Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
“T his is a fantastic turnout,” Kelly said.
“We should take our cake and punch outside to give them more room,” Amber suggested.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Carson nodded. “Seems like new folks are arriving by the minute. I didn’t realize Uncle Victor had made so many friends here at the lake.”
Jenna led the way out to several tables set up at the side of the ranger station. “It’s not just friends. He’s been here at the lake since I was a teenager, so he’s seen dozens of rangers retire, as well as worked with some that were here only for a short while. Plus, all the permanent residents here want to give him a proper send-off.”
Carson waited for the three ladies to sit down, and then he put his plate and glass on the table and took a seat beside Jenna. “Well, he’s sure going out with a big bang. That adrenaline high should carry him halfway to Virginia.”
“Are you all moved in?” Jenna asked.
“My stuff is in the cabin. Bubba has been exploring every nook and cranny, but I can’t say that we’re actually moved into the place. I slept there last night, but like all new places, it’ll take a while to get used to,” Carson answered.
“Especially after living in a travel trailer for weeks,” Amber said.
“It was right the opposite for me.” Jenna finished off her slice of cake and took a drink of her punch. “I went from an estate-sized place to the house I live in now. Even though I had spent every summer here for most of my life, I felt kind of cooped up when I moved back.”
Kelly took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s because when you came back to the lake permanently, you were all cooped up inside. It wouldn’t have mattered if you had decided to stay in that big house that your folks left you. The feelings would have been the same.”
“But we are so glad that you have thrown off those chains and began to find some closure,” Amber added. “I don’t think I could have enjoyed the life I’m about to have with Ethan and the kids if you were still as sad as you were that first year we all were together here for a week.”
Carson pushed back his chair and stood up. “Can I get y’all anything else? I’m going inside for a cup of coffee. That was good cake, but now I need something to get all that sweet out of my mouth.”
“Yes,” Kelly and Amber chimed in together.
“I’ll go with you to help carry them all out,” Jenna offered.
They had only gone a few feet when Carson asked, “Would it be too imposing of me to ask to take you three to dinner this evening? I know it’s the last night before Kelly and Amber leave in the morning, but I thought maybe it might . . .”
“No, it would not be imposing, and yes, we would love to go,” Jenna said before he could finish. “And thank you.”
Carson opened the door for her and stood to the side. “I should be the one thanking you, since I really don’t want to spend this first evening alone.”
“The first day that Kelly and Amber leave seems like it lasts three days past eternity, so we could help each other out,” Jenna suggested. “We could drive up to Onalaska for groceries.”
“Or since we have the whole day, we could go south to Conroe and make a day of it,” Carson replied. “We could do our grocery shopping, have a bite of lunch somewhere, and then catch a movie.”
Jenna filled four cups with coffee and capped them off with lids. “I would like that very much.”
That sounds like a first date. Her mother’s voice in her head sounded happy.
Jenna thought about that as she picked up two cups and headed outside with Carson right behind her. Was she ready to date again? Had she finally gotten past Bryce?
Kelly took one of the cups from Jenna’s hand. “Five more minutes, and then the RV is leaving. Has everyone got their little bottle of bubbles ready?”
Jenna remembered that she and Bryce were showered with birdseed as they left the church after their wedding. She was still picking it out of her hair when they boarded the plane the next day for a weeklong honeymoon cruise. She found out later than Bryce had charged the price of the cruise to her credit card that she was still paying off after the divorce. She shook the memory from her mind and vowed to never think of Bryce again. The past had no place in her new life with Carson.
“Whatever are you thinking about?” Kelly asked.
“The past,” Jenna admitted.
“Well, get out a virtual shovel and bury all that stuff. Then move ahead and don’t ever look back,” Kelly told her. “You have taken a few steps, but it’s definitely time to really give whatever this is between you and Carson a chance to develop.”
Amber pushed back her chair and stood up. “Here they come!”
The door opened, and people poured out, forming two lines for Victor and Dorena to run though. A picture of a gauntlet formed in Jenna’s mind, but it disappeared when the couple came out of the building. Victor took Dorena’s hand in his, and they made their way slowly down a stream of wall of bubbles to the RV. Dorena went on inside, but when Victor pushed a button to cause the steps to retreat under the trailer, he waved at everyone from the open door.
“Thank you all for a great retirement party,” he yelled. “Come see us if you are ever in Virginia and take care of Carson like you have me all these years.”
The door closed, and within seconds the engine started, and the RV pulled away out onto the road and disappeared around the first curve.
Carson stood in the middle of the road and waved until they were out of sight. When he came back to where Jenna was standing with her friends, he draped an arm around her shoulders. “That was tougher than I thought it would be.”
