Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Essie had forgotten how much joy a dollar store aisle full of plastic shovels and pails could spark. She stood there, debating whether two sets of neon-colored digging tools were better than one. Mattie was old enough to share, in theory. In practice? Not so much.
Then again, Mira was too little to use a shovel. But what if Mattie lost one?
She added two to her basket, along with a mesh bag of foam water toys and two inflatable floaties, and headed for the register. She left the store with a small, fizzy excitement in her chest.
Next stop on her trek was Publix.
The automatic doors whooshed open, letting out a wave of chilled air that smelled faintly of citrus and fresh bread.
Essie grabbed a cart and headed into the produce section, picking out strawberries, grapes, bananas, and any other fruit that looked good.
Her grandchildren inhaled fruit by the handful and she wanted to be sure she had plenty.
She rounded the corner toward the bakery and spotted Paige by the bread case, staring intently at the varieties like the fate of the world depended on choosing the right one.
“Decision paralysis?” Essie teased.
Paige startled, then grinned. “Hey. You’d think choosing bread would be easy.”
Essie leaned on her cart. “Depends what it’s for.”
“Breakfast. I want something heartier for toast.”
Essie pointed. “That seeded wheat is really good. Frank loves it.”
“Yeah? Okay, I’ll try that.”
Essie leaned closer. “Heard from Luminelle yet?”
“Just for them to tell me they got the contract revisions I sent and are reviewing them,” Paige said. “Hopefully, it won’t take too long, but who knows?”
“Hard to say.” Essie lowered her voice. “Also, if Gigi shows up in the dairy section, I’m bolting.”
Paige snorted. “Don’t even joke. I saw her at the fitness center this morning. Fortunately, I got out of there before she saw me. She’s everywhere. I swear that woman never spends more than two minutes in her own home.”
Essie gave Paige’s arm a sympathetic pat. “Diplomacy, remember?”
“I’m trying,” Paige whispered. “I swear I’m trying.”
They both laughed, the tension easing.
“Well,” Paige said, adjusting her basket on her arm. “If you need help with anything for your family being here, let me know. I’m happy to contribute.”
“That’s so sweet. I’ll let you know.” Essie smiled. “Go on and get your bread. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
They parted ways, and Essie finished her shopping. Sandwich bread, frozen chicken nuggets for the kids, pasta, juice boxes, milk, pancake mix, the good maple syrup Liliana had always loved as a child.
By the time Essie pushed her cart out into the warm afternoon air, her anticipation had reached a new level. She loaded everything into her trunk, filling it up, but her heart felt even fuller.
At home, Essie carried everything inside in small trips, never more than her hands could comfortably hold. She set the grocery bags on the counter, pleased that her house smelled so fresh and clean. So ready for guests.
Item by item, she unpacked everything from her reusable bags, then began putting it away.
Cereal went into the pantry. Fruit into the fridge. Beach toys into a basket by the door so the kids would see them right away.
She paused and looked around the kitchen, imagining her daughter here, Mattie running in and out, Mira toddling about. Their sandy footprints on her tile floor, laughter bouncing off the walls.
The house had felt too quiet just yesterday. But soon it would be full again. Essie pressed her palms together and smiled. Family was coming. She thought about the noise, the chaos, the crumbs, and sticky fingers—her house wasn’t going to be quiet much longer.
And she couldn’t wait.
Essie folded the last grocery bag and tucked it into the drawer beside the refrigerator. The kitchen looked tidy again. The countertops were clear, the fridge neatly stocked, the pantry ready for hungry little hands.
With nothing left to put away, she poured herself a glass of iced tea and carried it into the living room.
The late-afternoon sun slanted golden through the windows, softening the light in the room.
She set her glass on a coaster, picked up her ereader that held the book for book club, and settled onto the sofa with a quiet sigh.
She brought the ereader to life and read the first sentence. She had to read it again. Then she smiled. Her mind was elsewhere.
On Liliana’s laughter at the breakfast table. Mattie demanding chocolate chip pancakes. Mira toddling after the beach toys. Suits drying on the porch rail. Wet towels in a heap by the washer. It was going to be so good having them here.
Essie blinked and refocused on the page.
One paragraph in, and her thoughts drifted again, this time to what she might make for the children’s first lunch.
Maybe grilled cheese. Maybe mac and cheese, if that’s what they preferred.
She could prep fruit first thing in the morning, so they’d have something to nibble on whenever they wanted. Maybe she’d do carrot sticks, too.
She shook her head gently and made herself focus.
“Read,” she murmured to herself, as if giving her brain a nudge. “Book club is tomorrow, so you’d better be prepared.”
She started the paragraph over.
This time, the words found a little more traction. The story pulled her in slowly, but it was enough to get her to concentrate.
She took a sip of her tea and tucked her feet up under her.
Yes, her family arriving on Thursday would be wonderful. But for now, she was here, with her book and her quiet house and the soft hum of anticipation keeping her company.
Essie lost track of time as she read. The iced tea beside her lost its crispy coldness. Outside, the afternoon sun had shifted, casting long slanted bars of light across a different part of the room.
She tapped to turn a page, fully immersed now, finally able to concentrate as she got closer and closer to the end.
Which was why the knock startled her so much.
A soft rap, then another, like an afterthought. Almost like whoever was out there wasn’t sure they wanted to come in.
How odd. Essie blinked, closing the cover of her ereader. “Who on earth could that be?”
She wasn’t expecting any deliveries, but it was possible she’d ordered something and forgotten about it. That seemed to happen more often than she cared to admit.
Unless Frank had sent something? That was possible, too. But she expected he’d been swamped with work since he’d touched down. She knew from his last text that the jetlag was bothering him, and she’d told him to take care of himself and not worry about her.
And the Queen Bees would have texted before dropping by. Probably. Although even Maude, who tended toward spontaneity, would at least send a quick You home? before appearing on someone’s porch.
Essie set her ereader on the coffee table and smoothed the front of her shirt as she crossed the living room toward the door.
Another knock that was even softer this time and kind of…reluctant.
She opened the door.
And froze.
Sophie stood there.
Her troubled, hurting, lawsuit-filing, heartbreak-stricken stepdaughter Sophie.
She looked smaller than Essie remembered, but she was used to seeing Sophie online, where she seemed larger than life.
Sophie’s shoulders were hunched, hair pulled into a messy knot that had none of her usual polish.
Her eyes were rimmed with pink and her makeup looked like it had been fresh yesterday.
At her feet sat her suitcase. Her expression wavered somewhere between apology and exhaustion, but there was still very clearly a chip on her shoulder.
She looked past Essie, her gaze searching. “I need to talk to my dad.”
“I’m sorry, he’s not here. He and your brother had to go to Italy for the business. It was very last-minute.”
“Oh.” She chewed her lip, taking off the last of her lip gloss.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“Well…I wanted to talk to him,” Sophie said, voice thin and frayed. “He said I could come. You said I could come.”
For a heartbeat, Essie couldn’t speak. She never thought Sophie would take them up on their offer. The timing couldn’t have been worse. But things happened for a reason and if Sophie was reaching out, Essie was not going to turn her away. She quickly nodded. “Of course you can.”
So many emotions raged inside Essie. Relief, fear, hope, protectiveness, worry. Should she cancel with Liliana? The kids would be devastated.
Maybe Sophie wouldn’t stay.
But Essie wasn’t going to turn her away. Not when she’d made this first step. She said a little prayer that she was doing the right thing and stepped aside. “Come on inside, Sophie.”
And just like that, everything went sideways.