29. Addison
29
Addison
C arl and Vivian Wedgewood arrived on Thursday night the following week. Addison hadn’t asked Noel to go with her to pick them up from the airport, partly because she selfishly wanted to be able to focus all her attention on her parents their first night in town. But there was also a part of her that worried that Noel might not feel comfortable meeting them for the first time at the airport and possibly feeling like a third wheel as he witnessed what she knew would be their very public display of affection. At least between her and her dad. Not with Noel's relationship—or lack thereof—with his own father being what it was.
Her parents had been to Autumn Lake before, but never for more than a couple of days, depending on what their assignment schedule allowed. Addison planned to use every last moment of their eight-day visit to help them fully grasp why she loved her Autumn Lake community so much. The weather was absolutely glorious and was supposed to stay that way for the next two weeks. In gardens everywhere, daffodils and tulips, peonies, and the early season irises were vying for attention. Folks with water craft were taking full advantage of the spring sunshine. Addison had even made plans with her Garden Variety Lovers friends to spend tomorrow, the first Saturday in May, out on the water in the bay at the Garden Gate Guesthouse. Between the whole gang, they had two john boats, three jet skis, and the St. James’ family boat on which Ward promised to give them a tour around the lake.
She hoped that by the time her parents left for their next assignment, they’d already be looking forward to coming back for another visit.
Friday morning, she came out of the tiny guest room to find her parents already bustling around her kitchenette, Dad whipping up a batch of his famous smiley face pancakes, and Mom standing over the coffee maker with a slightly befuddled expression on her face. She hadn’t bothered brushing her hair yet, and the bedhead knot she sported made Addison giggle.
“Good morning,” she said, stepping up behind her mother and wrapping her arms around her waist in a quick hug. “Do you need any help with that?”
The aroma of freshly ground beans competed with the scent of maple syrup warming in a pan on the stove, but no matter how many buttons—and there were only three of them—her mother pushed, the coffee maker wouldn’t turn on.
“Try plugging it in,” Addison whispered, reaching over to do so.
Vivian sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, good grief. This is why your father always brings me my first cup of coffee in the morning. I can’t do anything without a little caffeine in my blood stream.” She bumped Addison with a hip in a good-natured gesture, then headed for the table and dropped into a chair. “I’ll just sit over here and wait to be served.”
“It’s how we prefer it anyway, love,” Carl said, turning from the cast iron skillet long enough to give Addison a quick hug. It was true; Vivian was absolutely useless in the kitchen, although Addison suspected that her mother didn’t try very hard to amend her inadequacies. But then, why should she when her husband and daughter were perfectly content with the way things were?
“I love watching you two do your complicated domestic kitchen dance,” Vivian said, smiling adoringly at the two of them as they worked in tandem to put together breakfast.
Addison poured her mother the first cup of coffee and brought it to her, along with a carton of extra creamy oat milk and a honey crock. “This is local honey,” she told her mother. “A woman named Kimber Tate has this amazing little homestead down the road about a mile outside of town. We’ll go by her produce stand while you’re here. She has such great stuff there, and it’s always changing, depending on what she pulls out of her larder or garden. She also sells some of her baked goods at Juno’s Coffee Bar—you remember Juno, right?”
“Of course, I remember Juno,” her mother said indulgently. “Now there’s a face I’d love to photograph. Those eyes.” Vivian shook her head, a knowing look on her face. “That woman has seen things, Addie.”
Addison nodded. Juno, did indeed, have a story, but it wasn’t one she freely shared with the world. In fact, Addison had been friends with her for more than three years before she heard how her friend had turned her life around like a phoenix rising up out of the ashes of her past.
“Oh, Mom,” Addison gushed. “If you could get a good picture or two of Juno, I’d be tickled pink. I only have a few with her in them and none are great. She’s always the one who offers to take the picture, and even when we force her to be in on them, she always seems to be ducking behind someone or looking the wrong way.”
“Then I’m putting that on my bucket list for while we’re here.”
“You have a bucket list?” Addison asked, grinning back and forth between her parents. “Pray tell, what is on this Autumn Lake bucket list?”
