Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Lizzie was a little nervous about going anywhere else after her display both in and out of Bradfords, but there was no way she could go home without looking for some boots first. She prayed that the St. Sebastian Thrift Shop was not next on Jack’s to-do list of errands.
It has been years since Lizzie has been in here, but time seems to have stood still. There were racks of coats, a mountain of handmade hats - the knitters in town had clearly been busy, and tables full of household items - everything from lamps to ladles.
“Good morning, Doc,” the older gentleman sitting behind the counter said as they came in.
“Hello, Richard, how’s that hip doing?” Gabby asked as she combed through the holiday pins on the counter.
“Good days and not so much. I’m headed to Boston in two-weeks for a replacement with that ortha-whatchamacallit you sent me to last year. Probably should have done it sooner, but whatcha gonna do?”
As Richard and her mom discuss his hip, Lizzie was having fun exploring the store. The boot search would happen eventually, but the table of old toys has pulled her in. She had several, probably too many presents for Sophie, but she loved seeing these old toys from the 1990s. Some millennial must have just come home and cleaned out their closet - there was a Furby, still in its box, a Tamagotchi, and even a Nintendo 64 that had Matt’s name written all over it. She had planned to go shopping for him once she got here, and this would be perfect.
“Lizzie,” her mom calls, “They’ve got some really nice L.L. Bean boots over here - size 9, will that work?”
Lizzie snaps out of her 1990s nostalgia and remembers the real reason they’re there. “Be right there,” she says. She gathers up the Furby, Tamagotchi and Nintendo, and lugs them all over to the counter. “Hi, can I leave these here while I try on some boots?”
“Of course, young lady. You Doc Martin’s kid?” he asks as he starts a sales slip for her.
“I am,” she says, smiling and extending her hand. “I’m Lizzie Martin, nice to meet you sir.”
“I’m Richard Johnson. Nice to meet you too. I’m betting you might know my granddaughter, she’s about your age, Alexis?”
“Oh my gosh, yes! We were super close all through school, and then kind of lost touch when she went to South Korea to teach English after college. Is she still there? I never see her on social media.”
“She’s been all over. She taught in Korea, Spain, and Dubai. She came back about six months ago. She doesn’t really like all the Instakarma, Facespace stuff. I can’t say I blame her,” Richard says.
Lizzie chuckles. “Yeah, Facespace is kind of a timekiller,” she says. “When you talk to her next please tell her Lizzie Martin says hi. As a matter of fact, can I give you my number to pass on to her?”
“Certainly, and I’ll be seeing her as soon as I get out of here, she’s living with Dorrie, my wife, and me.”
“Really?! She’s back in Cranberry Harbor?” He hands her a pen and paper. “I’m going to be here for a couple of weeks and would love to see her.” She writes down her number along with a, ‘I’d love to see you!’ and hands the paper back to Richard, “Thank you so much.”
Lizzie goes over to the shoe area, a mishmash of shoes and boots with no real sense or order.
“I found two pairs,” Gabby holds them up - both variations on the classic duck-boot style.
Lizzie points to the navy and brown pair. She sits on the floor, takes off her shoes, slips the boots on and stands up, “Mom? Did you know that guy is Alexis Johnson’s grandfather?” she asks as she walks around in the boots giving them a test drive.
“Of course.”
Of course she did. After living in Boston it’s easy to forget the one to two degrees of separation from everyone in Cranberry Harbor.
“I like these, I think I’ll wear them home to be on the safe side,” she announces. “These will be perfect.” She leans down and looks at the price, five dollars. “How do they make any money here, with prices like this?” She picks up her shoes and tucks them under her arm. “They could charge four times that amount and it would still be a bargain,” she says.
Gabby heads to the counter. “They keep the prices low so anyone can shop here, because everyone needs boots. And coats. And well, anything. Your dad and I donate money a few times a year, a lot of us do. It’s a service to the community, a place where those who have too much, or more than they need can make sure those who don’t are taken care of.”
The thought of that gives Lizzie pause, and makes her see how cut off she is from life in a small town, her hometown.
All her items come to a grand total of $20.50, Lizzie gives Richard $30 and tells him to keep the change. It’s the very least she could do, she thinks.
Daisy is excited to see them when they return. Gabby had bought her the coziest of blankets so she was always warm and toasty. She didn’t bring her along if she was ever going to be at a stop for more than twenty minutes or so, and never to do errands when it was higher than 75 degrees out. Gabby reaches into the glove compartment and grabs a little treat for the pup, who happily devours it.
“Anyplace else you want to go before we head back for the baking marathon? Gabby asks as she starts the car.
“I know we have to get baking, but do you mind if we take a quick peek at Sea Meadow Beach?”
“Of course not! I love seeing the ocean in the snow too!”
Gabby takes the next left and starts heading towards the beach. “So, is it okay to ask you how it went seeing Jack?” she asks, quickly glancing at her daughter, but not wanting to take her eyes off the snowy road.
