Chapter Forty-Eight
Forty-Eight
Doug waited for Shelby and Hunter outside the apartment door. He had dark circles under his eyes and fidgeted with his phone.
“Thanks for coming by,” he said, accepting their hugs. “I want to update you guys before we go in because she just calmed down and I don’t want to get her upset all over again.”
“Just let us see her,” Hunter said impatiently. Shelby touched her arm: Relax .
“What’s going on?” she said.
Doug took a breath. “She’s having a lot of bleeding. The placenta previa is getting worse so she’s being hospitalized tomorrow.”
“Are the babies okay?”
He nodded. “The delivery will be a scheduled C-section, but the doctor is waiting as long as possible.”
Shelby wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself. Doug looked scared. She didn’t blame him.
“Are Annie and Pam headed back?” Hunter said.
“They’re meeting us in Boston.”
Hunter pulled her keychain from her bag and unhooked a key, handing it to Doug. “You can stay at my apartment for as long as you need.”
“That’s very generous, Hunter.”
“I want to see her.” Now Shelby was the one who was impatient. Doug said since they were there, he was going to run out and do some last-minute errands.
Inside, they found Colleen in bed watching Booksmart , her favorite movie, on her laptop resting beside her. Her face and eyes were puffy and red. After Shelby and Hunter took turns hugging her, Colleen turned to adjust the whirring fan on her nightstand.
“It’s so hot in here,” she said. Shelby and Hunter shared a glance. It wasn’t the least bit warm in the room.
“Doug told us the game plan,” Shelby said.
Colleen closed her laptop. “I guess now I really have no basis for arguing with my parents about selling the store.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Shelby said.
Colleen had a faraway look in her eyes. “I thought this time in my life would be all about Land’s End. Being a bookseller.” She turned to Shelby. “I’m not ready to be a mother. I’m not a housewife. I’m not even a wife!”
“Colleen, Doug would marry you tomorrow,” Hunter said.
She looked at her. “Do you know he never proposed? He never asked if I would marry him, he just asked me when I wanted to get married.”
Shelby understood the distinction she was making, but she also thought maybe Colleen wasn’t thinking clearly. She didn’t blame her.
“Well, things happened sort of fast,” Hunter said. “His heart’s in the right place.”
“I guess you think my parents’ hearts are in the right place, too—closing Land’s End, subleasing the space, getting rid of the inventory. Cutting our losses. Maybe I should just be cutting my losses. Maybe I have the wrong attitude.”
Shelby sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and took Colleen’s hand.
“We know you’re upset,” Shelby said. “And the timing is bad. But isn’t this what you would have wanted ultimately? To be with Doug? To have a family?”
“Yes. But the store, too,” she said. “I always imagined both. I appreciate you guys coming over. But I’m tired. And I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
Shelby and Hunter kissed her goodbye and left the bedroom, closing the door behind them. They waited in the living room for Doug to get back before they left.
They sat on the couch, and Hunter pulled one of the needlepoint pillows on her lap, tracing the sunflower design with her finger. “I wish there was something we could do.”
“There is,” Shelby said. “And we’re doing it: we’re her best friends.”
MacMillan Pier was crowded with people waiting for the incoming ferry. Justin was certain none of them was as happy as he was to see the line of passengers disembark. The past few days had been confusing, and having Kate back in town would put things in perspective.
“Hi!” Kate called out, dropping her overnight bag to the ground so she could hug him. Her navy linen dress was freshly pressed, and her sharp bob was tucked neatly behind her ears.
“Welcome back,” he said, pulling her into his arms. He handed her a small bouquet of Gerbera daisies.
“These are lovely. I should go away more often,” she said, kissing him.
“Please don’t,” he said.
They picked up dinner from the Canteen, which was only serving takeout because of the flood damage, then walked to his house. The early evening was temperate and breezy. They settled on his front deck with their lobster rolls, a bottle of white wine, and a chilled six-pack of beer. Kate talked about the past forty-eight hours with her family, and while he tried to follow what she was saying he was distracted, thinking about his own.
His parents took the news about Mia as well as could be expected. He sensed his mother was, in a way, relieved. Her gut had told her something was wrong, and now she had confirmation. She could stop wondering and start fixing.
“I’ve been in meeting after meeting,” Kate said. “My father and brother have all these expansion plans and now they’re looping me in. It’s like, branching out here with Hendrik’s is making them take me more seriously.”
“They should take you seriously.”
He smiled, and she leaned over and kissed him. “I have to go back tomorrow for a few more planning sessions, but I promised I’d be here tonight so...here I am.”
“I would have understood if you didn’t want to go back and forth,” Justin said. She shook her head.
“It’s easy. And Justin, thanks again for checking on the store after the storm.” She’d been lucky: shops on that side of Commercial had been spared. “I feel bad about Land’s End getting hit so hard.”
He nodded. “It’s a blow.”
“But on the bright side, with Land’s End closed, locals will be a lot more welcoming to Hendrik’s.”
He put down his bottle of beer. “Maybe. But I’m not ready to view the loss of our eighty-year-old bookstore as a positive,” he said sharply.
Kate’s brows knit together. “I understand,” she said, her tone softer. “Change is hard. But we have to move forward.”
He offered a smile. The flood wasn’t her fault. The Millers’ decision to close wasn’t her fault. And she was right: it was time to look to the future, not the past. Over the past forty-eight hours, he’d lost sight of that.
It was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.