31. Grand Openings
Chapter thirty-one
Grand Openings
Ipause just inside the front doors and look across the lobby. Annie stands near the front windows with a clipboard in one hand, smiling.
Outside, voices gather on the sidewalk. Coupeville is arriving in waves, filling the space between the building and the street with familiar faces, folding chairs, and food.
I cross to her. “Hey, how are you holding up?”
She glances over before I reach her. “If you tell me to relax, I may very well implode.”
I put my arms around her and kiss the top of her stressed-out head. “I was going to say the ribbon looks great."
The ribbon looks great. The building looks better than great. The old cannery has not disappeared. It has just put on new clothes and become useful again.
A year ago, this almost didn’t happen, and look where we are today.
“You did this.”
Her fingers tighten around my waist. “We did this.”
I reach down and take her hand. “Ready?”
Annie looks at the people waiting outside, then at me.
“Absolutely,” she says. “Let’s do this.”
She doesn’t look at me. She keeps her smile aimed toward the crowd gathered outside. The mayor is talking into the microphone, the wind is pushing his notes around on the podium, and the town has turned out to celebrate the building that spent too many years empty.
Now the old cannery has windows that open, doors that work, ramps wide enough for wheelchairs, exam rooms ready for patients, offices for visiting specialists, and a sign across the front that still makes Annie cry when she thinks no one is looking.
LOCKHART-BIE MEDICAL CENTER
I squeeze her hand once.
She squeezes back hard enough to make a point.
“I love you,” I say, quietly.
“Do not make me cry before I have to go out there.”
I look out over the crowd to hide my smile.
Ellie is near the front with Erin. At fifteen, my daughter has become taller, sharper, and convinced she is in charge most of the time.
She has Max Walsh on one hip, all blond hair and toddler opinion, while Erin is crouched in front of Lizzy Rivers, trying to convince her that the ribbon is not meant for chewing.
Sara stands near them, one hand lifted in warning to Max. Stone is standing behind Sara, arms crossed, looking proud and pretending he isn’t.
Bella laughs beside her, camera ready. Herc has Lizzy’s little pink sweater draped over one forearm and an alert posture ready to catch his daughter when she makes the inevitable public break for freedom.
Admiral stands off to the side, half-hidden near the corner of the building. Dark suit. Sunglasses. Total refusal to accept that any of this has anything to do with him.
It has everything to do with him.
The mayor finishes thanking the county, the volunteers, the builders, the town council, and the historical commission. Then he turns to Annie and me.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Doc Bie and our Annie Lockhart,” he says, and Annie’s hand tightens around mine again.
“Would you please come up and give us a few remarks?”
Annie steps up first.
“Hello Coupeville. Who would have thought a year ago that this would ever happen?”
Applause breaks out in waves through the crowd.
“This place was almost taken from us,” she says. “But you didn't let that happen. You showed up. You cared. And you made sure this building stayed a part of our town.”
Her voice is clear. She also thanks the people who donated time, supplies, money, old photographs, and patience. She thanks Jake for pretending he did not enjoy arguing with contractors about space for the animal hospital across the street.
The crowd laughs.
“But it wouldn’t have been possible without one man.
One man who is going to be furious right now.
” She pauses and looks at me. I nod. “None of this would have happened if it were not for Robert Wild. I won’t drag him up here.
He’d kill me. But I do want you to give him a round of applause and our deepest thanks. ”
The crowd erupts in cheers and applause.
Annie looks over to Admiral and nods. He stands there, leaning against the brick, stoic as ever but nods back to her.
We’ll pay for that later, I’m sure.
She steps back before the tears take over. I take her place at the microphone.
“I’m going to keep this brief, since everyone here knows I’m only a tolerated local and Mrs. Weaver has already warned me against making this too long.”
Mrs. Avery calls out, “Wise woman.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
More laughter. Annie looks at the ground and smiles.
“This medical center will do more than we could ever do in the old clinic. We’ll have expanded primary care, visiting specialists, physical therapy, counseling services, and geriatric care with enough space to treat people the way they deserve and in a time frame that is actually helpful.”
I turn slightly and look toward the new wing sign just inside the glass doors.
“The geriatric clinic has been named for Dr. Arthur Painter.”
Applause starts right away. Annie presses her fingers to her mouth.
I wait until it eases.
