Newport Harbor House

by Cindy Caldwell

  Jen nodded. “That’s not horrible. What else?”

  “Oh my gosh, she said I have a co-chair. I tried to tell her I didn’t need one, but it didn’t work.”

  Faith groaned. “I’d rather just do it ourselves.”

  “Me, too. But it’s a done deal. Said this guy needed to be involved and knows a lot of muckety mucks. Can get bigger donations.”

  Jen stirred cream into her coffee. “Okay, that makes sense. So who is it?”

  Carrie closed her eyes leaned back into her chair.

  “Dirk Crabtree.”

  Both Jen and Faith stared at her for a moment, their mouths wide open, before they burst into laughter.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Carrie groaned and shook her head slowly. “I wish I was. I’m not.”

  Faith laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath.

  “So, I guess he’ll find out you’re not really Betty White.”

  Carrie gave her a quick side-eye. “Right. That’ll be fun.”

  Jen rested her hand on Carrie’s arm and tried to comfort her, even though she was still laughing. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Well, it’ll have to be. I have to meet him this week at the Pavilion for dinner.”

  The Pavilion was one of the oldest, most interesting restaurants in Newport, covered in lights and right on the water, with great food. Not that it mattered when you had to confess to not being Betty White.

  “Will you guys go with me? You’re helping with this. You’re kind of like co-chairs, too.”

  Both Faith and Jen shook their heads in unison. “Not a chance. You don’t need us, anyway. But we’ll be ready for a full report afterward. You guys can make a plan, and we can execute it,” Faith said.

  Jen agreed. “Right. And you can see if you can get any intel about the beach house.”

  Carrie blinked a few times and seemed to shake it off—at least for now. “Right. Any word about the house?”

  “None. I’ve left messages with my dad and Greg both. Nothing.”

  “Keep trying. And meantime, we should get on some of the repairs,” Faith said.

  Jen looked at Faith and wondered about the tone in her voice. She seemed a little off and the napkin she’d been holding was in shreds on her plate. “Faith, you all right?”

  Jen and Carrie both sat in silence as Faith described what had happened with her summer school job.

  “I want to stay and help, Jen. It means a lot to me. I want to do whatever it takes so that the house can stay in the family.”

  Jen’s eyes misted. She knew Faith needed the money, and was touched that she’d give that up for her—for them.

  “Well, then, we’d better get started. I say we do some shopping. Pick up some fabric. Spruce up the place as best we can. And maybe get on those stairs so you don’t risk your life every time you go to bed.”

  Faith smiled softly and nodded. “I’m here to do whatever it takes.”

  Jen, Carrie and Faith spent the day walking through the shops and restaurants, asking for donations for the fundraiser if the owners weren’t too busy. They’d left Daisy at home and meandered through the small streets and ended up at the Fun Zone that Jen had always thought was probably California’s version of Coney Island.

  It was right on the water with arcades, games, and small rides. They’d spent tons of time there as kids and with their own, and they each had a frozen banana as they sat on a bench underneath the Ferris wheel, resting their feet.

  Seagulls begged for a bite, and Jen laughed as she shooed them away.

  “What a beautiful day,” Faith said. “I feel kind of liberated.”

  Jen glanced gratefully at her friend. “I bet. I’m so glad you decided to stay. We’ve got a lot to do.”

  Faith laughed. “We sure do.”

  “We’ve gotten a lot of stuff to help the effort today,” Carrie said. “Want to take the ferry over to the island and check it out? There are more businesses to ask there. I haven’t been in a while.”

  They all agreed, and in minutes they were on the ferry that went from the peninsula to Balboa Island. They sat with the cars and people who looked like tourists as it made its way across the harbor, and Jen remembered the very first time she’d been on it. Her dad had held her tightly as she stood on the bench, watching the water pass quickly beneath them. She felt the same peace every time since—and she’d been on it many times by now.

