Gulfside Girls (Haven Beach #1)

Chapter 1

One

Ali

Ali would forever refer to January 9th of that year as Crapfecta Day, due to the Trifecta of Crap that landed on her life.

She was busy. That was a given. Spinning millions of plates was her baseline of activity. Ali pinned her hopes on next month. Next month, things would be better; they would calm down, and she could get back to a manageable level of spinning plates. Whatever that was.

As the Assistant to the Events Director at the Frogtown Convention Center, Ali was used to having her hands full. She was used to making people happy, even when their demands were unreasonable. Ali prided herself on over-performing. It may not be in the contract her vendors signed, but she made it happen. Smoothly. And with a smile. She took pride in her work and her attitude about her work.

Frogtown Convention Center was the largest convention space and venue in Toledo, Ohio. It was in the center of downtown. You could walk to the ballpark and the hockey arena. There was a view of the river and easy access to the thriving local restaurants.

Frogtown was attached to the best hotel in Toledo. The convention spaces she oversaw regularly hosted festivals, trade shows, and, of course, conventions. Ali Harris planned every event down to the number of extension cords each exhibitor required.

And that was the current conundrum. The vendor in front of her was in the throes of extension cord envy.

“We need four outlets, that’s why we need the corner booth. Jerry promised us the corner.” Archie Hopper was hopping mad. And insistent. And loud. “T-Town Heating and Cooling is the third-largest heating and cooling company in Northwest Ohio. We have the biggest display.”

The air conditioning guy was overheated. That was clear as his demands and shouting directed at her echoed throughout the giant mostly empty convention space. Archie’s face was beet red, and spit shot out of his teeth right toward Ali. She stayed calm. Human freon for this moment. That was her skill. She’d de-escalate the moment and solve his problem.

And, of course, this went straight back to Jerry. Every problem at the Frogtown Convention Center led back to her boss, Jerry.

Jerry Scheck, Director of the Frogtown Convention Center, wouldn’t make her Assistant Director. Like Michael Scott of The Office , he insisted she was the Assistant to the Director. She had all of the work, none of the pay, and, of course, not even a nicer-sounding title.

Ted, Ali’s husband, continued to tell her she needed to push for the title change. He wanted her to have something that sounded prestigious, even though the job was the job. Well, that little discussion would have to wait. Jerry had created a mess, and the mess was currently yelling in her face in the form of Archie Hopper.

Ali imagined Jerry and Archie at Sylvania Country Club last summer, drinking, playing a round of golf, and hitting on the beer cart girls. Jerry was famous for making promises to potential vendors that time, space, and the physical dimensions of the convention hall could not accommodate.

Ali had been here before, so many times before. It was up to her to figure out how to cool down the heating and cooling blowhard. It was up to her to fix Jerry’s mistake.

“Archie, I understand. Here’s what I propose.” Ali put her hand out to usher him from the center carpet of the main walkway and through several stations currently being constructed for other vendors who had paid extra for the privilege and for the larger spaces. Archie had not. As the purveyor of the third-largest Heating and Cooling company, he’d paid for a standard booth, one outlet, one surge protector, two tables, and table coverings. That was it. And that was all they had. If she gave in, then why would anyone pay the premier booth price? Everyone would know that all you had to do to get a deal was yell at Ali and invoke Jerry.

She needed to smooth this out without making every other vendor feel cheated.

Ali smiled and met Archie’s anger with peace and calm.

Archie stood with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. A bull who would not be moved. “This is off the main drag, and I want the main drag.” He’d stood where he believed his fiefdom as the owner of the third-largest heating and cooling business in Northwest Ohio entitled him to be.

The venue was arranged as a center main street and then branched out with dozens of grids of smaller walkways. Booths were meticulously spaced and equitably priced. Each booth was assigned and paid for, and some were already set up. She had to stand her ground but make Archie believe he was winning.

“I know you want the center aisle but hear me out. This is the corner like you need. You’ll have plenty of space here.”

