Chapter 24
On his dime
Scarlett
Endo canceled the rest of the appointments for the day, which means Rie flipped the door sign to read CLOSED and drew down the blinds. Emily brewed a cup of coffee, and by the time I returned from the restroom, my entire staff was in the waiting room with their faces lit up like Christmas trees.
I’m a nervous wreck that they’re going to report to Endo about my lack of enthusiasm, but if mingling in high society has given me anything, it’s endurance during social events. I smile even when I’m uncomfortable. I’m not comfortable lying to the people I’ve come to care about.
The staff at the clinic have been amazing to me. They’re still trying to call the phone company and ask why, when I use their phone and try to dial my sister or the contacts I’ve memorized, they can’t get the line to connect. They wonder why I don’t carry a phone.
They’re working hard not to make me feel like I’m weird or an outsider. This event planning that they’re clearly looking forward to must go on.
Rie’s sister, who has never introduced herself, sits down on the couch. “We can do this in your office or my home if you prefer more privacy.”
She can sense my hesitation. I need to try harder, or she’ll know I’m a fake fiancée. Endo could have said so himself. He didn’t have to claim me as his.
I sit beside her. “Nonsense. I’m happy you’ve taken time out of your busy day to come here.”
“Aww, thank you.”
I fold my hands in my lap, hoping she’ll take the lead because I have no idea what I’m doing or what all goes into a wedding plan. Charlotte would know. I miss my sister so much that sometimes my chest hurts.
“Are you okay, Dr. Pen?” Brenda, my nurse, asks from her seat by the desk.
“I’m a little nauseous, is all.”
They all exchange looks, and Rie’s sister says, “Then it’s best we get going with the wedding. It’s hard to pick out a dress when you’re pregnant.”
“I’m not pregnant,” I rush to say, hoping denying it will nip the rumor in the bud.
“Are you sure?” she asks.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Of course.” Rie’s sister blushes. “You’re a doctor. Silly me.”
“Not silly at all. It’s a perfectly logical conclusion. I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
Her pretty green eyes widen. “Oh, my name is Fiada.
“Nice to meet you, Fiada.”
“We are all eager to start planning.” Rie sits on the backrest of the couch behind his sister so he can peer over her shoulder.
Fiada takes out several thick folders and stacks them on the table.
“We don’t have a fancy app or any of those digital things.
Everything is done by touch and sensory input except the final draft, which is a video I put together so you can be sure the wedding is everything you envisioned it to be.
At that point, we’ll make final adjustments. ”
I think I might throw up. “Okay.”
Fiada starts to explain the process, and I find out that a Macarley wedding is actually a festival where people from the entire region come to town and celebrate their connection to the sea.
Boats arrive flying the flags of different family houses.
They host massive seafood feasts, as well as boat racing, river activities, and, most importantly, other weddings.
The Macarleys will pay for the wedding of anyone who chooses to get married during the event. Historically, Rie explains, the poor are able to have lavish celebrations if they marry during a Macarley wedding festival.
A Macarley wedding can last as long as we want, but I think my staff and Fiada would like it to last at least ten days, which includes two weekends. The opening ceremony would then occur on a Friday, and our wedding would close the event on the second Sunday after that.
Our marriage should fall on a Sunday so that most people will be able to attend the massive reception dinner, during which Widow’s Keep will be open to the public.
Ten days of wedding events sounds exhausting. I’ve never even considered marriage before. I pinch the base of my nose. “Can we plan the closing ceremony? That one Sunday.” I ask.
Fiada nods. “Sure. We can do that. Do you have a vision in mind? We should pick out the florist as soon as possible. There are several in town that are excellent. We will need to pick one to do the wedding itself, then one to decorate the town, one to decorate the stands and the boats, and one to float around to make sure it all goes smoothly.”
“Oh God.”
Fiada hugs me and rubs my back. It’s awkward because I don’t know her that well, and her big belly is in the way, but it’s also quite nice because nobody’s hugged me in a while.
“You’ll do great, Doc. And if you’re overwhelmed, we can always plan the wedding at another time.”
“I’m fine.” I pat her back. “I am. You hug nicely.”
We separate, and Fiada smiles. “Thanks. Let’s forget all the event stuff for now and talk about the dress.”
“The dress. Um, yes, okay. That is good. I like dresses.”
“Great. Unfortunately, we can’t order a designer dress. We must commission one from one of the town’s two tailors. Is that okay?”
“Sure. But I’m curious why we can’t order one.”
