Chapter 22
Sara’s week flew by. She was busier than ever between working at the bookshop and running around doing all the mom things she used to fit into a whole day into her afternoon window. She was learning to manage her time better by putting everything she had to remember on her phone calendar and setting up alerts so she wouldn’t forget. But the week had been a good one. She was enjoying the new job, loved talking to customers, and was starting to recognize regulars who came in often.
Some came in several times a week to stock up on new books or magazines. Most of those customers were older and had more time to read and they liked to chat with her when they came in. She enjoyed it, too. It was fun getting to know them and their tastes in books. She’d introduced some of them to a few of her favorite authors already, based on what they seemed to like.
Alison had noticed and told her she was doing a great job, which was nice to hear. She met the other owner, too, Alison’s best friend, Jess. Jess spent most of her time in her office down the street where she practiced law.
The store was more crowded than usual on Friday. It was still a week before Memorial Day weekend and people were already starting to head to the Cape now on weekends. Alison had signs all over the shop and on social media to promote the signing the next day. Sara looked forward to stopping in with Hannah, not only to get the latest book signed but also to see how busy it was. She wanted to be able to help Hannah have a good signing the following weekend and was excited that hers was on the long holiday weekend, which should bring plenty of foot traffic along Main Street.
Sara knew that Tom had his big meeting today with the huge potential client and she hoped that it was going well. It had been rescheduled from earlier in the week. They didn’t have any plans for the evening or the weekend, so she decided to pick up a bottle of good red wine and make one of his favorite dishes for dinner, baked stuffed shells with Italian sausage. The kids loved it, too. And it was a simple dish to make.
She picked up the kids from their after-school sports and once everyone was home, she paid some bills, then started on dinner. She had everything timed to come out of the oven around five thirty, which was when Tom usually walked through the door. The kids were usually starving by then, too.
But at a quarter after five, Tom called to let her know he wasn’t going to be home for dinner.
“Our afternoon meeting was followed by a round of golf. Now they want to go for dinner and drinks to celebrate working together. They signed a contract, so I sort of have to go. You don’t mind, do you?”
Sara sighed. “Congratulations. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“You’re the best!”
Sara hung up and called her sister.
“Do you have plans tonight?”
“No, Aunt Maddie and I were just talking about what to do for dinner.”
“Do you guys want to come here? I have stuffed shells in the oven and Tom’s not coming home for dinner, he’s with clients, so I have tons of food. And I’d love the company.” Sara heard Hannah ask their aunt and quickly said that they’d love to.
“We’ll leave now and be there in fifteen minutes. Can we bring anything?”
“Perfect, just bring yourselves.”
At five thirty, she heard a car pull into the driveway. She’d just taken the shells out of the oven and they were still bubbling in the casserole dish. She’d made extra garlic bread and skipped the salad. And she’d pulled some frozen brownies out of the freezer and popped them into the oven to thaw for dessert.
Hannah and Aunt Maddie walked through the door at the same time the kids came to the table for dinner. Hugs were given all around and everyone settled at the table. Hannah handed a bottle of Josh cabernet to Sara.
“Thanks! I just opened this bottle if you want to pour glasses for us while I bring the shells over.” She gave Hannah the good bottle of wine she’d planned to have with Tom. She set the pasta and garlic bread on the table and let the kids help themselves. Hannah handed her a big glass of wine and she joined everyone at the table.
Aunt Maddie hadn’t seen the kids in a while, and asked each of them what was new and exciting. The kids loved her and filled her in on everything going on—all the different sports they were in—and both she and Hannah did a great job of making each of her boys feel special. As always, her boys inhaled their food, had seconds, and then ran off. Meanwhile Sara, Hannah, and Aunt Maddie still chatted away with plenty of food on their plates.
“This wine is really good,” Hannah said as she lifted the bottle and topped their glasses off.
“Thanks,” Sara said. “I’d had it once before and really liked it. I picked it up thinking Tom and I might celebrate the end of a good week. He just closed a big deal and things are going great for me at the shop. I’m really enjoying it.”
