“Well, maybe third time will be the charm. Remember what happened with Linda?”
“That’s true. And to think Linda tried to push Paul on me!” Beth had gone to the Cape with their mutual friend Linda years ago for a set-up of sorts. Linda’s friend Kevin wanted her to meet his brother Paul and she didn’t want it to be a date-date, so they agreed to just all meet up for drinks and go from there. But the ferry to the Cape was sold out and they had to wait for the next one, so by the time they got to the pub in Dennis Port, Paul and Kevin had had several drinks and Paul was kind of a jerk, making jokes he thought were funny but they weren’t. Now that Beth knew Paul well, she realized that he was just extremely nervous that night and was trying too hard.
As the weeks went by Linda saw Paul a few more times when everyone got together for cookouts or beach days. She even tried to fix Beth up with him at one point but Beth thought she was crazy and told her if she thought he was so great she should date him. It wasn’t until Linda’s sister met Paul and thought he was cute and said so, that suddenly Linda realized he was the one for her and told her sister he was off limits. They got married two years later.
“I’m not sure this is the same though. Ben hasn’t done anything to push me away.” He’s just not Chase. But she realized she had to give up on that dream. If Chase was remotely interested, it would have happened already. Clearly she wasn’t his type. And he was head over heels for Lauren.
“I’ll give it my best shot. Maybe I’ll even let him kiss me this time.”
“Good. You never know, you might be surprised by sparks after all!”
Beth laughed. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“You’d better. I have no life now, I’ll be waiting for all the details.”
“Goodbye.” Beth was still chuckling as she ended the call, then turned as the door opened. She figured it was the mailman and was surprised when Chase walked in.
“Would you believe I left my phone here this morning?” Chase often stopped by the office long before Beth arrived, to pick up any plans or paperwork he might need before heading out to the worksites.
Beth glanced toward his office. The door was ajar and sure enough, she could see his phone sitting on top of a pile of papers. He went and got it and slipped it into his back pocket.
“I won’t be back later. I’m going to some chamber of commerce thing with Lauren so I need to go home a little early and shower.” He stopped and took a good look at Beth’s outfit and she felt herself start to blush. She had dressed up more than usual for this date. She wanted to look good and truth be told, she wanted to see if Chase would notice, but when he did, she wasn’t quite prepared for it.
“You look really pretty, Beth. Did you do something different with your hair?”
“I used a straightener on it, so it might look a little shiny.”
“That’s it. So, you’re going out again with that guy? Abby mentioned that things are going well so far.”
“She did?” Beth wondered what Abby was up to. It wasn’t like her to gossip like that.
“Yeah, and I was glad to hear it. You deserve a great guy, Beth.” His phone vibrated and he glanced down at it. “Gotta go. Have fun tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The date was fine. Ben met her at the movie theater and they shared a pizza after. During the movie, he had his arm around her and lightly resting on her shoulder. And she felt nothing other than the urge to smack it away, but she did nothing. Their hands brushed a few times when they reached for the popcorn at the same time, and again nothing.
After the movie and the pizza, Ben walked her to her car and when he tried to gently kiss her goodnight, she let him. And she still felt nothing. Ben however seemed to think things were going splendidly and promised to call to go out again. She knew though, that there wouldn’t be a fourth date, and she dreaded having to tell him, but she simply couldn’t go out with him again, it wouldn’t be fair to either of them.
14
Paige loved Bailey dearly, but the little hellion was not only into everything, he’d also started to sharpen his claws on her favorite tan sofa. That had to stop. She certainly wasn’t going to do anything as drastic as declawing him, but maybe a nice scratching post could be a solution. There were five or six to choose from at Geronimo’s Pet Store and she’d just selected one and was going to bring it to the register when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“So yours has discovered his claws too?” Paige turned to see Peter Bradford walking toward her.
“He’s a terror,” she confided.
“Mine too. That’s the one you decided on?” Paige nodded and he grabbed one too and followed her to the register. They chatted while they were in line and Paige learned that Peter was a fan of blues music.
“There’s actually a concert downtown this Saturday. It’s a blues band I’ve seen before and they’re really good. If you’re not busy, maybe you’d like to go with me?”
Paige was so surprised by the invitation that she didn’t hesitate and gladly accepted. She wasn’t exactly sure if he meant it to be a date, but she liked Peter and looked forward to seeing him again.
“I’ll call you tomorrow to make a plan for Saturday,” he said when they reached their respective cars in the lot.
“That sounds good.”
Paige was in a good mood as she drove home. The unexpected encounter and invitation had lifted her spirits. Not that they’d need much lifting, but she’d been feeling a little down lately. All of her friends were coupled up. She didn’t mind being alone, and was used to it by now, but she’d had a taste in Florida of how nice it could be to have someone around, another presence in the house. Bailey was great, but it wasn’t the same.
When she pulled into her driveway, she saw a cardboard box on Violet’s front porch and wondered if it was the cheesecakes she’d mentioned. Violet had left earlier in the day, taking the first flight out to New York City. The Nantucket airport was small, but it had direct flights to Boston and New York City and every year the number of private planes that flew into Nantucket increased.
