25. Eli
“And that is the last of it.” Tessa walked out to the deck where Eli and Kate sat nestled on the sofa after the guests, vendors, and models had finally left the building. “Except for the lights on the boardwalk.”
Eli sat up and looked at the soft string of lights that lined both sides of the elevated path from the house to the beach. “Can we keep them?” he asked. “I love the way they look.”
“I thought you’d like them,” Tessa said as she dropped onto one of the chairs with an exhausted sigh. “So I took the liberty of telling the lighting company I’d call them when we want them gone and they can bill me if we never send them back.”
“Good call,” Eli said, settling back next to Kate.
“Where is everyone?” Tessa asked, glancing around the empty deck. “I thought I was missing a party.”
“Emma and Matt are taking showers, and Mom went for a walk,” Kate reported. “We were going to go with her, but she said she wanted to be alone.”
“Has she talked to Maggie?”
“Nobody knows,” Eli said. “Crista and Anthony are putting the flower girl to bed, Jonah just said he had to take a call, and Vivien and Lacey are with Maggie giving a grand tour.”
“Ahh.” She dropped her head back and sighed. “What a rollercoaster of a day.”
“You did a magnificent job, Tess,” Kate told her. “Everyone had fun, the vibe was perfect, Akari seemed very happy.”
“And Maggie didn’t wreck the whole thing,” Tessa added, opening one eye to look at Eli. “How exactly did that happen again? Who saved the day?”
“Vivien,” he said without a second’s hesitation, wanting to give his awesome sister the credit she deserved. “She did the damage control and handled it like a pro.”
“Who’s a pro?” Jonah practically leaped out onto the deck. “I’ll tell you who. This guy! The one who just got accepted in the inaugural Culinary Arts program at Northwest Florida State!”
Kate screamed the loudest, jumping from the sofa to throw her arms around him. “I knew it! I knew you could do it.”
He picked her up and swung her, landing her back on her feet just as Eli came in for his congratulatory hug.
“I’m so proud of you, man!” He pounded his son’s back and added a squeeze.
“Thanks, Dad.” He inched back. “I called Carly and told her, too. But she wasn’t too talkative.” He made a face. “Early contractions.”
“Really?” Kate asked, looking concerned. “I guess she’s due any day now.”
“She is and I…” He blew out a breath. “I want to be there.”
“When do classes start?” Eli asked.
“Summer semester starts June second,” he said.
“More than a month,” Eli said. “You should go to California tomorrow. Be there for the birth.”
Jonah stared at him, ready to argue, but Eli held up a hand to stave it off. “I mean it, son. The apartment is almost done and we can’t do anything until the kitchen appliances come and as for the cost? Consider it my gift to my soon-to-be-born grandchild.”
Jonah swiped a hand through his hair, tears threatening. “Aw, Dad. That would be…” He choked a little and reached out to hug Eli again. “Thank you.”
“But be sure to come back,” Eli added, only half joking.
“I will, I promise. I’m not going to miss this program.” He added a tight smile. “And maybe Carly and Junior or Juniorette will come with me.”
Kate gave a clap. “That would be awesome!”
“What’s all the commotion?” Crista asked, joining them with Anthony right behind her.
“We’re congratulating Jonah,” Kate said.
“You got in?” Crista threw her arms out with joy. “That’s so awesome! Chef Jonah!”
He gave her a hug and shook Anthony’s hand.
“Hey, since we’re celebrating,” Jonah said. “Let me whip up some Summer House G&Ts and get a party going.”
“Not for me,” Crista said, her smile oddly wide as she put her hand on her stomach and looked at Anthony. “Because we’re celebrating, too.”
“No way!”
“Get out!”
“Congratulations!”
Once again, a cheer erupted and hugs and handshakes were exchanged.
“But we do have something we wanted to talk to you and Viv about,” Crista said, wrapping an arm around Anthony.
“I’m right here,” Vivien called, joining them with Lacey. “Mom went for a walk. Did you tell them?” She gave a kiss to Crista. “So happy for you! And, yes, I told Lacey.”
As they gathered, Eli stayed standing, glancing down at the boardwalk. With the lights, he could easily see his mother making her way toward the beach.
“She’ll be okay,” Kate said, coming up next to him and following his gaze.
“If she goes left, she’s going to pass Jo Ellen,” he said.
“Is that so bad?” Kate asked. “It’s a day of change.”
He sighed, not so sure if either one of them were ready for a confrontation with no kids around. But then he turned to the group where Crista and Anthony stayed standing, waiting for his attention.
“Here’s the thing,” Crista said, glancing at her husband, who nodded and held up his hand to take over the speech.
“This is probably on me and I know I’m the in-law,” he said, “but I know and love this family well enough to be honest. Cris and I are hoping that, as a family, we can come up with a different solution for Maggie. We are growing our household and we just…”
“You need privacy again,” Vivien said, reaching from her seat to take Crista’s hand. “We fully understand.”
