Merrier With You

by Ellen Joy

  Frank came out from behind the counter, his attention on Kate as well.

  “She looks like she’s on a mission,” he said, standing next to her and looking out the window.

  “Mom told me Matt has been taking her out on the town.” Elizabeth smiled, thinking of the two together. It’d be nice for her brother to have something good again. Even as teens Elizabeth had the two matched, but the timing wasn’t in their favor.

  “It’s such a shame she lives so far away,” Frank said, looking out at her.

  Elizabeth nodded in agreement. “Yes, she’s lovely.”

  She wondered how involved Frank had been in this newly blossoming relationship, as they watched her come out of the Country Store with more bags in her hands. Then, without stopping, Kate headed down the road and into the flower shop. The whole spectacle made them delightfully curious.

  Customers entered the bakery, and Frank went behind the counter. Elizabeth continued to keep an eye out the window, waiting for Kate to emerge onto the street. Finally, she came out from the flower shop’s door with a couple of bouquets tucked in the crook of her arms. She stepped out from under the green awning and looked up, closing her eyes, letting the sun touch her face.

  Kate looked different.

  Then, with a little skip, she crossed the street. Scooting her chair over, Elizabeth strained to see Kate jog up the staircase that led to Matt’s apartment. She knocked and looked around her. Matt didn’t appear to be home. With one more knock, she twisted a bag off her arm and hung it on the door handle, inside the screen.

  She skipped down the stairs and then jumped off the last step, and Elizabeth knew what had happened.

  Kate had found her joy.

  Sixteen

  As Kate walked around town, she tried to ignore the fact that Maggie Mae wasn’t in her boat slip. The docks could be seen from Harbor Lane. After every store, she peeked over, hoping to catch Matt, to apologize for her behavior, but neither he nor Maggie Mae ever returned.

  When she reached the bakery, she made sure it was near closing time, so she could talk to both Frank and David without being a bother. Her heart raced as she entered, the aromas luring her to step further inside. She looked around, and the place was empty except for Frank.

  He stopped wiping the table when he noticed her. “Hello, Kate.”

  His friendly smile made her nerves calm a bit, but she still didn’t know what to say at first. Exhaling, she asked, “Do you and David have a free moment?”

  Frank eyed her as though she piqued his curiosity. “Sure, let me go grab him.”

  “You don’t have to, right now.” She was starting to chicken out. She grabbed the straps of her computer bag. “I can wait.”

  “No, it’s no problem,” he said. “He’d love to see you.”

  Kate paced around in a one-foot radius as Frank went into the kitchen. She bit her lower lip as she thought of how she was going to broach the fact that she thought they needed to fix their website, without sounding insulting.

  “Hello!” David said, as he and Frank walked out from the kitchen. “Do you need something?”

  “I don’t need anything.” Kate pulled out her computer and set it down on the table in front of them. She opened it up, and the sample website she’d created covered the screen. On the heading, La Patisserie was written a bold elegant script in a deep chocolate. It reminded her of a blend of coffee that would go well with one of David’s desserts. A close-up of a chocolate canele covered the rest of the page. All the different layers of chocolate had been highlighted by the different textures and shades.

  “It’s beautiful,” Frank said as he sat down in front of the computer. David stood behind him as Frank scrolled the page with the different links she had made.

  “It’s just a sample, but I’d like to redesign your website as a way to say thank you.” She looked at the two of them. The smiles on their faces couldn’t be mistaken.

  Frank looked back at David, then over to Kate. “This is exactly what we needed.”

  He continued to scroll through the page as she explained her ideas for each strip.

  “The best part of your bakery is you two,” she said, as they reached the section titled “Our Story”. She knew from a marketing standpoint that people loved feeling part of something.

  “I can’t believe you have all the links and plug-ins,” Frank said. “You even set up a newsletter?”