Still at the stove, her father said, “Well, we want to spend time with you, get to know this boyfriend of yours, and hang out with your very cool friends.” Carl then made a valiant attempt to flip a pancake high into the air. It flipped just fine, but landed on the edge of the counter and toppled off onto the floor, uncooked side down. “Oops.”
Vivian pushed up from the table and came immediately to his aide. “I’ve got this,” she said, patting him on the backside before grabbing a paper towel. “You keep cooking, Carl. I’m ravenous.”
They spent the rest of the day lounging around the apartment, catching up on what all was going on in their lives. They communicated regularly by phone, so there wasn’t anything especially new or noteworthy, but there was nothing like having conversations face to face. Addison couldn’t keep from smiling, overwhelmed by the joy of having her parents all to herself. She couldn’t wait to introduce them to Noel, who was joining them for supper, but this first day they were in town was all hers.
Her father napped that afternoon while she and her mother sat out on the deck and talked about Addison’s job. “I really like it, Mom. I know it’s nothing special. I’m not out there saving lives or changing the world or getting rich, not by a long shot. But I don’t need to get rich and I’m really quite content with making people’s lives a little easier by taking care of the small things. I’m not just talking about the passengers, either. The flight crews can be just as out of sorts and confused as the passengers, and it makes a difference when I can sort things out for them.” She gave her mother a wry look. “I honestly don’t know how the world would function without us invisible people.”
“You, my darling, are not an invisible person,” Vivian declared, almost sharply. She reached out and put a hand on Addison’s arm. “Why on earth would you say such a thing?”
Addison rolled her eyes, trying to brush off her mother’s reprimand. “You know what I mean. Behind the scenes stagehands. The minions who handle the minutiae. The little gears inside the big machine.” She linked her fingers together in demonstration. “No one sees those parts of the job, but we’re the reason the whole place even functions.”
Vivian said nothing for a few moments, the silence stretching out to the point of discomfort. Addison opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then, in a very quiet voice, her mother asked, “Is that how we made you feel, Addie? Like you were invisible?”
She sounded so distraught, that Addison felt an urgent need to assuage her. “Oh, no, Mom. Of course not. I mean, I—I didn’t exactly fit in everywhere we went, but neither did you. In fact, you and dad kinda fall into the same category, don’t you think? Always behind the camera, never in the shot.”
It wasn’t exactly true; her parents were recognizable figures in their field, and not just by the images they captured on film. They’d been in front of the camera so many times that a collection of theirs was often considered incomplete without a photo of them included in it.
It helped that they had the kind of faces that told stories of their own, features that camera lenses turned into works of art. Her mother’s dark green eyes fringed with thick lashes, her long straight nose and high cheekbones, her strong jawline, framed by the waterfall of nearly black hair that she typically wore in a long braid, now threaded with strands of silver that only added nuance to her appearance.
And then there was her father. Carl had the long lean body of a runner, even though he professed to loathe the sport. He had the sandy blond hair of someone who spent a lot of time in the sunshine, a broad forehead with fine lines that deepened into grooves when he was engrossed in something, and ears that, according to him, were just a little too big. The laugh lines at the corners of his eyes spoke of his engaging character, and his ready smile hinted that there was always a terrible dad joke just waiting for an opportunity to be let out.
Addison could stare at their photos forever and never have her fill of them. They were two halves of a whole. Yin and yang. One began where the other one ended… leaving no space between them for anyone else.
Including Addison.
Oh, they were good at stopping to notice what was going on outside their two-person circle. They’d metaphorically uncoil from around each other and open their arms to draw their daughter in. They’d tell her they loved her, that she was the most brilliant creature in the world, that they couldn’t imagine their lives without her in it. And she believed every word, without a doubt.
Then they’d go back to the business of being them, leaving Addison standing on the sidelines, uncertain of her place in their world.
Wondering about her place in the world in general.
Until now. Until Autumn Lake. Until her lovely little apartment above the Quill and Ink Stationery Shop.
Until her Garden Variety Lovers Club girlfriends.
Until Noel Stewart.