“I’m so glad you’re liking the new job,” Aunt Maddie said, then added, “You didn’t know earlier that Tom was going out with clients?”
“No, it was a last-minute thing.”
Hannah took a sip of wine and set her glass down. “Well, it’s his loss, but our gain.”
Sara laughed. “I’m glad that you guys are here to enjoy it. We should do this more often.”
“Anytime. My schedule is pretty much wide open,” Hannah said.
“Maybe Memorial Day weekend, I’ll have a cookout at the house, then the kids can use the beach. It could be fun,” Aunt Maddie said.
“They’d love that,” Sara said.
When they finished eating, Hannah and Aunt Maddie helped her to clear the table and Sara put the brownies out. The boys ran out for them, grabbed a brownie, and headed back to watching TV.
Sara picked up a still-warm chocolate brownie and took a bite and then a sip of the good wine. They’d just finished the bottle.
“Brownies go very well with red wine,” she said.
“They do. I think I need to open the Josh.” Hannah jumped up and opened the bottle and brought it to the table.
“What are you doing tomorrow night?” she asked.
Sara laughed. “What do you think I’m doing? The usual. Nothing.”
“Why don’t you come with me to a party? Caitlin from the coffee shop is having it at her boyfriend’s house and there’s going to be a band. It sounds like fun.”
“That does sound fun. But I can’t just invite myself,” Sara said.
“You’d be with me. Natalie told me about it and then Caitlin mentioned it again this afternoon when I went to the coffee shop. She told me to bring a friend if I wanted to.”
“That is tempting. I don’t know though.” Sara felt a little guilty leaving Tom and the kids on a Saturday night to go to a party with her sister.
“Think about it. You can let me know tomorrow.”
Hannah and Aunt Maddie left a little before nine and Tom still wasn’t home yet. Sara was surprised and a little annoyed. Especially that he hadn’t texted to say he was staying out later than expected. She made herself a cup of herbal tea and curled up on the living room sofa to watch a movie with her two oldest boys. The two youngest had gone to bed. They watched the new Top Gun movie and Sara was surprised by how good it was. Because it was a sequel to a movie she’d seen a million years ago, she hadn’t expected it to be so good.
The movie ended and the boys went to bed. Still no message from Tom. Sara climbed into bed herself and turned the TV in her bedroom on to watch the news. Just as the show ended, she heard the front door open. Tom was home.
She heard a crash as he bumped into something and then shuffled down the hall toward the bedroom. He stepped inside the room and squinted. Sara had turned the light off so the room was dark other than the glow from the television.
“You still up?” He slurred his words a bit and Sara sat up and turned the bedside light on.
“Did you drive drunk?” It wasn’t like him to drink so much or to drive if he had.
He shook his head. “I took an Uber from the restaurant. I’ll get my car in the morning.”
“It’s late. I started to worry when I didn’t hear from you.”
Tom sat on the side of the bed and pulled his shoes off.
“I’m sorry. I should have called or texted. I didn’t realize how late it was. We were having a good time.”
It irritated her that it hadn’t even occurred to him to text her at least.
“I’m glad you had a good time. Where did you go?”
“We had dinner at Mahoney’s and after-dinner drinks at the Land Ho.” Both of those places were in Orleans, the next town over from Chatham. She was glad he’d had the sense to call an Uber.
“The deal closed, though?” she asked.
“It did!” He attempted to high-five her and missed, then hiccupped. That decided it for her.
“You don’t have plans tomorrow night with them, do you?”
“Of course not! I’ll be home with you guys.”
She smiled. “Good. You can watch the kids while I go out with Hannah. Good night, Tom.”
The signing started at one, so Sara and Hannah decided to meet downtown around two. Sara got to the bookshop first and was intrigued to see that there was a long line of at least fifty or so people that went out the door and down the sidewalk. Sara walked over and got in line. Hannah arrived a few minutes later and joined her. The line didn’t move quickly, but it wasn’t too bad. Sara thought it was a good sign that the author was spending a little time with each person and not rushing them along. It was a gorgeous day, too, so she didn’t mind the wait.
“What time did Tom roll in last night?” Hannah asked.
