Chapter 15
Oliver knew he was fooling himself. He wasn’t going to be able to keep this charade up much longer. Muriel didn’t want a relationship. She wanted a friendship. And he was starting to do a really poor job at pretending he didn’t want both.
“Do you want the plates over here?” Muriel asked. She held a stack of plates in her hands, waiting for Janet to respond.
“They go right over there.” Janet pointed to the large serving buffet they had set up on the back terrace of his grandfather’s house.
“Great,” Muriel said.
Muriel had swept into his life like a hurricane, and they began hanging out together all the time, almost on a daily basis. She was unlike any other woman he had ever met.
First, she woke up as early as he did—and enjoyed it. She started running with him and didn’t mind going on some of the trails he found around the water’s edge. Even with a broken arm, Muriel was up for an adventure. It felt like it had when he was in college meeting new friends and making connections. She even started helping him with the science camp, and she got Sadie to start attending again.
Oliver couldn’t help but keep glancing at the beautiful Muriel.
She didn’t want a relationship, he kept telling himself. Clearly, since she brought up the ex-boyfriend frequently in conversations. Not that he minded. He really loved their friendship.
She had this freedom a lot of the women he dated didn’t have. She did and said what she wanted. She spoke openly and it was refreshing. She rarely put on makeup, and if she did, she used very little, but she was still gorgeous whether she wore it or not. She had a way of thinking about everything and enjoyed talking about more than just gossip. She could also sit in complete silence for hours, looking out at the water in complete bliss. She didn’t blow off his weird musings and got into deep conversations with him. She felt like the first person to really understand him, which not even Jules did these days.
Muriel even enjoyed his grandfather, which no other girlfriend or wife had ever seemed to do, and Max Abbott enjoyed her equally.
“Why aren’t you taking her out?” his grandfather whispered to him as Muriel helped Janet set up the barbeque for the families of the science camp.
“She’s not looking for a relationship,” he answered. The fact spoke for itself.
His grandfather grunted. “That doesn’t mean you don’t ask.”
But Oliver enjoyed whatever they had. Their friendship had been instant after the boat ride—she began texting funny memes and he’d send some of his own in response. She invited him to her mother’s blueberry field and showed him her grandfather’s paintings.
When Sadie didn’t want to come to the barbecue, it had been Muriel who had convinced her to come.
“Thanks again for helping,” he said to her, putting out the sides that they had made—homemade coleslaw, macaroni salad, his famous potato salad, and a cornbread casserole that was always a hit.
“I can’t believe we cooked all this.” Muriel put her hands on her hips as she looked at the table filled with all his dishes.
“We make a good team,” Oliver said. He had started the meat in the smoker the night before. Then they all worked in the kitchen to create the side dishes together with Janet’s help.
“What’s on the barbeque?” Max asked.
“Brisket, hot dogs, sausages, and chicken,” Oliver said.
“Does your district pay for any of this?” she asked, but Oliver knew she knew the answer.
He just laughed and shook his head. “Let’s just say I have a very generous donor.”
She looked over at his grandfather. “He’s really wonderful for doing this.” Muriel placed her hand on his arm, which sent vibrations throughout his body. “I think your grandfather should meet my grandfather. They both love golf and Maine. They could totally be friends.”
“Totally,” Oliver said, but he doubted it. Not that his grandfather wasn’t wonderful—he was—but Max Abbott wasn’t really friends with anyone.
He watched Muriel as she placed serving spoons in the dishes. Would she notice the differences with his family soon? The differences that made Amy leave and only made a woman like Natasha, who had the same type of lineage, stay.
He needed to forget those feelings that kept creeping up every time she smiled or touched him accidentally. This friendship was only that, a friendship. Anything else would end up in disaster like his last marriage. Completely destroyed.
That was when the sudden jolt of Amy’s news hit him again. She was getting married.
Lucky guy.
Men were complete idiots. Look at the fool who had let Muriel walk out of that restaurant. What kind of idiot would let her go?
“I think some of your guests have arrived,” his grandfather said, slinking into the background.
“Where are you going?” Muriel asked him.
“Oh, I don’t know these families,” Max said, stepping farther away from the food.
“You can’t leave. You need to meet my aunt and her family,” Muriel said to him. “This is lovely, what you’ve done for tonight.”