Vivian wasn’t buying Addison’s protestations. “Addie, darling.” She straightened in her patio chair and pressed a hand to her chest. “I won’t speak for your father, mainly because I have a feeling he’ll have plenty to say about this himself, but I’ve never thought of you as being invisible. Not once. From the moment they laid you in my arms, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you.”
Addison’s heart thudded behind her ribcage in response to her mother’s words, the visceral reaction surprising even her. Her throat was tight with emotion, and her ears felt hot.
Vivian continued, an expression of what could only be motherly adoration on her face. “It’s why we always insisted on bringing you with us, no matter where we went, no matter what country we visited, no matter how remote our assignments. I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing your angel face at the beginning and ending of each day.”
The door of the apartment opened and Carl came out with a cup of coffee. His hair stuck out from his head on one side and his eyes were a little puffy from sleep, but he had one of his disarmingly sweet smiles on his face. “A vision of rare beauty,” he declared, crossing the little deck to plant a kiss on top of Addison’s head, then her mother’s. “Can I get either of you something before I interject myself into this conversation? Coffee? Wine? Cookies?”
Addison held up her water bottle and her mother shook her head. “Sit, Carl. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Oh?” He sat the glider next to Addison and rested his arm across the back of it, tousling her hair briefly. “What are we discussing?”
Vivian sat forward, her eyes fixed on Addison, but she reached for her husband’s hand. “I will speak for both of us now, Addie, since your father is here and can contribute as he’d like. We’re so sorry—what an awful word that is. How inadequate and trite it is.” She shook her head as if to rattle loose her frustration.
Addison glanced at her father whose brows were now drawn together in concern. He said nothing, waiting for cues from his wife.
“I’m sorry we haven’t taken the time to put into words how important your very existence is to us, Addison. I love getting your texts and your phone calls, but it’s our video chats that make my heart sing. Half the time I don’t even pay attention to what you’re saying, because all I want to do is stare at your perfect, lovely, pixie, angel face.”
“Mom,” Addison chided, but it was softened by her grin.
“I’m kidding,” Vivian said. "I know I'm a terrible listener, but I'm working on it." Then she straightened and turned to her husband. “I owe you an apology, too, my love,” she began, squeezing his fingers. “You’ve been wanting to take time off to spend here for years, and I’ve always come up with a reason to put it off.”
Carl brought Vivian’s hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “And your reason was because you believed that Addison wanted her space, that she needed a break from us.”
“I should have trusted you, Carl. You know your daughter so well, and I should have listened to you.” She leaned closer to him then reached up to smooth down his hair.
“No one loves your daughter as much as you do, Viv. We’re here now, and you’re the one who rearranged things so that we could make this trip. You don’t need to apologize to me. Not ever.” Carl cupped her cheek.
Vivian pressed her cheek into his hand. “Well, you’re the one who—”
“Um, hello?” Addison interrupted, her grin widening at their saccharine interaction. “Would you two like me to step out of the room?”
In a way, this behavior was exactly why she sometimes felt like she was invisible, or at the very least, a spectator in their world. But in that moment, she realized that she loved them exactly the way they were. Carl and Vivian weren’t perfect parents; no one was. There were times, yes, when it had felt like she had to wedge herself into their love bubble, but Addison had grown up with the unwavering knowledge that her parents loved each other, that they would fight tooth and nail to nurture and maintain their marriage no matter what the world brought their way.
That certainty, Addison realized in hindsight, was the foundation of who she was now. It was a big part of what had shaped her into the gentle, compassionate, and yes, even confidant young woman she’d become. The same young woman who had stepped out into the world with her head up and her game face on. Afraid, absolutely, but courageous, too. The same young woman who knew what she wanted, enjoyed both her work and her hobbies, who loved the people she surrounded herself with.
And now that she’d finally found her own place in this world, she could see clearly her place in her parents’ world.
“Oh, Addison,” her mother said, her cheeks pinking prettily, her eyes sparkling. “We’re ridiculous, aren’t we?”
“Not a bit. I want what you two have. I want it more than anything.”
