Chapter 24
LUCY
TEXT CONVERSATION WITH CHARLIE
WHAT HAPPENED?
Nothing happened last night.
OMG YOU’RE KILLING ME
I have to go to work. I’ll come over later.
YOU’LL FIND SOMEONE WHO IS DEAD.
“Lucy, dear, let’s chat for a minute, if you wouldn’t mind,” Eileen says, patting my hand as we finish cleaning up the Sip. It’s just past noon, our closing time on Sundays. Wayne was here, as usual, and when we told him it was closing time, he left with a long-suffering sigh.
“Of course,” I say, trying to act like I’m not deliciously sore in a way that makes me think of Enzo every time I move.
“You look just beautiful today,” Eileen says, smiling widely at me as I wipe the counter for the fifth time. “I can’t put my finger on what’s changed. Did you do something different with your hair?”
I’m hit with a mental image of Enzo gripping my hair while he thrust into me from behind. Swallowing dryly, I say, “No, nothing different. I just stayed out late last night, so I left it a little wild.”
“Oh, yes,” she says as she starts making a latte that is hopefully meant for me. “I couldn’t make it last night, but I heard all about the goings-on at the lobster trap tree lighting. That’s partly what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” I ask innocently as she pours the latte into a huge white and red mug before starting in on another.
“Oh, yes. I heard the Larry’s lobster claw wouldn’t stay upright.
Everyone’s been tittering about it.” She glances up at me, her eyes surprisingly shrewd.
“Everyone’s also been talking about our friend Enzo’s performance at The Sweetest Thing.
The dance party was divine! I took a turn with Amanda Willis, did you notice? ”
“I did,” I say with a grin. “Something tells me you’re the one who invited her.”
Her smile widens. “I did indeed.”
I tell her about my talk with Amanda near the bridge, and she nods knowingly, as if she’s not the least bit surprised.
“It’s a special place,” she says. “A place of wonders. I’m happy she and Portia have taken a shine to each other.
They’re a beautiful pairing. Grumpy and sunshine.
Some people think like takes to like, but most of the time we do best with people who are unlike ourselves.
What better way is there to learn and grow? ”
“Were you and Murray like that?”
“Oh, yes,” she says with a distant smile. “The first time I met him, I couldn’t stand him.”
“Really?” It’s hard to imagine Eileen disliking anyone, let alone the man she’s mourned for years.
“He made assumptions about me because I used to be a beauty queen. He was the accountant I went to for help with my taxes. But he quickly learned the error of his ways, and we had a beautiful relationship.”
“I wish I could have known him.”
She looks me in the eye and says, “In a way, you do. You know him because you know this place where he lived, because you know me, and he and I spent years helping shape each other. I’d like to think I know your mother in the same way.”
Tears burn in my eyes. “Oh, Eileen,” is all I can say. Leave it to her to find something so beautiful in grief.
She pats my hand. “Come. Let’s sit and talk.”
We each pick up a mug, and she leads the way to the cozy corner booth. I slide in next to her and sip the drink, letting its sweetness settle me. “Delicious, what is it?”
She beams at me. “A sugar cookie latte. It’s one of the themed days on the town calendar, so I thought we might as well prepare for it.”
She pauses, and I wonder if it’s my turn to talk.
“So,” I start. “I suppose you heard that I drank a little too much and Enzo helped me get back to my cat-sitting house.”
“I did,” she says with a grin, as if I’m a prized student who just earned an A+. “He’s an honorable boy, so I knew you’d come to no harm. You know, the reason I didn’t go to the lobster trap tree lighting last night was because I was having a delightful dinner with his grandmother.”
Dread sits heavy in the pit of my stomach.
“Oh?”
“Yes, she invited me over to discuss some past business.” Sighing, she adds, “I’m afraid this whole banning thing started because of me.
Francesca has been holding a grudge over what happened with Enzo’s mother.
Daniela and I were friendly before she left town, and Francesca was certain I was the one who’d told her to leave. ”
My eyes widen. “You never would have told her to abandon her children.”
“No, of course not,” Eileen says, frowning.
“And it’s unthinkable that she did. Marco wouldn’t have fought her for custody.
But I did tell her to leave him. Enzo’s parents weren’t a love match, Lucy.
It’s so important to love the person you marry, because marriage isn’t easy.