“Yeah, out here in bum f?—”

She interrupted before he could utter the rest of his characterization of the location. He felt hidden. He railed that no one would see them here. But here’s where Ali’s solution kicked in.

“Not at all,” Ali told him, “This is right across from Ruby’s Hot Dog Stand, see?”

“I’m not selling hotdogs.”

“No, but everyone will be here, in line, a captive audience, really. The main drag is great, don’t get me wrong, but you’ll be the only big vendor with your display in this area. Again, all the space you need.” She then lowered her voice to a whisper. She wanted Archie to think she was giving in. “I’ll talk to electrical; we’ll get your four outlets. Do NOT share that. Plus, you’re way smarter in this spot than some.” Ali acted as though she was letting him in on a secret.

“Smarter than some?”

Ali looked around, as though a home improvement and building supply trade show spy was hiding somewhere, hoping to gain valuable intel. She lowered her voice further. “True Flame, your chief competitor, is paying premium for the corner booth up front, but this one, Archie, this keeps it at the regular booth price, but with the size you need, and like I said, hot dog eaters.”

Archie perked up at the idea of sticking it to True Flame. He walked around and assessed his potential trade show home for the weekend. If he didn’t go for this, Ali wasn’t sure what else to do. She had already burned most of her morning dealing with this when she was supposed to be checking on the lanyards.

“Okay, this works. I’ll call my team to start setting up.”

As Archie’s mood turned from blustery to partly sunny, Jerry showed up. He’d hidden from Archie and so that Ali would have to deal with it. True to form, and Jerry appeared after she’d managed to fix things. She knew Jerry was lurking and hiding until he knew it was safe. Until she’d made it safe.

Jerry and Archie were two barrel-shaped peas in a pod. Archie was older, his hair crisscrossed in wisps and tufts over his round head. His skin was at least less red now that he had stopped shouting. Archie wore a golf shirt with his company logo. Jerry had a full head of brown hair and was younger by a decade than Archie, but golf shirt, check, pot belly, check.

Jerry fit right in with Archie. Jerry also enjoyed yelling at Ali when something didn’t go his way. Delightful. Jerry was all smiles now as he swept over to them.

“Archie! Great to see you!”

The two shook hands. Ali needed to get out of here and get to her next task. Were they done? Was Archie all set?

“Jerry, I was mad, not gonna lie. Thought you were trying to screw me over on this deal, but this will work. We’ll make it work for the price.”

“What can I say, Ali wrote the wrong thing down on the layout. I told her, ‘Get Archie everything and anything he needs for T-Town H Jerry got the handshakes. Fine. Whatever.

She needed to get out of this and on to the next thing, which today, of course, meant swinging by her dad’s. He had hospice care now, but she needed to pop in and make sure he was okay. Half of the time that meant sleeping at her dad’s. Just in case he needed something.

And “okay” was relative. Her dad didn’t have long. And that fact had put a dark cloud over her for the last several months. She was an optimist, a look-forward person, a bright-side oldest daughter. But there was no more bright side to be found with her dad’s cancer. They were at the “keep him comfortable” stage.

“Gentleman, I’ll get out of your way.” She backed out of the conversation and they barely noticed.

No sooner did she leave Archie and Jerry than she was on her phone handling half a dozen other details on her way to the parking garage. Ali walked at a fast pace as she dealt with details from her phone.

The coffee vendor backed out; they’d promised a free cup of coffee to all attendees who arrived before 11 am. She needed to sort that out. She called her food service manager.

“If Black Swamp Beans says no, then I’m going to want you to call Gordon’s to get our order for next week’s school administrator conference moved to this week. We’ll serve the coffee ourselves.”

Ali finished that call on her way out of the massive main hall. She unclipped her walkie-talkie and pressed the button. “Carl, you on?”

“Yeah, Boss.”

“Don’t let Jerry here ya say that,” she laughed. Ali wasn’t the boss, but her co-workers at Frogtown gave her the respect she didn’t get from Jerry.

“Right, like he’s on the walkie.”

