CHAPTER EIGHT
Rhonda called in the morning to check on the situation. “I think I’ve stopped throwing up, but I’m too weak to come into the hotel today.”
“Until you feel better, stay away. The last thing we need is for everyone at the hotel to get sick.”
“How’s the wedding shaping up?” she asked, and I filled her in.
“Glad we could keep the booking and everything turned out right,” said Rhonda.
“Me, too. The bride and groom are very sweet. I think everything will be fine. As far as weddings go, it’s one of the more pleasant groups. I hated the thought of losing them and creating bad news about the hotel. No one was hurt, and the wedding is going forward. Laura is doing an excellent job.”
“I talked to Lorraine yesterday,” said Rhonda. “She and Arthur both have the same type of flu. I suspect she’ll be able to help on Sunday and give you more time with Vaughn.”
“That would be nice. He’s busy with Robbie today, but tomorrow I’d like to go sailing with him.” We hung up, and I headed over to the hotel to walk on the beach. I was anxious to see how things were going with Darryl, Tina, and Abbie.
On my way, I realized I’d forgotten to tell Rhonda about Brock meeting Elise on the beach and how she hadn’t liked his interrogation. Rhonda would be furious.
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I parked the car at the hotel and made my way to the beach, easily bypassing a few guests who were up at this early hour.
Kicking off my sandals, I wiggled my toes in the cool sand and headed to the water.
As always, the salty air, the rhythmic sound of the waves, and the cries of birds above me filled me with thankfulness to be alive and well.
I turned and walked away from the hotel toward a more private area of the beach in front of the houses on the property. When I looked up, I saw Darryl and Abbie running toward me. Darryl kept up with Abbie’s long-legged stride, but he looked winded. When he got closer, I could see the sweat pouring off his face. Wearing swimming trunks, he was in a little better shape than he’d been just a few days ago.
“Hi,” I said.
They came to a stop beside me and bent over to catch their breath.
“I guess Abbie is working you hard,” I said to Darryl.
He straightened, glanced at her, then turned to me. “I’ve had more exercise in the time spent here than I have in a long while. It’s painful, but I like it.”
Abbie laughed. “We’re just getting started, if we’re going to accomplish what you wanted.”
He grinned at her. “You’re a health dictator.”
“And you are going to obey,” Abbie said playfully. The electricity between them was enough to send shivers across my skin. Rhonda would claim she knew all along, but these two seemed a perfect match for each other.
When Darryl took off his baseball cap to wipe his brow, I observed his shaved head. The effect was dramatic and handsome. His body still made me want to cuddle him, but I could see the beginning of some changes in him. Best of all, there was a new sparkle in his eye.
Abbie was as gorgeous as ever but had a more relaxed manner. Hopefully, being at The Beach House Hotel had something to do with it.
“I’ll leave you two alone. I’m just checking to make sure that Brock Goodwin hasn’t been trying to ask you more questions.”
“Whenever we see him, we jog on by, so he doesn’t see us go onto the trail to the houses,” said Abbie. “Believe me, I’ve met his kind before. Bad news.”
“Okay, then, I’ll see you around. I’m going to help with breakfast at the hotel.” I left and headed inside the hotel, making a stop in the kitchen. A cup of coffee was just what I needed.
Consuela handled most breakfasts at the hotel with help from the kitchen staff. It was a lot less complicated than lunch and dinners under Jean-Luc’s direction. She was there, supervising the orders when I arrived. I blew her a kiss, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed to my office to see what was happening. The special bridal breakfast wasn’t due to start for another half-hour, leaving plenty of time after breakfast for guests to relax, sightsee, play some golf, or go shopping. Alyssa, her mother, Janelle, and her two bridesmaids were due for hair appointments and manicures this afternoon.
In the office, I checked for emergency actions to take and looked at the financials from last night’s events hosted by Janelle and Wilbur Cummings. They’d spent a lot of money. I was glad the rest of the wedding plans were going through.
I went to the private dining room to check on the breakfast buffet set up for the bridal party. The staff was just setting up. I knew one of the offerings was crepes rolled around a fresh strawberry mixture. I’d had them before, and they were delicious.
Laura arrived as I was talking to one of the servers. I walked over to her.
“Hi, Ann,” she said. “I’ve just come from Bernie’s office. He told me about the fiasco last night. I’m glad it’s all been handled. I wanted to check in before I left for the airport for my New York trip. I’m sorry to leave you like this, but Annette has promised to cover for me.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Family is important, and you’ve had this on your schedule for a long time. I think the worst is over. Plans are moving forward with the wedding.”
“Okay, then. Good luck. I talked to Lorraine. She’s confident she can take over tomorrow.” Laura waved and left.
I watched her go thinking how lucky we were to find someone young who was reliable and loved her job. My thoughts flew to Liz, who was anxious to be part of running the hotel. Her time would come. In the meantime, I intended to enjoy my grandbabies who were growing much too fast.
I hung around the dining room waiting for Elise to show up. She and Corwin arrived with friends, and I was able to talk to her privately.
“Everything is as you ordered. Is there anything else we can do for you?” I asked.
She gave me a quick hug. “Thanks for talking to Janelle and me last night. It helped put things in perspective. I’m going to simply enjoy the time here, wedding baby and all.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “We want you to enjoy it. You’ve certainly lucked out on the weather.”
“Yes. We were concerned about an October wedding, but we’ve had plenty of sunshine and no rain.”
I was well aware that the same wouldn’t be true for later in the week. But I wasn’t about to worry about that now. Vaughn was home.
I left the dining room content things were running well and went to find Bernie.
