30. Tobias
CHAPTER 30
Tobias
I start seeing the fliers for a special concert at The SeaSong on Friday night at the beginning of the week. There’s no mention of what bands are playing. Just that it’s going to be a live music event.
When the day finally comes, I choose to sit in the bookstore after-hours, watching the people file into The SeaSong until the bouncer at the door stops the flow.
The concert must start because it gets increasingly louder next door. There’s no way I can concentrate on working now—not that I ever really was. I shut my laptop and slide it into its locking drawer, deciding to exit out the front door for a change. I’m curious about what’s going on out there.
As I pass by the café’s window, I take note of a mass of people inside. The town is clearly behind The Sea Song, judging by the turnout. A large guy with huge muscles straining his plain black shirt stands at the door as the assigned bouncer. He’s not a local. I’d recognize him if he was.
When a new customer approaches him, he politely tells them they’re at capacity. It’s hard for me to pick out anyone specific through the windows at first. But finally, I see her cousin, the punk kid. He’s singing onstage. And then finally, I spot her.
Harmony is standing in the back, watching her cousin play, and I wonder if she’s enjoying the show. Seeing her café exactly as she’s envisioned it must make for one surreal moment. I have a feeling it’s a surprise for her since I haven’t really seen her out and about. I wonder if the town’s show of support is giving her second thoughts about selling to me. I almost hope it does because Port Haven wouldn’t be the same without her. I gave her a low offer for a reason. Because part of me hoped she’d laugh in my face, tell me to fuck off, and keep what’s rightfully hers.
You can clearly see the roundness of her stomach in the form fitting dress she wears. I wonder how her family feels about the baby. Maybe she hasn’t told them. It’s obvious now that she’s expecting or maybe that’s because I know.
Whenever I’ve had a quiet moment to myself lately, I’ve considered the baby’s father. Who was he to her? Why is he not here? How does she feel about being pregnant? Does she have a plan?
“I thought I told you that if I saw you at The SeaSong again, I’d get you on trespassing.”
I turn and find myself face-to-face with Mama Bear. It’s clear her claws are out, and she’s hungry.
“I was just passing by.” I back up from the window, putting my arms up to prove my point that I’m leaving.
“Oh, really?” She arches her eyebrow at me as she crosses her arms across her chest. “You realize if her father knew you were out here, he’d be punching you in the face, right? He’s just inside. Should I go get Killian?” She steps closer to me and in this light she’s kind of scary. She’s the same person from the café, but she’s more aggressive tonight as she crowds closer to me.
“I don’t see it.” She squints as she’s looking at me.
I’m almost afraid to ask, but I do because I am curious. “Don’t see what?”
“Why my daughter defends you when you’re the reason she was arrested.”
“She does?”
Why would Harmony defend me to anyone? If anything, you’d think she’d have plenty of reason to throw me under the bus.
Her mother nods slowly, scrutinizing me. “If I wasn’t eleven years older than my husband, I’d probably question it. I get the feeling that you like her just as much as she likes you. Even though she denies it.”
I swallow hard. “She likes me? Still?”
Why do I find that improbable? Because I was downright cruel to her . I pushed her away. I yelled at her that night instead of thanking her for finding and tending to my mom.
Her mom tips her head in a slow deliberate nod again. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Anytime someone calls you out, she sticks up for you. She tries to explain to anyone that will listen that you aren’t the one pressing the charges and it’s up to the DA. Before this all went down, Harmony told me about this woman in the hospital that she’d visit who loved it when she brought her scones. That’s your mom, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“My daughter didn’t know any of her grandparents. My parents died years ago in a car accident when I was just starting my first marriage. My husband never knew his father, and his mother died about ten years ago of a heroin overdose. He hadn’t seen her since she abandoned his brother and him when they were eleven. Harmony’s always attached herself to older people. I think that might be why.” She looks through the window at the crowd and is quiet for a minute. She admires the people inside. I can’t imagine the lengths she and the others went in order to ensure a good turnout for tonight.
“My daughter doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body. She took your mom to the beach because Claire asked her to. She thought she might remember where she lived on the way back. Harmony didn’t have a way of getting in touch with you, and she didn’t want to call the police and possibly get you in trouble.”
She didn’t want to get me in trouble?
That alone speaks volumes of the woman Harmony is. And I threw that all away.
“I know,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. I’m ashamed of how this ended. If I could go back and change what happened that night, I would. In my heart, I know Harmony wouldn’t purposely put my mom in danger but my what if, what if, what if brain spiraled and had me snapping at her. It’s all my fault. Everything. But I can’t tell her mom this.
There’s the issue that I’m clearly too old for her daughter. I’m fourteen years older than Harmony. Her mom did mention that she’s older than her husband but that doesn’t mean she’d be open to a similar but reversed situation for her daughter.
“Harmony’s always been a tender soul. She gets that from my husband. She’s definitely his child through and through. There are things about her personality she gets from him, which is surprising since they didn’t know each other until she was seven. She was in a semi-permanent foster placement at the time.
“Her birth mother died of an overdose before Harmony was six weeks old. She loved the woman she was placed with, and thankfully, the woman loved her just as much. She made sure Harmony knew she had a father out there in the world who might someday come for her. And he did. He brought this beautiful child home to live with us. She believed in mermaids, and thought her mom was one, and that was why she wasn’t in her life. Even though Miss Shelly, her foster placement, told her repeatedly that she was sick.”
I had no idea. I understand a little bit more about Harmony and her mermaid tattoo now. She never offered much about her personal life in the short time I knew her.
“My daughter sees something in you, and I think you see something in her.”
I nod, not denying it because I see something in her too. I see her in my heart.
“She has a lot on her plate right now with the baby and the impending court case against her. She’s expressed to her father and I that her intention is to sell The SeaSong and leave Port Haven. We don’t think that’s in her best interest.”
“No?” I don’t dare mention that she offered to sell me the café or that I had paperwork drawn up today.
She shakes her head and points to the café. “This is what she’s meant to do. She loves coffee, and music, and is a heck of a painter. She put a career in music aside to focus on her MBA and dream of opening her own coffee shop. Her father and I supported it because it’s what’s made her happy. Everyone in our family knows this is what she’s meant to do.”
She pauses, looking back into the window. I stand next to her and stare as well. “Her cousin put this whole concert together. He rallied their mutual cousins who’ve been working nonstop the last several days to show her a glimpse of what her dream looks like. But also so the town could see it, too”
Harmony’s mom turns back toward me. “That’s what this family does. And if you want to be part of that, you better start showing up for my daughter and supporting her dream instead of tearing her down when she makes a mistake.”