Chapter Seven
Victoria spent the next couple of days enjoying the quiet, low-key life on Valentine Key. It wasn’t like she led an action-packed existence at home, but New York was New York. If she needed to go anywhere, it was a cab or the subway.
No matter the time of day or night, people were everywhere. Going to the store for milk could be an expedition on its own. There was no comparison between life in New York and life on Valentine Key. She hadn’t realized she needed the respite of all it had to offer.
Sunshine had arrived on the island the same day she and Aunt Lily had run into Darby in the lobby of the Lovelock Inn.
Sunshine was exactly as Victoria remembered her. Very much like her name, Sunshine was bubbly and happy and gracious and warm.
“Victoria!” Sunshine had shouted her name from the front door the moment she stepped inside the lobby and saw Victoria and Aunt Lily passing through the lobby after their stroll around the Lovelock Inn.
Victoria smiled and waited for Sunshine to race across the lobby and grab her up into a hearty hug—which she promptly did, nearly knocking Victoria off her feet in her exuberance.
The woman might be pushing seventy, but she acted like a teenager. Her green eyes sparkled with delight and her curly blond hair tumbled past her shoulders in a carefree style that would have looked far too young on anyone but Sunshine.
As soon as she released Victoria, Sunshine swooped Aunt Lily up in an equally exuberant embrace, stooping to bring the more petite woman close.
“It’s so good to see you, Sunshine,” Victoria said, genuinely happy to see her former stepmother after all this time. “How have you been? How was your trip here?”
“Oh, I’ve been all right. My life is pretty much same old-same old, as it always is. The trip was pretty good actually. I guess you know that Jacklyn is driving here in her classic car. I hate the thought of spending that much time on the road. It was all I could do not to leap out of the taxi on the way here from Miami and simply walk the rest of the way. But I endured.”
“You look great, Sunshine.” Victoria had liked Sunshine from the first time she’d met her. And once you were friends with Sunshine, basically, you would be friends forever. Very much like Aunt Lily, Sunshine did not know how to hold a grudge. She never had, as far as Victoria knew.
“Thank you, Victoria. You look amazing! How is Angelica doing? Did she move to Washington State or Oregon? I can’t remember which.”
“Oregon. She lives with her boyfriend in a small town outside of Portland. She loves it there. I’m not wild about her living so far away. But that’s okay. I’m happy as long as she’s happy.”
Sunshine grinned. “That’s exactly right. I’m also happy as long as my girls are happy.”
Aunt Lily said, “I knew that Jacklyn was coming by car, but I imagine Jessica is flying. Is that right?”
Sunshine nodded. “Yes, they should both be here tomorrow sometime. I’m not sure when. Jessica said she was going to do the same thing as me and take a taxi from the Miami airport. I’m not certain of Jacklyn’s itinerary, but she did promise to be here on time for the reading of Horatio’s will.”
Victoria said, “I’m anxious to see the twins again. Gosh, I think they were teenagers the last time I saw them in person. At least that long.” Sunshine had always been good about sending Victoria pictures of her and the twins over the years, but that wasn’t quite the same as seeing people in person or being part of their daily lives.
Sunshine’s demeanor dimmed. “Yes. Well, Jessica is going through kind of a tough time right now.” She lowered her voice, as if someone in the otherwise empty lobby might be listening in on their conversation. “She and her husband are apparently not getting along, but I’m hopeful that things will work out, eventually.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Victoria said. “I hope you’re right and that things will work out.” She noticed that Aunt Lily had frowned, though she stayed silent.
Did that mean Aunt Lily knew more than Sunshine was saying about Jessica and her husband and their problems? Knowing Aunt Lily and the way everyone had a tendency to confide in her, probably.
Still, Victoria was not somebody who liked to pry into other people’s business. When she saw Jessica, she vowed to herself, she would not bring it up.
Sunshine brightened again and Victoria felt the other woman’s happy disposition like it really was rays from the sun. The smile on her face could light up a cathedral. “I know that both Jessica and Jacklyn will be really happy to see you, Victoria. Goodness, I can remember how much fun the three of you had whenever you came to visit us. We still talk about it from time to time.”