  “You can post recipes and start collecting emails, you can market the summer tourists with your newsletter by letting them know of the different classes you’re offering, and special events.” She clicked, and a page for David’s cooking classes flashed on the screen. “There’s even a link to pay, here.”

  “The layout is fantastic,” David said. “How’d you do all this?”

  “This is what I do.” She shrugged. “I hope I’m not offending you by suggesting you get rid of your old website.”

  “We made that in haste.” David walked over to her and gave her a hug. “My dear, this is one of the most generous gifts we’ve ever received.”

  She couldn’t hold back her smile. She didn’t know why, but his words struck her heart, and tears formed. She quickly wiped a fallen tear and inhaled a deep breath. “This is the least I could do to show my gratitude for your friendship.”

  “You are not just a friend, you’re family now.”

  WHEN MATT FINISHED with the Coast Guard, he pulled into Vivi’s driveway. Katie’s van was there, but there was no sign of her. When he knocked on the door, no one answered. Maybe she was avoiding him, although the house did appear empty. He hated that he’d left the way he did. She didn’t owe him anything. He was just as much to blame. He’d let her go. Just like he let Justine go. He didn’t really hold onto anything, did he? He didn’t fight for them, just let them slip through his fingers without grabbing hold.

  He looked out toward the harbor at his empty slip. That boat had been everything he thought he ever wanted, but now she was just a boat. She wasn’t even a she. As he stood alone on Vivi’s front step, he wondered if that was it, for him.

  His life felt like a Shakespearean drama unfolding. If he wanted things to work out, he’d have to be willing to leave the things he loved behind. He’d have to be willing to leave fishing, his family, and everything for her, because he couldn’t ask her to do the same thing for him. He hadn’t done that with Justine, and looked where that got him.

  He turned toward the afternoon sun now sinking behind the trees, casting shadows of pine silhouettes over the white snow. He had seen this moment almost every day coming in from the water, but never paid attention while on land. He looked out toward the village and saw his family’s restaurant, his uncles’ bakery, the Congregational church and his neighbor’s roofline. He looked at the beach where he learned to surf, and the street where he broke his leg skateboarding. He saw his best friend Dan’s house, where he’d spent half his childhood. This was his home.

  Could he leave his whole life behind?

  He took one last peek through the front window. Even if she were home, if she hadn’t answered by now, then she clearly didn’t want to talk to him.

  When he got in his truck and pulled out, he headed over to his parents’ place. He hadn’t planned on stopping by, but he wanted to get his mind off things. If he went home, he’d just keep thinking about the day, and probably make things worse by continuing to bother Katie.

  When he walked in the door, his sisters sat around the kitchen counter with his mother. They all looked at him as though he was exactly who they were talking about.

  “Ladies,” he said cautiously.

  “I didn’t know you were stopping by.” Sarah stood and grabbed a mug, filling it with coffee.

  He kissed his mother on the cheek as she handed him the mug. “Thanks.”

  “Dan told us about Maggie Mae,” Elizabeth said. Each one of the Williams women’s faces showed concern. They were talking about him. “What happened?”

  “Alex does
n’t know.” Matt decided to keep Justine’s visit to himself, but the more he rolled it over in his mind, the more he felt Freddy was somehow involved. He leaned against the counter. “He noticed it had sunk this morning, but it could’ve happened sometime last night.”

  “Do they think it’s foul play?”

  Matt nodded. “Whoever’s doing the vandalism around the cove has hit three of the lobstermen that happen to fish off Perkin’s Island.”

  “All with the same grandfather,” his mom said. She had the same suspicions, apparently.

  “Well, people will start talking,” his father said as he got up from his recliner. “Watch, someone will say something.”

  “Good thing you have insurance,” Sarah said.

  “It’s the headache more than anything.” Matt shook his head.

  “Do you think it’s Freddy?” John asked, coming out and saying what everyone was skirting around.

  Matt shrugged. “The Coast Guard is looking into things, but Alex said he’d check around as well.”

