Chapter 4
They drove down Main Street, the inland areas on one side and the river on the other. Kendra looked out the window, her eyes wide. “What did you do for fun as a kid? This place seems kinda boring.”
Josie chuckled. “I made my own fun. Poor Nana was always over at the school trying to get me out of trouble. Of course, then she’d make me work in the garden instead of hanging out with my friends. That was punishment enough for me. I hated working in the garden.”
“Yeah, I’d hate that too.”
Josie pulled down a side street and into the driveway of a small white home. Joe Strand’s office had been there for years, and she could see nothing much had changed. In fact, Happy Harbor still looked just like it did when she was a kid. Time stood still in places like this.
“Here we are,” Josie said, turning to retrieve her purse from the floorboard behind her seat. “Ready?”
“I guess so. Hey, maybe Nana left us a million dollars or something.” Her eyes lit up.
“Nana didn’t have a million dollars.” Josie opened her door and stepped out, the warm Lowcountry air smacking her in the face. It wasn’t even spring yet, but the warmer temperatures had already arrived.
She looked up to see the moss hanging from the trees, which seemed to reach out in every direction, trying to grab onto whatever life was walking by. When she was little, those trees scared her to death as their shadows cast against her bedroom walls. Nana told her they held the souls of her ancestors, and they were there to protect her. Still, she remained scared and started sleeping with two night-lights just to keep the shadows out of her room.
“This place stinks!” Kendra said, pinching her nose and squinting her eyes.
Josie laughed. “It’s pluff mud from the marsh.” Pluff mud was either a welcome smell to those who’d grown up around it or a very unwelcome one to visitors who weren’t expecting an assault to their senses. It held the memories of everything it had consumed over time, and the smell was hard to describe. “When animals and plants die, they break down into bacteria?—”
“Ewww. I don’t want to hear any more.”
“Come on. We’re going to be late.”
They walked up the two front steps and into the small waiting area. It used to be a foyer when it was a house, and the original creaky wood floor was still there. Dark as it was, there were a million scratches and gouges from decades of wear. Joe had old church pews on each wall, so Josie sat on one while Kendra chose the other. It wasn’t long before her earbuds were in, and she was staring at her phone in typical teenager mode.
Shockingly, the five-and-a-half-hour drive from Atlanta to Happy Harbor hadn’t been as bad as Josie feared. Of course, she did her best to veer away from controversial topics like school. Even though she knew she needed to deal with her daughter’s recent behavior, she couldn’t think about it right now. Her sole focus was getting through the reading of the will, the funeral, and then getting back to Atlanta.
“Josie Campbell, is that you?”
She looked up to see Joe Strand standing there. He had definitely aged since she last saw him, his white hair much thinner now. His waistline had expanded even more, and the buttons on his shirt looked like they might pop off and put her eye out at any moment.
“Hey, Joe,” she said, standing up.
“Good to see you, darlin’, but I’m truly sorry for the occasion.”
“Me too.” She glared at her daughter, giving her a look of warning to get off her phone and be respectful. Thankfully, for once, Kendra obliged. She took out her earbuds, shoved them into her pocket, and stood up. “Joe, I don’t know if you remember my daughter, Kendra?”
He smiled broadly. “I sure do. You were just a little thing the last time I saw you. You’re as tall as your momma now.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, plastering on what Josie knew to be her fakest smile. She didn’t care as long as Kendra didn’t set the place on fire or run naked down Main Street.
“Y’all come on back to my office,” he said, waving for them to follow.
The office smelled like a mixture of mildew and old newspapers, with just a hint of what Josie assumed to be lavender-scented air freshener. She preferred to smell the pluff mud.
The room could only be described as an organized hoard. His bookcases, which were behind his desk, were filled to the brim with thick old law books, some with dust and fingerprints on the spines. His desk was a mixture of file folders, stacked papers, and a collection of miniature globes that seemed to be out of place.
Josie and Kendra sat down in each of the Naugahyde chairs across from his desk. Stuffing protruded from the ends of the armrests. “Do we have a time for the service yet?” Josie asked, setting her purse on the floor beside her.
“Tomorrow at twelve o’clock at the First Baptist Church. Burial will be in the church cemetery next door. Mrs. Boniface, her best friend from church, will also receive everyone at her house for a luncheon.”
