Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
L auren found the local supermarket, Stop and Shop, and stocked up on groceries for her room. By the time she got back to the inn, it was almost dark and foggy and it felt like a storm was on the way. She made herself a turkey sandwich and a cup of hot chamomile tea with honey. She felt grimy from the long day of traveling and took a hot shower after she ate, and climbed into her pajamas. She watched TV in bed and it wasn’t long before her eyes grew heavy and she fell fast asleep.
When she woke, the sun was shining and at a few minutes past eight, there were already people walking on the beach. The time difference didn’t bother her like it usually did because she’d gone to bed so early. She dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Lisa and Angela were already there, and sitting at a round table with an older man about Lisa’s age. Angela jumped up and gave Lauren a welcome hug and Lisa introduced her to Rhett, her husband. It looked like they’d just filled their plates and sat down. Except for Rhett, who only had a mug of black coffee in front of him.
“Help yourself,” Lisa encouraged her.
Lauren walked to the side table where all the food was lined up. She helped herself to some fresh cantaloupe slices, hash brown potatoes and a slice of lobster quiche. That was something she’d never had before. She poured herself a black coffee and joined the others at the table.
“How was your trip?” Angela asked.
“Not bad, just long, but smooth and clear. I got here last night before dark.”
“Did you hear the storm last night? It was a wild one. Our lights flickered a few times,” Angela said.
“They did here, too,” Lisa said. “I woke up around three and the lightning and thunder kept me up for a while.”
“I slept through it all,” Rhett said as he lifted his coffee mug.
Lauren laughed. “I didn’t hear a thing, either,” she admitted. “I crashed hard last night and early. Traveling always does that to me.”
Angela smiled. “That’s good though. It always takes me a few days to adjust to the time difference. You’re ahead of it now. What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”
“I thought I’d drive into town and poke around in some of the shops. It has been years since I’ve been here.”
“Do you have any plans for tonight?”
“Nothing.” Lauren had the whole day to herself.
“Good. I’ve invited some friends over for a girls’ night. I’d love for you to meet everyone and we can catch up over drinks and appetizers.”
“I’d love that. What can I bring? I’ll be downtown and I bet they have a good cheese shop and maybe wine?”
“Some cheese would be great. Everyone is bringing an appetizer, so that will be perfect.”
“What kind of wine do you like these days?” Lauren asked. She knew Angela loved wine, but it had been a few years since she’d seen her.
Angela hesitated for a moment. “Oh, anything is fine. Whatever you like.”
“If you stop into Bradford’s Liquors, ask Peter, the owner, for a recommendation. He always has good ones,” Lisa suggested.
“I’ll do that.”
After breakfast, Angela headed off to start cleaning and Lauren grabbed a sweater and put her sneakers on, then went to the beach. She walked for about a half hour or so toward a lighthouse about a half mile or so down the beach and back. She took pictures with her phone as she walked and stopped in front of the house that just a few doors down. The share house. The house next to it, the one closest to the inn, was an older, more modest Cape Cod style home, with weathered gray shingles and a small deck overlooking the beach. Lauren noticed an older couple sitting there, drinking their coffee. They waved at Lauren and she waved back. She knew they were just being neighborly.
The share house was easily three times the size of the smaller house. It had a huge wraparound farmer’s porch and the area facing the ocean extended out further into a large deck. It looked like either a newly built or renovated home, as the shingles looked new, not weathered yet by the wind and water. Lauren looked forward to seeing the interior of the house and thought she might pop in on her way back from going downtown. It didn’t look like anyone was there at the moment. And Marissa had left instructions to stop by the real estate office near the wharf to pick up a key.
Lauren headed back to her room and relaxed for a while, checking email and reading a new novel. It was still early, and she knew most of the shops didn’t open until around ten or so. She got caught up in her book and lost track of time. It was almost eleven when she stopped to check the time and decided to head downtown.
The last time she’d been to Nantucket, she’d gone there on a day trip with friends. They’d taken the fast ferry out of Hyannis and spent the afternoon shopping and having lunch and dinner before taking the last boat back. She’d never actually driven downtown and needed her GPS to guide her. She knew parking was limited, and she drove around the quaint cobblestone streets until she found an empty spot by the wharf, where there was a smaller Stop and Shop grocery store.
She wandered along the wharf, browsing through the gift shops, looking at the many t-shirts and sweatshirts. She remembered that Angela had mentioned a shop she should check out, owned by her friend, Izzy, called Nantucket Threads.
It was right there at the end of the wharf, and she paused for a moment, admiring the window display. One mannequin was wearing a Bohemian style floral dress with soft brown leather boots and the other was dressed more casually in tan shorts and a thick sweatshirt in a pretty pinkish red color. It said Nantucket across the front.
