Chapter 50 Alice
Georgiana was a natural on the campaign stage, there was no denying it.
It shouldn’t have surprised Alice, given how her granddaughter’s entire life had been an exercise in tossing out inflammatory
statements and watching them detonate. The difference now was that there was a real purpose behind them.
One of those purposes was to dethrone Camille once and for all.
It served her right, what with how she’d treated Liam. Running over his heart with the tires of that ridiculously fancy bicycle
of hers. Swapping him out for a new man Camille was parading all around town.
Though Alice wasn’t sure she herself was treating Liam much better, with the cold shoulder she’d been giving him since he
tried to push the boundaries on their friendship.
They said hello at church and played pickleball a couple times, but he had started asking Maureen Slack to be his partner
instead. Maureen was a widow and very pretty, fifteen years their junior. It infuriated Alice, not that she could do anything
about it. She was the one who had pushed him away.
“That’s my granddaughter,” Alice told spectators as Georgiana gave an impromptu stump speech on the steps of City Hall.
It was the second day of the Fudge Festival.
Georgiana had captured a large audience.
Many people were holding up their phones to record the speech, or at least that was what Alice supposed they were doing.
She felt protective over her granddaughter’s privacy, though she figured she shouldn’t, given how many videos Georgiana herself posted online each day.
Alice had never believed in the internet but found herself too curious to stay away now.
Just yesterday she’d let Georgiana make her one of those social media accounts so she could follow along.
It was all very foreign, but exciting too.
“She’s a natural, isn’t she?” Eloise said. “She’s got the audience in the palm of her hand.”
“A true performer,” Clyde admired from Eloise’s side. “She’s an artist at her core.”
“I suppose she is.”
Georgiana was pitching for campaign donations, passing around one of Clyde’s hats as a collection bucket. Even fudgies, with
no personal investment in the island, were stuffing the hat with bills.
“I ran away from this island when I was eighteen,” Georgiana said, her voice projecting far and wide. “And now I’m back to
fix the problems that made me want to leave in the first place. I’m an insider in blood, an outsider in perspective.” The
crowd went wild.
“We’ll start an organic community garden!” Gigi went on. “And take our seniors out dancing! And make electric scooters legal!
And put in a dispensary on Main Street!”
Alice wasn’t sure whether to cover her ears or clap harder. She did a little of both.
Georgiana could get carried away, that was true, but she would be fair and kind and advocate for this community the way no
one else would.
“What did you think?” Georgiana asked, approaching Alice and Eloise afterward. Her eyes were blazing, energy coursing. Alice
wanted to borrow it, bottle it.
“Captivating,” Alice said. “Absolutely captivating. Your pop would be so proud.”
“The governor had better watch out,” Eloise said, hugging Georgiana. The movements between them had relaxed over the summer, and Alice was glad to see it. “You’ll be taking that job soon enough.”
“Why stop there?” Clyde said. “Georgiana for president.”
“I’ll be the first one without a high school diploma,” Georgiana said happily.
Dr. Kentwood appeared at Gigi’s side. “It’s sorcery, what you do,” he said. “Everyone was entranced.”
Georgiana insisted they were just friends, but Alice had her doubts. Either way, she was glad to see her granddaughter getting
out of her own way to give a good person a good chance, whether for friendship or something more.
“Were you entranced?” Gigi asked.
“Guilty as charged.” Dr. Kentwood really was a charmer, but without any of the ego that typically came with it.
“Good,” Gigi said. “I’m channeling spirits from the witches who were drowned in the lagoon.”
Alice could never tell if Georgiana was joking when she said things like this. She prayed she was.
“Twelve thousand dollars in online donations plus three hundred forty-three dollars in cash,” Georgiana said, tallying everything
up. “Dinner’s on me.”
“You do realize my job is to manage budgets, don’t you?” Eloise said. “And watch for fraud?”
“That’s only half your job. The other half is being my adoring mother who oversees all of my flaws because you created me
and love me eternally.”
“How did I get so lucky?” Eloise said dryly. She mussed Georgiana’s hair. The strawberry roots were growing out, the bleach
fading. The natural coloring suited Georgiana far better.
“Meet back at the house in an hour,” Eloise told Georgiana. “There’s something we want to show you. It’s from your dad.”
Alice smiled. She was excited about this one. She’d been with Eloise when Gus had called about it. She’d heard the cordiality in their voices, the careful peace. Gus still wasn’t pulling his weight when it came to being there for the girls. But this gift, it was a big one.
“I don’t want Dad’s money,” Georgiana said. “I’m making it on my own.”
“It’s not money,” Eloise said. “Come back to Thistle Dew after you’re finished signing autographs.”
“Might be a few hours,” Georgiana joked as she and James walked off together.
Clyde stepped aside to talk to a fudgie who was telling a ghost story about the fort.
“They look good together,” Alice observed, watching Georgiana and James.
“They are good together,” Eloise said. “I knew they would be.”
“I did too.” Alice had been the one to butter up James with flattering stories of Georgiana before their first date. Some
of the stories had been embellished, if not fabricated altogether, but that was beside the point.
“I just wish James was staying past summer,” Eloise said. “I don’t want to see Georgiana get hurt.”
“I know the feeling.” Alice still wasn’t sure how Eloise was going to manage splitting time between Mackinac and Scotland.
She was someone who loved to feel deeply rooted. But Alice didn’t think it was her place to say anything. She was trying harder
not to meddle. Besides, it would be good for Eloise to get out and see the world, though half the year abroad did feel extreme.
“I really feel like we’ve gotten Georgiana back this summer,” Eloise said, her complexion bright and rosy.
“I don’t know if we got her back. I think we just realized she never actually left.”
“How are you always so wise, Mother?”
Alice was not always so wise, of course, but Eloise didn’t need to know all the dirt. “There have to be some perks of aging to outweigh the failing eyesight and incontinence,” was all she said.
“You’re getting better with each passing year,” Eloise said, “Liam Townsend clearly thinks so.”
Alice felt her body quiver. “Liam Townsend is an old friend. Nothing more and nothing less.”
They made their way down Market Street for the Fudge Festival Art Walk. The galleries and shops had their doors flung open,
canvases spilling onto the sidewalk.
“I don’t want you not pursuing someone because of me,” Eloise said. “If Gigi can support me being with someone new when her
dad is still alive, I should certainly be able to handle you being with someone other than Dad. It’s been seven years now.”
Alice wondered if Eloise would still feel this way if she knew about the affair. She doubted it.
“No one could ever replace your father,” Alice said.
“I know that. But what I’m learning is that letting new people in is more about addition than subtraction.”
Leave it to Eloise to make everything a math problem.
“There’s nothing between Mr. Townsend and me,” Alice said, feeling parts of herself splinter as she said it. “But I appreciate
your approval, hypothetically speaking.”