“Just as the news ended. I think it was eleven thirty.”
“Does he do that often?” Hannah sounded as surprised as Sara had been.
“No. That was late, for him. It did annoy me that he hadn’t thought to at least text me that he was going to be out so late. They had an amazing dinner at Mahoney’s, I guess, and then lots of after-dinner drinks at the Land Ho.”
“That is a good combination. I love Mahoney’s and the Land Ho is fun. They make the best White Russians. And have great chowder. We should go there sometime. I haven’t been in ages.”
“Yeah, it seemed like they had a very good time. Tom had to take an Uber home. I’m glad he did though. We ran up to the Land Ho this morning to pick up his car.”
“So, I take it he didn’t mind that you’re going out tonight?”
Sara laughed. “I don’t know if he minded. I just told him he was staying in and I was going out.”
“Good! We’ll have fun. I thought we’d head over around six or so, does that work?”
“That’s good. I’ll head home after this and get everyone set up for dinner. Though that may involve ordering pizza. I don’t feel like cooking today. But I’ll get them all settled and then we can head out.”
The line slowly moved along and once they were inside the store, Sara got a look at the signing setup. Halfway between the entrance and the register, Niall Peterson sat at a table with a stack of books in front of him. Brooklyn sat beside him and sold the books before Niall signed them. He had another assistant with him, a young girl who looked to be in her early twenties. She had a camera and took pictures of customers with Niall after he signed their books.
Finally, it was their turn. Brooklyn smiled when she saw her and rang up two books for them.
“Has it been like this the whole time?” Sara asked.
Brooklyn nodded. “Yes. The line started immediately. People stopped in all morning asking about it. I think Alison is thrilled with the turnout.”
The person in front of Sara finished having her picture taken and then it was Sara’s turn. She handed her book to Niall.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I love your books,” she told him.
He smiled and picked up his pen. “Thank you. Who should I make it out to?”
“Oh, Sara. Thank you.”
He signed the book and wrote, Hope you enjoy.
“Niall, this is my sister, Hannah. She’s an author, too.”
He looked at Hannah and nodded. “Nice to meet you. What do you write?”
“Romantic comedy. My first book came out this year.”
“Congratulations.”
Hannah handed him her copy of his book. “I love your books, too,” she said.
He looked pleased to hear it. “Thanks so much.”
Niall signed Hannah’s book and wrote, Nice to meet a fellow author.
“Hannah is having a signing here next weekend,” Sara said proudly.
“Well, I’ll try to stop in. Thank you both for coming.” He handed Hannah her signed book and the young assistant asked if they wanted a picture with Niall.
“Sure,” Sara said. They got on either side of him and she snapped a picture with her camera and then with Hannah’s.
Sara was going to say hello to Alison, but there were two people working the counter and it was so busy with people waiting in line that she didn’t want to bother her.
“I’ll send you a copy,” Hannah said as they walked out. “And I’ll post on social media, too.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ll put it up on the shop’s Facebook page, too. That will promote both of you. What did you think of him? He seemed nice. I read about him online this morning. People magazine had an interview. He’s single. Hasn’t dated anyone seriously in a while.” Sara thought he was cute, and he was close to Hannah’s age, and lived in the city.
“He was nicer than I thought he’d be. I wondered if he might be one of those literary snobs who look down on romance writers. But I didn’t get that from him. And you’re right, he is cute. Not that I’m looking.”
“Well, he does live nearby.” On paper, Niall Peterson seemed perfect for Hannah—he ticked all the boxes.
Hannah laughed. “New York City is huge. I’m not sure I’d say nearby.”
“Well, a lot closer than most people you’re likely to meet in Chatham.”
“That is true.”
They stopped next door for a coffee and there was a line there, too, and all the tables were taken. They got their coffees to go and strolled down Main Street for a half hour or so, popping into some of the shops to check out sweaters and shoes, but neither of them bought anything.
They walked back to the lot behind the shop where they’d both parked earlier.
“I’ll swing by a little before six to get you,” Hannah said.
“Great.” Sara was still smiling as she climbed into her car and buckled her seat belt. She looked forward to a night out with her sister.