Chapter 20
Ivy stood in the entryway of the inn with her hands on her hips, surveying three large bins overflowing with canned goods and boxed items.
Sunny had volunteered to run the project. The handwritten sign she’d taped above the bins, “Holiday Food Drive,” had generated more response than she’d anticipated.
Mentally calculating how many families they might feed with the bounty, Ivy turned to Sunny. “The response was good. These are nearly full.”
“Mom, you have no idea.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Follow me.”
With her strawberry blond hair streaming past her shoulders, Sunny led her to the storage room and opened the door. “What do you think?”
“Oh, my goodness.” Ivy was astounded at the effort Sunny had put out.
Boxes of food stood in stacks against the wall. Bags of rice, pasta, canned vegetables, and even some toiletries and gently worn jackets and sweaters filled the boxes. This was far beyond what she’d imagined they might collect.
“This is truly amazing. We’ll need to make two trips to deliver everything. How did you manage all of this?”
“I put up posters around town. But what really brought in the donations was the car wash. One bag of food for a free wash, and another bag for an interior vacuum.”
“Where did you do this?”
Sunny grinned. “When you were away at the pumpkin patch. I told you I had plans. I didn’t know how much we’d do, so I wanted to surprise you.
A couple of friends and I talked a car wash into giving us an hour before they opened.
The owner was so impressed, he donated money for us to buy turkeys.
We also got all our friends to clean out their parents’ pantries. ”
Sunny looked so pleased with her efforts that Ivy threw her arms around her daughter. “You far exceeded my expectations.”
Sunny laughed. “For a change, right?”
“Not at all. I’ve always been proud of you and your potential.”
A knowing expression filled Sunny’s face. “I just hid it well for a long time.”
Ivy shrugged that off. “Let’s just say you were evolving.”
“Well, it took a while.” Sunny quirked a grin, much like Shelly’s.
“Now I feel bad about that first-class ticket home from Europe I put on your Amex Card before I came back. That was bratty of me, but I had no concept of the price of things back then. Now I realize how much that must have hurt you financially.”
Ivy had to admit that. “It was exasperating at the time.”
“I was hurt because Dad died, and I guess I wanted to hurt you for that. I don’t know why I felt that way, but I thought if you’d taken better care of him, he’d still be around. And he never denied me anything like you did.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry you felt that way.” Her husband had died suddenly of an aneurysm that had given no warning.
“It wasn’t rational. I know that now.” Sunny waved a hand at the donations.
“Maybe this is me trying to make up for it. I’m not perfect, but now I realize that.
I used to think working at the inn would be easy, but it’s not.
Guests expect a lot, and they’re not always reasonable.
Like that sorority reunion where they all jumped into the pool, naked and drunk. ”
Chuckling, Ivy shook her head. “We can laugh about that now. I was just thankful that woman didn’t die on us.” She had hit her head, nearly drowned, and Ivy had brought her to safety. It wasn’t the woman’s finest moment.
Sunny crossed her arms. “Except they posted it on social media. Now we get calls asking if we still allow nude parties at the pool. I thought those were prank calls until someone mentioned the sorority and the posts. This is a tough business, Mom. I had no idea.”
Ivy was glad her once-spoiled younger daughter was starting to appreciate her efforts. “Let’s start loading the SUV. I’ll get the dolly from the garage.”
Half an hour later, Bennett emerged from the shower after his morning run. He wore jeans and a faded Summer Beach Volunteer Fire Department sweatshirt. A matching baseball cap shaded his eyes.
Bennett eyed the stacks of boxes and baskets Ivy and Sunny had assembled by the SUV. Sunny was lifting them in.
“I see the Seabreeze Inn guests have been generous,” he said.
“This was all Sunny.” Ivy told him the story. As she did, she saw Sunny’s modest smile.
It took them nearly an hour to load the SUV, with Bennett carefully arranging and rearranging to make everything fit, but they’d still need to make two trips.
“That should be the last of it,” Ivy said, handing Sunny the last bag of pasta.
Every available space was filled in the vehicle, except for the driver’s seat and one passenger seat.
Ivy eyed the remaining boxes. “Let’s put the rest in my car. Sunny, do you want to drive it?”