“Oh, all I did was provide the place,” Max said.
Oliver wanted to usher his grandfather back into the house, because the aristocratic side would most certainly turn away his students and their families. He ate a hotdog with a fork and knife. People around Blueberry Bay no longer cared about his last name or his bloodline or who rubbed elbows with his family. They only cared about hard-working people with good character. Not the amount of money in the bank account. Since Oliver didn’t care about the money in his bank account, why not give the students the best of things if he could afford to do so?
“Well, then, you better stay and brag about how generous your grandson is,” she said, not taking no for an answer. “Come on, Max, don’t let a girl down.”
Oliver watched as his grandfather contemplated his answer. “Alright, how can I help?”
This made Oliver snicker, but he could tell his grandfather was as intrigued as Oliver.
“You could help by serving,” Muriel said, handing him a large spoon.
Max scoffed. “Is someone going to greet the guests?”
“I’m going,” Oliver said, and a little part of him wished he could greet everyone with Muriel by his side.
He shook his head as fast as the thought had entered his mind.
“Welcome!” he said as he greeted the first two families to arrive—Sadie’s family and Gia’s family. “Good to see you all tonight.”
“We’re so glad we could make it,” Remy said, handing over a tray to him. “Sadie and I made these ourselves.”
Oliver peeked in to see thick chocolate brownies. “They smell delicious.”
This made Sadie smile.
Gia’s family slowed down and hung back.
“Remy, Colby, do you know the Sullivans?” Oliver asked.
“No, not yet.” Remy held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. We’re Sadie’s aunt and uncle.”
“Oh, yes, nice to meet you, too,” Mrs. Sullivan said, shaking Remy’s hand. “Hailey.”
“Remy and Colby run the market in the village,” Oliver said, trying to start up a conversation.
“Haven’t I seen you out on the water?” Mr. Sullivan said to Colby.
Colby nodded. “I’m mostly out on the boat these days, and my wife runs the market.”
“So, your father finally retired,” Mr. Sullivan said.
The men carried on a conversation about the market and what Emil St. Germain was doing in his free time.
Sadie’s little brother walked up to Gia’s brother and said, “Hi, I’m Matty.”
“Hi, Matty,” Hailey said for the quiet boy standing next to her, who appeared to be about the same age. “This is Henry.”
“Aren’t you part of the PTA?” Remy asked Hailey.
“Yes,” she said. “We’re always looking for new members.”
“You know, I was looking to join this year,” Remy said.
“That sounds great. Maybe you could help us with the booth at the Blueberry Festival?”
Remy smiled. “I’d love to help the greatest little festival around.”
The mothers got into a conversation about the festival as the two girls didn’t speak.
“Feel free to make yourself a snack out back,” he said to the girls, then he turned to the women. “The barbeque is set up in the backyard, but you can go through the house if you’d like.”
“Great, thank you,” Hailey said, and the women and their children walked toward the house.
“Would this place be considered a mansion?” Sadie asked Remy loud enough that everyone could hear.
Oliver found the more transparent he was to the people of Blueberry Bay, the more they would believe his heart was in the right place. When he had first started at the school a year ago, people were very suspicious of him. A single guy who didn’t need the money working in a school with children. He understood he looked suspicious. But he really did want to teach and make a little impact on the small village that had made such a huge impact on him.
Gia peeked over at the brownies. The young girl was exceptionally shy. Exactly the kind of girl who needed a friend, just like the usually outgoing Sadie. “They do smell good.”
Sadie smiled a little bit at that. “Thanks.”
And this was exactly what Oliver had hoped. Getting these girls together in a different environment, with their families. Showing the parents of the middle schoolers at Blueberry Bay how great Remy and Colby were as parents to Sadie.
More people showed up, and before he knew it, his grandfather’s backyard was full of parents and students. People mingled and talked. The food was complimented and devoured by everyone. After dinner, the kids showed their parents what they had been working on at the beach, along with their field notes. The parents and children seemed impressed with what they had done over the summer. When everyone finished dessert, students and parents played a game of science trivia, parents vs. students.
He would never have believed it if he hadn’t seen it, but Max Abbott was enjoying himself with the people of Blueberry Bay.
“I heard you bought quite a few paintings at the auction,” Remy said to Max.
“You did?” Muriel said. “Did you know he’s my grandfather?”
