Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
“ L isa’s quiche was much better, so creamy and with more lobster,” Lauren’s mother said.
Her father nodded in agreement. “This one reminds me of scrambled eggs. Is it supposed to be like that?”
Lauren smiled. “No. It’s not. Quiche gets like that when it’s overcooked.” She’d tried a sample of Violet’s quiche and agreed with her parents. It was skimpy on the lobster and slightly overcooked. She didn’t think Lisa had anything to worry about. She noticed Hudson’s mother and another woman coming their way.
Hudson gave them hugs and introduced his mother and her friend, Jackie, to Lauren’s parents.
“Lauren told me that you live on the Cape? I get over there every so often to do a little shopping. I like to stock up at Trader Joe’s,” his mother said.
“We’re so close, but we don’t get to the islands as often as we’d like. It took Lauren working here to get us over. We need to come back soon,” her mother said.
“You should come around the holidays. The Nantucket Stroll is the first weekend in December and that’s a magical time of year. You need to book ahead though. Hotels fill up fast.”
“It’s the last big hurrah before almost everything closes for the winter,” Hudson added.
“That sounds very Hallmark-like,” Lauren said.
Hudson laughed. “It is. Though with fur coats everywhere.”
His mother made a face. “There is a bit of that, yes. But it’s still worth checking out.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Hudson noticed that the cast was moving on.
“Mom, we have to keep moving,” he said.
“Okay, we’re off to do more sampling, too.” His mother and Jackie headed toward Lisa’s booth.
“Lauren, I think we’re going to go off and explore on our own. We’ll catch up with you in a bit,” her mother said. Lauren agreed to text them both when they were done filming and ready to head back to the inn.
They spent the next ninety minutes wandering around the food festival, sampling everything from lobster bisque and clam chowder to tuna tartare, fried scallops, braised short ribs and more. The sight of the cast and cameras drew curious crowds, which made it take longer, but added to the overall excitement. The cast had fun making their own videos too, as they tried different things.
Billy won the last video challenge with a very funny video of Noah cheating at horseshoes. Lauren was pleased to see that all the videos were doing well, and that there seemed to be a growing buzz on social media about the show.
When they were all ready to leave, Lauren texted her parents, and they drove back to the inn. As they drove, Lauren asked them what their favorite things were that they’d tried.
“Definitely the scallop and bacon mini tacos from Millie’s,” her mother said.
Her father thought for a minute. “It’s a tossup between Lisa’s lobster quiche and that chocolate bread pudding. I’m hoping we might see one of them at breakfast tomorrow.”
Lauren laughed. “I wouldn’t count on it. I’m not sure they will have any leftovers.”
When they reached the inn, her parents headed inside and they planned to go to dinner later, when Lauren returned from filming.
She walked along the beach to the share house. Everyone was in the living room debating whether to head to the beach. The weather was a little iffy—the sun was behind the clouds and the air had cooled, but it was still plenty warm enough. No one was hungry after everything they’d eaten at the food festival, so there was no talk of what to do for dinner. Ten minutes later, the sun reappeared, and everyone except Sami decided to hit the beach. Lauren noticed that she was quieter than usual and asked Eloise if she knew why.
“Zach never came by last night. Every time the front door opened, she went to see who it was, and it was never him. Seems like that fling may have been short-lived.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if she stays in her room tonight. I don’t think she wants to deal with any questions.”
Lauren nodded. “You never know. Maybe she’ll hear from him.”
“True.” Eloise looked around the room. “I can’t believe we only have a few more weeks of filming. The time is flying by.”
“I know. Hopefully, we’ll have everything we need by then.”
“It will be fun putting it all together. That’s my favorite part,” Eloise said.
Lauren smiled. “Mine too. I wish we could do that part of the job from here. I’m not looking forward to going back to LA.”
“I am. I love it here. But LA is home, you know?” Eloise said.
Lauren just nodded. She understood how Eloise felt, but she’d never felt that way about the West Coast and after spending time here and seeing her parents again, she was dreading leaving. But she didn’t really have a choice.
Around five or so, people started to drift off the beach and up to the house to shower and get out of the sun. There was some talk of ordering Thai takeout. Lauren said goodbye to Hudson and Eloise and headed back to the inn to go to dinner.
