Chapter 26
Elaine lifted a window in her bedroom, letting in a rush of fresh summer air. She closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the delicious scent of the garden that was wafting up to her on the wind.
Below her in The Birchwood House, she could hear the sounds of laughter and conversation.
It was the day of the grand opening, and some of their friends had arrived early to help them with the final preparations.
Everyone had gushed over how beautiful the house looked, and Elaine and Audrey and Michelle had been bursting with pride.
I love that our family legacy can bless other people now, she thought. It’s something we’re able to give away, instead of just keep locked up for ourselves.
She went to her wardrobe and opened it, sniffing the scent of lavender eagerly.
Ever since she was a little girl, she’d hung sprigs of lavender from the ceiling of her wardrobe.
It was something her mother had taught her to do, and it always made her think of her mother.
Elaine’s heart filled with a tender feeling, and she thought of how happy her parents would be if they could have seen what Elaine, Audrey, and Michelle had done with the mansion.
She changed into a comfortable dark blue cotton summer dress.
It had a long skirt and elbow-length, flowing sleeves.
In the morning, she’d been wearing the clothes that she’d thrown on to finish the final touches on the mansion, but now she wanted to put on something more elegant.
It was a special occasion, and she wanted to look as festive as she felt.
Once she had the dress on, she changed into a pair of comfortable flats and smoothed down her hair. Her eyes shone back at her in the mirror, bright blue and full of joy. Humming to herself, Elaine left her bedroom and made her way downstairs.
“And this right here is a family heirloom, the wedding dress that my grandma wore when she got married.”
Elaine smiled when she heard Michelle’s voice. Her granddaughter was showing Iris the Sutton wedding dress, which was on display in a beautiful glass case in a corner of the front hall.
“Oh, that’s so absolutely beautiful,” gushed Iris.
“And!” Michelle said with a laugh as Elaine appeared at the bottom of the staircase. “Here’s my grandmother. She’s absolutely beautiful too.”
Elaine shook her head, laughing, but touched by Michelle’s sweet remark. “Thank you so much for coming to help us with all this, Iris.”
“Don’t mention it,” Iris said. “Shep and I are thrilled to be able to help. And you do look beautiful.”
Elaine beamed at her, and all three of them stepped inside the kitchen.
Audrey was there, talking to Evan in a corner and looking flushed and happy.
Shep was standing in front of one of the kitchen windows, looking out across the back yard.
When he heard the door opening, he turned around and smiled warmly at Elaine.
“Congratulations,” he said softly, walking up to her. He looked as excited as she felt. “Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this.”
“Of course,” she said, smiling up at him. She’d never seen him look so happy before, and she was surprised by how much it meant to her that she’d been able to make him feel that way by welcoming him into her world.
He took her hands in his and squeezed them, and her heart beat faster as she squeezed his hands back.
“I thought I might tidy up the pastry displays,” Shep said, brushing his thumbs over her knuckles, “but it all looks too perfect to touch.”
The kitchen island had been turned into a treats buffet.
There was a hot water dispenser as well as a coffee dispenser, placed next to wicker baskets well-stocked with clean white mugs.
Golden plates, pink glass plates, and pink and white China plates held all of the baked goods from Townsend’s, which the Sutton women had carefully arranged in pretty swirls and rows that morning.
Each treat was labeled using one of the darling miniature chalkboards that Audrey had picked out, and in the center of the table was a breathtaking bouquet of pink roses, daisies, and baby’s breath.
Michelle had remarked that she’d never seen anything so pretty in her life, and although Elaine had known she’d been exaggerating, she’d thought to herself with a glow of pride that it truly did look wonderful.
They’d spent the rest of the morning making sure that every bedroom was immaculately clean and that all of the family heirlooms and the impressive antiques that were on display were dust-free and shining.
“I think we’re ready,” Audrey said, walking up to her mother and wrapping her arms around her. “I know the doors don’t officially open until two o’clock, but I think we’ve got some people waiting out there already. What do you say we let them in?”