She brought the cat scratch pole inside and set it up near the sofa. She sat back and waited for Bailey to investigate. It didn’t take long. He came bounding over to where she sat on the sofa, looked at her quizzically and then walked up to the scratching pole. He sniffed it and tentatively touched a paw to the scratching surface. After a few minutes, he was scratching happily and rolling around on the rug. While he was entertaining himself, Paige grabbed Violet’s key and went next door to bring the cheesecakes inside.
The box held four cheesecakes and was heavy. She fished out the right key, opened the door and went inside. She was surprised by how spotless Violet’s home was. There was zero clutter and nothing was out of place. It almost didn’t look lived in. But in the kitchen by the phone, she saw a stack of mail and a small notebook. She put the box of cheesecakes on the counter and rummaged around to find a pair of scissors to cut the packing tape and open the box. She carefully removed each cheesecake and stacked them on Violet’s bottom shelf where she had made room for them.
When she returned to take the box out to the trash, she saw that the small notebook had fallen off the counter and landed face side up. She bent down to pick it up and something caught her eye and even though she knew it was none of her business, she took a closer look. It appeared to be some kind of register, a listing of names and dollar amounts. No first names, just first initial and last name and it was the first name that had caught her eye.
T. Smith, $2,000. It was written in pen and there was a slash through it. Unlike the other names listed, and there were a dozen or so, spanning several months with varying amounts from $500 to $5,000. None of those entries had slash marks.
Paige told herself that Smith was a common name, and the T wasn’t necessarily Tom. But, the date of the entry matched the weekend that Tom Smith went missing. When she picked up the small book, a piece of paper fluttered from the pages to the floor. Paige picke
d it up and saw that it was a check, from a Thomas Smith and the amount and the date matched the entry in the book. It appeared as though there was some truth to the rumors about Violet. But the big question was what actually happened that night? And why hadn’t she cashed the check?
Dr. Andrea Casey had a cancellation and was able to squeeze Lisa in a few days after her girls demanded that she make an appointment. The whole family saw Dr. Casey. She was about Lisa’s age and no-nonsense. She was baffled by Lisa’s symptoms though.
“Nothing seems obviously wrong. All your vitals are good. But I don’t like what you’re experiencing. There’s always the possibility of Lyme disease, but usually you would have noticed the bite. It’s a quite distinctive red bull’s eye pattern.
“I would have noticed that,” Lisa agreed. “And we don’t have any pets that would bring ticks in.”
“You can get them just by walking outside. I think, to be safe, we’ll include a check for that in your blood work. I’ll have the results either later today or tomorrow and we’ll go from there. Until then, make sure you get plenty of rest.”
Lisa agreed and when she got home, after throwing a chicken and a few potatoes in the oven to roast, she grabbed a magazine and went to lie down for just a few minutes. She was bone tired, utterly exhausted and felt like she could sleep for hours. But she set her phone alarm for one hour and fell fast asleep.
She woke to the wonderful aroma of roast chicken with a hint of lemon and garlic. It was a simple dish to prepare, she just sliced a lemon, and stuffed it in the chicken cavity along with a few cloves of garlic and then drizzled olive oil and melted butter over the chicken along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. She cut the potatoes in half and added them to the same pan, tossing them in a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. She’d invited Rhett for dinner and he would be home shortly.
The chicken had been in for a little over an hour and it looked and smelled done. She pulled the roasting pan out of the oven and set it on the stove top to rest. A short rest would make the meat even juicier. She tented it with a big sheet of aluminum foil to keep the heat in and microwaved some broccoli for a vegetable. Normally, she’d have a glass of wine as well, but it didn’t appeal to her in the least at the moment and she had a feeling it would send her right back to sleep.
As she was taking the broccoli out of the microwave, the phone rang and the caller ID showed that it was Dr. Casey’s office.
“Lisa? This is Andrea Casey. I have the results of your blood work and everything looks normal, except that you do apparently have Lyme disease. I’m glad we tested for it. It’s rare that we don’t see the bulls-eye bite, but it does happen. I’ve called in a prescription for the antibiotic Doxycycline to your pharmacy.”
When she hung up the phone, Lisa immediately called Rhett to see where he was and if he wouldn’t mind picking up her prescription on the way home.
“Your timing is good, I’ll be going by Stop and Shop in about five minutes. Did they figure out what’s wrong with you?”
“Lyme disease of all things. I’ll have to be more careful when I walk through some of the seagrass on the way to the beach.”
“At least you know why you feel so lousy. I’ll be home in about fifteen minutes. Do you want to go out to eat? I don’t want you to have to cook.”
Lisa laughed. “The cooking is all done. We’re just having roast chicken.”
“I love your chicken. Maybe I’ll see you in ten minutes,” he teased.
An hour or so later, when they were finished eating, Rhett insisted on doing the dishes while Lisa packaged up the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator. It was a beautiful night and they decided to sit out on the front porch for a while. Lisa sipped a hot tea with lemon and honey and Rhett had a decaf coffee. They sat side by side in the soft, cushioned love seat that glided back and forth.
