Chapter 4 #2
She hurried to her room and tucked her bag inside without stopping to look around. A few moments later, she rejoined Mia. “I’m ready, but I’m definitely taking time to explore later. This place is fantastic.”
“They’re doing great work restoring everything.
” Mia waved a hand at the furnishings. “They wanted to keep the Dorothy Draper style as much as possible. You can see it in the vivid colors and elegant lines. Dani and Liam really wanted to keep the classic look but update some things to be more modern.”
“It’s working.” Her canvas shoes squeaked on the black-and-white tile as she followed Mia back to the front door. “Is there a restaurant here?”
“They’re setting one up, but it isn’t open for service yet.” Mia held open the door, and the brilliant sunshine flowed in. “We can kind of take a shortcut through the lawn to Zinnia Boulevard from here, if you’re up for it.”
Ava’s heart lifted. “I’m game. Lead the way.”
“There are some beautiful gardens the other direction.” Mia led her off the sweeping veranda and around the corner of the hotel. “We won’t see much of that from this angle, but you should definitely check them out.”
They walked through the grounds of the Grand, thick, green grass underfoot.
On one side of the huge lawn, a row of canopy tents, open on three sides, flapped in the light breeze.
In one large, pavilion-style tent, Ava glimpsed some portable stoves and white tables.
The setup reminded her of that British baking show that was popular.
Must be where the cooking competitions would take place.
Passing a line of trees, they stepped onto a road.
“This is Jonathon Boulevard. The house I want to show you on Zinnia is just a little farther.” Mia walked up the road.
Much like for the Grand Hotel, Ava vowed to do some exploring later. There was so much to take in. A hint of lilac hung in the air.
As they turned right onto Zinnia Lane, Ava’s house waited a block or so down, a small bungalow, front door flanked with low bushes, white picket fence gleaming in the sun. Her heart began pounding in her ears. She snapped a photo and sent it to her parents.
Ava
This might be home. What do you think?
She waited a moment but didn’t get a response. Thumbing in Emily’s number, she sent her the same photo. At least her friend would be in her corner.
Her phone buzzed. Yep. Emily.
Emily
Looks just like the photos online. Go get ’em!
Mia shot her a look and then grinned. “Excited?”
Not trusting herself to speak, Ava just nodded.
A few steps later, they were there. Mia unlocked the front door and stepped back. “I’ll let you look around by yourself a few minutes.” She held up her cell phone. “I need to check in with my mom and kids anyway.”
Ava walked into the front room of the house.
She blinked away a sudden pricking in her eyes.
This home could be hers. Sure, the dated house wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but she loved it.
The interior of the house looked just like the pictures, right down to the Pepto-Bismol-pink bathroom.
She checked every nook and cranny, opening cupboard doors and peeking into the closets.
“Hello!” Mia’s voice came from somewhere near the front door.
Ava walked out of the kitchen to find her. “My cheeks hurt from smiling. How soon can I put an offer down?”
Mia’s face grew serious.
“What? Don’t tell me you’ve already sold it. What changed in the past ten minutes?” She swallowed against a sudden tightening in her throat.
“I had a message on voicemail that there are several interested parties. There aren’t usually too many houses in this price range on island, so this one is in high demand.” Mia clasped her hands in front of her. “Is there any way you can put down a bigger offer?”
For her dream home? She’d scrimp all she could. She named a slightly higher number than what they’d already talked about. Her savings and the inheritance from her grandfather wouldn’t stretch far. “I’m afraid that’s all the higher I can afford to go.” She bit at her cuticle.
“Hmm. I’ll see if they’re able to negotiate.
But in the meantime, it might help for you to write a letter to the owners explaining why you want this house.
” Mia held out a brochure with the house photos and other specs on it.
“Sometimes those things help. Even when the offer isn’t as high as they’re looking for. ”
Ava put a hand out to the nearby wall to steady herself. Then she took the brochure from Mia.
Sure. No problem. She made her living by writing.
Writing a letter to secure her house? How hard could it be?
From the ferry, the town of Jonathon Island looked like a movie set.
It spread out before him as the ferry docked.
Picture-perfect storefronts, with window boxes full of flowers, lined the streets.
Several places had sandwich boards out front, advertising sales catering to the anticipated Flavor Fest crowd coming in over the weekend.
Zach took his first deep breath since the last time he was here. He walked up Marina Way and crossed onto Main Street, Jonathon Island.
“Zach!” A voice called from behind him. He whirled to see Ollie jogging toward him. “Hi! I was hoping to catch you.” Ollie swiped a dark lock of hair from his forehead. He wore an Edgar Allen Poe T-shirt over his muscled frame. “I’ll walk you to my place.”
They turned to the right down the cobblestone road.
“Are you glad to be back so soon? Dani’s wedding was only a month and a half ago.” Ollie wove around a couple of tourists.
“Honestly, I’m conflicted.” Zach tugged his rolling suitcase over a dip in the road. “But it’s nice to be out of my suffocating job for a while.”
“Is your head chef still insufferable?”
He recalled the criticism Chef Louie had given him a few days before.
“He recently spat out a mouthful of a dish I’d made and told me that my sea foam was oversalted.
Which is hard to believe, considering he never lets me create my own recipes and I have to follow his to a T.
And he’s always giving me the worst shifts. ”
“I’ll never understand why you stay there.”
“Well, the money is good. And you can’t beat having Escargot and working with Chef Louie on your résumé.
” In the restaurant world, people expected some verbal abuse.
Although if he ever had his own place again, he wouldn’t tolerate it in his kitchen.
“Plus, I don’t really have any other options right now. At least I have a job.”
“Hopefully, these two weeks will change everything for you.”
