Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Julia sipped the steaming hot latte that she’d just purchased from Ocean Breeze Café and let a ripple of contentment go through her.
She was walking to The Lighthouse Grill for work, and she found it to be a delightful morning.
It was colder than it had been in a long time, but she was bundled up pleasantly against the cold.
A dead leaf scuttled across the sidewalk in a gust of wind. She glanced up at the oak tree that overshadowed her path, noting that although many of its leaves were just starting to turn colors, some of them had fully completed the process already and were beginning to fall from the tree.
I guess sometimes, some things are ready before other things are, she thought with a sigh. It’s inconvenient when those things are involved in planning a wedding.
She bit her lip as she thought about Turtle Dove Hall.
She hadn’t received any updates from Lindsay or Jacob, and she knew that if Cooper had gotten any, he would have shared them with her.
She realized that she was close by to the wedding venue, and that if she stopped there before she went to The Lighthouse Grill, she would still be able to get to work on time.
She wondered if she even wanted to know about the state of the wedding venue. She dreaded hearing more bad news, but at the same time she couldn’t resist the temptation to investigate.
She turned a corner and saw the beautiful old building gleaming in the morning sunlight. She looked at it wistfully as she made her way up the steps and gingerly pushed open the front doors.
Her footsteps echoed softly as she stepped inside the vast space.
She could smell a damp, almost musty smell, and she knew that didn’t bode well.
The floor had been cleaned, but when she looked up at the ceiling, she saw that it was still peeling.
The walls, too, were now showing signs of water damage.
She was beginning to think that no one else was there, but then she noticed Jacob’s tool backpack and a slew of supplies on the floor near where the damaged vintage-inspired wallpaper was being torn off, presumably for repairs.
She didn’t see Jacob, and she was about to pull her out cellphone to call him, when she saw him and another person step into the main room from one of the side doorways. At first, Julia assumed the other person was Lindsay, but then she saw that it was Hazel.
Hazel was speaking to Jacob in an animated way as he walked back to his work station. They were holding hands, but they didn’t seem to be united over their topic of conversation.
“And I think that adding an accent wall of green wallpaper to the living room will make that wall of frames look even better, don’t you?” Hazel’s tone was eager and cheerful, but she watched Jacob’s face with concern, as if she was worried about what his reaction was going to be.
“Uh, I mean, it could. Potentially.” Jacob gave her a half-hearted smile as he crouched down amidst his supplies, looking for a tool.
“Don’t you like green?” Hazel asked, looking disappointed by his reaction.
“I like green fine.”
“I thought it was your favorite color.”
“It is—I mean, yeah, generally. I also like blue.”
“Okay, well, maybe we could do the accent wall in blue instead. A nice dark, elegant blue.” She watched Jacob for a few more seconds, clearly frustrated by his lack of enthusiasm. “Or a light blue. What would you like?”
This is weird, Julia thought, feeling bad about eavesdropping but not wanting to interrupt yet. It isn’t like Jacob to act like this. Why is he so resistant to her suggestions? I know he likes the way she decorates her house.
Jacob paused for a moment and then shook his head. “I just think you should slow down and think about it all some more before doing anything.”
Hazel sighed. “Do you just not like any of my decorating ideas?”
“No, sweetheart, that’s not it.” Jacob stood up and gave Hazel a hug. “I just don’t want you to rush into anything.”
“But why?”
“Well—” He scratched the back of his neck. “I mean—your choices will completely change the space.”
Hazel blinked at him in confusion. “Of course they will. That’s the point of remodeling.”
Jacob was just opening his mouth, looking as though he was trying to think of something to say, when he noticed Julia. He paused in surprise as soon as he saw her and waved.
“Hey, Julia! We didn’t see you come in.”
“Hey.” Julia hurried forward, feeling a bit awkward about having overheard their private conversation. Neither Jacob nor Hazel seemed embarrassed about it, however, and Hazel hurried to give her sister a hug.
“What brings you over here?” Hazel asked. “Are you looking for Lindsay?”
“I guess so.” Julia sighed. “Lindsay or you, Jacob. Anybody who can tell me how the repairs are going over here.”
At that moment, as if she’d been summoned by their conversation, Lindsay hurried into the room.
She was on the phone and seemed completely distracted.
She barely waved to Hazel, Julia, and Jacob as she rushed past, saying, “But are you absolutely sure it’s going to take all that long? Isn’t there anything else I can do?”
Julia groaned internally. Seeing Lindsay so distressed over her phone call had done nothing to reassure her.
“Ah, yeah.” Jacob shook his head. “Unfortunately, the burst pipe really is a big problem. We’re doing what we can on our own, and we’ve stopped the water leak to avoid more water damage, but we’re waiting on additional workers to come out and make a more thorough assessment.
I can patch the pipework up there, but I can’t tell Lindsay if it’s just going to burst again.
She might have a temperature control issue up in the attic.
It was cold when the pipes burst, but it shouldn’t have been that cold, since there was still a little heat on in the building, at least downstairs. ”
Julia’s head was reeling a little bit. She nodded as she processed everything Jacob was telling her.
Hazel put a reassuring arm around Julia’s shoulders, and although Julia was grateful that her sister was trying to comfort her, she had an uncomfortable feeling that Hazel’s pity didn’t bode well either.
“So—” Julia realized that her voice was trembling a little bit, and she inhaled, trying to steady it. “Does this mean canceling the venue for our wedding?”
Jacob hesitated for a moment, his expression full of regret. “I don’t know, Julia. I think not even Lindsay can give you an answer to that right now, but I have to tell you honestly that things aren’t looking good.”
“Okay.” Julia forced a smile. “Thanks for talking with me.” She glanced down at her watch, even though she knew that she didn’t really need to leave yet. “I guess I’d better get going, since I’m on my way to the pub. Good luck, Jacob, and I’ll talk to you later, Hazel.”
“Bye, Julia.” Hazel gave her sister another hug, seeming to know exactly how disappointed Julia was even though Julia was doing her best to conceal it.
Julia waved goodbye to her sister and her boyfriend and stepped back outside into the cold.
Of course she’d known that canceling Turtle Dove Hall as their wedding venue because of the burst pipe was more than likely to be necessary, but she’d gotten her hopes up again since they’d first learned the devastating news.
I so wish things could have worked out after all, she thought, walking toward work with a heavy heart. But it looks as though that dream of mine has been dashed. What are we going to do now?