forty-three | emberly
FORTY-THREEEmberly
“I thought I’d find you here.”
It’s too late to take cover, so I smile. “How was book club?”
“I’m going to write a novel.” Nona lifts up the cushion on one of the wicker chairs and gives it a shake to dislodge any anoles that have taken up residence before she sits down. “One people will actually enjoy reading, not the kind they lie about enjoying because they think they have to.”
I can’t remember the last time Nona ventured into the conservatory. She doesn’t lounge by the pool. She claims the sunlight hurts her eyes and chlorine makes her sneeze.
“Hazel said you didn’t eat dinner.”
“I’m not six, Nona.”
She ignores that. “And I haven’t seen much of you the past few days.”
“I’ve been catching up on work.” And hiding. A lot of hiding.
Nona approves of work, so I know this will let me off the hook. Her eyes narrow instead, the precursor to a lecture.
“Did I ever tell you how I met your grandfather?”
I almost fall out of the chair. “No. You don’t talk about him at all. Dad said …”
“Oh, this should be good,” Nona says dryly. “What did your father say?”
“That grandpa ruined you for anyone else.”
I wait for the eruption, but Nona shocks me by smiling instead. “That is true, but only because I knew I’d never love anyone as much as I loved him.”
The memories I have of my grandfather are hazy at best. He passed away before I started kindergarten.
“I thought he meant that Grandpa Lockwood wasn’t good to you.”
Nona’s eyes flash. “He was everything I’d dreamed of. Oh, my parents didn’t approve of David because he wasn’t part of the country club set. They had already picked out my future husband and he wasn’t a self-employed handyman who lived in a Florida Cracker cottage on the beach.
“We met at the Christmas gala. The club had hired David to paint the library and I bumped into him while I was trying to avoid Anders, the man I was supposed to marry. And when I say bumped, I mean bumped. Your grandfather was on the other side of the door when I opened it. He lost his balance and fell off the ladder, right at my feet.”
“You had a meet cute!”
“A what?”
“A meet cute! You know, when the heroine and hero of a movie meet for the first time and it’s so adorable, you have to stick around and see how their story ends.”
“No, I don’t know.” Nona perfectly shaped brows arch, a reminder she doesn’t binge watch romcoms. “And it certainly didn’t end well that evening.
When my mother finally found me, she didn’t even acknowledge David.
It was like he was invisible. I went back the next day to apologize and found out he’d gotten fired.
“I convinced a member of the staff to tell me where David lived, and went to his house. It was smaller than my bedroom and the waves practically touched the porch. He was in the process of fixing it up and refused to get down from the roof. So, I climbed up the ladder. We talked for hours. I fell in love with the cottage—and him—that day.”
Okay. It turns out I don’t know Nona at all. I can’t imagine her sitting on a roof … or talking for hours. Nona is better at giving out commands. And because it takes weeks for her to choose a title for the next book club, I can’t imagine her falling in love in a day.
“Did your parents change their minds about him?” I venture.
“Of course not.” Nona looks surprised at my question. “Oh, I let them sway me for a while, but then I realized I was miserable without him. We eloped to Las Vegas—”
“You eloped!” Why have I never heard this story before?
Nona, who’s not only a stickler for following rules, but isn’t known for her flexibility, got married in Vegas?
I’ve never seen a wedding photo, but Nona was an only child, so I imagined the ceremony contained all the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding.
“Did the justice of the peace look like Elvis?”
She ignores my question.
“We wanted to be together. It was the goal that mattered, not how we got there. The Lockwoods have always had money,” Nona says matter-of-factly.
“The thing that some of us lack is knowing what has real value.” She pauses.
“You know, Emberly. I could see it in you when you were a little girl and I saw it when you came home from Langley-Davis. You value relationships. Friendship. Family.”
Tears stream from my eyes, one after the other, so fast it’s impossible to staunch the flow with a few hard blinks, even though I try.
“Mom and Dad wouldn’t agree with you,” I choke. “They accused me of being selfish when I came here to live with you.”
“You weren’t selfish. You didn’t want to hurt either one of them, something they would have realized if they hadn’t been so angry with each other … and themselves.” An embroidered handkerchief materializes out of thin air and she presses it into my hand.
Nothing surprises me now. Nona had a meet-cute and a Vegas wedding. Why not add magician to her resume?
I blow, loudly, but she doesn’t wince.
“If anyone in this family has been selfish, it’s me. After you graduated, I didn’t want you to leave. Everyone expected that you would eventually take my place as the head of the company—”
“What?” And I’m interrupting again.
Nona’s lips twist in a smile. “I can tell by your reaction that you weren’t expecting it.”
Step into my grandmother’s Christian Louboutin pumps? Not in a million years. I manage to squeak out a “No.”
“You were my first choice,” she stuns me by saying. “But I could see your gifts lay in other areas … and I used that to my advantage. I thought if I kept you busy renovating the rooms in this house, you wouldn’t be so quick to move out.”
“That’s why you encouraged me to start my own business?” I’m not sure whether I should be touched or skeptical at the confession.
“Of course not.” Nona looks so affronted that I believe her.
“I encouraged you to start your own business because I knew you would succeed. But more than that, I could tell you loved it … and I loved having you here. You’ve spent the last seven years putting up with a persnickety old woman because patience is another gift of yours.
” She pauses again. “I’ve aways supported your goals, Emberly, but dreams are important, too. Even if they take you away from me.”
My ugly cry turns into a deluge.
I tell her about the Suite Sixteens. I tell her about Will. And Iris. And the birthday party.
