Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
By noon they had both showered, gotten dressed and were ready to go explore wintertime Provincetown.
After leaving the inn they drive down to Herring Cove to check out the beach. Lizzie loved beaches in wintertime, not only were they almost always completely empty, there was something just so magical about a snow-covered beach. They’d both worn their boots so they parked and took the short trek from the parking lot to the beach. The waves, enhanced by the storm the day before, were big, and intense.
Lizzie takes out her phone and grabs a couple of photos. “I know, I shouldn’t have brought my phone as we unplug, but I want to have some photos to-”
“Oh, I want photos too!” Jack says, taking his phone out too, then putting his arm around Lizzie, takes a quick selfie. “These will be photos we will show our families, ‘this is when we decided to get married!’”
“Aw, that’s very sweet of you, honey,” she says, taking a selfie as well. “Who knew a tech guy could be so sentimental?”
“Hey, that’s a stereotype I have witnessed in real life that doesn’t always fit. I’ve seen many a techie cry at a puppy video,” he says, smiling at her.
“Well, who hasn’t cried at a puppy video? I mean, unless you’re completely dead inside.” replies Lizzie. They walk for a while, but as the wind picks up, causing the cold to start stinging their faces, they turn around and head back to the car.
“Whoa! That was a sudden change!” says Lizzie, shivering as she fastens her seatbelt.
Jack is shivering too, “you know what they say about New England weather, just wait five minutes…”
“That’s probably true everywhere,” Lizzie says, “but the ocean does make it particularly unpredictable. Where to now?”
“Want to go grab some lunch?” Jack says, driving them back toward the town center. “Maybe some pizza at Tony’s?”
“You do not need to ask me again, I can think of no better way to warm up than a hot slice of pizza,” Lizzie says.
There’s no line at Tony’s, the gift of coming in the off-season, and in no time they are sitting in a booth enjoying their pizza - mozzarella with basil for her, and feta with black olives for him.
“So I have to ask you,” Jack says between bites, “Have you really been able to not look at your email or check messages?”
Lizzie narrows her eyes. “Are you cheating on our deal? Already? We haven’t even been engaged for 24 hours, and I am finding out you’re not trustworthy?” she says, teasing him.
“I have not cheated. I’ve been very tempted to check my emails, but I have not, and I didn’t pick up when my phone rang and it was a New York number. Even though I thought it could be the New York Times wanting to talk to me,” Jack says, starting in on his second slice.
Now her curiosity is piqued. “Did they leave a voicemail? Ugh! No! I am getting sucked back in!” she laughs. “It’s so seductive and such a slippery slope!”
“I know! It is truly almost impossible.” He pauses, looks back and forth, like they’re in a spy novel. “What if...nah, nevermind.”
“No! You can’t do that! You can’t tempt me with something and then not finish the thought!” she says.
“Okay, what if, as, you know, responsible adults with demanding jobs, we allowed ourselves one half-hour to check in with our jobs? I’ll be honest, the not-knowing is driving me crazy and keeping me from really relaxing.”
“I know, I find I keep thinking about all the inquiries that are probably coming into the Gazette and how it’s probably overwhelming for my dad,” Lizzie says. “So okay, how about, we walk around Commercial Street for the next half-hour or hour, head back to the inn and make some calls? Check some emails? Sound good?”
“Yes, perfect, but let’s put a limit on it, no more than an hour?” Jack says.
“Deal!” Lizzie says.
It didn’t take too long to exhaust the open businesses on Commercial Street. Most were closed for the winter, and other than the Provincetown Bookstore, and Sea Side Records, there weren’t too many spots that interested the both of them. Lizzie picked up a copy of a Mary Oliver book of poetry at the bookshop, and Jack snagged a vintage copy of Meet the Beatles on vinyl.
It began to snow a little bit again, so to add to the coziness of the afternoon they grabbed two hot cocoas at Cafe Nirvana on the way back to the inn.
Once they got back to their room, they took off their boots, Lizzie pulled out her laptop that she’d smuggled in underneath her clothes in her suitcase, and made herself comfortable on the bed sitting cross legged and snuggled up against the pillows she propped up behind her.
“I’m going to head downstairs, are you okay with that?”Jack asks Lizzie, pulling out his laptop, power cord and notebook.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” she says dismissively as she watches a day and a half’s worth of emails appear in her inbox. She sighs. “Oy, okay, an hour, right? Good luck to us!”
As soon as Jack leaves Lizzie grabs her cell and calls her dad. He picks up on the first ring.
“Okay, so what are you doing calling me,” he says instead of hello. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”
Lizzie laughs. “I know, I know, we’ve given each other permission to check in and see what’s up for an hour, so don’t waste my time, Peter Martin.,” she jokes. “What’s going on? What’s the 411?”
He doesn’t say anything right away which concerns her.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I didn’t want to ruin your time away with the drama here,” he says.
“Drama? What drama? Is Mom okay?” She’s getting concerned.