A luncheon? Ugh. The last thing Josie wanted to do was spend hours at Mrs. Boniface’s house, eating sandwiches and talking to strangers. They all knew her from when she was a kid, but she barely remembered these people. After all, she hadn’t visited Happy Harbor in many years.
“I’m very grateful that Nana’s friends planned her service.”
“Yes, they’re wonderful people,” he said, looking down at the file folder in his hands. “Well, I suppose we should get started.”
“No one else is coming?”
“Just you,” he said, smiling. “She left a few things for other people, but that has already been handled. After I speak with you today, all the loose ends will be tied up.”
“I see. Then let’s get started.”
He opened the folder and pushed his glasses down to the tip of his nose. “She left you a letter. Would you like me to read it?”
“Sure.”
He cleared his throat like he was about to give a monologue onstage. “‘My dearest Bug...’”
“Bug?” Kendra blurted out, laughing.
“Nana called me Bug when I was a kid because I loved catching lightning bugs down by the marsh.” She smiled at the memory. Until now, she hadn’t thought about her nickname in years.
“May I continue?”
“Yes, please,” Josie said, eyeing her daughter.
“‘My dearest Bug, if you’re reading this, I’ve gone home to heaven. While I would never want to leave you, my work here is done, and I hope God looks favorably upon me and sees how hard I tried to serve Him. I know I’ll see you again one day, and that makes my heart smile.
“‘In death, there are things that must be handled, and that is why I’ve asked Joe Strand to speak with you. There are things I’m leaving you that may not make sense, and they may even seem like a burden, especially since you have your life in Atlanta. As I write this, you have a boyfriend, a job, and you’re hoping to move soon.’”
“So she wrote this a year or so ago?”
“Probably about that,” he said, smiling as if he was getting annoyed at the interruptions.
“Sorry. Go on.”
“‘I don’t intend to disrupt your life but to give you other options. To cut to the chase, I’m leaving you my restaurant and my home, along with everything in both, but there is a caveat. If you decide to stay in Happy Harbor and run the restaurant, you cannot fire any of the current staff for at least six months. These people were my family for so long, and I want you to continue taking care of them for me. It might be hard, but it will be worth it.’”
“Wait. She left me her restaurant and her house? I can’t move back here, Joe. My home is in Atlanta.”
“How close are we to the beach?” Kendra suddenly asked, the gears in her brain turning.
“About twenty minutes, maybe less,” Josie said, before looking back at Joe. “And what was that part about it being hard to keep her workers? Are they terrible people or something?”
Joe chuckled. “No, not at all.”
“What if I don’t want these things?”
“Mom, why wouldn’t you want them? It’s a free house and a free restaurant near the beach!” Kendra said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Because we live in Atlanta, Kendra. You go to school there, and I?—”
“You what? Have an ex-fiancé and no job?”
She glared at her. “Not nice,” she said under her breath.
“I hate going to school there. Maybe we could come here and get a fresh start.”
Josie sighed and leaned against the chair. “There are no fresh starts for me in Happy Harbor.”
“Why is this a shock? Who did you think Nana was going to leave these things to?”
Josie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess I thought she’d eventually sell the restaurant to someone and retire. And she talked about donating the house to the historical society.”
“Look, Josie, she was very clear to me in our conversations. She wanted you to run the restaurant and carry on the family tradition. She wanted you to live in her home and continue working with the historical society,” Joe said.
“So she wanted me to step into her shoes and be the next Adeline Campbell? I’m sorry, Joe, but that’s not who I am. I can’t come back to this ghost town after I’ve lived in the bustling city for years.”
“You know, we have almost nine thousand residents now, Josie.”
She wanted to laugh but held it in. She passed nine thousand people a day just walking to lunch in Atlanta. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration.
“Can I just sell the restaurant and house?” A part of her cringed even as she asked the question. Those two places had been so important to her grandmother, and the thought of selling them made her feel physically ill. But she couldn’t move back to Happy Harbor. She had a life in Atlanta. Or at least she was trying to rebuild one.
“She actually had something to say about that. Can I carry on?”
“Of course.”
