“Oh, it’s happening. There’s no doubt about that!” Lauren laughed as she stood to clear their plates. Chase followed her to the kitchen with their empty wine glasses and dirty napkins. He handed Lauren the glasses and when he put the napkins in the trash, he noticed that there were two cardboard to-go boxes with Keeper’s restaurant stamped on the side, along with an empty plastic container that said ‘Country Crock mashed potatoes’. So much for Grandma’s special recipe. At least Lauren had good taste in takeout—he’d always loved the short ribs at Keeper’s.
4
The following Tuesday night, Lisa had an impromptu family dinner. In the cold, winter months, she saw her children more often, at least once or twice a month for Sunday dinner, but in the summer months everyone was just so busy that it was usually last minute whenever they happened to be available.
Rhett was away for a few days, checking on his restaurants in Manhattan and while Lisa enjoyed her alone time, she felt like seeing her kids and mothering them a little. Even though they didn’t need much these days. She could still feed them. And so she did, and splurged on something they all loved, lobster rolls and homemade clam chowder. She’d spent the afternoon making the chowder, and the kitchen smelled heavenly—of bacon and butter, potatoes and onions, cream and of course, fresh local clams.
Abby and Chase were the first two to arrive. Chase picked Abby up along the way. He’d always been protective of his baby sister, especially now that Abby was pregnant. Jeff wasn’t able to join them. Abby had explained that he already had plans with a few friends. Chase helped himself to a bottle of beer, while Abby poured a glass of iced tea and added so much sugar to it that Lisa and Chase exchanged glances. Abby saw it and laughed.
“I don’t do this all the time, so don’t worry. Just now and then, when I feel like treating myself. Yes, I know too much sugar isn’t good, but it’s better for me than the fake stuff.” Abby had quit Sweet ‘N Low cold turkey when she found out she was pregnant and it was one of the hardest things for her to give up
“No one is judging, honey,” Lisa said as she poured herself a small glass of red wine and settled on one of the chairs around the island. Everything was ready. The lobster rolls were in the refrigerator and the chowder was keeping warm on the stove. A few minutes later, Kate and Jack arrived and Kristen was right behind them.
“Sean couldn’t make it?” Lisa asked. She’d told Kristen that he was welcome, though secretly she’d hoped that he was busy. She wasn’t overly fond of the man, though she was trying to be open-minded and to give him a chance, to see what Kristen liked about him. But it was still a mystery to her.
“I didn’t ask him,” Kristen said simply. Kate looked like she was going to comment, but then instead walked over to the chowder and lifted the lid and breathed deeply.
“Yum! This smells amazing.”
Lisa laughed. “Well go ahead and help yourself. The bowls are on the counter and I’ll put the lobster rolls out.”
Once everyone helped themselves, they brought their food to the big dining room table and took a seat. They all raved about the food, which warmed Lisa’s heart and she had to admit, the chowder had turned out unusually good. She’d added a pinch of thyme, which added a subtle hint of flavor.
“So tell me all about the event at the club. Did you have a good time?” Lisa looked at Kristen and Kate when she asked the question.
“It was much better since Kate and Jack were there,” Kristen said.
“We weren’t the only ones there,” Kate said as she glanced Chase’s way. He looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then said, “Yeah, I was there too. It was kind of a last minute kind of thing. A friend had tickets. It was fun, actually. Food was great.”
Lisa had already heard that Chase was there with Lauren. Nantucket was a small place and even though neither Kristen nor Kate had said a word, two of Lisa’s friends had called the next day and mentioned that they’d seen Lauren with Chase and didn’t they look so cute together? She smiled at her son.
“Really? A friend? Anyone I know?”
Chase hesitated for a moment before saying, “Lauren Snyder. I ran into her a month or so ago and we’ve been spending some time together.”
