Chapter Twenty-One
Emma
“Do you want some scrambled eggs with your crepes?” Emma asked her grandmother.
Sylvia sat again in Rosie’s kitchen, almost in an exact replay of the scene the day after she arrived.
This time, though, Emma hadn’t overslept, mostly because she hadn’t slept much at all. She had awakened with the sunrise,
before anyone else, and sat for a long time on the porch, sipping her coffee and watching the Pacific.
When she heard everyone else moving around inside, she had offered to make breakfast and had decided on her favorite crepes,
along with strawberries from her mom’s garden.
“No eggs for me this morning. Crepes and that fake sausage you made is more than enough,” Sylvia assured her.
“Can I have a strawberry, Mama?” Olive asked.
“You can have a few strawberries with your breakfast,” she told her, ladling another crepe out of the omelet pan to add to
the growing stack.
“Okay,” Olive said cheerfully, returning with a furrowed brow of concentration to the important task of slicing the strawberries
with the child-friendly knife Emma had provided.
Her daughter loved helping in the kitchen and Emma loved teaching her the basics of cooking healthy, nutritious meals.
“Do I really get to spend all day with you today?” Olive asked.
“All day,” Emma said brightly. She had decided to take the entire day off on this beautiful Sunday. As much work as she had to do at the bookstore, she couldn’t spend seven days a week there. It wasn’t healthy.
Besides, it would give her a good excuse to avoid Bryce, whom she hadn’t been able to get out of her head since their kiss
a few days earlier.
She had good employees who were perfectly capable of handling the bookstore for a day. At her mother’s urging, Emma and Olive
were going to take a hike to a favorite secluded beach, where they could build sandcastles, go beachcombing and otherwise
enjoy a beautiful sunny day.
Olive couldn’t be more excited if Emma had told her they were going to Disney World. Another thing she adored about her daughter
was Olive’s sheer joy at simple pleasures. It was a good lesson for her. Life didn’t need to be nearly as complicated as she
tended to make it.
After finishing one more crepe, she carried the stack to the table, where her mother and grandmother were chatting.
“What’s on your agenda today, Mom?” Emma asked. She wouldn’t have minded her mother’s company on her and Olive’s excursion
but couldn’t bring herself to issue the invitation.
She needed time alone with her daughter. Besides, she didn’t want Rosie to feel like every spare second had to be spent with
her and Olive
“I need to work in the garden,” her mother said. “With all the rain we’ve had, I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting it. The weeds
are taking over again.”
For the past two days, they’d had beautiful sunshine. The tourists were out in force and through the kitchen window she could
see kites already in the air, even though the bigger winds wouldn’t come up until late afternoon.
“Do you need some help? We don’t have to go on a hike today. We could stay here and help you instead.”
Rosie shook her head. “Don’t be silly. Today is a lovely day to hike down to Hidden Beach. You’ve been working far too hard. You need to stop and breathe and enjoy our beautiful surroundings.”
“We could help you for a few hours this morning and then all go to the beach this afternoon,” she said.
“Oh, that would be lovely. I can’t today, though. I really do need to catch up on the garden and also some work. Oh, and Pam
is coming by later to drop off a book she wanted me to read.”
Emma froze. It had taken all she had to be civil to her a few days earlier. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep
up the pretense.
“What time will she be here?” she asked carefully. She would make sure she and her daughter were far away by then.
Sylvia, she saw, had sent her a quick look. Her grandmother was the only person Emma had ever confided in. Even her grandmother
didn’t know all the details, but she knew enough.
“This morning, I believe. She’s heading out of town to meet up with some friends. Pam has a very active social life. We’re
not at all alike in that respect.”
“You could have an active social life, too.” Sylvia gave her a chiding look. “How long have I been telling you to try the
dating apps? They’ve done wonders for me.”
“Grandma!” Emma exclaimed. “You’re not really on dating apps, are you?”
Sylvia gave a sly look. “Sure I am. That’s the best way to meet people these days, isn’t it? You can’t tell me you don’t have
a profile on one of those sites.”
Emma could feel her face flush. “I absolutely can tell you exactly that. I’m not interested in dating right now. Maybe someday, but right now I have other priorities.”
She sent a meaningful look toward Olive, who continued eating her food while occasionally slipping a bit of her plant-based
sausage to Dottie, who had learned to sit patiently beside her chair for just these chances.
“You’re a mother, but you’re still a woman,” Sylvia reminded her. “There’s no reason you can’t get out there more.”
“When would you suggest I date? I’m working long hours at the bookstore and then I come home to my child. There’s not a lot
of room in there for a love life. Maybe someday.”