Her daughter’s eyes brightened at the chance to drive the vintage, cherry-red ‘57 Chevy convertible. “Sure. That’s such a cool car. Can I put the top down and turn on the heater?”
“Whatever you like.” Ivy had never let her drive it before because of Sunny’s irresponsibility. But now, her daughter seemed like she could handle it.
They loaded the large trunk and the wide back seat and placed an armful of jackets in the front.
With Sunny following, Bennett maneuvered the SUV through town. Ivy watched the familiar scenery pass by. Boutiques and restaurants on Main Street were putting up decorations, and people were wrapping palm tree trunks with lights.
“The village will be lit up tonight,” Bennett said.
Ivy loved this time of year. “It feels like the holidays are really on their way now. I wish this spirit of generosity could last all year.”
“Then it wouldn’t seem special.”
She gazed at the sparkling decorations going up in shop windows. “But how lovely life would be.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
As she thought about this, she realized this was the feeling she tried to capture in her paintings.
A sea could be stormy and rough or sunny and smooth.
Life wasn’t without its challenges, but her job as an artist, as she saw it, was to share sunny skies and the feeling that a beautiful day at the beach might evoke.
She placed a hand on Bennett’s arm. “Have I told you how much I appreciate you doing this with us? Not every husband would spend his Saturday delivering food donations.”
“That’s because not every man has a wife with vision.” He took her hand and kissed it.
This, she thought. This was a loving partnership. How fortunate she was to have found it.
They stopped at the school first, where volunteers helped them unload items for the annual turkey giveaway for families who needed help. Ivy loved seeing how excited the children were and the gratitude in the parents’ faces.
Ivy understood how much it meant to them to be able to provide for their families.
Most people endured hardships at some point in their lives, whether financial or health crises, or something else.
Being part of a small community like Summer Beach meant that, unlike the anonymity of a large city, such hardships usually didn’t go unnoticed.
Teachers observed a lot, which is why they’d organized this event years ago and continued it to this day.
Ivy saw Celia and Tyler, Bennett’s former neighbors from the ridgetop who’d found success in technology before retiring at an early age.
Celia had adopted the school music program to aid it, and Tyler was now helping and expanding their assistance.
Celia waved, and Ivy chatted with her for a few minutes. Several teachers also thanked them as they left.
Next, Bennett pulled up to the shelter building a few blocks inland. She saw Shelly’s Jeep in the parking lot. The old vehicle had been passed through all the kids in the family and was still running. Mitch was already parked in front, and Sunny parked behind them.
Mitch got out of his vehicle. “Look who finally made it.”
He walked toward them. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. “The frozen turkeys are unloaded, so I can give you a hand. After this, I need to head back to Java Beach for the lunch run.”
Inside, the community shelter buzzed with activity.
Behind the dining room and the main activity rooms, volunteers sorted donations into categories.
Canned goods, dry goods, personal hygiene items, clothes, and baby supplies.
Shelly stood at a table with Daisy playing beside her in a makeshift play area, checking items off a list as they came in.
Vanz was helping people select the items they needed.
“About time you showed up,” Shelly said when she spotted Ivy and Bennett. “Daisy was starting to think Aunt Ivy had forgotten about us.”
“Never,” Ivy said, bending down to give her niece a quick hug. “We just had more donations than expected, thanks to Sunny.”
Bennett, Mitch, and Sunny began to carry in boxes. The director of the center and other volunteers thanked them as they brought in items. Once the cars were emptied, they stayed to help sort donations.
While doing this, Ivy noticed Bennett and Vanz helping a young mother with two small children select items to replace what they’d lost in a fire. Their manner put the anxious woman at ease.
Across the room, Mitch was demonstrating to an older man how to operate a can opener with his one remaining good hand. Both were laughing at some shared joke.
“Bennett is good with people,” Shelly remarked, appearing beside Ivy with a clipboard.
Ivy nodded toward Mitch. “So is your husband.”
“We both got lucky.”
Ivy thought about the people for whom this center was a lifeline. “Luck can be elusive for some. Here one day and gone the next. It’s nice to have a community that cares.”
As they worked to unload and sort the donations, Ivy noticed an older woman in a far corner of the room. She was well dressed but sat alone, watching the activity with tired eyes.
Daisy toddled between tables, helping by moving items from one pile to another, while Shelly and Mitch pretended not to notice the disorganization in her wake.