Chapter 33
It was great having Sara stay with them. Hannah was sorry that her sister and her husband were going through a stressful time, but she was glad that Sara was getting a break. They treated it like a real vacation, even though Sara went in to work each morning. Aunt Maddie had breakfast waiting for her when she woke up and every night they had dinner with her and Uncle Richie on the deck.
Thursday night, Hannah and Sara headed back into town to meet Natalie and Spencer at the Squire after work. Natalie’s boyfriend was finally back from Dubai and was joining them as well. Niall had called and wanted to do something over the weekend, but Hannah explained about Sara and said she wanted to wait until she went home. She wanted to enjoy this time with her sister.
Sara drove and as they pulled into the lot her phone rang. She answered and it was connected to her car, so Hannah heard Tom’s voice come over the speakerphone. He sounded defeated. “Sara, you win. Can you please just come home tonight? I promise I’ll be more understanding.”
“Hi, Tom,” Sara said cheerfully. “How’s everything going?”
“Well, let’s see. I forgot to pick up Dylan yesterday. He called me and was waiting there alone because his father didn’t get him on time. I remembered to put one of your frozen lasagnas in the oven, but I forgot to turn the oven on. I went back an hour later and it was still frozen solid. I ruined a load of laundry. My best white work shirt is now pink. And that’s only the start of it. You deserve a raise.”
Sara laughed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just say you’ll come home. You made your point. We can’t get by without you. Come home tonight. The kids all miss you.” He sighed. “I miss you.”
Sara chewed her bottom lip and Hannah could tell Tom was getting to her. She caught her sister’s eye and shook her head, willing her to stay strong.
“Thanks for calling, Tom. I can’t come home yet. I’m enjoying my vacation. Hannah and I are on our way out to meet her friends for drinks. I’ll see you Monday after work.”
“Oh, I’m on speakerphone? Hi, Hannah.”
“Hi, Tom.” Hannah tried to keep the laughter out of her voice.
“All right. I’ll see you on Monday, Sara. Love you.”
“You, too. Bye, Tom.”
Sara ended the call and glanced at Hannah. “Am I a terrible person for not going home? He sounds miserable.”
“You’re not a terrible person. It’s good for him. He’ll appreciate you all the more when you go home on Monday. And hopefully things will change for the better.”
Sara sighed. “I hope so.”
The Squire was busy as usual. Natalie, Spencer, and a tall man with dark brown hair and an easy smile who had his arm wrapped around Natalie’s shoulders were by the wall because there were no open seats at the bar. Natalie introduced her boyfriend, Adam, and he insisted on buying the first round.
Three seats opened up at the bar and Natalie, Hannah, and Sara slid into them. They had a fun night. Natalie’s boyfriend was the life of the party and knew so many people. They kept coming up to him and saying hello. “You’re like the mayor of Chatham,” Natalie teased him.
“It’s just that I’ve been away and haven’t seen people in a while. It’s good to be back,” Adam said.
Sara excused herself to use the restroom and Spencer came closer to chat with Hannah while she was gone. The band had started to play so it was loud and hard to hear. “How’s she doing?” he asked.
“It’s been good for her to take this break. And it’s been nice for both of us. I feel like I’m on vacation, too. We are going to take a drive down to Provincetown on Saturday and we thought we might stay in Wellfleet that night and maybe have dinner at Mac’s and drop into the Beachcomber to hear some music.”
Spencer smiled. “That sounds fun.” His smile disappeared and he tensed up suddenly and Hannah saw the reason why. Michelle had sidled up next to him and put her hand on his arm.
“Spencer, it’s so nice to run into you!” She glanced Hannah’s way for all of two seconds before turning her attention back to Spencer. She looked very pretty. Her hair was longer and curled into soft waves and her cheeks were pink from the sun. She looked as though she’d been working out. She was wearing a sleeveless bright aqua dress that showed off her tanned, toned arms. Hannah noticed that several men nearby were looking at her.
“Hi, Michelle. How are you?” Spencer didn’t look pleased to see her.
“I’m good. Can we talk for a minute?”
“Now?” Spencer seemed uncomfortable, irritated even.
“Let’s walk outside for a minute. The band is taking a break. You won’t miss anything.”
“All right.”
Sara came back just as Spencer disappeared with Michelle.
“Did Spencer leave?” Sara asked.
“Michelle showed up. They went outside to talk.”
Spencer made his way back into the Squire. Hannah’s and Sara’s eyes were full of questions when he reached them, but neither of them said a word. They waited for him to speak.
“I agreed to go on one date. She’s upset that she was dumped and she’s insistent that she wants to be with me. I don’t really think she does. But it seemed easier to just go and then we can both say we tried.”
“I think it’s a good idea, actually,” Hannah said. Spencer looked surprised to hear it.
“At least you’ll know better once you go on an actual date with her, if you want to do it again. People do get through things like this. Remember what your grandmother said—just take it one date at a time.” Hannah didn’t love the idea of Spencer dating Michelle again, but she thought it might give him closure.
Hannah was sorry to see Sara go on Monday. They lingered over coffee with Aunt Maddie in the sunroom and Sara admitted she was looking forward to going home.
“This week has been incredible. Thank you both so much. I am looking forward to seeing the kids later today and I’m even looking forward to seeing Tom, too.”
They both laughed. Sara seemed more relaxed and lighter than Hannah had seen her in a long time. The week had been good for her. They’d had a great time Saturday in Provincetown. They’d had lunch at the Lobster Pot and strolled around all afternoon, walking up and down Commercial Street and stopping in shops that looked interesting.
Hannah bought a new pair of boots and Sara picked up a small, pretty painting of the ocean by a local artist. She planned to put it in her bedroom so she’d see it first thing every morning. They’d had sushi at Mac’s Shack in Wellfleet, danced to live music at the Beachcomber, and stayed at an old but very clean motel just off the highway. It had been the perfect getaway.
“I’m going to miss you,” Hannah said. “It’s been nice having you here.”
“It has,” Aunt Maddie agreed. “You know you’re always welcome here, Sara. Both of you.”
Sara rushed home after her shift ended at the bookshop. The kids were still at school, but Tom was home, working in his office. He came out to the kitchen a minute after she walked in the door.
“Hey there,” she said as he walked over to her.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and gave her a meaningful kiss. And then he said, “Thank god you’re home. Promise me you’ll never leave me again?”
Sara laughed. “That bad, huh?”
“Seriously, I’m so sorry, Sara. I had no idea. I’ve just always taken for granted what you do. You make it look easy. It’s not.”
She smiled. “Now you know why I needed to go back to work?”
He nodded. “I love our boys, but I couldn’t be home all day, just taking care of the house and running around driving them here and there and cooking and shopping. Don’t even get me started on the hell that is grocery shopping!”
Sara laughed again. “I don’t actually mind that.”
He looked into her eyes and she felt his sincerity. “I’ll never suggest that you give up your job again. I get it now. And I’ll try to pull my weight more and help out. Oh, and we’re going out Friday night. Just me and you, for a date night. I already booked Emma.”
That was music to Sara’s ears. “Thank you. I approve of that plan.”
He pulled her close again and kissed her, and she kissed him back. It was good to be home.