“I see her real estate signs everywhere lately. She’s a busy girl.” And she didn’t seem Chase’s type at all, but she could see that he was smitten. She remembered he’d had a crush on her in high school too and how that had ended. He’d sworn that it hadn’t bothered him a bit when she dumped him for someone else, but Lisa knew it had hurt. She hoped that he was treading carefully.
“She is. She’s doing great. And it’s not a done deal yet, but she recommended me for a huge development project that David Wentworth is doing here on the island.”
“David Wentworth? Really? Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’m not sure I’d want to work with him. He has a reputation of being…difficult,” Kate said.
“I know. I thought about that, but he knows Lauren and her brother, so I think it will be fine. They’re handling the sales for the project.”
“Well, I think it sounds like a fantastic opportunity,” Abby said and he looked at her gratefully. Abby always supported him, no matter what.
“It does sound exciting.” Lisa chose her words carefully. “Even if you decide not to do this project, you’re still doing wonderfully, Chase. We’re all proud of you.”
“Of course we are,” Kate agreed.
Kristen smiled and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “They’ll be lucky to have you, if you do it.”
After they finished eating and all the dishes were done, they went outside to the big farmer’s porch that overlooked the ocean, and relaxed in the comfy outdoor chairs for a bit.
“How are sales this week?” Lisa asked Kate. She was referring to her mystery novel which had done better than any of them had expected. Kate was hard at work on the next book in the series and Lisa was eager to read it.
“They’re still pretty good! I’m actually meeting Philippe tomorrow for lunch and he’s going to share some marketing tips, a few new things he’s tried recently, to give me ideas on how to keep the sales going.
“Oh, that’s nice. Is he still dating that very young model? I saw him a week or so ago when I was out to lunch with Sue and he was coming into the restaurant as we were leaving, but he was by himself.”
Kate laughed. “He’s moved on several times since he dated her. I’m not sure Philippe will ever settle down.”
“He needs to find someone closer to his age,” Lisa said.
“Do you want me to tell him that?” Kate asked and Lisa shook her head.
“No, of course not. It’s really none of my business. He just seems like a nice boy. I hope he finds someone soon.”
“I’m sure he’s not worried about it. He’s been traveling a lot lately. He’s off to L.A. at the end of the week for two months, to shoot a new mini-series for Netflix.”
“How exciting! Is anyone ready for dessert yet? I have skinny cow ice cream sandwiches in the freezer,” Lisa told them.
Abby jumped up. “I’m getting one. Anyone else?”
“I’ll take one,” Chase said.
Everyone else shook their head. Lisa was stuffed, she almost never saved room for dessert. She knew Abby and her ice-cream cravings though. She’d gotten her favorite flavor, mint with chocolate.
Once she returned with their ice cream, Lisa remembered something she’d wanted to tell them.
“So, remember how that I had that prepaid guest that never checked in?”
“I hope you didn’t refund him?” Kate said.
“I haven’t. Not yet. I still might though. Anyway, he never showed up at all.”
“He didn’t come the next day? I figured he just missed the boat,” Kate said.
“No, but his wife called looking for him. It turned out that he did go somewhere for the weekend, but it wasn’t here. And when she called, early Sunday evening, he hadn’t come home yet.”
“Have you hea
rd anything since?” Kristen asked.
“Well, I suggested that she call the local police and hospitals and that was the last that I expected I’d hear of it. But you know Sue volunteers at the hospital?” She glanced around the porch and explained that she helped out every Tuesday by wheeling patients from their room to get x-rays or MRI’s. “So, anyway, she goes into this one room to pick up a middle-aged man for an x-ray and about fell over when she checked the name of the patient and realized it was the same as the fellow that was supposed to stay here. Tom Smith.
“So his wife must have found him then if she called the hospital?” Kristen said.
“But what was he doing in the hospital? And where did he go if he never checked in here?” Kate asked.
“I wondered the same thing,” Lisa said, then added, “Not that it’s really any of our business.”