  Her phone rang right about in the middle of the bay, and she would have ignored it but it was her father. “Dad, I’ve been calling you for days. Where have you been?”

  Jen’s dad paused on the other end of the line and laughed. “I’ve been busy.”

  Jen took a quick look at the phone. It wasn’t like her dad to brush her off like that. She wondered once again what could have caused him to be so—busy. Especially with something as important as the status of the beach house hanging over all their heads.

  She decided just to plow ahead.

  “You got my estimate for the work at the beach house?”

  “I did. I met Greg last night at the Mexican Kitchen and we talked it over.”

  Her chest tightened. Why were they talking it over without her? Again? This just wasn’t right.

  “Dad, I wanted to talk about it all together.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but it was just easier to do it over a pitcher here. Besides, we’re here and you’re there.”

  Exactly. She was staying at the beach house, fixing things every day, and they weren’t. She should be in the loop.

  “So, what did you talk about?”

  “Well, that list you sent was pretty long. And expensive. We decided that neither of us wanted to put in that kind of money. So we contacted a realtor.”

  “Yeah, I met him. Dirk Crabtree. He’s already been to the house.”

  “Oh, good,” he said. “I meant to let you know. Guess I forgot. Been busy.”

  Jen sighed with frustration. “Has he gotten back to you yet with an estimate?”

  “No, he hasn’t, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear.”

  “Right,” Jen said slowly, hoping that maybe Carrie could get some information when she met with the realtor, as her dad was less than forthcoming.

  “I’m looking forward to coming to the barbecue for the Fourth. We can talk then. Nice tradition.”

  Jen was looking forward to the Fourth of July party, too. It was one of Nana’s favorite holidays and they’d always taken the kids to the boat parade, where all of the boats were decked out in red, white and blue. And she’d planned to make all of Nana’s favorites for their barbecue.

  “All right. I think most of the kids are coming.” In the back of her mind, she hoped that maybe a family event, one steeped in tradition and memories, might help her out of this mess. Her dad loved the beach house, too. He just needed to be reminded.

  “And until then, just do the repairs that are low cost. Keep it to a minimum. I’ll see you then.”

  She sighed as he ended the call. She filled Carrie and Faith in on what he’d said, and they looked as crestfallen as she felt.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They’d gone into lots of shops on the Island, most they’d been to before—and a new one that sold all kinds of unusual things. They’d spent the most time there, looking at the wares from all over the world. Faith lingered by the pillows—Jen and Faith had spent lots of time making pillows for Jen’s client friends—and they were both quite enamored with the fabrics. Many had lovely beading and shiny embroidery.

  “These are awesome,” Faith whispered to Jen as she flashed a smile at the owner. The woman was a bit older, with long hair that was white in front and still a dark brown in a braid that hung down her back. She was very pretty and a little exotic. She introduced herself as Patti, explained that she traveled the world to fill her shop and thanked them for coming.

  Outside, Carrie plopped down on a bench and rubbed her calves. “I think I need to call it quits for the day.
At least the walking part. My feet are tired.”

  Faith and Carrie agreed, and they crossed back over on the ferry and headed home. As they walked toward the beach house, Jen looked up and pointed out all the “For Sale” signs along the way. In between the houses with signs, the streets were dotted with new construction projects.

  “Wow, I haven’t been down this far on the peninsula for a while. So many of these houses have been torn down. These new ones look so modern,” Carrie said.

  Jen agreed. “Yeah. There aren’t too many of the old original ones left.”

  “Big change,” Faith agreed. “How crazy is that? I wonder what these people have to pay, just to have the house torn down and build another.”

  “Let’s get home and look on Zillow. We can find out what these places sold for. Might give us some kind of idea what the house is worth, and what we’re up against.” Jen couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought to look earlier.

  “Great idea,” Carrie said.

  They picked up the pace and reached the house in just a few minutes. Faith opened the gate—wincing as it creaked—and laughed at Daisy’s nose plastered on the window.