They chatted for about a half hour and then Lisa couldn’t keep the yawns away. Rhett saw it and took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Have you looked into hiring anyone to help you yet with the cleaning?”
She shook her head. “No, not yet. I know I should. It took me twice as long today and I’m sure it will tomorrow too.” All the rooms were full and three of them were turning over the next day, so she’d need to strip the beds and wash the sheets and remake the beds. It wasn’t hard work, but it was time-consuming and just thinking about it made her tired.
“Can I help?”
Lisa laughed as an image of Rhett making the beds came to mind. “You want to clean the rooms?”
“No. But I don’t want you to either. And I can probably make a call and get someone who could do it for you.”
“Really? That would be heaven. I thought I’d have to post an ad and interview people. I don’t even have the energy for that, to be honest.”
“I think I know someone who can hook us up.” Rhett searched his phone until he found the number he wanted and called it.
“Roger, it’s Rhett. I wonder if you might be able to help us out. Any chance you could get someone out to the Beach Plum Cove Inn tomorrow morning to clean a few rooms?”
There was a moment of silence and then Rhett spoke again, “5 rooms, a few need new sheets and if the person wants steady work for the next month or two, we can give it to them. Alright, see what you can do. Thanks.”
“Who is Roger?” Lisa asked when Rhett ended the call.
“He’s a young man who found me a bartender at the restaurant when I was stuck a few weeks ago. He runs a referral network of people in the hospitality business, chefs, waitstaff, bartenders, maids, maintenance guys, all kinds of skills and when a need comes in, he makes a few calls and takes care of it. One of our sous chefs does personal chef gigs every now and again through him.”
“Do you think he might really be able to find us someone that quickly?” Lisa was hopeful but thought it was unlikely.
“If anyone can do it, Roger can.”
Twenty minutes later, Roger called to say that Harriet Johnson would be there the next morning at nine a.m.
“He said she’s an experienced chambermaid who is available until December if you need her that long. She goes to Jamaica for the winter.”
“That’s amazing. Please tell Roger that I said thank you.”
When Rhett ended the call, Lisa smiled at him. “Thank you, too. I was dreading all that cleaning tomorrow.”
“I’m glad Roger came through. Now you can rest. How long did the doctor say it would be before you felt better?”
“Just a few weeks.”
“Good.”
Harriet Johnson arrived at a quarter to nine the next morning and Lisa liked her immediately. She was about Lisa’s age, maybe a little younger or older, it was hard to tell. She was small and lean and looked like she did yoga or ballet on a regular basis. Lisa was a little jealous of how toned and firm her arms were. Her black hair was long and fell in dozens of delicate braids that she’d pulled back into a low ponytail. She had a friendly smile, and a faint Jamaican accent.
“How long have you lived on Nantucket?” Lisa asked as she led the way upstairs to show her the rooms and where all the cleaning supplies and linens were.
“Almost twenty years now. I’ve had my green card for ten years. My husband, Toby and I are both from Jamaica but we met here on Nantucket one Summer and have been together ever since. Oh, and everyone calls me Harry. If you say Harriet, I’m going to think I’m in trouble.”
Lisa laughed. “Was that the only time your parents called you that?”
“That’s right. Reason I’m available now is because I just got back from Jamaica. My mother had a serious surgery and I wanted to be with her as she lives alone. I ended up being gone for just over a month and the hotel I was working for hired a replacement. I don’t blame them, really. But I didn’t have any choice.”
“No, of course you didn’t. I hope your mother is okay now?”
Harry smiled and her whole face lit up. “She’s great.
The hip replacement surgery was a success and I stayed until she was able to get around easily without help. We usually head back to Jamaica for the winter. So it won’t be long before I see her and my sisters again.”
Lisa yawned and felt the fatigue wash over her again. Her eyes felt so heavy. She was grateful that Harry was there to help. The other woman looked at her with concern as Lisa leaned against the wall for a second and took a deep breath.
“You look awfully pale. Are you not feeling well?” Harry asked.
Lisa explained about the Lyme disease. “I just started taking antibiotics, but hopefully it will kick in soon. I hate being so sleepy all the time.”
“Well, I think I know where everything is, so why don’t you go and rest. When I finish up, I’ll knock on your door.”
“Okay. Thanks, Harry.”
15
Kristen was deep into her world of color, swirling pinks into greens into blues and feeling her way through a painting that had her completely entranced. So, it took her a while to register that in another part of her house, her phone was ringing incessantly. It stopped and then started up again. The mood broken and curious as to who was trying to reach her; she stood and stretched and went to get her phone. There were three missed calls from Kate. No message, which usually meant she just wanted to talk and Kristen should call when she was free.
She dialed Kate’s number and her sister picked up on the first ring.
“I totally interrupted you didn’t I? You were probably in the zone and I dragged you out of it.”
Kristen laughed. “Well, yes. But you called three times, so it must be important. What’s up?”
“I want to come over to show you what I did. Your website is up.”
“My website? I don’t have one.”
“You do now! You have coffee mugs, placemats, and several different size prints.”
Nantucket Neighbors Page 11