  John nodded. “I’ll make a few phone calls and see if anyone’s heard anything in town.”

  “Lauren and I are going to the tavern in a little bit,” Elizabeth said, looking at her phone. “We could listen for any talk.”

  Matt asked. “Where’s Adam?”

  “He’s at home, watching a movie with Lucy,” she said. “And we’re having a girl’s night with Rachael.”

  Matt thought of Freddy and his run-in at Finn’s with Katie. He’d bet Maggie Mae he’d be there again tonight, especially if he was involved somehow. Freddy would be that cocky, to be a showboat about it. He’d like to have a conversation with him either way. “I think I’ll come with you.”

  “But it’s a girl’s night.” Elizabeth pulled out her phone and began typing, probably texting Adam, like always. Matt could feel his own phone burning in his front pocket. He wanted to call Katie. He wanted to tell her how much of a jerk he was, but he knew he wasn’t being fair either way. She deserved better.

  “I thought you’d be going out with Katie again,” Lauren said with amusement in her voice. Even though it was said in good fun, it annoyed him all the same.

  Elizabeth turned to him and suggested, “You should invite her along!”

  He shook his head and grabbed his coat. “Nope.”

  Sarah then looked concerned. “Are you going to see her before she leaves?”

  He turned to Elizabeth and asked, “Didn’t you mention something about Finn’s?”

  Lauren rolled her eyes, but he could see his mother and sisters wanted an answer.

  “I’d love to catch up with her,” Elizabeth said. “Invite her.”

  “Not tonight.” He tried to sound nonchalant about it all, but he could feel the room getting warmer and smaller the longer they looked at him. “She’s busy.”

  “Come on, invite her,” Lauren pleaded.

  He knew they meant well, and they wouldn’t stop if he didn’t answer. So he took the casual approach and shrugged. “She’s not home, I tried.”

  “Well, I bet if you just called her—”

  “Let’s go,” Matt cut his mother off.

  Elizabeth’s eyes met Sarah’s, and they both looked to Lauren. Sarah opened her mouth to say something but Lauren, reading the tension in the room, jumped off her stool and said, “We should get going.”

  Matt nodded and grabbed his coat. He kissed his mother goodbye, but didn’t say anything more, afraid he might say something he’d regret. Finn’s was a much better choice.

  Elizabeth insisted she and Lauren had to drive separately to pick up Rachael, and since Matt wasn’t willing to argue with her, he was happy to meet them there. When he walked in, he was immediately submersed into the holiday crowd. Families visiting for Christmas and New Year’s filled the tight quarters, standing around tables and taking most of the tables.

  Matt went to the bar as Elizabeth, Lauren and Rachael made their way inside, grabbing a table as a group left.

  “Girl’s night for you, too?” Finn, the bartender, asked. Rachael’s grandfather never cut Matt any slack.

  “We’ll have four of whatever’s on tap,” he said over the crowd.

  Finn dropped a shot glass in front of Matt and filled it with whiskey. “Heard about the boat.” He passed the glass over to Matt. “Hope they catch whoever’s causing trouble.”

  Matt nodded a thank you. Finn had owned the tavern for the past thirty years, and most of his customers were regulars, Freddy being one of them. He, if anyone, would probably hear things.

  “Have you heard any grumblings?” Matt asked.

  Finn shook his head. “I’ll keep a listen out for anything.”

  “Thanks, Finn.” He held up the shot glass and threw it back. The burn down his throat was a pleasant feeling compared to the way his chest had hurt all day.

  He carried the four beers to the table.

  “To Maggie Mae.” He lifted up his beer and took half of it down in one fell swoop.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Elizabeth asked.

  He wrapped his fingers around the glass, sucked the rest down, and smacked it onto the table. “Yup.”

  Elizabeth leaned closer as if trying to read his expression. “Is this only about your boat?”