Elaine made eye contact with Audrey for a moment before looking across the kitchen at Michelle. All three of them shared a look, and Elaine’s heart sang with happiness.
“Yes, let’s open the doors,” Elaine said, and Iris let out a supportive whoop.
Elaine made her way to the front door, and Audrey and Michelle followed closely at her heels.
They had tied a pale blue ribbon across the front entryway, and Audrey eagerly picked up the ceremonial scissors—an antique pair with an ivory handle that they’d picked out at an antique store with some amount of amusement, since it felt unnecessarily fancy. But still, they loved the idea.
“You cut it, Mom,” Audrey said, handing Elaine the scissors. “Michelle and I can open the doors.”
“Okay.” Elaine kissed Audrey’s cheek and took the scissors.
Michelle and Audrey opened the front doors and the group that was standing on the front porch cheered.
Theo was there, his eyes fixed on Michelle as if he’d been enchanted.
There were several other familiar faces, including Esmerelda, but also a few tourists who Elaine had never seen before.
She felt a flutter of excitement knowing that The Birchwood House’s grand opening had caught the attention of people from out of town.
It boded well for the future of the mansion.
“Welcome everyone,” Elaine said, her voice loud and clear. “We are very pleased to formally open our home, The Birchwood House.” She cut the ribbon with a flourish and the crowd cheered again.
Laughing with happiness, Elaine stepped to the side and their guests began to spill inside the house.
Everyone shook her hand and congratulated her before hurrying off to explore the beautiful building.
Elaine noticed Theo lingering near Michelle, and she realized that his usually playful demeanor toward her had changed.
Instead of gleeful and impish, he seemed shy.
He hovered near her as if he wanted to watch over her.
“Congrats, Michelle,” she heard him say. “You guys have done an amazing thing here.”
“Thanks.” Michelle grinned at him. “Come on and see the parlor—there’s an antique model car in there, made out of metal. I think you’ll really get a kick out of it.”
Elaine was about to turn away from the door and join her guests in the house when she noticed one more person approaching the front door. To Elaine’s surprise, she saw that it was Jill.
“Jill!” Elaine said warmly, giving the other woman a hug. She was determined to leave the past in the past and move on with full forgiveness.
“Hi, Elaine.” Jill handed Elaine an envelope.
“I got you three a card. I wanted to say congratulations—and I want to apologize formally to you. I was wrong to think that Evan would show favoritism in the contest, and I was especially wrong to say those thoughts out loud and start rumors. I want to be more open-hearted in the future, and I know that The Birchwood House will thrive.”
“Oh, thank you, sweetheart,” Elaine said, taking the card, which appeared to be made of homemade paper. “We really appreciate it. And don’t worry about the past—it’s all behind us now.”
Jill smiled at her gratefully and went inside the house to join the other guests. Elaine stood in the doorway for a moment, breathing deeply of the beautiful afternoon air. The roses were blooming, and the aroma that they sent wafting into the house was sweet and refreshing.
She opened Jill’s envelope carefully and gasped slightly when she saw the beautiful hand-painted card.
It was a painting of The Birchwood House, done in watercolor.
In the corner of the card, Elaine noticed the signature of a local artist, and she realized that Jill must have commissioned the card specially for the occasion.
“Oh, we’ll have to frame this,” Elaine murmured.
She opened the card, and a gift certificate for the Bluewater Bistro slipped out.
Jill hadn’t written many words inside, just “Congratulations and best wishes—Jill” but her gesture spoke volumes.
Elaine felt tears blur her vision for a moment, and then she tucked the card and gift certificate back into the envelope, excited to show Audrey and Michelle.
The grand opening turned into a wonderful party.
People played board games in the parlor, and lawn games in the backyard.
They gathered in the kitchen to sip beverages and nibble treats and chat, and a sense of community and excitement pervaded the event.
People came and went for the most part, but several people, including Evan and Theo and Shep, stayed the entire time.