“I love Mama so much,” she said, the Crista tears threatening. “But we’re both worried?—”
“No need to explain,” Eli said. “We stand with you and will do what needs to be done.”
“It’s not as if she needs any assistance,” Vivien said.
“She doesn’t,” Crista assured her. “But I don’t want her to be lonely.”
“If we keep this place…” Vivien raised a brow. “She could?—”
“Whoa. Whoa.” Eli raised his hand, glancing down to the beach. “Hang on. Potential fireworks ahead.”
The others came closer until all of them were standing near the railing, watching as Maggie and Jo Ellen neared each other at the end of the boardwalk. They could see both women hesitate and stare.
“Oh, boy,” Eli muttered.
“Moment of truth,” Vivien said.
“This has to happen.” Kate slid her arm around Eli’s waist and looked up at him. “Otherwise we don’t have a chance.”
For a long moment, he just looked at her, rocked by the fact that she was right…and she wanted that chance as much as he did.
“Hey, they’re talking,” Crista said in a hushed whisper. “Not screaming at each other.”
They all stood stone silent, mesmerized by the sight.
“Should I take a picture?” Tessa asked. “This might never happen again.”
“I can’t believe it’s happening at all,” Vivien added.
And then their mothers stunned them all by sitting down on the top step of the boardwalk, facing the water, side by side, and?—
“Are they laughing?” Kate asked on a whisper of disbelief.
“No!” Vivien exclaimed. “Maybe just talking.”
“Or planning each other’s death,” Tessa deadpanned.
“I’m definitely making G&Ts,” Jonah said. “Whatever is happening, someone’s gonna need a drink.”
Jonah went into the kitchen but everyone else stayed lined up at the railing, as though watching the best movie, with no sound. It lasted for what seemed like an eternity, but might have been ten minutes.
Ten minutes that Maggie Lawson sat on the white sands of Destin deep in conversation with Jo Ellen Wylie.
What was happening here?
“Oh, oh!” Tessa flicked her hand. “They’re getting up. Everyone move or they’ll know we’re watching.”
They all scurried away from the railing, laughing, finding seats to act normal. As if anything about this was normal.
Jonah came out with a pitcher and a stack of plastic cups and Vivien turned on the firepit and, in a minute or so, they were all seated and pretending not to be waiting for whatever would happen next.
“Think they made up?” Kate whispered to him.
“I don’t know. I just…”
They heard noise on the first level. Women’s voices. Footsteps. A sigh of…resignation?
All eight of them exchanged looks, no one daring to speak as they heard the sound of footsteps on the outside stairs and waited.
Finally, the two women walked onto the deck, both of them blinking at the sight of the eight family members sitting in an odd and uncomfortable silence.
They stood side by side, arms crossed, tension stretched like an invisible tug of war rope between them.
“You want to tell them, Mags, or should I?” Jo Ellen’s voice was soft, but clear.
Eli felt his whole body straighten and his heart rate kick up. “Tell us…what?”
“We’re staying,” Maggie announced.
Did she say?—
“Maggie has invited me to stay for the summer and I’ve accepted,” Jo Ellen said, not reacting to the soft gasps from around the group.
Maggie nodded and slid a look sideways at Jo Ellen. “I’m staying here, too, which might upset a few apple carts, but, to quote my favorite character in literature, ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.’”
Staying…here? Eli never saw that coming.
“Does this mean…you’ve forgiven each other?” he asked.
“No one is forgiving anyone of anything,” Maggie said. “All we want are answers. We have no idea who’s at fault or what our husbands actually did.”
“Or why,” Jo Ellen added, sounding like that pained her more than anything.
“We each have small portions of the truth about our history and our husbands,” Maggie continued, “and that has us frustrated and furious. We want to know what happened.”
“We don’t think we’ll ever have the whole story if we stay separated,” Jo Ellen added. “But here, together, we’ve agreed to try and recreate the missing pieces of the puzzle.”
“So you’ve reached a truce?” Kate asked, leaning forward with a hopeful smile.
“We’ve reached a…” Maggie looked at the other woman. “Ceasefire. Nothing more than that until we know the truth.”
“How are you going to get the truth?” Vivien asked.
“We aren’t entirely sure,” Maggie admitted. “But we have some ideas. We’ve made a promise to each other to be one hundred percent honest and share everything we know and can remember. We’ll need help and patience and time.”
“And…” Jo Ellen gave a wistful smile. “One more summer in Destin.”
What’s next in The Destin Diaries? There will be promises made and promises broken, secrets revealed, romance deepened, and a new character who will hit the beach and change everything! Don’t miss The Summer We Made Promises , the next book in The Destin Diaries.