Lizzie is quiet for a moment. “You can always ask me anything Mom, whether or not I answer is another thing,” she teases. She sighs a deep sigh.
“Oh, it was that good, huh?” her mom teases back.
“No, not bad, not good either...weird. I have finally managed to stop thinking about him every single day. And when I did, I pretty much cast him as this total jerk who just picked up and left Cranberry Harbor, and left me. But the thing is, he’s not a jerk. I wouldn’t have planned on marrying him if he was. But he left me, and all our plans just died.” She looks out the window at the snow falling on the ocean. “It wasn’t going to be easy–I had my job in Boston, he was trying to start something here, but we could have made it work.” She’s quiet again. “It’s always felt like he made the decision to completely upend our lives and did it without me. I don’t know that I could ever trust him again. Even as a friend.”
“I can understand that completely,” Gabby says. “I was so angry at him when he broke your engagement, and then just suddenly moved. I always felt like he was part of our family and couldn’t believe he’d do that.”
“Me either.” Lizzie says.
“So what did he say?” Gabby asks.
“He said he misses talking to me, and that he’s hoping we could be friends, and he’d like to have coffee to talk to me,” Lizzie says, watching a seagull gliding above the shuttered snack bar in the distance.
“Do you see yourself being able to forgive him and be friends?”
“I haven’t, no. He ended up not being who I thought he was. The Jack I knew and loved would never have let me down like that, He never tried to reach out before, and that’s unforgivable.” she says.
Gabby looks at her, starts to say something and stops herself.
“What? What were you going to say? You can say anything to me, Mom,” Lizzie says.
“Well, it’s not really true that he didn't reach out, he called you again and again and you didn’t answer. And then when he tried calling you through your dad and I, you told us to tell him to stop calling,” Gabby looks very uncomfortable telling her daughter that her memories are wrong. “He also sent some letters, and you threw them in the fireplace.”
“Oh my god, you’re right!” Lizzie says. “It still doesn’t excuse his leaving, but I guess I blocked that out the more I villainized him.”
“You have every right to be angry and hurt, honey, but we all make mistakes, and we all look for forgiveness and hope we get it,” Gabby says.
“So you think I should forgive him?”
“I would never tell you what to do, I’d just say think about it.” Gabby says.
“They say staying angry at someone is worse for you than them,” Lizzie says. “It’s not good to hold onto resentments.”
“So you think you’ll meet up with him?”
“My first thought was no, I want nothing to do with him, but you’re right, and I think that I need to tell him how I feel. I never got the chance to do that, I didn’t take the opportunity to do that when I wouldn't talk to him. It would be good to clear the air, finally,” Lizzie says.
There’s only one other car in the lot. The sea is wild, and it looks beautiful as the snow blows all around them. The fences are up, trying their best to guard against the erosion that happens every winter. Cape Cod is such a beautiful and completely fragile place.
“In three years I’ve gained some perspective and am actually glad we didn’t get married. I'm happy I’m not married right now,” she says, not very convincingly.
“Good,” Gabby says. “It’s important to feel good about where your life is. And I’m happy you’re good.” Gabby turns in her seat to face her. “My and your father’s loyalty was and always is to you, I hope you know that.”
“I do. And I always know that.”
“So how did you leave things?”
“He asked if my number was the same, so we’ll see if he even reaches out, but I guess I kind of said I’d meet up. Do you think I’m being stupid?”
“Not at all. And it may make it easier to move on. Or not.” Gabby shifts back to facing ahead, “You ready to go?” She puts the car in reverse, ready to back up.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t just say, ‘move on or not,’ and head home, Mom! You think I should get back with him? After he broke our engagement and moved across the country?” she says, raising her voice a bit. “Really?”
“I did not say that.” Gabby decides this is not a moment to be driving in the snow and puts the car back in park. “I’m just saying life is not black and white, and you never know.”
“What I do know is I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him and he bailed. End of story.”
“I was only thinking about you moving on, that’s all,” Gabby says.
Lizzie is a little sullen. “I’ve moved on. Sort of. Moved on...ish.” She hates it when her mom is right. Why is she always so calm and rational? The petulant teen in her who could apparently still be poked by her parents was calming down. “Fine,” she says, the grumpy teen in her starting to retreat.
“Ha! I love that at your age I can still evoke an angry, ‘Fine!’ from you. Makes me feel young.” They both laugh.
“I’ll agree to meet with him, and I will listen and tell him how I feel. Okay?”
“Hey, I have no dog in this fight, no offense Miss Daisy, '' Gabby says looking in the rearview mirror at her happy little dog. “Your happiness is all I care about.”
“I know.” As they head home to start baking a mountain of cookies, Lizzie looks out at the snowy landscape and wonders when was the last time she felt truly happy? It had been a while, that’s for sure, but one thing she is sure of–Jack Cahoon was never, ever going to have the chance to make her unhappy again.