One of the reasons she loved her job was the staff at Frogtown Convention Center. They had become her work family. Jerry got the accolades, but her work family knew the truth about who ran the place. She was glad no one saw her smile at Carl’s assessment of Jerry. She never badmouthed Jerry to anyone on staff.

“Stop! Hey, can you make sure they figure out why those lights in the C Corridor are blinking?”

“On it. Get out of here, you’re going on what? Thirteen hours in this place?”

“Who’s counting? I am heading out for a bit.”

“How’s your dad?”

“Worse, but thanks for asking.”

“Consider the lights fixed.”

“You’re the best!”

Before she entered the parking garage, Ali called her husband. Cell service in the garage was terrible.

Ted Harris, Ph.D., usually didn’t answer. He, like Jerry, was too important to handle every call.

She left a message.

“Hey, just checking in. Thought I might grab a bite with you before I head back out?”

She hadn’t seen Ted much lately. Between work and her dad, she hadn’t paid much attention to her husband. But they’d been married for over twenty years. There were ebbs and flows in their together time as a couple. This was an ebb.

Ali was planning to make it up to Ted with a cocktail party next week to celebrate his tenure.

Oh, dang! That was another call she had to make: confirm with the caterer whether she wanted hot hors d’oeuvres or, the charcuterie board, or both. Well, it was after five. That would have to wait.

She figured her absence of late gave Ted more free time to tool around in his vintage 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera. It was impractical and obscenely expensive, and Ali wasn’t allowed near it.

“You’ll scratch it,” Ted said.

He loved that car, and it was the first thing he got after they were done with their mini-van era. Since the kids had free tuition via Ted’s job at the university, he said he’d earned the car.

Ali had her own favorite vehicle. Ali’s Dad was a Chrysler retiree, so she’d bought her Grand Cherokee on the friends and family plan at a good discount. She had since paid it off, and she kept it nice. It had four-wheel drive and could haul what she needed. Ted’s Porsche was red, and Ali’s Jeep was black forest green pearl. She’d keep that Jeep as long as she could. It really was her mobile office.

She got behind the wheel and hit the ‘80s channel on her radio. A little Bon Jovi to clear the stress of Archie and Jerry out of her mind as she made her way home.

Downtown Toledo was a quick twenty minute drive from just about everywhere else in Toledo, Ohio. The house that she and Ted had restored over the course of their marriage was in a neighborhood called Old Orchard.

She loved her neighborhood of historic homes. The sidewalks were lined with trees, and Ted could even walk to the university if he wanted to. Though he usually drove his flashy car these days.

That was a perk, too. The University of Toledo was a stone’s throw away, where both her kids, courtesy of Ted’s job and their good grades, were getting college free and clear. Katie and Tye were in their senior and sophomore years in college and despite the poor planning of having two in school at the same time, they were managing the finances better than most. Thanks to that tuition situation.

Ali knew that the big old Tudor-style home might be too big for her and Ted soon, but for now, the kids popped in and out whenever they were on summer break, needed to do laundry, and when they ran out of food in their apartments. Plus, she’d touched every inch of the house during a lifetime of renovations to turn it into this home. DIY and decorating were her therapy.

Ali parked her Jeep in the driveway and made her way into the backdoor. As she walked through the mudroom and into the kitchen, she sighed when she saw what was left there. Dishes in the sink. Why in the heck didn’t Ted ever put them in the stupid dishwasher?

Alas, that would have to wait. She wanted to change clothes and grab a bag for tomorrow in case this was the last time she’d be able to pop home with her own busy schedule.

Her big house was creaky. The wood floors crackled and shifted under her shoes as she headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

Ali heard Ted’s voice. Ah, he’s on the phone , she thought.

And then the door to her bedroom opened up.

A lovely young woman, maybe her daughter Katie’s age, walked out of Ali and Ted’s room. She was wearing one of Ted’s polo shirts. The nice one they’d gotten him for Father’s Day last year.

“Uh, oh.” The girl stopped, clearly startled by Ali’s appearance in the hall.

And then a few things shifted into focus that hadn’t dawned on her at first.