Victoria was surprisingly touched. After her father’s marriage to Sunshine ended, Victoria had enjoyed spending time with her and the twins whenever she could. In her senior year at the Connecticut boarding school, she’d chosen to visit Sunshine, Jessica and Jacklyn in Chicago during her holiday vacation in December rather than Horatio. He hadn’t minded.
Sunshine always went out of her way to plan ahead and give Victoria her best vacations ever during the Christmas holidays.
Sunshine absolutely lived up to her name in all ways.
Aunt Lily asked Sunshine if she was ready to check in and get settled in her room.
“I am ready. I know this is not exactly a joyous event or anything, but I’m really happy to see you both and I’m looking forward to seeing all you girls together, Victoria.”
“You and me both, Sunshine.”
Aunt Lily walked with Sunshine to the registration desk to get her checked in. She motioned for the porter seated at a desk nearby to bring her former sister-in-law’s baggage up to her room.
Aunt Lily handed Sunshine the Lovelock Inn standard, old-fashioned brass key for her room.
“I hope you enjoy your stay, Sunshine.”
“Thank you so much, Lily. I truly am looking forward to seeing everyone.”
She hugged Victoria hard around her neck one last time before following the porter to the elevator.
Even though there were only three stories to the grand Italian villa-style inn, Aunt Lily had insisted on having two very nice elevators put in for the guests. There were actually three elevators, because there was a service elevator in a room just off the kitchen where all the staff gathered before work. It was a handy thing to have when hauling heavy stuff to the upper floors. It had been especially helpful when used by the room-service staff.
Victoria would have to ask her aunt if the Lovelock Inn still provided that service. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t recall seeing information about it in her room. She wasn’t sure if room service remained viable at the inn.
Later that evening, Victoria, Sunshine and Aunt Lily had a quiet dinner together, just the three of them. Aunt Lily confirmed that Victoria was right; the inn no longer provided room service. Guests at the Lovelock Inn either ate out or brought food back to their rooms.
Likely, given the clientele, they simply went out to eat. There used to be two or three very upscale restaurants on Valentine Key where the wealthy liked to gather. Victoria imagined that hadn’t changed.
One was the yacht club at the marina. It had a nice dinner service, though it was available for club members only.
There was also a very chichi Italian restaurant in downtown Valentine Key. The Venetian of Valentine Key got rave views from several of the guests Victoria had spoken to in passing.
Quite a few chatty older folks mentioned the very nice breakfast buffet her aunt put out.
That was new. Victoria remembered when servers would seat the guests in the formal dining room connected to the kitchen and would order breakfast from a menu. Breakfast made-to-order used to be included in the price of the room.
She wondered when the breakfast dining room service had gone by the wayside and if its loss had impacted Aunt Lily’s “rich” customers to the degree that they didn’t come to the Lovelock Inn anymore.
It was one more thing Victoria would have to look into when she helped her aunt get back on her feet, or whatever was needed to help out.
The Lovelock Inn was an upscale vacation spot. It had always catered to the kind of clientele that expected high-end everything. That was okay, because that was how Aunt Lily wanted things to work at her establishment. Or she always had before.
Aunt Lily and Horatio had grown up as part of Philadelphia high society. The Lovelocks had long been considered pillars of the community. The Lovelock name carried a certain amount of weight, at least in very privileged circles.
It was not a surprise that Aunt Lily had created the Lovelock Inn with the idea that only the most privileged and wealthy people would ever see it. That was what she had known and that was how she operated. At least, that’s how things used to be. Victoria wasn’t certain how much of that remained true.
Victoria had been surprised to see how few guests were staying at the inn. Was that part of the problem her aunt faced? Was Aunt Lily having trouble keeping elite, prestigious and wealthy customers returning to the Lovelock Inn?
Victoria had planned to stay for at least a few days after the reading of the will. Now that she knew her aunt was having a few more problems with the running and managing the Lovelock Inn than she’d realized, Victoria mentally reorganized her schedule to stay longer.
She wanted to make sure her aunt had everything she needed. She would help in any way she could. Victoria loved her aunt more than anything and if she had to roll up her sleeves and be a temporary innkeeper to help out, then that’s exactly what she would do.