“Art built the trust Annie and I get to carry forward. He knew his patients. He knew their families. He knew that caring for his community was job one, but knowing them was a close number two. We can’t replace him.
But we’re sure as hell going to honor him by carrying on his legacy and doing the work well. ”
The crowd erupts again. Annie reaches for my hand again and I step back. She returns to the microphone, and for the first time today, her voice trembles.
“The mental health clinic will be named for Dr. Beth S. Bie.”
The crowd softens. I feel it move through them.
Ellie’s eyes fill, but she smiles. Annie looks directly at my daughter.
“Beth loved this town before I ever met Doc. She loved this island. She loved Ellie. She dedicated her life to helping the mental health community. The Beth S. Bie Clinic will help people who are carrying more than they can carry alone.”
Ellie wipes her eyes. I do too, with less subtlety.
Annie’s hand reaches for mine behind the podium and pulls me forward. “We hope both names remind this town that care does not end when people are gone. It keeps working through everyone they loved.”
The crowd is silent, and then slowly applause starts to ripple through. The mayor clears his throat after a few seconds and gestures to the ribbon.
Annie and I hold the big scissors together.
Ellie counts us down.
“Three. Two. One.”
We cut.
The blue ribbon falls, and the town erupts and the celebration begins.
The short reception inside is controlled chaos.
People move through the main entry, peeking into rooms, reading signs, eating finger foods, and telling Annie how wonderful the place is. Every so often, she looks across the room and finds me.
Every time, I’m already looking at her.
Admiral makes it twenty minutes before Annie corners him near the donor wall.
“I still want to hug you,” she says.
He looks down at her. “Threatening a primary investor during a public event is poor judgment.”
Sara walks by with Max and says, “Let the woman hug you, Robert.”
Admiral mutters something I choose not to hear.
“You are impossible.” And Annie hugs him anyway.
He freezes for one second, then pats her back twice and it ends in a bear hug.
Stone sees it and chokes on his drink.
Herc starts laughing.
Admiral points at both of them over Annie’s shoulder. “I can still make your lives difficult.”
“You already do,” Herc says.
Annie steps back, eyes bright. “Thank you.”
He adjusts his cuff. “You’re welcome. Now go pretend this was your idea.”
“It was my idea.”
“Your humility is inspiring.”
“Go.”
At three we start shutting down the reception and point people across the street. They begin migrating that way, drawn by music, laughter, and Jake Bellamy yelling instructions through a portable speaker.
The first annual Coupeville Snouts & Stouts Festival is already fully out of control.
The animal hospital sits across from the medical center, smaller but no less impressive. Its new sign reads COUPEVILLE ANIMAL HOSPITAL, with a banner below it announcing every dollar raised at the festival goes toward emergency treatment funds for animals whose owners need help.
Jake stands near the entrance in a polo shirt that says COUPEVILLE ANIMAL HOSPITAL with the word, Director, written underneath.
He spots us and points. “There they are. The fancy medical people have finally arrived.”
Annie laughs.
A golden retriever wearing a bandana barrels past him, chased by three children and one embarrassed owner. Jake watches them go and speaks into the microphone.
“Reminder. Dogs with no recall skills must remain leashed. People with no recall skills should also consider it.”
Ellie laughs so hard she nearly loses her grip on Lizzy’s hand.
The festival has booths for local beer, pet treats, adoption information, veterinary demos, and one tent where the sheriff’s department is running a raffle. Rhea stands beside Sheriff Alvarez, taking tickets and corralling everyone who tries to escape without buying more.
“You’re on raffle duty?” I ask Rhea.
“I volunteered to help the sheriff,” she says and I’m detecting a coy vibe and smile.
Annie slips her arm around Rhea. “Is there anything I can help with tonight?”
Rhea squeezes her back. “The girls have everything under control.”
That may be generous.
Ellie and Erin are currently supervising Max and Lizzy near the bubble station. Max is trying to pop bubbles with both hands. Lizzy is trying to eat the wand. Bella intercepts her in time.
Herc exhales beside me. “That child has no fear.”
“She is yours,” I say.
Stone stands with Sara on the other side of the path, watching Max stomp after bubbles. His face is different when he looks at his son. Less guarded. More open. Sara says something to him, and he smiles before kissing her.
A few feet away, Admiral is sampling at one of the brewers’ tents and watching all of us with an expression most people would miss.
I don’t. He sees everything.
He always has.