The woman did not have pants on. Or shoes. And she looked a bit tousled. The evidence mounted up as to what exactly she’d interrupted.

“Star, make sure to order the extra side. I’m hungry.”

Ted walked out into the hall, and he had no shirt but, thankfully, did have pants on. Her aging husband looked like Tom Cruise without the HGH. She marveled at how he still looked very much like he did when they met. His jaw was only slightly softer, and his brown hair had a just a tiny sprinkle of white at the temples.

Ali was taking information in, and her brain tried to process it. Maybe she was just as dumb as Jerry indicated. She sure felt dumb right now, incredibly dumb.

“Ali. You said you were going to be gone all night.”

“Ha, yes, I did. My apologies.” She’d just apologized for interrupting her husband’s dalliance in her own house. This would earn her a gold star in the grade book of people pleasing.

“This is awkward,” Star said.

“No, it’s great. My fault. I’m just going to grab a change of clothes.” Ali brushed past Star and Ted. He grabbed her arm.

“If you’d give us a moment, we can discuss?—”

Ali whipped around and yanked her arm free. Her brain began to catch up. Her emotions, too, threatened to knock her to her knees or knock Ted’s head off his neck.

“I’m busy, Ted. I need to get to my Dad’s. If you could strip the bed and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher? Thanks.”

Her words were polite. But her tone was on the edge of murderous. She didn’t recognize the sound of her voice.

Ali walked to her closet. She grabbed clothes and underwear, and flung everything into her bag. Somehow, her closet felt alien to her. It was like her brain had shifted in her skull, and everything was different. Altered.

Ted was scrambling to find his shirt, and Star was unfazed, it appeared, by the appearance of the professor’s wife.

“If you would have called,” Ted said, as though that was the answer to whatever this was.

“Ted, I did. Check your voicemail.”

She was forming sentences, saying words, and yet it all seemed to be happening in someone else’s life. Was she watching this on Netflix? Or was she in the scene? If it were a movie, she’d have thought of something clever to say. She’d be witty. Cutting.

Nothing witty came to mind. Ali wanted out. That’s all she could think: Get out of this house, get out of this scene. Change the channel.

Ali pushed past Ted and then Star. She ran down the stairs. Two at a time.

Ted wasn’t chasing her. That was something. She could extricate herself, and… What? Think? Call a lawyer? Set the house on fire? All of these things raced through her head.

Her first bit of clarity arrived as she walked out the kitchen door to the back porch.

She’d parked her Jeep behind the garage because, of course, Ted’s vehicle needed the shelter of the small, detached space. “You could hit the side of the garage with your Jeep if you squeeze in there.” She remembered his admonition. You’re too dumb to use the garage, was the point.

Ted’s car sat in that garage. Ding free. It was parked in the center as though it deserved both spaces. Was that a metaphor for their marriage? Ted deserved all the spaces.

She looked around the garage. There was an open bag of topsoil, and it called to her.

She opened the front door of his car and hoisted the bag inside. She ripped open the top of the plastic bag. It was heavy. But she’d fix that.

Ali poured the deep brown dirt all over his leather seats, the stick shift, the dashboard, and the floor mats. She watched it fill in every crevice of his pristine vehicle.

“That’s gonna be tough to clean,” she said aloud. Ali left the empty bag on the passenger seat.

She surveyed her work. “Well, if Star still doesn’t have pants on, she won’t have to worry about getting them dirty!” Ali, again, spoke the words aloud. Her voice was still weird but slightly more recognizable.

She was the only one to hear her little quip. Ted and Star were still in her house. Her gorgeous, lovingly restored 1935 Tudor.

It was her home; she’d done everything to make it so for her family. And now, she didn’t want to look at it. Ali was more upset that Ted chose to betray her in her own home than if he’d been at some motel. That felt more personal than the cheating. It was like he stole her home at that moment.

Well, she’d stolen the fun of his car, at least until he got it detailed.

Ali brushed the dirt off her hands and got in her Jeep.

She didn’t have any more time for this scene. She had to get to her dad’s.