This sparked a lot of interest with the crowd. “You’re Jacob O’Neill’s granddaughter?”
She nodded. “Yes, I am. My mom lives in his cottage on the bay, and that’s my aunt Remy.”
This seemed to please the whole crowd, and as if the stars had aligned just perfectly, this shifted Sadie into a heroic status.
“Did you hear about the storm of the century?” his grandfather asked him. “The boat accident?”
Oliver nodded. He had heard about the sinking of the ship. The horrific events were still talked about among the men and women in town. It was frequently referred back to as a way to calculate time. Things were either before the storm or after.
“I can’t imagine what those men went through,” Max said. “Or what he went through after surviving.”
His grandfather held out his hand, gesturing toward his grand home.
“Would you like to come and see the paintings?” Max said, opening up the French doors that led inside.
Oliver took a picture of Max showing the painting in the study to some of the parents and sent it to Jules. No one in the Abbott family would believe their grandfather was acting like a tour guide.
Other parents meandered through the front hall and front living room, in awe of the space.
“How many bedrooms did you say this house has?” a father asked Oliver.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Oliver said. “Eight, maybe more?”
“Mr. Abbott, you’re like, loaded,” Jimmy, a student from science camp, said.
“No, just my grandfather,” he said, but the truth was, compared to the people in that room, he was loaded.
When the families started leaving, Sadie and Gia had to be coaxed into leaving each other.
“You promise to go to the beach with me tomorrow?” Sadie asked Gia.
Gia typed on her phone. “I’ll text you right when I wake up.”
Remy gave Muriel a hug goodbye and then shook Oliver’s hand. “Thank you so much for tonight. Sadie hasn’t been this happy about friends in a long time.”
“You’re welcome,” Oliver said. “I’m glad the two of them hit it off.”
Remy took Matthew’s hand and said goodbye to his grandfather with Colby.
“The night was a huge success,” Muriel said, cleaning up with Janet.
Oliver held out his hands. “I’ll do the cleanup. You’ve all helped enough.”
Muriel put her hands on her hips. “I’m here and I want to help.”
She picked up a dish in each hand and walked them into the house.
He picked up as many as he could carry, balancing the teetering stack as he followed her inside. The whole night had been better than he could have imagined. He replayed the night in his head.
He stopped her in the kitchen. “Thank you for everything tonight.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” she said, then she hugged him, holding him so close he was sure she would feel his pounding heart. “I had the best time. This really is a special community. Thanks for including me.”
If he had been that twenty-year-old with his life right in front of him, he’d have kissed her, no hesitation. Oliver Abbott had never hesitated back then. What made him hesitate all the time now?
“You’re welcome,” he said into her ear, smelling her fragrance of vanilla and a sweet flower. “You want to go running tomorrow?”
She stepped back and smiled. “Only if you can keep up.”
“Ha! I’ve been taking it slow for you.”
It wasn’t true. He could barely keep up with Muriel, but he wasn’t ever going to let her know. Just like he wouldn’t let her know how he felt about her.
She shook her head. “Just meet me at the mailbox at the usual time.”
He gave her a salute and said goodnight.
The rest of the night, Oliver cleaned up. He’d taken the leftover brisket to the fire station where he volunteered.
“That friend of yours,” his grandfather said when he got home, “she’s one I wouldn’t let get away.”
“Grandpa, she’s not available, believe me,” he said.
“Only a fool lets someone that great go,” Max said to him as he headed to his bedroom.
“Goodnight,” Oliver said, climbing the staircase.
The night had been perfect. He didn’t need reminders that the perfect woman was unavailable.
His phone rang, and he immediately answered when he saw Muriel’s number on the screen. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m thinking I’m going to skip running tomorrow,” she said over the phone.
“What? Why?” he asked. “You afraid I’m going to crush your record?”
“I know you won’t,” she teased and it immediately made him smile. “I just can’t.”
“Oh?” He could hear something off in her tone. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said after a long hesitation. But something felt off in her response. “Something just came up.”
“Okay.” He waited for an explanation, but she didn’t offer any.
“I better go,” she said, hanging up right after she said goodbye.
The interaction felt strange and completely different than the hours before at the barbeque. If he had enough guts, he’d call her back, ask her the right questions, but instead he just sat staring out at the black night not knowing what to think.