“Yes, she’s fine...But, well, it seems Billy and Bud are not taking their defeat very well, and they…” There he goes hesitating again.
“Dad! You’re freaking me out, just tell me what’s going on,” she asks, worried.
“They’ve encamped themselves down at the property, and last I knew Billy had chained himself to a tree saying he’s doing this to, ‘save Cranberry Harbor from ruin.’”
“You’re kidding me,” Lizzie says, incredulous. “They lost the vote by a landslide,” she says. “Almost every single person voted for it. I just can’t believe this.”
“Well, they’re saying the vote was wrong, they want a recount-”
Lizzie bursts out laughing. “A recount? We all saw how everyone voted, there’s no recounting an overwhelming win on an in-person vote. He’s totally lost his mind,” Lizzie says.
“That he has, it has drawn some press however, mostly from the not the most reliable sort of press, the fringe kind out outlets from the dark recesses of the internet,” Peter says. “I’m sorry honey. I promised your mom I wouldn’t call you and tell you. But you called me, so…”
“No, I needed to know this,” and right then Jack comes bursting into the room.
“Billy and Bud are at the property and Billy is chained to a tree!” he blurts out.
She points to her phone, “Yeah, Dad just told me.”
“We need to head back,” they both say at the same time.
“No, you two need to stay and celebrate, I mean relax,” Peter says.
“Dad. I know you know,” finally something for Lizzie to smile about. “Jack told me he asked you and Mom for my hand,” she teases. “Were there any goats or exchanges of money involved?” she laughs.
“No, and I’m disappointed. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to get married so I can finally get some goats. Thanks a lot,” he shoots back, laughing. “Seriously, I’m assuming you said yes?”
“Indeed I did. Is this where you say you’re not ‘losing a daughter, but gaining a son?’”, she asks, kidding him.
“Nah, we don’t care much for him, you’re on your own with this one, missy.” They both laugh. “You know honey, we are absolutely thrilled. We love Jack like he’s one of our own, but mostly we love that he makes you so happy. We think the two of you are so good together, we’re thrilled that you found your way back to each other. Congratulations, sweetheart.”
“Well, good, that’s a relief, I wasn’t looking forward to eloping and you know, never speaking to you and Mom. That would have made the partner's desk situation at the office very awkward,” Lizzie says, smiling as she’s talking to him. She looks over at Jack who is frantically typing on his laptop. Their little dreamy bubble seems to have been burst, and by the two biggest pains in everyone’s neck in Cranberry Harbor.
“I should go, Dad, we need to figure out what to do. I think we’re going to head back soon,”. As he hears her say this, Jack nods, gets up, takes his suitcase out of the closet, places it on the bed, opens it and starts putting his clothes in.
“Okay, I’ll probably come straight there when we get back,”. She's quiet while listening to him as she watches Jack pack up. “I know Dad, but we really think we need to be there, especially Jack, this is his baby and he needs to be there to deal with Billy and Bud.” She glances at Jack and rolls her eyes a little. “Uh huh, well okay, I should go Dad, I’ve got to pack. Love you, see you soon.” She puts her phone down. “He doesn't want us cutting this getaway short, he thinks we should stay,” she says, pulling her suitcase out from under the bed.
“I’m sorry, do you want to stay? Am I pushing you?” Jack says, stopping mid-fold, concerned.
“No! That’s him, I definitely think we need to be back there. I want to control the narrative coming out on our social media. Dad won’t be posting anything, and I want to stave off any panic in the town about what’s happening.” she says, as she goes into the bathroom to gather her things.
“Good, because I want to get together with some of my board members, maybe even the police and some selectboard members to see how to handle this. We don’t want him turned into some sort of sympathetic character and have others join him,” Jack says, putting the last of his clothes, phone charger and toiletries in his suitcase and zipping it closed. He then sighs and sinks onto the bed. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, I am beyond bummed that our break ended this way. I really wanted another evening here with you, to actually go out to dinner since we didn’t get to last night. And in all honesty, to have a day and evening where I wasn’t a nervous wreck thinking about proposing.”
She stops her packing, walks over to him and gives him a hug. “Jack, it’s fine, I want to head back as much as you do. We’ve managed to have an amazing 24 hours, and I am very grateful for that.” She gives him a kiss, and he pulls her onto his lap. They fall back on the bed and begin to laugh. “How many people can say they had their engagement weekend ruined by Billy Taylor?”
Jack laughs, “I don’t know, I have a sneaky suspicion we are not the first.”
Lizzie gets up to finish packing. “I think you are probably right.”
Once they're packed, before they leave the room, Jack puts down his bag, and takes Lizzie’s out of her hand. “I just want to say, again, I love you so much, and cannot wait to marry you.”
Lizzie throws her arms around him. “Me either, and let’s do ourselves a favor and not invite Billy…”
“Or Bud,” he says, kissing her.
“Oh, he’s totally off the list,” she says laughing as they close the door to the room. “Though I do wonder what kind of gift he would have gotten us.”