“Because it’s tradition to pay our local people, not some stranger who doesn’t care and will never see it on you. The tailors are good. Both of them studied fashion and interned at designer houses. Endo and Cass both get their suits locally. All the uniforms are made here as well.”
“The region is entirely self-sufficient,” Emily says. “The nearby towns trade among one another. This keeps food on the table. You might’ve noticed we don’t have any large grocery chains or similar stores operating here.”
“I wondered about that,” I say.
“Two large stores did open once. One for groceries and one for clothing. But they closed after about a month.”
“Oh, what happened?”
“They burned down,” Brenda says.
“Both of them?”
“Mmhm.” Fiada nods. “The grocery store caught fire right after Emily’s husband, who worked there, got sent home for chewing tobacco on the job.”
Emily smiles. “My husband, Ily, came into work chewing tobacco, and the corporate man told him to spit it out. Ily kept chewing and got fired for it. But Endo had a contract with the big stores that said that they can’t fire any of us.
When Endo tried to get my husband’s job back, the corporate man refused. ”
“That makes sense.”
Emily nods. “Messing with a Macarley is asking for trouble.”
“Are you all saying Endo burned down the stores?”
Fiada shakes her head. “Nobody said that.”
Rie clears his throat. “We aren’t saying anything, Doc. We’re trying to help you out.”
I look around. As if for the first time, I take in all their faces. Do they know I’m not really his fiancée? Do they know I’ve been forced into being here? That I’m collateral?
Maybe not. Yet they know enough of Endo to understand something is off, but they can’t say or do anything, and they won’t talk to me about it. For all I know, Endo might’ve concocted this wedding festival idea. He could’ve shaped this entire chat with my staff, twisting my reality and theirs.
They seem to accept it, but can I?
I can. I can because if I don’t, I’ll end up dead.
Rie breaks the awkward silence. “Do we know where the Macarleys stay during the time the house is open to the public?”
“Not in the west part of the house, that’s for sure,” Emily says.
Fiada nods. “Definitely not.”
That’s where I’m staying. “Why not?”
“The west part of Widow’s Keep is haunted. The corner bedroom that shares a wall with the nursery used to be Donatella’s room during the months she spent alone with Endo and the baby.”
All sorts of emotions explode inside me. I’m trying not to give them life, so I swallow them down and struggle to remain calm and composed. I fail. Jealousy breaks through and burns a hole in my belly. Another woman stayed in the rooms I’ve been sleeping in while she cared for Endo’s baby.
I sit up straight and pull back my shoulders. “Did something happen to her?”
Fiada nods. “She died a few years back. It was a peaceful death, but we miss her.”
“Yes, we do,” Rie confirms.
“Do you think Endo misses her?” I ask.
“For sure,” Brenda says. “They were very close.”
Oh God. “Well, okay.” I’m getting a headache. “You know, Endo was right. I really should head home early.”
“We didn’t even get to the dress. Not even the design basics. If you tell me what the dress looks like in your head, I’ll know which of our designers can make it.”
Suppressed anger breaks through as well. “I’ve never actually considered marriage.”
Shock registers on their faces. I push forward. I’m angry at Endo, that’s true. But I’ve got no reason to be angry with him for having an ex or a baby. That’s childish and unlike me. I need to get ahold of myself.
“I dream of spending my life in service to people. Most, if not all, men would want me to give up my work or at least compromise for them or their ambitions. I don’t want to do that. The kind of work that I want to do won’t allow me to have a husband or a family.”
“You are doing good work here, Doc,” Emily says. “Is this not the kind of service work you had in mind?”
I grit my teeth, struggling with how much I should say. “Before I met Endo, I wanted to work in the communities that needed doctors most.”
Brenda and Emily exchange looks. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
Rie snorts.
Fiada laughs, and then they all start laughing.
“You think we’re middle class? Do you think any of us can afford insurance or the cost of coming here to see you?
You are working on the Macarley dime, and if that dime disappears, the corporate assholes will come here to tell us how we can’t chew tobacco while working the graveyard shift, stocking the shelves and minding our business, hurting literally nobody. ”
“Endo is not paying me.”
“Then, if that’s not charity work, I don’t know what is,” Brenda says bluntly.
Rie gasps.
I pinch my lips, trying not to laugh. When I can’t hold it, they burst into laughter, and Fiada slaps me on the shoulder. “There you go, Doc. Let’s get the basics out of the way today, and we can get together again. Maybe you could invite me for lunch at the Keep?”
Rie raises his hand, as do the nurses. “Us too.”
“Definitely,” I lie.