Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Peter didn’t make it home from the paper until they were all well into dessert and Sophie was asleep with her head on Matt’s lap, sprawled over from her own chair. by the time he came in.
“I am so sorry everyone! Deadline night,” He rushes over to hug Lizzie who stands up to greet her dad. “Honey, it is so good to see you!” He squeezes her and lifts her up. “See? I can still pick up my little girl,” he laughs. “It smells divine in here, Gabby, what ever did you make?” He takes off his coat, tosses it on an empty chair and gives his wife a smooch. “I’m so sorry I’m late, there was a glitch with the internet connection, and then Stan had a hard time getting a source to get back to him, so he was late with his last story, it was just one thing after another.” He pours himself a glass of wine and sits back. “Lizzie, I am so sorry you got bitten by the journalism bug. I blame myself for that.”
Lizzie refills her own wine glass and motions to Matt if he wants more, he shakes his head and points to Sophie sleeping on his lap.
“Dad, I love writing! The business could be a bit different, but you taught me to love telling stories. I’m grateful!”
Gabby brings him a plate of food. “Here you go, I knew you’d be late so when we sat down I’d already made you a plate to keep warm.” She kisses the top of his head. “You work way too hard!”
He grabs her hand and kisses it. “Didn’t that used to be me lecturing you about working too hard, Dr. Martin?”
“Well, now the worry is on the other shoe, or foot, or whatever….”
Lizzie and Matt laugh. “Shoe is on the other foot, Mom,” Matt smiles at her. “You’ve both always worked way too hard.” He points back and forth with Lizzie, “Trees, meet your apples.”
Peter digs into his dinner, “Oh my gosh, Gabby, you’ve outdone yourself, this pot roast is amazing!”
The three of them look at each other with conspiratorial smiles.
“Seriously, this is I think the best pot roast you’ve ever made!” He’s already almost done with his first serving and is looking for more.
“Who’s going to tell him?” Lizzie teases.
“I will!” Matt jumps in. “It’s not meat, Dad. It’s a vegetarian dish.”
“No,” he shakes his head and wipes his mouth. “I know beef when I taste it.”
Gabby comes in, bringing him a second serving. “No, honey, he’s right.”
Peter takes another bite. “Okay, then what is it?”
All three at the same time call out, “Jackfruit!”
“You’re kidding me, well I’ll be,” he takes another mouthful. “You may need to write this up for the Gazette, darlin’, I’ve been thinking about how we need a food column since Deborah retired.”
“Mom, that could be great! A healthy cooking column!” Lizzie says.
Gabby isn’t so sure. “Maybe, let me think about it. I’ve had fun since your Dad’s cholesterol came back a little elevated working on ways to change our diet, but that could take all the fun out of it!”
“I’m betting a lot of people in Cranberry Harbor could use some help eating better,” Matt adds.
“We’ll see, let's get past Christmas and the festival first. Then we can think about what’s next. In the meantime, who wants another slice of silken tofu cheesecake?”
After the table is cleared and the dishes mostly done, they all retire to the living room. Matt puts a sleepy Sophie on the couch and stokes the fire.
“This is so nice,” says Gabby, curled up on the couch, and Peter joins her. “It's been way too long since we’ve all been together. I miss this.”
Lizzie lies on her side, propped up on her elbow near the fireplace. “Okay, I promise, no more missed Christmases,” she says smiling.
“And Easter, and Fourth of July, your birthday…” Peter teases her.
“You forgot Flag Day and Arbor Day, Dad,” Matt teases. “She does the best she can getting back here, guys. Don’t pressure her.” He pokes the fire a bit for emphasis.
“Sorry, honey, we don’t mean to bug you, we just miss you,” says Gabby.
“And I miss all of you. I for one will be very happy when we finally solve this teleporting puzzle and I can just blink my eyes and be here. But until then, I will make an effort to do better, okay?” Ready to change the subject Lizzie sits up and turns to her dad. “So what are the lead stories in the Gazette this week?”
“Hmmm, well, the Christmas festival of course, that’s coming up fast,” he says, “and the wastewater committee is working on some new plans, and we’re always talking about housing, jobs, and renovations at the high school. Those are the main stories.”
“And it’s still just you and Stan writing everything and taking all the photos, doing the layout, editing and getting it off to the printer?” Lizzie asks.
“Yup, it’s a lot.” He puts his feet up on the coffee table and stretches. “I don’t want to join your mom in retirement because, well, I love it, and even if I am kind of tired sometimes, I can’t leave. The Gazette is the last independent paper left on the Cape. If we close down, they win.”
“The corporations? I hear you on that, Dad,” Matt says.
“Yes, I’m just stubborn enough that I am not going to let them have this paper. This one, last independent voice in a sea of wire stories and executives who don’t care about the communities they’re covering. Or rather not covering,” Peter is getting upset, and sits forward on the edge of the couch, elbows on knees. “When I started this paper it was an embarrassment to run stories from the AP wire, it meant you didn’t have enough local news and were using filler.” He sits back and puts his arm around Gabby. “I’m not giving up, not yet, anyway.”
“It’s hard everywhere, Dad, it’s not just you,” says Lizzie. “You wouldn’t recognize the newsroom at the Sentinel since you came to visit last year. So many layoffs, and they’re starting to furlough people too. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before it’s my turn.”
“And that’s when you come back here!” says Matt cheerfully. “Sorry, too soon? Maybe I shouldn’t be celebrating a potential layoff?” He begins to try to slip a sleeping Sophie into her jacket without waking her. “I need to get her home, everyone. This has been awesome.” He picks up his sleepy daughter. “Shannon wants to have all of you over tomorrow night, if that’s okay? Taco Tuesday?”
“Tomorrow is Thursday, Matt?” teases Lizzie.
“I know, I think she just wanted to make tacos, so go with it, okay?” He laughs and gives his sister a kiss on the cheek. “See you at 6?”
“Sounds good,” says Peter. “I can’t wait to see what kind of fruit you two use instead of meat!”
Gabby laughs, “We’re just all trying to keep you around as long as possible.” She kisses Sophie’s head, and then Matt. “Thanks for coming, honey. I’ll call tomorrow to see what we can bring.”
Lizzie gathers up the rest of Sophie’s belongings, “Here, I’ll help you out to the car,” she puts on her coat. “I’ll be right back,'' she says to her parents.
Matt settles Sophie who is surprisingly still asleep into her car seat. He snaps the buckle, closes the door and turns to hug his sister. “It is so good to see you. I’m really glad you’re going to be around for a little bit.”
She sinks into her brother’s embrace, closes her eyes and squeezes him right back. “Yeah, it’s really good to be here. Maybe I can even help Dad a little while I’m here.”
Matt opens his car door and smiles at her, “He could sure use it,” he gets in the car and starts it up. “Who knows, maybe you could too.”
And with that, he closes the door, drives off, and Lizzie stands there for a moment taking in the cold, salt-tinged air, looking back at her childhood home trying to ignore how much better she feels being there than alone in Boston. Nope, she shakes her head, there’s nothing here for you, don’t get sucked in. But as she stands there, some snowflakes begin to fall, and it’s hard to not feel the magic and comfort of home.