Jenna reached up and laid her hand on his. “You got that right. I’m glad they’re getting to spend time with their family, but I’m going to miss them so much.”
“Me, too,” he said, “But Jenna has agreed to let me take y’all to dinner tonight to help me get through my first long evening without them. Can I pick you all up in an hour?”
Kelly tossed her coffee cup and dirty dishes into a nearby trash can. “That sounds great, but could I be home by ten? I’ve got a conference call with my team coming in at that time. Our flight is at ten tomorrow, so I’ll need to leave here by six thirty. We’re being served breakfast on the first leg of the journey, so I won’t even take time to eat in the morning. I’ll just grab a cup of coffee to go.”
“And I’ll leave at the same time,” Amber said. “Ethan’s folks are planning a little going-away dinner for us tomorrow evening, and I miss the kids so much.”
“That will be even harder than today,” Jenna said.
Rip the Band-Aid off in one fell swoop, the voice in her head said loudly. Then heal up and get on with life.
* * *
The café that Carson chose opened at four o’clock and was on the other side of the lake. Only a couple of vehicles were in the parking lot when he snagged a place not far from the front door, and there was two other couples in the place when they went inside.
Jenna had only eaten at the café a couple of times, and both times the place had been packed. For someone who didn’t know how good the food was, they might drive right on past it. That would be a big mistake. Even though the café itself looked like a house with a front porch, it had some of the best ribs and chicken fried steak in the whole lake area.
A waitress led them to a table over near the window overlooking the parking lot, and laid four menus on the table. “What can I get y’all to drink?”
“Sweet tea,” Jenna answered.
“Same here,” Carson said.
Kelly and Amber both raised a finger and nodded.
“The special tonight is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuit, side salad, and green beans,” the waitress told them. “I’ll have those drinks out in just a minute.”
“We’ve never been here,” Amber said as she studied the menu. “But if the food is as good as all these wonderful smells, I’m glad we came.”
Carson studied the menu and then laid it to the side. “I’ve only been here once with Uncle Victor, but I loved the ribs, so that’s what I’m having this evening.”
Jenna handed her menu to Carson to stack with his. “Me, too, but a word of warning to all y’all: I’m not graceful, and ribs are messy.”
“Then I’m glad I’m not sitting beside you,” Kelly said, and put her menu on top of the others. “I’m having the special. I’m already a little nervous about twenty-four hours in a plane, so I’m not testing my jittery stomach with anything spicy.”
“Same for me.” Amber nodded. “I’ll be going to the courthouse on Monday morning to get married, and then flying to Germany that afternoon, so nothing really heavy for me, either.”
Jenna would go back to her painting and her routine after they left. Watching the sunset at the end of the day, taking care of business at the art galleries.
And spend time with Carson?
She wondered where that notion came from, and then smiled. Even if they were only friends—that thought flew right out the window when his knee brushed against hers under the table and set off a little wave of heat that told her if she had her way, they would spend lots and lots of time together.
“What are you smiling about?” Kelly asked.
“Just that I’m glad I don’t have to fly anywhere this week,” Jenna said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m sad that our memory cabin days have come to an end. But I’m glad for every one of the weeks we have spent together, and I wouldn’t take a million bucks for the memories we’ve made.”
“Amen!” Amber nodded. “We’ve helped each other evolve into the women we are today. And now it’s time for us to step out of our comfort zones and move on.”
“Well said!” Kelly said. “Now let’s put all the sadness away and enjoy our last evening together.”
“Not our last one forever, though. Just the last one for this year,” Jenna told them. “Y’all will come back someday, or else I will come see you, but until then, we’ll Zoom every month just like always.”
The waitress returned with glasses of sweet tea, took the orders, and then rushed off to take care of several more customers who had filed into the café, and soon the buzz of a dozen conversations filled the place.
“That’s life,” Jenna muttered.
“What is?” Carson asked.
“Life is like all the things folks are talking about around us. Each table has their own stories to tell,” she answered.
“That’s beautiful,” Kelly said with a sigh. “We get so involved in our own life that we forget that we are just a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things.”
“Yep, but our drop is important, because it makes us who we are,” Amber added.
Carson bumped Jenna with his knee under the table. “Who are you?”
She smiled when she remembered asking him who she was. “I’m working on figuring that out, but I’m not the person I was yesterday, or the person I will be tomorrow. Today, I’m moving forward and not standing still,” she answered.
“That’s progress, isn’t it?” Carson asked.
“I hope so, because it feels right,” Jenna replied.