Lauren had made reservations at Oran Mor, a bistro downtown that her parents had been to years ago and loved. It was a cozy place, and the menu looked amazing. Her father ordered a frozen painkiller cocktail that was similar to a pina colada and Lauren and her mother each went with a glass of chardonnay. They decided to share an appetizer of roasted oysters and a kale almond Caesar salad. Her father ordered a tenderloin and short rib combo that sounded intriguing. Lauren and her mother both chose the lobster pasta in a mushroom, corn and tarragon cream sauce. It was even more delicious than it sounded.
As they ate, Lauren’s parents caught her up on any Cape Cod gossip they thought she’d be interested in. Some of the kids she’d gone to school with stayed on the Cape and were married now, with kids.
“I ran into Kirsty Smith at Stop and Shop last week. She has two kids now, and her youngest is walking. She asked about you and I told her you were on Nantucket. She’s never been here. She even said she hadn’t been over the bridge in three years. Can you imagine?” Her mother stabbed a piece of buttery lobster with her fork.
“I’m not that surprised. She was born on the Cape. I’ve heard from other friends that many of them rarely go off Cape. The thought of driving to Boston terrifies them. I do kind of understand that, though. Boston traffic is almost as bad as LA’s.”
Her mother nodded. “Your father makes me drive now when we go to Boston. He says people in the city drive too aggressively. I don’t mind it.”
“They really do,” her father agreed.
“Are you dating anyone new yet?” her mother asked. The sudden change of subject took Lauren by surprise.
“No. Not since Billy and I broke up. I wasn’t ready and haven’t really had the opportunity.”
Her mother was quiet for a moment before adding, “I noticed that Hudson’s mother knew you. It made me wonder if there was something there. He seems nice.”
“He is. But no, we’re just friends and work colleagues. I went to his house for dinner one night and his mother was there. She lives next door.”
“Hmm. So he’s not heading back to California, too?”
“No, he lives here. He is the co-owner of a production company. The other owner is Cami Carmichael, the actress. She lives here, too.”
Her mother looked impressed. “I didn’t know that she lived here. Good for him. I’m sure his mother loves having him nearby.”
Lauren smiled. “I think she does.”
It was great to catch up with her parents. Lauren was blissfully full and content as they drove back to the inn. It was almost nine by then and they were all yawning and ready for bed.
When they reached their rooms, Lauren hugged her parents goodnight.
“Thanks so much for dinner. It was so good. I’ll see you both at breakfast.”
Lauren met her parents in the dining room at nine. They were heading back to Hyannis on the eleven o’clock boat, and Lauren was going to drop them off at the wharf downtown. Lisa was still in the dining room, sitting at a big round table with an empty plate in front of her. She was sipping coffee and chatting with Rhett while he ate. Lauren’s father was happy to see that Lisa had put out lobster quiche and he helped himself to a slice. Lauren and her mother did as well before joining Lisa and Rhett. Lauren’s mother asked how the rest of the afternoon went at the food festival.
“Great. We were busy all afternoon. We ran out of the bread pudding, but I made a ton of the quiches to make sure we had plenty and there were a few leftover. I think it went well. I ran out of the printed material I’d brought. And we already got a bunch of online sales last night. I didn’t think we’d see sales so quickly.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m not surprised, though,” Lauren said.
“I’m not either. This stuff is fantastic,” her father said as he polished off his last bite of quiche.
“I’m glad you like it. Please have more. There’s plenty.”
Her father didn’t hesitate. “I think I will, thanks.” He went to get another slice.
“Did they announce any winners yet?” Lauren asked.
Lisa shook her head. “They said they had to go through all the votes—the paper slips that people filled out. I think they were going to do it this morning and post the results online sometime today.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Lauren said.
“Do you get to rest today?” Lauren’s mother asked Lisa.
She nodded. “Yes. I’m not doing a thing today once breakfast is put away. We’re going to my daughter Abby’s house for Sunday dinner and that’s about it. I might walk on the beach when we come home.”
“That sounds fun,” Lauren said.
“Are you off to work?” Lisa asked.
Lauren took a bite of quiche before answering. She was eating slowly to savor every bite. “I am. Once I drop my parents off at the ferry, I’ll be heading to the share house.”
When they finished breakfast and said goodbye to Lisa and Rhett, Lauren drove her parents downtown to catch the ferry.
“It was so good to see you honey,” her mother said after she’d hugged them both goodbye.
“You too. I’m still planning to come in two weeks for a few nights.” Lauren had planned to take the ferry to the Cape on her off-nights when the show was almost done. It was coming up fast.
“Good, your room is ready for you.”