered over their conversation, and all of them seemed alert to each other’s feelings, but no one said anything about it out loud for a few moments. Finally, after a long pause, Allison reached out again and hugged Julia around the shoulders with one arm.
“Glad you’re back, kiddo. I’m sorry for the reason why.”
Julia felt a lump rise up in her throat, and she had to blink back a few tears. “Me too.” She nodded, and there was silence between the three of them for a few moments. Tom swallowed, looking at the floor.
“You want to see your mom?” Allison smiled, bringing sunshine back into their conversation.
“Yeah, I do.” Julia took a deep breath, returning Allison’s smile. “Is she in her office?”
“That she is.” Allison gestured to another door at the back of the kitchen, which Julia knew led down a short hallway to her mother’s office at the back of the building. “I’m sure she can’t wait to see you. We should let you keep moving.”
Julia nodded, smiling at them. “I’ll see you both soon. I—I’ll be here for a while.” Her stomach twisted.
At that moment, one of the pans of cooking food made a loud sizzling sound. “And we’ve got to get back to work!” Tom laughed. “We’re going to burn this place down if we’re not careful.”
Julia smiled at them both one more time, and then made her way through the doorway that led toward her mother’s office. The achy feeling in her chest returned as she walked along the wooden floorboards to the white-painted door that had a flower-themed calendar hanging on it.
She knocked softly on it, swallowing. A second later, her mother’s voice called out, “Come on in.”
Julia pushed open the door and saw the familiar desk, covered in papers, and her mother, seated in front of an open laptop.
Vivian Owens looked up and gasped when she saw her daughter. Julia felt tears spring into her eyes as she saw her mother leap up and hurry toward her for a hug. They embraced, holding each other tightly, and as Julia took a deep breath, she realized that her mother had always smelled faintly of honey and lavender. She breathed in the smell, feeling the sense of comfort that only her mother could give to her.
“My girl.” Vivian rocked her back and forth a few times. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Over her mother’s shoulder, Julia could see the internet page that Vivian had been looking at, and it was clearly the website of a funeral parlor. Her heart sank, realizing that her mother was right in the middle of funeral arrangements.
“Can I do anything for you?” Julia asked a little breathlessly as they pulled out of the hug. She was trying not to cry, and she offered her mother a brave smile. “Anything at all?”
“For now, just stand there and let me look at you.” Vivian held her daughter’s shoulders, beaming at her. “You look so elegant. So grown up.”
“I’m thirty-four, Mom. Of course I look grown up.” Julia had to blink back tears again, since the way her mother was treating her like her little girl was bringing back all kinds of sweet memories of her childhood.
Vivian touched her daughter’s cheek and whispered, “Your father was so proud of you.”
Julia couldn’t stop the tears from coming then, and she wiped them off her cheeks. “I’m sorry for not being around much recently, Mom. I wish I had been. I’m sorry.”
Vivian shook her head. “You couldn’t possibly have known what would happen. None of us did. It’s so sad.” She took a trembling breath, and Julia squeezed her hand.
“It is. We all thought we had so many more years with him.”
For a moment, the two of them stood there holding tightly to each other’s hands without speaking.
“But I am sorry, Mom.” Julia’s voice was soft. “I wish I’d been here.”
“Don’t you worry.” Vivian shook her head, giving her daughter a brave smile. “I know you put a lot of effort into your job, and that’s why you’re so successful, working at that big company in New York. I bet it’s no time at all until you get a promotion.”
Her mother’s praise felt like a stab to Julia’s heart. She swallowed, wondering if she should come right out and tell her mother what had happened. She hesitated for a brief moment, torn between wanting to be honest and not wanting to feel even worse in that moment than she already did, and then she decided that she would tell her mother soon, but not quite yet.
“How’s everyone else doing?” Julia asked, wanting to change the subject. She took a seat in the chair placed opposite her mother’s desk.
Vivian sighed, sitting down again in her own chair. “Oh, how can anyone really be doing at a time like this? But everyone’s been hanging in there. Dean and Hazel have been helping me with the funeral arrangements ever since—well, ever since it happened—and Alexis arrived from Los Angeles yesterday.”
Julia nodded, suddenly missing her siblings very much and looking forward to seeing them. Dean and Hazel lived there in Rosewood Beach. Dean was a mechanic who was sweet and affable, and suited to small-town life. Hazel had got married straight out of high school, and although she had gotten divorced soon after, she’d had a beautiful baby girl who was now twelve years old. Alexis was the only one of the siblings besides Julia who had left Rosewood Beach. After she’d graduated high school, Alexis had pursued a career in modeling and had been fairly successful. She only modeled on and off now, since her husband Grayson made a great deal of money and could easily support them without a paycheck from his wife. Julia realized with a pang of regret that it had been a while since she’d really caught up with any of her siblings, and she didn’t know much about the current details of their lives.
“Having you all here is going to be such a comfort to me.” Vivian smiled, taking a deep breath. “It’s definitely going to help with the transition into living life without Frank.” For a moment, she didn’t say anything more. She stared into space, looking sad and dazed. “Well,” she said finally, forcing another smile. “At least I still have security in the business, huh?”
Julia reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand. “Yes, you do. This place will be standing for another hundred years.”
The two of them shared a smile, and Julia took a deep breath. She wondered how it was going to be, diving back into being around the siblings she hadn’t seen in so long.