Maybe she would find time for that after she managed to persuade her mother that she should be working at Lucas Construction
instead of the bookstore.
She wasn’t making much progress in that arena. Or any at all.
First things first, she told herself. She needed to earn her mother’s trust by making the bookstore a success, then slowly
ease her way into working at Lucas Construction instead.
They had nearly finished breakfast when the doorbell rang.
“Oh! That must be Pam,” her mother said. “She’s early.”
Emma froze. She did not want to talk to Pam today. She thought she would be able to avoid her, but now that seemed impossible.
“I’ll get it!” Olive scraped her chair back and raced for the front door.
One of her daughter’s favorite things was answering the door. Emma remembered she had been the same way. She always loved
seeing what new adventure might be waiting on the other side.
Rosie followed close behind her granddaughter. With any luck, Pam might drop off the book and leave.
Unfortunately, that wish wasn’t granted. From the kitchen, she heard Pam greeting Olive and Rosie.
“Sorry I’m early. My plans changed and my friends decided they wanted to leave earlier than we had arranged.”
“It’s no problem. We’re having breakfast. Come through and you can say hello to Mom and Emma.”
“I’m Olive,” her daughter said cheerfully.
“I know you are, honey. You are the cutest thing.”
Emma focused on her crepes as Pam came into the kitchen.
“Sylvia, hello, my dear. You are looking so adorable. I love that T-shirt.”
Emma’s grandmother was wearing a shirt that said Still Raising Hell, Just at a Lower Volume.
“Thanks. I made it myself at the senior center. They have a screen printing class every month or so, and we are able to design
our own.”
“How fun.”
“I can make you one if you want.”
Pam shook her head. “No way. That’s a one-of-a-kind for you. I don’t want to steal your great T-shirt.”
Emma suspected Pam would not be caught dead wearing anything of the sort.
“Would you like a crepe or two? They’re delicious. Emma made them.”
Emma fought the childish urge to grab the plate and hide it behind her back.
“I remember back in the day you loved to cook,” Pam said. “Your dad always loved to pass around the cookies you made to everyone
in the office. He was always so proud of you.”
Emma’s fingers tightened on her fork so she didn’t stab Pam in the eye. She did not want to sit here at this table and listen
to her talk about Gary.
“As delicious as I’m sure your crepes are, I have to pass this time. We’re going out for brunch and I don’t want to be too full. It’s lovely to see you both, though.”
Neither she nor her grandmother answered and after a startled pause, Pam turned to Rosie again. “I should go.”
“Thanks for going out of your way to drop off the book. It could have waited until Monday.”
“I know but I wanted to get it to you while I was still thinking about it.”
To Emma’s vast relief, the two women walked out into the foyer.
“Are you all right?”
Emma looked over at her grandmother.
“I can hardly stand to be in the same room with her. She came into the bookstore a few days ago, and it was all I could do
to be polite.”
If Emma did end up working at Lucas Construction in any kind of leadership capacity, one of the very first things she planned
was to figure out a way to push out Pam, no matter what it took. There was no way she could work with the other woman.
Sylvia sighed. “You really need to tell your mom the truth.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“You can’t carry this burden on your own forever.”
“I’m not telling her. It will break her heart.”
“Maybe I’ll tell her, then.”
“Grandma, you can’t. Let her mourn my dad in peace.”
“It’s eating you up inside.”
“It’s not. I’m fine.”
“Tell your mother.”
Before Emma could answer, Rosie returned to the kitchen. She looked between the two of them. “What do you need to tell me?”
Emma aimed a glare at her grandmother, who needed to mind her own business.
“Nothing,” she improvised quickly. “Grandma was saying I need to tell you exactly where Olive and I are going, in case of
an emergency or something.”
“I know right where you’re going. I’m the one who suggested it, remember? You’re heading to Hidden Beach.”
“That’s right. And while we’re there, we’ll probably make our way to Sea Glass Beach, since it’s not that far of a walk.”
“Olive will love that. Well, make sure you keep your phone with you. You should still have good reception.”
“I will. We’ll be fine, I’m sure. Come on, Olive, let’s go get our gear.”
Her daughter took care of her plate and silverware, setting them in the sink to be loaded into the dishwasher, then skipped
down the hall with Emma.
Would Sylvia carry through on her threat to tell Rosie the truth about what had happened the day Emma’s father died? Emma
didn’t think so. Sylvia could have told Rosie at any point over the years yet had chosen to honor Emma’s wishes.
She had to keep her fingers crossed her grandmother would continue to stay silent.