Kate met Philippe for lunch downtown at the Club Car restaurant at noon the next day. She was a few minutes early, and he was ten minutes late which was normal for both of them. He came rushing in and found her already seated and checking messages on her phone. She jumped up and gave him a hug. He pulled her in tight and smelled of leather and salt. He slid his jacket off and sat across the table from her.
“I’m so sorry I was late. I was down at the pier getting some great shots. The light was perfect.”
“I didn’t know you were into photography?” Philippe was good at just about everything, so she imagined his pictures would be impressive too.
He grinned. “It’s a new hobby. I’m teaching myself Photoshop and wanted to have some good shots to practice with.”
“I’m hopeless with Photoshop. Graphics and I don’t get along. How are you? I’m glad I got to see you before you head out to the west coast again.”
“It looks like I’ll be there closer to three months. I was hoping for two, but it may take longer as one of the actors I wanted isn’t available as quickly as the others. But we’re going to make it work. I got everything I asked for this time. It’s going to be good.” Philippe’s expression reminded Kate of the Cheshire Cat. He was very pleased with himself. As he should be.
He was in the enviable position now of being able to call the shots almost totally. He’d previously explained to Kate that as show runner, he was in charge of the story vision and oversaw everything right down to asking for the talent he wanted and approving all casting decisions. And his last project had gone so well, that he was a golden child.
“I’m so happy for you. Are you still working on the new book too?” Philippe had made a name for himself as a top selling mystery author before one of his books was made into a film and another into a series on Netflix.
“Done, I shipped it off to my editor last Tuesday. I’ll have edits to make, but I can mostly focus on this new project now.”
Kate admired his productivity and wished she had even a fraction of his confidence.
Their server came and took their drink and sandwich orders. They both ordered turkey clubs.
“But enough about me. What about you? Your book is still doing awesome. I checked the ranking this morning. How’s the new one coming along?”
Kate bit her lower lip. She’d been expecting the question. She dreaded it now when her family asked, and especially Jack, who asked often, but she hoped that Philippe might be able to help.
“It’s not. I think I’m suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. I haven’t written a new word in two weeks. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but nothing is coming, and I’m getting nervous. My preorder deadline is looming.”
Philippe nodded. “Second book syndrome. Perfectly normal.” He looked up as their server returned and set down two tall glasses of iced tea. He squeezed a lemon into his and took a sip, then looked her in the eye.
“You’re afraid to fail. Don’t be. Just have faith that the words will come and they will be good. Even if they don’t seem it at first. They can be fixed.”
“I know. That all makes perfect sense. But they just aren’t coming at all. I open up the word doc and stare at the blank page. It’s alarming.”
“Here’s what you do. Jot down everything you know about the story. Then either take a drive or jump in the shower. Both work the same for me to shake things loose. It will bring the ideas and you’ll know what to do.”
Kate took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll try it.”
“Good. Now, what else is new? How are things with you and Jack? Are you engaged yet? Baby on the way?”
“What? You are too much. No to both. Jack’s great though. We’ve only been living together for a few weeks, but it’s going well. Maybe a little too well.” The thought had crossed her mind more than once lately. That it was too easy with Jack.
“How could it be going ‘too well’?”
“Well, we’ve never had any kind of a disagreement. It’s just all too easy. None of my other relationships have been like this, though some started out this way. I guess I’m just worried about when the shoe is going to drop. I’ve honestly never been this happy in a relationship before and I’m not used to it,” she admitted.
“Well, I’m certainly no relationship expert. But something tells me that’s how it’s supposed to be, easy. People always talk about relationships being work, but maybe that isn’t necessarily true. Maybe when you find the right person, you don’t have to work so hard.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I hope so too, and I wouldn’t mind finding that kind of a relationship myself. It sounds pretty special.”