“‘I know my sweet Josie better than anyone, so right about now, I’m sure you’re asking if you can sell these things. I don’t want to hold you hostage if you don’t want to be here, but I would ask that you stay at least six months. If after that time you want out, you can sell. Just give it six months, Josie. Then you’re free to leave, and I promise not to haunt you.’”
Josie giggled. She could hear Nana saying these things with her thick, old Southern accent and sassy personality.
“‘I love you, dear. I want you to live the best life possible. I think it’s time to face your demons in Happy Harbor. Maybe they won’t be as scary as you’ve always feared. Maybe there are blessings to be had in your old hometown, darlin’. Look for them.’”
She reached for a tissue in a box on Joe’s desk and dabbed at her eyes. “I’m going to miss her.”
“We all are. Truly a great lady. So, what do you think?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. This is all so much to take in, Joe. Can I have some time?”
“Absolutely. Why don’t you go on over to the house and get settled? We can talk after the funeral.”
“We’re staying at a hotel...”
“Don’t be silly! Adeline would want you to stay at her house. Your house.”
She smiled. “It’s not my house yet. Besides, we’ve already paid for the room. We’re fine there tonight.” Josie just wasn’t ready to go back to her nana’s house yet. So many memories—good and bad—were there, lurking and waiting for her to cross the threshold of that place.
“I’ve already made a copy of Adeline’s letter. I thought you might want it as a keepsake.”
She reached out and took the envelope, slipping it into her purse. “Thank you.”
As Joe walked them out and watched them go to their car, Josie’s mind was spinning. Could she really pick up and move back to Happy Harbor after spending her whole life trying to get out of there in the first place?
* * *
Josie knew she should go over to the restaurant and face her fears. The problem was, she didn’t even know what she was afraid of. Her guts felt as if they were writhing and twisting every time she thought of standing on the riverfront boardwalk, staring at her grandmother’s beloved restaurant, aptly called Campbell’s Café. It wasn’t that she didn’t love that old restaurant and the wonderful memories it held. It was more that she had specific memories of her mother drunkenly walking down the boardwalk, making a fool of herself and her family. It was a weird feeling to love and hate a place at the same time. Like a film playing in front of reality, she could see these memories in every corner of Happy Harbor.
Their family name, straight from Scotland, had been a source of pride for Adeline Campbell. The restaurant was full of Scottish decor. The food, however, matched the locale with some of the best seafood in the Lowcountry, as well as other Southern specialties. People came from everywhere to eat Adeline’s cornbread, which was a secret recipe she hadn’t even shared with Josie. Of course, now that she owned the place, she’d finally know that recipe.
If she stayed in Happy Harbor.
She sat at the coffee shop on Main Street with Kendra, staring at the people as they walked by. Nobody really looked familiar anymore, of course. Everyone, including herself, had aged many years.
“This muffin is amazing. Want a bite?” Kendra asked, holding out the blueberry muffin toward her mother.
“No thanks. I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“When are we going to Nana’s restaurant?”
“I don’t know. Before we leave, I’m sure.”
“Mom, we can’t leave.”
She looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Nana gave you her house and her restaurant. We have to stay here.”
Josie stared at her daughter like she had two heads. “Honey, we’re not staying in Happy Harbor. I spent my first eighteen years trying to get the heck out of here, and I’m not staying.”
Kendra sighed and put down her muffin. “We both need a fresh start, Mom. You have to see that.”
“This isn’t a fresh start for me, Kendra. Not by a long shot.”
Still, she could see where her daughter was coming from. Kendra had hated every school in the Atlanta metro area. But was Happy Harbor really going to be any different?
No matter what, she couldn’t entertain the idea of staying there. It felt like a gigantic step backward.
“Six months. You can do six months. Aren’t you strong enough for that?”
“Don’t try reverse psychology on me, my dear daughter.”
Kendra laughed. “Whatever. I learned it from a TikTok video.”
“I know six months doesn’t seem long to you, but I can’t just abandon my lease, and you can’t leave in the middle of the school year.”
“School is almost over. Just a couple of months left. I have to finish it online anyway. Or I could start school here.”
“Why are you so eager to start in Happy Harbor? You hate school.”
“I hate where we live. All those kids are rich and snobby. I don’t fit in.”
That felt like a knife through Josie’s heart.
