Chapter 21 #2
“I can’t wait to start marketing that,” Audrey said. “I’ve been holding off on making us a social media account until we decided on a name. I can’t wait to spam Instagram with pictures of the house, and of us getting ready for guests.”
Elaine smiled. Social media wasn’t really her area, and she thought to herself with a flutter of happiness that the three of them made an amazing team.
She brought experience and knowledge of the house to the table, Audrey brought her unstoppable determination and understanding of marketing, and Michelle brought her enthusiasm, helpfulness, and whimsical creativity.
Together they were a dream team, and she couldn’t wait to make The Birchwood House everything they were hoping it would be.
At that moment, they heard a distant knock on the front door.
“I wonder who that could be,” Elaine said, standing up. “I don’t think the handymen said they had another person coming to help with the windows.”
Michelle, a curious gleam in her eyes, went over to the kitchen window that offered a view of the front porch. “Well, speak of the devil,” she said, her tone gleeful. “Guess who it is?”
Elaine noticed Audrey blushing scarlet and felt confident that they were both guessing the same person. “I’ll open the kitchen door and call to him to come over here,” she said. “I’m sure he’s here to talk to one of us.”
“Hmm, maybe one of us in particular,” Michelle said with an impish grin.
Elaine shot her a look but couldn’t hold back a grin of her own. She stepped through the kitchen door and made her way along the porch until she could see Evan standing at the front door.
“Hello, Evan,” she said warmly. “We’re all in the kitchen. Feel free to come inside this way.”
“Oh, certainly.” Evan appeared a bit awkward physically, and he put his hands in his pockets and then took them out again as he approached Elaine.
I remember the days when everyone wore hats, and men always took them off in certain social situations, Elaine thought with a sentimental smile. I never thought about it at the time, but it gave them something to do with their hands. That’s a comfort when you’re feeling nervous, I’m sure.
Elaine felt glad that their home was being used to celebrate history.
She loved many things about modern times, but she missed the past, and she had an additional fondness for history that came before her time.
She often wished that people would learn to slow down and appreciate doing the little things for each other more, the way people had in the past. She hoped that the mansion would be able to inspire people, in its own small way, to take notes from the accomplishments of the people who had lived before them.
Courage and hard work alongside peaceful, contented lives were a recipe for happiness that many people seemed to have forgotten about.
She led Evan back inside the kitchen, where Audrey was busy polishing a teapot that she’d already scrubbed into a state of perfection twenty minutes earlier.
Elaine noticed that her daughter’s cheeks were a bit flushed and that she took an abnormal number of seconds to look up and offer Evan a polite smile.
“Hello, Audrey,” he said. His hands went into his pockets again and then came out a moment later.
“Hi, Evan,” Audrey said, her voice a bit higher than usual. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, fine, fine.” Evan nodded. “Hi, Michelle.”
Michelle turned around from where she’d been pretending to inspect the contents of the dishwasher—which was empty. “Oh, hi, Evan. Would you like a cookie?”
“Maybe later.” He cleared his throat nervously. “Thank you.” He turned back to Audrey, and Elaine noticed a light of attraction spring into his eyes the second he looked at her. “Do you have a moment to speak with me, Audrey?”
Audrey blinked nervously, setting down the teapot with a slight clatter. “Um, certainly,” she said, sounding surprised and a little hesitant.
“Could we step outside?” he asked. “Walk in the garden, maybe?”
Audrey nodded, her cheeks coloring slightly. Elaine and Michelle exchanged a glance.
He wants to speak with her privately, Elaine thought, her heart rate picking up. I wonder what that means? Surely if there was an unexpected issue with the mansion he would tell all of us. This must be something between the two of them.
Evan stepped through the kitchen door and Audrey followed. She made a quick good-natured grimace at her mother before stepping outside, and Elaine chuckled. The second the door closed behind Audrey and Evan, Michelle scampered over to her grandmother.
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. “Do you think he’s asking her out again?”
“I don’t know,” Elaine said, ignoring the inner voice that was telling her to respect her daughter’s privacy and instead looking out the window at Audrey and Evan as they walked down the steps of the porch together.
“They both seem so nervous. Does that mean it’s a negative conversation, or are they both just jittery because they—” She dropped her voice even lower into a whisper. “Because they like each other?”
Michelle tilted her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Mom act like this. But then again, I’ve never seen her start dating anyone before.”
Elaine sighed, her heart aching for her daughter. “She didn’t act like this when she started dating your dad, but she wasn’t going through heartbreak then either. And getting older changes us. I really don’t know how she feels about Evan.”
“I think that blush on her face tells us everything we need to know,” Michelle replied, grinning.
Elaine chuckled. “Maybe so. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see—that is, if Audrey is even willing to tell us what their conversation was about.”
Michelle’s mouth popped open into a pretend look of alarm. “She’d better! Otherwise I’m going to have to unleash my best puppy eyes on her.”
“Well, we couldn’t have that,” Elaine said, winking.
Michelle went back to her coffee and sipped it aggressively, as if it could help relieve some of her suspense. Elaine smiled at her and glanced out the window again.
What on earth was the mysterious conversation between her daughter and the mayor about?