A few minutes later, their sandwiches were delivered, and they caught up on other island gossip as they ate. For a writer that mostly worked alone in his huge waterfront home, Philippe seemed to know just about everyone and was up on all the juicy gossip. He kept Kate entertained for over an hour, through coffee and a dessert that they shared. It was a daily special, homemade blueberry crumble and Philippe talked Kate into helping him eat it. She only managed a few bites though. When they finished, he insisted on paying and she finally accepted on the condition that she and Jack have him over for dinner when he was back on the island.
“I’ll make my mother’s famous lobster quiche. Jack loves it.”
“I can’t wait. Be sure to tell him I said hello.” He and Jack were poker buddies and even though Philippe and Kate had briefly dated, they’d really never been more than friends as Philippe reminded Kate a little too much of her ex-fiance, Dylan, a photographer who she’d found in bed with one of his beautiful young models.
Like Dylan, Philippe was also impossibly handsome and admittedly not in any hurry to settle down. So, as a boyfriend, he was not a good choice, but as a friend, he was pretty special. He’d encouraged Kate to finish her book and had introduced her to some of the people he knew at Netflix, which had led to an option on her book.
“I will. And have fun in L.A.”
“Always do. Oh, I’ll nudge Kurt and Kelly, see if they can get things moving on your option.”
“Thanks, Philippe. Safe travels.”
5
Paige Henry stopped at Bradford’s, the local liquor store, on the way home from the grocery store. She hadn’t done a major shop since she’d been back from Florida and she was out of just about everything, including wine. She wasn’t much of a cook, so she was looking forward to settling in for the night, maybe heating up one of the pre-made meals she’d just bought and sitting on her porch with a glass of wine and her latest romance novel.
She wanted to keep busy, to get her mind off how empty the house felt. She’d never really minded living alone, but John had been practically living with her in Florida—he was over almost every night, and even though she didn’t miss him all that much, she’d gotten used to the company, just having another presence in the house.
“Hey, Paige, good to see you. Did you stay longer in Florida this year? I haven’t seen you around in a while?” Peter Bradford, the owner of the shop, asked as he rang up her two bottles of cabernet. She’d known Peter for al
most as long as she could remember. He was a nice guy, a year or two older than her and like Lisa, he’d lost a loved one to cancer-Julie, his wife of over 20 years. It was a second marriage, but it had been a happy one and she knew this past year must have been brutal for him. Julie had died less than nine months after being diagnosed.
“I did. I just got back last week. How’ve you been?”
“I’m hanging in there. It’s been hard, but it’s true what they say. Once a year passes, it does seem to get a little easier. It’s been almost a year and a half now.”
“Cancer sucks,” Paige said impulsively and immediately regretted the outburst. But Peter laughed.
“That it does. But I have a new roommate and that seems to be helping. Lily keeps me on my toes.” Peter looked happy and Paige mentally whipped through her people catalog and came up empty. She didn’t know anyone on Nantucket named Lily.
“I don’t think I know her. Is she new to Nantucket?”
Peter chuckled. “You could say that. Let me show you a picture of her. She’s really a beauty.”
“Ok.” Paige thought it was a little odd that he wanted to show her a picture of his new girlfriend or roommate, but whatever.
He flipped through his phone until he found the picture he wanted and then turned it so Paige could see. She immediately laughed so hard that she brought tears to her eyes. The picture was of a tiny, adorable, orange kitten.
“I can see why you’ve fallen so fast. She’s a cutie.”
“She’s a good girl. I wish I had half her energy.” He turned the phone back and flipped to another picture to show Paige. “I don’t know if you’d have any interest or if you know of anyone looking to adopt a kitten, but Lily’s brother, Bailey is available. He’s the last of the bunch of kittens that my next-door neighbor is trying to get rid of. I’m half-thinking of getting him myself, but I didn’t want to take on too much too soon.”
Paige took one look at Bailey’s little orange face, his long skinny tail and what looked like crossed-eyes and felt something shift inside.
Nantucket Neighbors Page 4