” She sips her drink. “Even with my Murray. We made a choice to love each other every day, and to let that love push us past everything else. Because there will always be arguments and grudges, and if you don’t let love lead the way, you’ll stumble over them. ”
I lean toward her, riveted. “But they didn’t have that?”
Her expression turns sad. “They liked each other well enough in the beginning, but they didn’t know each other.
You can’t truly love someone without knowing their flaws and your own.
By the time she left, there was only resentment between them.
Those children were so young. Thank goodness they had their grandparents here in town. ”
I think of little Enzo, left to take care of his siblings and the family business, and I feel a surge of empathy for him. I know as well as anyone what it’s like to have to take on too much, too soon. The weight can be crushing.
No, Lucy. You’re not supposed to fall for him!
Shoving the thought down as deep as it will go, I ask, “Did you and Daniela stay friends?”
She traces the rim of her mug, her gaze far off.
“Murray and I tried to have children for a long time. I went to the Wishing Bridge hundreds of times and begged for them, but it never happened. Then we were told by a doctor that it never would. I couldn’t forgive Daniela for leaving those beautiful children behind.
Truthfully, I didn’t want to forgive her. ”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.
“Oh, that’s all in the past.” She pats my hand.
“And I realized that the bridge did grant my wishes.” She smiles at me, her eyes full of love.
“I may not have children of my own, but I have you and Charlie and all the wonderful young people in this town who come to me for advice and some warmth and comfort. It’s more than enough, my dear. ”
But I wonder, suddenly, if it is. Eileen spends so much time worrying about other people. Loving us. It seems unconscionable for her to be alone.
“I love you,” I say honestly. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through this past year without you and Charlie. And I definitely would be struggling more with this season if I didn’t have your Advent calendar.”
“What was today’s challenge?” she asks, smiling slightly.
“To count the number of reindeer decorations I saw on the way to work. Forty-five.” I smile back at her. “You always know how to make things fun. I’ve enjoyed all of my challenges.”
“But I failed you with Santa Speed Dating,” she says sadly. “I’ve been fretting about it for days. And I was hoping that something glorious would blossom between you and Hudson. It would be such a thing for one of my girls to marry Erica’s son.”
“I don’t think he’s my type,” I say honestly.
“No, I expect not.” She gives me a knowing look that makes me shrink into my seat. “I was really hoping to find you a nice man by Christmas.”
I twist my mouth. “Maybe I’ll go back to the Wishing Bridge to make another wish.”
“The bridge always gives you what you need, Lucy,” she says seriously, “especially if you go with an open heart, and most especially at this time of year. But what you need might not be what you think you want. Remember that.”
Her words rattle me, but I can’t fully process them. Not yet. So I change the subject. “Uh, so Francesca wants to bury the hatchet?”
“She told me all would be forgiven if I help her find life partners for her grandchildren.”
Having just taken a sip of my latte, I almost spit it out at her. “All four?”
She smiles. “All four.”
“Is there a time limit?”
She releases a sigh. “She’d prefer for it to happen before she leaves this mortal coil. Francesca is very dramatic.”
“What did you say?”
“I said yes, of course.” She smiles at me, every inch the beauty queen she once was. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than a matchmaking challenge. If you want to know the truth, it feels like she gave me a beautiful Christmas present.”
“Let me guess,” I say, trying to act calm even though my pulse is racing. “You were already going to play matchmaker for all of them anyway?”
She tilts her head, gazing at me with a glint in her eyes. “Would you like to help?”
“I still don’t think you should try to find someone for Enzo,” I say, my mouth puckering. “He doesn’t want to be in a relationship.”
“Some people don’t know what they want until they’ve had a taste of it,” she says pointedly. “It’s like the Wishing Bridge. It may grant you your wishes, but not necessarily in the way you thought it would.”
The front door creaks open, and I glance over, half expecting it to be Enzo. But it’s Charlie.
Of course it’s Charlie. I’m honestly surprised she didn’t show up sooner, but the hollows under her eyes suggests she’s even more hungover than I am.
She gasps the second she sees me. “You’ve had sex,” she accuses. “I knew it.”
“Yes,” Eileen says, unable to hide her amusement. “I rather think we were getting to that.”
I bury my face in my hands. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
Charlie hurries over to us and pries one of my hands away from my face. “You didn’t want us to find out at all.”
“That too.”
Eileen is beaming at me, and Charlie’s watching me with sharp interest. I feel like a slide under a microscope.