Elaine settled into a comfortable feeling as she played games with her family and friends. She loved having the house full of people. It was such a big mansion, it felt as though it was meant for many people to be in it at once.
They ordered a few pizzas from The Brick Oven for the guests who were there in the evening, and Elaine found herself sitting next to Shep at the kitchen table to eat her slices of barbecue chicken and pepperoni.
She realized a moment later that Shep had stayed near her most of the evening, and Theo had stayed as close to Michelle as Evan had stayed to Audrey.
A moment after that, she realized that it was extremely odd that Shep hadn’t left hours ago—or skipped the party entirely because he didn’t want to socialize.
Huh, Elaine thought, glancing at him. She discovered that he was looking at her, which didn’t embarrass her in the slightest. Shep, on the other hand, reddened and coughed and looked hurriedly away.
“I organized a little surprise,” Evan said, standing up from the table once everyone had finished eating. “If you all would like to come out to the backyard, the surprise will begin in about ten minutes.”
Murmuring excitedly, they spread the word to the rest of the house and then began to spill out into the evening air. It was a balmy night, and the stars overhead were glittering like diamonds. Elaine listened to the music of the wind rustling in the trees overhead and sighed with happiness.
“Look at all this, Grandma,” Michelle said, stepping up to her and giving her a hug. “I’m so proud of us.”
“I am too.” Elaine hugged Michelle tightly and gazed out across the garden, which had a warm glow from the string lights. “And it just gets better from here.”
They gathered in the back yard, near a cluster of birch trees. Elaine realized that Shep was standing at her side again, and she took a deliberate step toward him, smiling encouragingly at him. He smiled back, and she felt butterflies rush through her core.
“I bought this for you,” Elaine heard Theo say quietly. Sure enough, he and Michelle were standing close to the cluster of birch trees, half-hidden in the shadows the trees were casting over the faintly lit garden. “In celebration of the opening.”
Elaine didn’t want to spy, but she felt curious about whatever Theo was giving Michelle. At that moment, however, Evan called out, “Three, two, one!” and then everyone gasped.
In the distance, fireworks shot into the sky and burst open in shining flowers of gold and red and green.
Their colors glowed against the sparkling backdrop of the stars, and Elaine felt that they were an appropriate symbol of celebration.
They looked and sounded the way she felt—bursting with joy and color and life.
Once the fireworks were over, the party lingered in the garden, talking and laughing and enjoying the night air. Elaine saw Michelle leave Theo’s side and go back inside the house to get a tray of cookies for everyone. Shep, noticing what she was doing, went inside to do the same.
“What did Theo give you?” Elaine whispered to Michelle when she returned with a tray of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. “Are the two of you—” She didn’t finish her sentence, and simply grinned.
Michelle chuckled. “Uh, well, I guess we’ve decided not to have animosity toward each other anymore, but in all honesty, I’m not sure where we stand. I guess I need some more time to figure that out, you know?”
“That sounds good.” Elaine nodded at her encouragingly. “Don’t overthink it, and just enjoy the journey you’re on.”
“You’re right.” Michelle smiled at her. “Thanks, Grandma.”
Shep returned with a tray of miniature cheesecakes that had been waiting in the refrigerator and placed them on one of the garden tables next to the cookie tray.
Elaine smiled at him, wondering if he would come back to her side.
A moment later, he did, and she wondered if she was on the same kind of journey that Michelle was.
Across the garden, she could see Evan and Audrey whispering to each other, their heads close together. A moment later, they kissed.
Most of the guests returned inside, but Elaine and Shep lingered in the garden.
They both seemed to want to be quiet, and she appreciated that about him.
She looked at the beautiful mansion, its windows glowing golden in the night, and her heart ached in the best way as she saw people laughing and talking inside of all of the rooms.
I’m so grateful that it’s no longer an empty place that felt far too big, she thought. Now it’s full of warmth and laughter. It’s perfect.
She took Shep’s hand in hers, and together they walked back inside The Birchwood House.