She stepped inside and was greeted with a warm smile by a petite woman behind the register. “Are you Izzy, by any chance?” Lauren asked.
The woman’s smile grew bigger. “That’s me!”
“I’m Lauren. A friend of Angela’s. She told me to be sure to stop in. She raved about your store.”
Izzy looked pleased to hear it. “That’s so nice of her. Is there anything you’re looking for?”
“Not really. I’m just browsing. But I do love that sweatshirt in the window. The dress too. Could I try them on?” Lauren asked impulsively. She didn’t need a thing, but she also hadn’t gone shopping in ages.
“Of course. Follow me.” Izzy grabbed a few sizes of each item and led Lauren to a dressing room in the back of the store. “Let me know if you need any other sizes. I guessed you were either a small or medium.”
“Thanks.” Lauren tried on the medium sweatshirt first and instantly loved it. She liked her sweatshirts roomy, and this was just right and soft. She tried the dress next, and it ran big. The small looked best, and it was more flattering than she’d expected. You never knew until you tried something on. She brought both to the register.
“How’d you do?” Izzy asked.
“Great. I’ll take them both.”
Izzy wrapped them in tissue paper and ran Lauren’s credit card. A few minutes later, Lauren left with her bag and dropped it off at her car before continuing to explore the downtown.
She window shopped for another hour, going in and out of stores. She was tempted a few more times, but she definitely didn’t need to buy any more clothes. And except for Izzy’s store, most of the prices were on the high side. There were some great shops for browsing, though, and several art galleries. When she grew hungry for lunch, she stopped into The Corner Table, another place Angela had recommended. She had a cup of Jamaican Chicken Stew and a fresh cookie for dessert. Then got a caramel latte as a splurge and sipped it as she made her way to the real estate office to pick up the key for the house.
Marissa had told her to ask for Kevin, and he was the only person in the office. He looked to be in his late thirties and hesitated as he handed her the house keys. “I told Marissa this already, but she said you’re the person to talk to for any issues here. I should let you know that not everyone on the island is happy about this show filming here. We’ve had quite a few calls this week, now that word has gotten out. I don’t expect that you’ll have any serious issues, but just thought I’d let you know, as sometimes people can get nasty and vocal.”
Lauren frowned as she took the keys and put them in her purse. “Vocal, how exactly?” She wasn’t sure what they should be prepared for.
“Well, so far, it’s mostly been people calling the office to complain. There’s a possibility you might get some showing up to protest at the house, too.”
Lauren sighed. She knew that had happened on a few of the other reality shows, as some towns were worried that filming would bring traffic and noise. And truthfully, sometimes it did.
“I would just suggest that you try to keep the noise down as much as possible. Late nights, loud parties are what could cause problems.”
Lauren nodded. “We’ll do our best to be good neighbors.”
He grinned. “Good, that’s all we can ask for.”
Lauren left and made her way toward a cheese shop she’d spotted earlier. She hoped that there weren’t going to be issues. It was inevitable that there would be a few loud parties. Hopefully, it wouldn’t upset the neighbors too much. She’d be in the background for all of it, so would try her best to keep things from getting out of control.
She stepped into the cheese shop and breathed in. It smelled amazing. The store was busy, and they were handing out samples at the counter. Lauren tried a taste of an aged gouda and a creamy goat. She grabbed the gouda, a sharp cheddar and a buttery wedge of Saint Andre, a triple creme that she knew Angela liked. She added a box of crackers and once she paid, she headed to Bradford’s Liquors to get a bottle of wine.
The store had a huge selection of wine and Lauren roamed the aisles reading the descriptions. She had her favorites but wanted to try something new.
“Can I help you find something?” A man about Lisa’s age, who Lauren guessed was Peter Bradford, walked over to her.
She smiled. “Lisa Hodges suggested I stop in here. She said you always have the best wine suggestions.”
He chuckled. “We do our best. What’s the occasion?”
“A girls’ night, wine and appetizers.”
He thought for a moment. “White or red?”
“Red I think.”
He reached for a bottle and held it out. “This is a fantastic cabernet that is only $19 and tastes like a much more expensive wine. I just tried it last night at dinner and we were blown away. If you like cabernet, you might love this one.”
Lauren’s first choice was usually a cabernet. “Perfect, I’ll take it.”
She paid for the wine and headed to her car. She’d had her fill of shopping and wanted to stop by the house. Eloise, one of the junior producers, was already on the island and Lauren knew she was planning to head to the house around four to be there as people started to arrive and get them settled. Lauren didn’t expect that anyone would be at the house when she stopped by and she was looking forward to doing a walk-through and seeing what the interior looked like and how much space they had to work with.