  When the puppy saw them coming up the steps, she pushed away from the window and they all three jumped toward the door as a loud crash rang out.

  “Thank goodness we got the doorknob replaced,” Faith said as they rushed through the front door.

  Jen surveyed the damage as quickly as she could. One of the lamps in the corner was a casualty, and it looked like some of the walnut paneling had been knocked from the wall during the event.

  Pillow fluff was everywhere, and the pillow that had given its life for Daisy’s entertainment rested at the foot of the stairs.

  “Oh, goodness,” Carrie said slowly. “Looks like she would have rather come with us.”

  “No doubt.” Faith reached for a trash bag and began to pick up the pillow stuffing. Carrie straightened the lamp—or tried to. It was never going to recover.

  Jen tried to stick the paneling back on the wall before she realized it would have to be a major project. And as she got a good look at the wall behind the paneling, it was evident that taking the paneling off would unleash a whole slew of things to be done with the drywall behind it.

  “The toilet’s still running,” Carrie hollered from the bathroom.

  Jen sat down hard at the kitchen island, the orange plastic stool creaking as she did. The tears she’d struggled to keep at bay prickled. She looked around the room and shook her head.

  “I don’t know how to make this work,” she said softly, resting her elbows on the counter and dropping her chin in her hands.

  Carrie handed her a tissue. “There has to be something we can do.”

  “Right,” Faith said as she rested her hand on Jen’s shoulder. “We’ll think of something. We always do.”

  Jen was all out of ideas. With her father and brother not cooperating and not even interested in fixing up the place, what could she do alone?

  Faith snapped her fingers.

  “Didn’t the contractor say that the little apartment over the garage was in the best shape of anything? Since it was newer?”

  Jen nodded. “Yes, he did. At least that’s one thing we’ve got going for us.”

  “What if you get renters or something? We could put an ad on Craigslist. The income would cover expenses and maybe a little more, even, for repairs.”

  Carrie and Jen exchanged quick glances.

  “That’s not a bad idea, Jen. Lots of people rent out rooms or small apartments to help cover costs. And there are lots of people looking. The university isn’t that far. Lots of the students live around here.”

  Jen’s mood brightened a bit. “That’s something to look at, for sure.”

  Daisy scratched at the door and looked back at Jen.

  “Oh, gosh, I completely forgot she needs to go out. We’re lucky we didn’t have any messes to step in.” She reached for the door after giving Daisy a grateful pat.

  “I’ll take her for a quick walk. You guys get out the laptop and see what you can find on Craigslist for rents. And then we can check Zillow.”

  Jen’s mind was on the dilemma at hand, and she opened the gate as she reached for the leash. Daisy nosed the gate open before Jen could get the leash on her and was off like a shot, headed straight for the beach.

  “Oh, great,” Jen said as she took off behind Daisy.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Daisy! Daisy!” Jen shouted as she ran toward the boardwalk. She could almost hear Mrs. Grover tsk-tsk as the curtain twitched when she ran by.

  She hopped over the big splat of something yucky under the palm tree and wondered again what it was that was making such a big commotion up there. She followed Daisy straight to the beach, leash in hand to grab her, hoping Daisy would stop before she plowed right into the water.

  She didn’t. The puppy didn’t let up even a bit as she headed straight for the waves. Jen didn’t exactly want to follow her in for a swim and looked quickly up and down the beach to see how many people were looking at her disapprovingly for having her dog off a leash. They’d understand if they knew how fast Daisy was.

  She waited for a moment, calling Daisy every once in a while, hoping that her energy would dissipate a little faster. Finally, Daisy stopped jumping, shook with a big cloud of water droplets and began to walk in Jen’s direction.

  “Good girl. Come on, just a little further,” Jen said, firmly gripping the clip of the leash, ready to get Daisy secure and back home.

  She and Daisy both turned toward a loud bark up the boardwalk.

  “No, Boris, not now,” Jen exclaimed when Daisy’s tail began to wag furiously, and the puppy took off like a shot toward her friend.