When I finally run out of breath, my throat is raw, I’ve soaked two more handkerchiefs (I still don’t know where they’re coming from) and my eyes are burning.
“I don’t know what I was thinking … convincing Declan Murphy to sing at Iris’s party.
I just wanted to do something really special for her, because she’s so great.
You’d love her. And Brighton. They’re both great.
But all I did was make things harder for Will.
He already doubts that he’s doing a good job raising Iris and then I swoop in and do all these things without asking him first. Like a …
a fairy godmother.” Will’s description of me still cuts deep.
“My friends don’t like it, either, and—”
“Emberly Lockwood.” Nona interrupts me. “Friends … true friends … talk to each other if there’s a problem. You should be able to have an honest conversation. One that doesn’t involve bear-infested hiking paths, line dancing, or runaway horses.”
“We’ve been friends forever,” I whisper.
“Anyone who knows you, knows that your heart is always in the right place.” Nona’s voice is as gentle as I’ve ever heard it.
Still, I’m not sure Will would agree.
“And if Will Hartley is who you say he is, he would love that side of you.”
A magician and a mind-reader.
“It’s complicated, Nona.”
She lifts an imperious brow. “And?”
“And … it’s complicated.”
Nona scoffs. “It’s not complicated at all. The way I see it, you have two options. Go on with your life or go back and have a life with Will.”
A life with Will.
I’ve been imagining it. Dreaming about it. I can see myself at Pinehart. Can he?
“What if Will doesn’t feel the same way I do?”
“Then you’re better off without him.”
The laughter that bubbles up eases the tightness in my chest. “You have to say that. You’re my grandmother.”
Nona sniffs. “I am under no obligation—familial ties or not—to say anything that isn’t true. Now, should I tell Hazel to plan for two for dinner tonight? Or will I be eating leftover Coq Au Vin all week?”
I never really liked Coq Au Vin.
“I love you, Nona.” I launch myself into her arms and she allows me to hug her even though I’m a snotty mess.
Which means she loves me, too.
I eventually release her and stuff the wad of handkerchiefs into my pocket. “Thank you.”
She leans forward until we’re almost eye to eye. “David needed a bit of persuading, too. I took matters into my own hands and kissed him first.”
“Nona!” I’m blushing. Not because of the TMI (from my grandmother), but because Will and I have already kissed.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re almost thirty years old, Emberly. People kiss.”
And kiss very well …
I only hope Skylar isn’t too far away.
The first thing I do when Nona leaves is turn on my phone. I’m a coward, yes. Not because I’ve been afraid to see who’s tried to contact me. It’s been the opposite. I’m afraid that no one has.
There are three missed calls and two voicemails.
I listen to the first one and then play it again, just to let it sink in.
“Hey, this is Scott Aberdeen. I’m with True North Builders out of Cedar Bridge, and one of my cabinet guys showed me the samples you picked out for the Wards’ house.
I really like your vision for the place and was wondering if we could talk about hiring your company for two spec homes we’re building this fall.
If you’re interested, give me a call and we’ll talk. ”
I am very interested, Scott.
I am also hyperventilating.
Samantha had mentioned there are a lot of people who are drawn to the Northwoods. They want to make memories with their families, soak up the beauty around them. Create their dream home away from home.
If I accepted Scott’s offer, I wouldn’t be flying to France and Italy to scour flea markets for artwork and vintage linens, either. Not when there’s an untapped pool of brilliant and creative local artisans living in the area.
Missed Call Number Two is from Olivia.
I pull the wad of handkerchiefs from my pocket just in case.
There’s always a lengthy thread on the Sixteens chat group after a reunion. We relive the best moments. Rate the food and the hotel. There was nothing this year.
Because I’m always the one who starts it while I’m waiting for the plane to take me home.
I still can’t believe I didn’t see what Will had.
They didn’t want me there.
My throat tightens again and I want to delete the message without listening to it. I’m hurt. Angry, too, but mostly with myself for being so blind.
All the signs were there, but I’d ignored them. It turns out I can’t ignore Olivia’s voicemail, though. Nona was right about me.
I pull in a breath and press the number.
“Hi … this is Olivia. Um … I just wanted to say that Pinehart was my idea and I really wanted to go there. I thought it would be different … and fun. But …”
I knew there would be a ‘but’.
“Rachelle, she’s had a tough year. And Whit’s boyfriend broke up with her a few months ago. Every time we talked, it seemed like things were going so well for you. It’s like you have this perfect life. You travel. You have a house on the beach. A successful career. Anything you want you can have.
I guess we … the three of us … stopped complaining about our lives and … started complaining about you. Everything you did for us made it worse.” I hear a choking laugh. “Because you’re like the perfect friend, too, and who can compete with that?”
“It isn’t a competition,” I whisper.
Olivia doesn’t hear me, of course, and keeps going.
“I’m sorry, Emberly. I wanted to talk to you about the wedding, but we have a limited budget and I can’t jet off to another state for a bachelorette party.
Or buy a designer dress. But I want my best friends there …
And I hope you’ll forgive me if we ruined the reunion this year for you …
because I’d really love it if you’d be in my wedding. ”
I roll the handkerchief ball over my cheeks but it’s already so saturated, it leaves a wet, salty trail.
“Yes.” Yes. Yes.
The last missed call is from Will.
There’s no voicemail. No follow-up text. Nothing.
Was he calling because I didn’t say goodbye? Or because I didn’t give him a final bill for Iris’s party?
Or because he misses me, too?
Olivia is wrong about my life being perfect.
I don’t have everything I want, because I want Will.
I’m just not sure he wants me back.