Her father pulled her up against his side and kissed her temple, reminding her in a surprisingly endearing way of Noel. “We want what we have for you, too. Because we love you.”
“I know you love me, Daddy. Both of you. I’ve never not known.”
“You’re not invisible,” her mother reiterated. “Let me hear you say it.”
“I’m not invisible,” Addison said, rolling her eyes. “But I’m never going to be the person in front of the camera, either. Just so you know. I’m a behind the scenes kind of girl, and I really like my life the way it is.”
“We like the way your life is, too,” her father echoed. “Except for this young man we have yet to meet. I’m not so sure about that whole thing.”
Addison elbowed him. “You’ll like him. I promise,” she assured him.
That evening, the four of them filled Addison’s little apartment with rambling conversations and easy laughter, surrounded by the exotic aromas of a home-cooked middle eastern meal made up of chicken tagine with seasoned cous-cous, air-fryer falafel balls and impossibly soft pita bread, and a robust and garlicky baba ghanoush dip.
As Addison had predicted, her parents had fallen head over heels in love with Noel. She’d caught her mother studying him on several occasions, her eyes slightly narrowed in concentration, but with a soft smile on her lips. Her father, too, had done his fair share of sizing him up, and from what Addison could tell, Noel measured up quite nicely.
The following morning, glorious Saturday sunlight shone down on their party as the group of friends gathered on Hazel Poleman’s dock at the Garden Gate Guesthouse. Everyone brought something to contribute to what turned out to be an incredible lakeside picnic, and several of them took turns zipping around the lake on the jet skis. Even Noel had braved getting on one after Ward assured him it was just like driving a snow mobile, except on water, and he’d taken to it immediately.
At one point, Addison lost track of her parents, but Hazel pointed them out. They’d commandeered one of the john boats and were drifting lazily in the shallows of the bay. They sat with their heads bent together, deep in conversation, a scene right out of a romance movie.
Liz and Candy Needham came with a badminton set and a cornhole game, Juno brought large carafes of iced coffee and tea and an assortment of cookies and pastries she sold at the coffee shop.
After lunch, Hazel took Judy, Penny’s mother, back to the guesthouse for an afternoon nap. Judy had early onset dementia, and although she’d seemed to enjoy the gathering of friends, it was evident to them all that the hustle and bustle of it all had taken its toll on her.
Addison watched as the two women made their way slowly and carefully across the lane to the beautiful old home that had been in Hazel’s family for over a century. She loved the way they ambled along, arms linked, their matching floppy sunhats fluttering around their heads. It wasn’t hard to imagine what it would be like to grow old in a place like Autumn Lake.
“Hey, you,” Noel said as he came up behind her and slid an arm around her waist.
“Hey, yourself,” she murmured, leaning back against him, not taking her eyes off the women who were now making their way up the curving walkway to the front steps of the guesthouse.
Noel waited to speak until Hazel and Judy had disappeared inside the house. “Ward got called away for about an hour so we won’t be doing the lake tour until he gets back. How would you feel about taking one of the john boats out for a spin with me?”
Addison turned into him and draped her arms around his neck. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do right now.”
When the sun started sinking toward the horizon, they built a small bonfire on the beach, eking as much pleasure out of the day as possible as they watched the peaches and golds reflected on the lake. The day had worn them all out in the best way possible, but no one wanted to be the first to call it a night. Finally, as the fire began to die down, Addison noticed both her parents yawn at the same time.
“All right, you two. Time to get you home to bed,” she said with a chuckle, reluctantly easing out from under the blanket she and Noel had draped around their shoulders. Noel stood and offered her a hand up, then helped her gather their things. Vivian and Carl were a little slower to the ready, but they didn’t put up any argument about calling it a night.
Noel had come in his own car, so they said their goodnights with fewer kisses than usual. “I miss you already,” he whispered against her temple when he drew her close for a hug.
“I miss you already, too.” She pressed a secret kiss against the tender spot just below his ear where she was sure she could feel his pulse under her lips. “See you tomorrow.” She couldn't recall ever being so blissfully happy.
Twenty-four hours later, everything about her beautiful little world had turned upside down.