  “Ugh,” Jen said before she took a deep breath and ran behind Daisy toward Joe’s house.

  Daisy arrived on Joe’s porch way before Jen did, and she was out of breath when she got there. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees for a moment while Daisy and Boris rolled around on the porch.

  When she looked up, Joe was smiling down at her, with the collar of a dog in each hand. He winced for a moment as Daisy shook, sand and water flying everywhere, but his smile never faded.

  “Did you lose something?” he asked as Jen hooked the leash to Daisy’s collar.

  “Whew. Yes. Thanks.”

  “No problem.” Joe closed the gate behind Jen and gestured to a rocking chair on the porch. “Need a rest?”

  Jen laughed as she fell into the rocking chair. She let Daisy play with Boris in the courtyard, but left the leash attached just in case.

  “Yes, thanks. That was quite a workout.”

  “She got away from you, eh? It happens,” he said, smiling at the dogs as they played.

  Jen agreed. “She’s been great, really. First time this has happened.”

  “Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Glad she had a familiar place to run to, honestly.”

  Jen couldn’t have agreed more, and glanced around at the familiar porch. They’d all spent many hours here back in the day—she, Allen and Joe, with the eventual addition of Claudia. It felt like a familiar old set of slippers, and she leaned back into the chair while she caught her breath.

  She looked up as the screen door creaked, and Joe’s mom peeked her head out.

  “Jen, is that you?”

  Jen stood and smiled, gratefully accepting the older woman’s warm hug. That felt good, too.

  “Mrs. Russo, it’s so nice to see you.”

  “And you, dear. It’s been a long time. A very long time.”

  Joe had stood also and smiled at the two women. “Way too long.”

  “Thank you for the sauce, Mrs. Russo. We made ravioli to go with it, and it was fantastic. Just like it’s always been.”

  Mrs. Russo gasped in shock. “Frozen ravioli?”

  Jen took a quick glance at Joe, and he shrugged as he stood behind his mother, his smile wide.

  “Oh, yes, I�
�m sorry. I don’t know how to make ravioli from scratch. It was the best we could do.”

  Mrs. Russo shook her head. “That won’t do. Why don’t you girls come for dinner next weekend? I’ll show you how to make ravioli. The right way. The only way.”

  “Uh, that would be wonderful,” Jen stammered, her eyebrows raised. “I’ve always wanted to learn how.”

  “Good. See you then, and bring an appetite.”

  She waved at Jen and went back into the house. Joe peeked in the house until his mother was nowhere in sight.

  “I don’t remember her ever offering to teach someone how to make her ravioli. Well, once she offered to teach Claudia but Claudia declined. I don’t think my mother has ever offered again, as far as I know.”

  Jen whistled quietly. “Wow, I’m honored. Faith and Carrie won’t know what’s going on, but they’re good helpers. I can’t wait.”

  Joe nodded. “It’ll be fun. And I’ll make sure I don’t have to fill in at work that night. The gondolier outfit might be a little bit much, and I wouldn’t want to miss anything.”

  Jen laughed and reached for Daisy’s leash. “Great. I’d better get back. I’ll see you guys next weekend, and thanks for corralling Daisy for me.”

  She headed out the gate but turned to look back and wave at Joe and Boris on her way down the boardwalk.

  By the time Jen got back to the house, Faith and Carrie had spent time on Zillow and Craigslist and had good information—and the sun was beginning to set.

  “What took you so long? Must have taken Daisy a long time to run out of steam.” Faith handed Jen a glass of wine, and they all sat on the porch.

  Faith had a legal pad on her lap, and Carrie had the laptop. Jen shared the dinner invitation and they both were excited.

  “Oh, wait. I can’t go. That’s the night I have to meet with what’s-his-face,” Carrie said with a frown.

  Faith frowned as well. “Maybe we could change the night?”

  Jen shook her head. “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. She never offers to share her recipes. I don’t want to rock the boat.”