Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
The grand opening of the Bluebell Cove Inn’s “eco-friendly” iteration was a few days away.
Sophie was still in Bluebell, but she was doing the last of her laundry and saying her final goodbyes to the water, to the cliffs, and to the forest, her eyes wide with nostalgia.
Celia hugged her daughter often and bit her tongue to keep from telling her, over and over, how proud she was of her.
The truth was that she wanted Sophie to transfer to a university closer to home.
She didn’t dare ask if Sophie would consider moving to Bluebell Cove after graduation.
She knew that twentysomethings couldn’t make promises, not ever.
There was still so much about their lives they didn’t know.
Miraculously, Wren’s treatments were bringing light and beauty to their days.
Wren was often out of bed and doing what she could at the inn: perfecting the rooms, setting up computer systems, and helping to hire new staff members.
When she needed to rest, she knew to take herself upstairs to the room that had become hers at Ivy’s.
Both Ivy and Celia chipped in to make sure she was safe and comfortable.
Once, Celia said to Ivy, “This is how we should have done it as teenagers. We should have communicated. We should have helped each other.” She swallowed.
“I shouldn’t have abandoned you with all that work. ”
Again, she apologized. But Ivy hugged Celia and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’ve been so lonely over the years,” she said. “Having you and Wren and Sophie in my life has been a godsend. I don’t want to dwell on the past.”
The three Harper sisters didn’t know whether Juliet would make an appearance at the opening.
A few times, Wren texted Juliet for details, as it was decided that Wren was the least annoying of the three.
But Juliet always wrote back that she would “try to make it,” and that things were hectic in the city.
Celia remembered that long-ago day when she’d run into Juliet at the car rental place at the airport.
She wished she’d asked more pointed questions.
She wished she’d gotten to the core of who Juliet was.
But maybe Juliet didn’t want any of them to know what she was really up to.
Three nights before the grand opening, Wren, Celia, and Ivy sat on the back porch of the Bluebell Cove Inn and watched as the last of the bulldozers and cranes churned away from the beach and cliffs.
Celia poured herself and Ivy wine and non-alcoholic wine for Wren, and the three of them toasted the upcoming months and Wren’s continued health.
It was then that Celia confessed she was falling head over heels for her best friend.
Ivy wore a funny smile. “We all thought you were in love in high school!”
Wren giggled. “I always asked Juliet if you were going to marry him.”
Celia threw her head back, remembering the gossip and how much it had bothered her back then. But maybe your peers always know more about you than you give them credit for. Perhaps she should have opened her heart to Landon a long time ago.
“Have you told him?” Wren asked.
“Not yet,” she confessed. “I don’t know how.”
“Just kiss him.” Ivy snapped her fingers. “That’ll clear things up.”
At that moment, on the opposite side of the inn, the door opened.
They listened to the clack of high heels across the now-shining floorboards.
Celia went on high alert. Sophie didn’t wear heels like that, and neither did Lily.
Was it one of their new hires, here to ask a question about their first few days on the job?
Celia stood, watching as a figure moved through the inn and appeared on the other side of the screen door.
Sunlight filtered through to show beautiful, fashionable Juliet, all dressed up in her Manhattan leather, her red lipstick.
Through the screen, she gazed at Celia, her eldest sister, as though she couldn’t bring herself to come onto the porch.
Celia beckoned for her gently. “It’s Juliet,” she told the others.
Ivy burst to her feet, opened the door, and wrapped her arms around Juliet.
Juliet burst with surprise laughter. Wren came after her, creating a group hug.
Celia hugged the three of them last, closing her eyes and imagining that their mother and father could see the four of them, forgiving one another and supporting one another before it was too late.
That evening, as Juliet, Ivy, Celia, and Wren sat in the dying light and drank a mix of wine, tea, and hot chocolate, Celia got up the nerve to read aloud the letter their father had written to her on his deathbed.
Ivy wept quietly as Wren and Juliet opened their ears to hear the truth of their imperfect father’s soul.
“I can’t believe it,” Juliet said over and over again, dotting a tissue against her cheek. “I can hardly believe it’s really him behind those words.”
“Who knew he was such a poet?” Wren said, tugging a blanket over her thin frame.
They were quiet for a little while. Celia kept tabs on Juliet, watching her expression change as she took in the inn and how different it was from their return in May. “An eco-lodge?” she asked, having read about it online.
Juliet explained the specifics: how the inn itself would be powered with solar during the summer months; how they planned to educate their guests on how they could be more environmentally friendly; how they wanted to strategize for a better future from within the walls of the inn the Harper family had built so long ago.
“It’s a way of honoring our family,” Ivy said finally. “But it’s also a way of looking out for the family members who will come after us.”
Juliet admitted she loved it.
With all her sisters back together, Celia felt all the jagged pieces of her soul clicking into place. She looked forward to a gorgeous future together, one in which they all chipped in at the Bluebell Cove Inn, drank wine on the porch, recounted their stories, and shared their dreams.
“I guess we’re not selling?” Juliet asked after a long silence.
Wren, Celia, and Ivy burst with laughter. It was as though they’d forgotten that they’d ever wanted to sell the inn in the first place. Now, the idea of giving the inn to someone else was akin to giving their hearts away.
* * *
The night before the reopening party of the Bluebell Cove Inn, Celia met Landon at the cove.
In the dark, dancing beneath a slice of moon, she and Landon sang all the lyrics of “Bohemian Rhapsody” until they collapsed on the blanket they’d laid out and let their hearts calm.
Celia was entirely aware of Landon’s body beside hers.
She was aware of his sweet, wet lips and his wild, dark hair and his ever-churning, intellectual mind.
They both knew that Sophie, Mallory, and Isaac were hanging out tonight, that they’d already sort of adopted one another as siblings.
But what was taking Landon so long to kiss her for the first time?
Did Celia have to do everything herself?
He doesn’t want to get hurt, she thought, turning onto her side to gaze at him. I don’t want to get hurt, either. But life is about taking chances. It’s about risking your heart.
She tried to imagine the future, tried to picture Landon at the front desk of the Bluebell Cove Eco-Lodge, greeting guests, asking them questions, and explaining everything he knew in his brilliant marine biologist mind.
She imagined Mallory and Isaac coming into the inn after school to do their homework, drink sodas, and steal snacks, just as she and her sisters once had (and would surely do again).
She tried to imagine the future, tried to feel safe in her belief in it.
But the truth was, there was no telling what would happen next. You had to dive in, regardless.
“Landon,” she breathed. She felt timid. She felt seventeen years old and forty-two at the same time.
Landon turned toward her and slid his fingers through hers. They held one another’s gaze for a long time. Celia could practically feel Landon’s heartbeat through the blanket they shared.
And then he said, “I know. Me too,” and he closed the distance between them, kissing her in the way she’d always longed to be kissed, kissing her in a way that transported her into the starry sky above them.
As they fell into one another’s arms, the Atlantic waters swept across the sands, and the wind whistled through the trees.
This was their world, the one they’d built together. Celia would never abandon it again.