We talked over the day’s activities and plans for tomorrow, and then I went home. Vaughn and Robbie had gone on errands looking for a dinghy and had plans to catch a movie Robbie wanted to see. I loved the idea of their spending time together and decided to go see the triplets. For years, even before my divorce, I’d had a close relationship with Liz. Now, as a mother herself, Liz relied on me to give her advice about the children. I treasured these moments with her.
I called to see if it was a good time to come over, and Liz said, “It’s perfect. Can I talk you into watching the T’s? Chad wants to take me to lunch?”
“Sure,” I said. “You tell me what I need to do, and I’ll take over.”
I hung up both excited and a little concerned about handling the three active toddlers. Two children were easy compared to three children of the same age, all bent into getting into predicaments, mostly from curiosity. But the toddlers were agreeable about following directions. Unless one of them decided to cry. Thinking of it now, I couldn’t help chuckling. Things went from calm to pandemonium in the blink of an eye.
Knowing I had limited time before I’d have to get ready for the wedding, I headed over to Liz’s house.
As soon as I saw the excitement on the children’s faces at seeing me, I couldn’t stop a sting of tears. Though a significant part of my time was spent working, it was these treasured moments that were the best. Looking back, they were what I’d most remember.
“Hi, GeeGee,” said Olivia, the boldest of the three, running up to me. Emma and Noah weren’t far behind. I scooped them into my arms. It was a hot day, and their little bodies were sweaty. Maybe I’d let them go into the pool before naptime.
“Me up,” said Noah.
“No, me!” cried Emma.
Olivia said, “Me! Me!”
Laughing, I hugged each of them.
Liz and Chad appeared at the entrance to the playroom looking relaxed and happy.
“Thanks for watching the T’s,” said Chad. Tall with strawberry-blond hair, he was a computer whiz and had his own consulting company. That was a factor in buying their house. Space above the garage was turned into his office. And though he was often away on calls, it was nice to have him nearby.
“We appreciate it,” said Liz, looking adorable in a sleeveless, flowered dress that showed off her toned arms. “We’re going to grab lunch and then look for a new car for me. It’s time.”
“Have fun. Remember, I must leave here no later than three because I have a VIP wedding at the hotel. Rhonda and Lorraine have been sick, so Laura, Annette, and I are handling it together.”
“No problem,” said Liz. “Have fun with the kids.”
“Is it okay if I allow them to use the splash pool? That might tire them out before naptime.”
“Sounds like a wise idea,” said Chad. He left and returned with the kids’ swimsuits.
After putting fresh water in the pool, Liz hugged each child, said goodbye, and left with Chad.
I sat on the carpet with the kids and played with them. They loved to build blocks into towers and then knock them down. Soon though, squabbling began over ownership of the blocks, and I decided it was time for them to go outside into the splash pool.
I helped them strip down and then got them into their swimsuits.
Feeling like a mother duck, I led them into the kitchen and out the sliding door onto the covered patio where the plastic pool sat.
They ran over to the pool.
Noah was the first to step into it and sit down in the water. Not to be outdone, Emma and Olivia quickly followed, squealing with joy. Such a simple pleasure, I thought, reminding myself to enjoy the rest of the day.
“GeeGee, I want the ball!’ said Emma, indicating the rubber ball lying in the grass not far away.
I retrieved the ball along with two other pool toys. “Here you go. What do you say, everyone?”
A sweet chorus of “Thank you!” followed.
Not caring if I got wet, I sat in a chair beside them, watching them play. As always, I was interested in the interaction between them. They each had moments when they seemed to be in charge either by action or by word. I hoped they always remained as close and loving as they were.
When the children grew tired, I got them out of the pool, stripped off their bathing suits to deal with later, and went inside to get them dressed for their naps. At three, they still needed a nap in the afternoon.
Liz had toilet-trained the children, but I made sure each one went to the bathroom before I tucked them into their cribs. Liz had talked about the cute beds they had for children, and I’d quickly dissuaded her from moving too fast to get them into beds.
Now, as I gazed down at each sleepy child, my heart filled with gratitude for the children Liz thought she might never have. I, too, had struggled to have children and knew what a blessing each one was.
I kissed them and left to go to the patio to take care of the bathing suits and straighten up. No wonder Liz was exhausted every night. I told myself I could remain charming and helpful to the wedding guests and hoped I was right.
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I arrived home to find Vaughn and Robbie down at the dock with what looked like a new dinghy. I hurried down the hill to check in with them before changing to go to the hotel.
“Success,” said Vaughn. “Robbie chose a great new dinghy for Zephyr.
“It’s a beauty,” said Robbie, sounding and acting so grownup that it caught me off-guard after spending time with the triplets.
“It looks great. I’m off to the hotel to work a wedding, but I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
Vaughn came over to me and drew me into his arms. “Remember our wedding?”
“I certainly do. A reason I love seeing other people happily married. And though this couple has some problems to get past, I think they’re going to be fine.”
Vaughn lowered his lips to mine, and I felt like a bride all over again. When he stepped away from me, Vaughn winked. “To be continued.”
I laughed and waved to Robbie who was cleaning out the dinghy, and I headed to the house to get ready for work.
In my bedroom, I took a quick shower and dressed in a simple black sheath and comfortable, low heels.
Rhonda and I always dressed nicely for work and especially for weddings. But we’d quickly learned the importance of comfortable clothing and shoes. One never knew what was going to happen at affairs like these.
For luck, I added the gold necklace Vaughn had given to me before we were married. The Initials A and V were brought together and crossed over with a bar holding three diamonds which had indicated our three children. Now, the three diamonds also symbolized the triplets.