  “Somebody tried to sink my boat, what else do I need to be upset about?” Matt slid the glass to the middle of the table and grabbed Lauren’s beer out of her hands.

  “Do we have to spell it out for you?” Elizabeth sounded like Sarah.

  “Spell what out?”

  “She’s perfect for you,” Lauren blurted out, rolling her eyes.

  “You two should leave it alone.” Matt took a long drink of her beer. He was not talking about Katie tonight.

  Rachael’s eyes perked up. “Are you guys talking about the new woman in town?”

  “Yes, Kate.” Elizabeth shook her head at him. “You know we’re right.”

  “It would never work.” Matt leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed his hands together. He cocked his head toward her. “I can’t just pack up and go to Minnesota.”

  “Why the heck not?” Lauren sighed as though he was the immature twenty-something. “No one said you have to get married.”

  “Because I messed up this time. That’s why.”

  “What?” the three women said together.

  He leaned back in his seat, exhaling loudly. He didn’t want to get into it with the three of them, especially his sisters. “Last night, Justine stopped by, and apparently she saw us together.”

  “You and Justine?” Elizabeth said it loud enough for others around them to hear. Her face turned redder by the second. “If you and Justine get involved again, I promise I will—”

  “Will you be quiet?” Matt looked around the tavern. “I don’t need the whole town knowing my business.”

  “If you and Justine start up again, I promise I will lose it,” she whispered through her teeth.

  “Nothing happened,” he said, “but Katie wouldn’t listen.”

  “Then go tell her again.”

  “You don’t get it.” He squeezed his glass. “She’s not going to go for a fisherman. A girl like Katie doesn’t settle for a guy who lives out in the sticks and smells like chum all day long.”

  “I think you’re wrong.”

  “Well, you don’t have to think about it, because I know she wants nothing to do with me.”

  Before she could say anything else, the bell on the door opened and stole their attention. Freddy Harrington and his buddies walked into the bar. Freddy’s smug face brightened as he noticed Matt sitting on the other side of the room.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, as Freddy cut across the room to their table.

  “You’re going to have to try a little bit harder than that, Williams,” Freddy’s voice carried throughout the small space and grabbed everyone’s attention. “Justine wants nothing to do with you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking abo
ut.” Matt jumped off his stool. “But I’d like to know how my boat ended up at the bottom of the harbor this morning.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Freddy repeated Matt’s words through his smirk.

  Matt looked at Freddy’s slim build, his slender physique would be pummeled by his years of pulling up pots from the heavy ocean water. It wouldn’t be a fair fight. But he wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face right then.

  Freddy turned to the bar and yelled, “A round of drinks on me to celebrate my recent engagement!”

  People around the room cheered and thanked him, but it was obvious they knew what Freddy was doing. Conversations had all but stopped as everyone watched what was unfolding between them.

  Matt looked down and noticed Freddy’s fist had tightened up.

  Freddy’s upper lip curled when he said, “A wedding can bring such joy.”

  Matt laughed, and Freddy charged him. Lauren leaped in front of them.

  “Let’s grow up, gentlemen,” Lauren said, pushing Matt back toward his seat.

  “I hear Williams aren’t really the marrying kind,” Freddy said, loud enough for others to hear. “Kyle has told me stories!”

  It all happened in slow motion. Lauren’s face dropped, Elizabeth gave Matt a nod, and he didn’t hesitate to swing his right fist, nailing Freddy right where their father had taught them to hit. The knuckle shot, he called it. Freddy stumbled back, grabbing the side of his face.

  “What the!” Freddy said, holding his jaw. “You’d better get yourself a lawyer this time.”

  “Walk away, Williams!” One of Freddy’s cronies pushed Matt back.

  Most of the crowd watched wide-eyed, but when Freddy gained his balance, he brushed his hands through his hair. “No wonder Justine feels sorry for you and your pathetic family!”

  Finn spoke toward Freddy. “You boys need to take this someplace else.”