“Fingers crossed.” They halted for a moment to let another tourist family pass by. Their smallest child darted across the road, his mother chasing after him. “Good thing there’s that rule about not having any motor vehicles here. No worrying about getting run down by a cab.”
Ollie laughed. “No kidding. They should watch out for the horses, though. Conflicting feelings?”
“What?”
“You said coming home made you conflicted.” Ollie waved at Patrick Kelley, who was rushing down the street in the opposite direction. The tall, slim older man was probably headed to his bar and grill, Kelley’s. The Kelley family nearly had a monopoly on the food service in this town.
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…How do you not feel like everyone is judging you all the time?
Everyone knows our family’s dirty secrets, Mom’s affair…
Dad burned down the hotel, for crying out loud.
” He tried for a smile. Hopefully Ollie didn’t notice it was more like a grimace.
“At least I was away at school when all the bad stuff was happening. Dani had to live here. And now you’re back… ”
Ollie shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s always felt like more people were caring about us than judging us. At least, once I gave them a chance.”
Outside Smith’s Hardware, Martha Kelley marched toward them, her hands on her heavyset hips and her gray-streaked hair frazzled. A firm line formed her mouth. “Zachary. You’re back in town.”
“Hi, Mrs. Kelley.” He tipped his head to her. She frowned at them before passing by.
Zach raised an eyebrow at Ollie.
He threw his hand in the air. “Seriously? You can’t judge the whole town based on Martha Kelley. No one ever knows what she’s thinking anyway. Her face always looks like that, even when she’s happy.”
True. He remembered her sour face after her son took the best time in the rope climbing competition in fifth grade. “Fine. But you can’t deny that people looked at us differently back then and still do. It’s embarrassing.”
Ollie crossed his arms. “Is that why you never come back to the island except under extreme protest?” He held up a hand. “Don’t say it. I know you came back for Dani’s wedding, but we all know it was only because Dani called you and begged.”
“Look, Ollie, the truth is, a small part of me wishes I could come back home for good. But also, this place hasn’t felt like home in a long time.
” In fact, nowhere felt like home. After finding out that his parents had split and he didn’t have a place to come back to, he’d bounced around the country.
Nothing ever seemed to stick. “Add in the judgmental—” He held up a hand to ward off Ollie’s rebuttal.
“Fine—the curious looks of everyone—I just need to forge my own path. I’ve been doing that for a while now, and it’s all I know. ”
Ollie crossed his arms. “I dunno, man. I think it’s all in your head. And I have almost two weeks to prove it to you.” He moved ahead for a few steps. Zach gave his bag another tug over yet another cobblestone and followed.
“Wait up.” He jogged a few steps. “The town looks amazing. It’s even better than when I was here for Dani’s wedding.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty great seeing tourists coming back. And most of the businesses are full too.”
“Our little sister has done a great job. I’m proud of her.” They walked in silence until they reached the bookstore. Zach trailed behind Ollie up the back stairs into his small apartment. “This looks even better than a few weeks ago too.”
“I have to admit, the renovations were worth it.” Ollie paused inside his door and put a hand to his hip. The butter-yellow walls on the large open layout contrasted with the white oak laminate flooring throughout.
“You have some new furniture. Last time I was here, I think you only had that couch and a bookshelf.” Zach waved a hand toward Ollie’s oversized beige couch. Now a low coffee table sat in front of the couch and a few end tables flanked it.
“Hey.” Ollie moved into the room. “I also had a bed and a chair.”
“Okay, okay. Please tell me you’ve also got some good cookware in that tiny kitchen of yours.”
“It’s not tiny—it’s just not the size of the restaurant kitchens you’re used to. And if you’re going to insult my cookware”—Ollie raised an eyebrow at Zach—“you don’t have to stay here.”
“Fine.” Zach held both hands in the air, palms forward. “You’re right.” He laughed. “I’ll make up for it by cooking dinner a few times while I’m back.”
“In that case”—Ollie walked a few steps into the apartment—“the couch is all yours.” A stack of sheets and blankets sat on one corner of the couch. “Dad decided to stay at the hotel, so it’s yours for as long as you want. I’ll give you a key so you can come and go as you please.”
Wait. What? “Dad is here?” Zach’s stomach tightened.
“Not yet. But he’ll be here in a day or two. I think he’s staying for the whole festival.” Ollie handed him a key. “He and Mom have started getting along again. Dani said he asked her to keep a room for him for several weeks throughout the summer and fall.”
His voice was nonchalant. As if this wasn’t the biggest bombshell he could have dropped.
“What do you mean, Mom and Dad are getting along again?” Zach ran a hand along the back of his neck. “You can’t just drop that bomb. What’s going on?”
Ollie sighed. “They started talking again at Dani’s wedding.
It took me a while to believe that either one of them wanted to be here.
” His mouth turned up on one side. “I guess they’re friends now?
I don’t know. I try to stay out of it. But Dad’s been coming back to Jonathon Island every once in a while. ” He shrugged.
Huh. “Maybe he wants to make amends?”
“Maybe. Anyway, I need to get going. I left Eliza alone in the store.” Ollie reached out and punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Thanks for coming. The Flavor Fest is going to be so busy. It’ll be good to have you around.”
After he left, Zach dropped onto the couch.
Mom and Dad were getting along? How was Dad not still bitter about Mom’s affair? How was Mom able to forgive Dad for nearly burning down the hotel? Not to mention never being around in the first place.
On the coffee table lay a flyer. He picked it up. “Flavor Fest” streamed across the top in a large font. He flipped it open and found the schedule of events for the next few days inside.
His heart rate picked up. This was what he needed to concentrate on. Winning the contests he was part of. No time to be distracted by his family drama. He had to focus if he wanted to make his dreams, and potentially the dreams of anyone earning the Silver Platter scholarship, come true.