Chapter 30
Thirty
Ali
“This is my fault. Totally my fault.”
Faye was pacing up and down the little stretch of beach that had, up until a few minutes ago, been paradise.
Sunset was on the way, and today, Didi and Jorge had insisted they handle the Grand Finale. Faye and Ali were the only ones staying in the cottages, so it would likely be a smaller affair than the last few days had been.
Jorge and Didi had handled it for the last fifteen years. So why was Ali taking this on as her responsibility? But she was. She was worried Didi would get overheated or Jorge would try to carry too much.
Ugh. Focus on your own issues!
“It’s just a shocker, the fact that he’s the one that filed and that he’s going after this place. Like, I might be the one who has to pay alimony? Is that even possible?”
“That cheater? I mean, that’s what set me off. He was cuddling with this co-ed at Costco, and I just blurted it all out. You didn’t cheat, you shouldn’t have to pay.”
“Well, that’s not how it works. We would have had to split things, and since he made more and was the one at fault, I was likely going to get support. I mean, I don’t want that, but I did quit my own college to work when he was in school.” Ali had started booking the banquet at the Sheraton Hotel and then eventually moved into the convention space. She had never finished her degree.
“And now he wants this place?”
“The lawyer said my third split in two, but I mean, it’s not like we knew we had this place. So?—”
“—I am livid . He shouldn’t get a dime from you!”
Slowly, the usual audience for the Grand Finale trickled onto the beach. Erica from the coffee shop greeted Didi and Jorge, and then Ali waved her over to meet Faye.
“You look like you need this more than me,” Erica said, handing Faye a glass.
“I like her already,” Faye quipped to Ali and gulped it down.
“I’m thinking something is going on, what’s happening?”
Faye looked to Ali, and Ali nodded. She hadn’t spoken much about her marital situation. But she also wasn’t trying to hide anything. She actually needed advice and counsel right now. She’d found Erica to be a cool head with good insights. She listened as Faye summarized Ali’s current disaster of a personal life.
“Her soon-to-be ex-husband, after ruining the marriage, wants to ruin her future by getting his hooks into this place after it’s liquidated or whatever.”
Ali winced at the term liquidated. She hated the idea.
“Oh, ex,” Erica replied, “that clears that up, Henry was asking.”
Faye looked at Ali, who shrugged. Why would he be asking?
“Whoa, who’s tall, pepper, and handsome over there?”
Faye had spotted Henry.
Ali was uncomfortable with all the talk of her handsome new friend, so she tried to change the tone.
“Faye, this is Henry Hawkins. He owns the Seashell Shack; we’ll have to go over tomorrow for lunch.”
“Nice to meet you.”
He had a good smile; Ali couldn’t deny that. Faye looked at Ali and Henry a few times. Ali gave her little sister the stink eye to cool it with whatever mischief she was thinking.
Ali wasn’t feeling flirty or playful. She was feeling mad. That was it. She was mad as heck that Ted would have the gall to serve her divorce papers and make demands.
“Ali’s soon-to-be ex just dropped a bomb,” Erica said.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Divorce is a terrible process. I can attest.”
“Yeah, Sherry raked this one over the coals,” Erica explained. “Thank goodness you lost, though, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“I am glad for that every day. Sometimes, a loss turns into a win. If that’s any consolation.”
“Well, Ted, her soon-to-be ex, wants the proceeds of the sale of the Sea Turtle thanks to me opening my big mouth.”
“It’s not your fault. Well, maybe the timing is your fault,” Ali said and took a sip of the wine.
“I can’t help thinking the solution is obvious,” Erica said.
“What’s that?” Ali asked.
“Don’t sell this place. No sale, no major cash influx.”
Ali looked at Faye. “It’s not just about me. I’m one of three owners. My sisters are equal partners.”
Faye started hopping around like she was on fire. “No, she’s right! That’s it. We’re not selling. You’re going to run this place. And Ted can take half of the third of your green pool and suck it with a straw!”
Henry and Erica laughed.
“Oh, I like her already,” Erica said.
Ali loved the idea of running this place. She had been fantasizing about it from almost the first moment she’d stepped on the beach. She imagined waking up each morning here, taking a walk, having coffee on the deck, and, more than anything else, making wonderful memories for guests here.
But it was a fantasy. She knew that.
“Faye, I am not a resort manager.”
“You’re great at it. The Hafners and Nobles were going on and on at The Shack the other day about how you’d made their stay magical,” Henry said.
“I did not.” She deflected the compliment, but it gave her a warm feeling inside.
“Stop,” Faye said. “You’re always doing that. She ran the biggest convention center in Lucas County. For a decade. This place is tiny by comparison.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“It is, too. You handle the details and make people happy. Period. Why not do it here?”
Ali’s heart beat a little faster. Why not do it here?
“It’s crazy.”
“Both of us started again, right here, with my restaurant and her bakery,” Henry pointed out.
“Maybe it’s not called Haven Beach by accident,” Faye offered.
“No, this is very sweet of you all, but this isn’t my life.”
“It sure looks like your life,” Erica said.
“And think about how mad Ted would be,” Faye added. “Oh, I need to be there when he finds out.”
Ali shook her head; she wasn’t going to stand in the way of her sisters and a huge cash windfall. No matter how much it started to feel like a dream come true.
“Holy Toledo,” Faye said as the focus shifted from their conversation to the fireball in the sky, sinking and dazzling with every inch it fell into the blue water.
The sun was setting over the water, a glowing orange ball sliding down into a creamy salmon sky with the bluest water to land in.
“Grand Finale doesn’t disappoint,” Henry said.
“No, it never does,” Ali replied.
“Man, I may never leave either,” Faye said, and they sipped their wine and watched the greatest show on Earth.