“I’ve worked as hard as I can for you to have a nice life. Sorry to hear it wasn’t enough.”
Kendra reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s not that, Mom. I’m not blaming you. I don’t care about having a bunch of money. But those kids do, and they make me feel bad about myself. The people here look normal. They wave at you on the street. They smile. And there’s a beach twenty minutes away, probably with a bunch of cute guys on it.”
Josie laughed. “Ah, now we get to the actual truth. Cute boys.”
“Well, that doesn’t hurt.”
“Can I give you some motherly advice?”
“Can I stop you?”
“No. Don’t get so caught up in boys at your age, okay? There’s plenty of time for that stuff when you’re older. This time of your life should be about having fun—legal fun—and figuring out who you are. Boys just muddy the water.”
“You mean don’t get pregnant young like you?”
“Well, there’s that too. Being a young mother wasn’t easy, and I don’t want to see you struggle.”
“Also, aren’t you tired of us fighting all the time?” Kendra asked, going back to the original subject.
“So you’re saying if we move here, you’ll stop fighting with me and do well in school?”
“I’ll definitely try...” Kendra said, chuckling.
Josie couldn’t help but consider her offer. Kendra certainly hadn’t attempted to change her ways back home. Maybe a new start really was what they both needed. But in Happy Harbor? She wasn’t sure she could do it. Still, maybe this was one of those times a mother had to give in and do what was best for her child. After all, it was only for six months, and Kendra would be an adult in less than two years.
“I’d better pay this bill so we can get back to the hotel.”
“I’m going to hit the restroom,” Kendra said, standing and walking away from the table.
Josie picked up her purse, took out a twenty-dollar bill, and walked toward the cash register. Only in a small town could the two of them eat for less than twenty bucks. It wasn’t a full meal, of course. Coffee shops rarely had much in the way of food.
She stood at the counter for a moment before the woman finally appeared. She was looking down at her apron as she walked toward Josie, but then her head tipped up and her eyes widened.
“Josie Campbell?”
The voice jarred her memory before the woman’s face did. “Shannon Arnold?” Shannon had been one of Josie’s best friends at Happy Harbor High School, but she hadn’t been one to get into trouble. Her father was the local Baptist minister, and Shannon had been a good student. Still, she was one of the few people who’d been nice to Josie back then.
Shannon smiled as she held up her left hand. “Jameson now.”
“You married Harold Jameson?”
She laughed. “No, his brother Alvin. He played on the baseball team, remember?”
She didn’t remember. “Of course. I didn’t know you worked here. Last I heard, you left Happy Harbor to go to the University of Georgia.”
“Oh, I went to UGA. We moved back about seven years ago. Happy Harbor will always be home. We have two kids now.”
“Wow. Congratulations. And you work here at the coffee shop?”
Shannon giggled. “We own the coffee shop. In fact, we own five coffee shops across the Lowcountry. We have one on Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, North Myrtle Beach?—”
“That’s wonderful,” Josie said, cutting her off.
“So, I guess you’re back for Adeline’s funeral?”
“Yes, partly.”
“We were so sorry to hear about her passing. She was one of a kind. I don’t know what the restaurant is going to do without her. I mean, people went there for a big dose of Adeline every day.”
She knew Shannon was right. Campbell’s had been successful because of her grandmother and her personality. Sure, the food was good too, and it was convenient being right on the riverfront, but what would happen to the restaurant now that Adeline was gone?
Josie decided not to tell Shannon she was the new owner just yet. After all, she still hadn’t made a final decision about staying.
Kendra walked up beside her. “Shannon, this is my daughter, Kendra.”
Shannon smiled. “Wow. She’s gotten so big. Adeline kept pictures tacked on the walls over the years. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Shannon and I went to high school together.”
Kendra laughed. “Did you get into as much trouble as my mom did?”
An awkward silence hung over them. “No, I didn’t.”
After the uncomfortable pause, Josie cleared her throat. “Well, we’d better be going. See you at the service tomorrow?”
“Of course. Y’all have a good evening.”
As they walked out onto the sidewalk, the smell of the ocean mixed with the harbor overwhelmed Josie’s senses. It felt like home, but that wasn’t always a good thing. It depended on whether home brought back good memories or difficult ones, and right now, she wasn’t sure how she felt anymore.