Wish Upon a Shell

by Kay Correll

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll try to run by here tomorrow with Mama’s list of suggestions for what she’d like for the party. Of course, cost is no object for Mama. You’re sure you can handle it on such short notice?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. What time will you be by?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I have so much to do. But sometime tomorrow.”

  I’ll just sit and wait around all day for you…

  “I better hurry. Don’t want to keep Delbert waiting.” Camille spun around and headed out the door in a flounce of southern belle entitlement and way too much perfume.

  Julie sank into an empty chair. She could use the business, but she didn’t relish the thought of working with Camille or her mother. She shoved a wayward lock of hair away from her face. What had she just gotten herself into?

  * * *

  Reed walked to Lighthouse Point and back, not even trying to deny he was hoping to run into Julie. He wanted to apologize for his… weirdness last night. He’d gotten quiet and distanced himself, he knew that. It was just such an easy role for him to drop into these days. A role he felt comfortable with. A role that had served him well the last few years. But he’d seen that look in Julie’s eyes last night. Confusion. Distrust. He couldn’t blame her.

  Unfortunately, he had no luck spotting Julie. He rinsed his feet at the showerhead by the steps to the inn and climbed the stairs, one by one. Each step taking him closer to… what? He could go up and sit in his room and stare out at the ocean again. He had no purpose. No direction. What the heck did people do on vacation? He’d already caught up on the top journals and websites in his field. He’d almost logged into the company server to grab some files and deal with some loose ends of projects he’d been working on before he left, but he figured his boss had his login flagged to notify him if there was any activity. His boss had been serious about Reed taking a break.

  He walked inside and ran into Mrs. Hall. Miss Hall. Susan.

  “Hello, Reed. Coming in from a walk?”

  Was he imagining it, or was Susan’s tone a bit less friendly now? She’d probably already talked to Julie, who had probably already clued her in on what a jerk he’d been last night.

  “Yes, I went to Lighthouse Point and back.”

  “Oh, out there making a wish?”

  “No, no wish. Just the walk.”

  “A nice day for it. Well, I need to head to the kitchen and talk to the cook.” Susan turned away and hurried down the hall.

  He climbed the stairs to the top floor. The elevator still had a sign proclaiming it was out of order, though he’d seen a man working on it before he’d left on his walk.

  Reed entered his room and dropped his key on the dresser. His laptop bag sat on the desk, mocking him.

  Then it came to him. He could work on the smartphone app he’d had rambling around in his mind for the last year or so and see if he could make it work. He grabbed his leather bag—the one Victoria had given him—and pulled out his laptop. He sat on the bed, leaning back against the mound of pillows.

  Victoria had loved having mounds of pillows on the bed, on the couch…

  Don’t go there…

  He flipped open his laptop, determined to get lost in his project. For the first time since his boss had banished him, he started to feel alive again. He opened a file and started making notes of all his ideas for the app.

  When he looked up again, he was amazed to see it was evening. His stomach was rumbling, and he snapped the laptop shut. He moved his shoulders forwards and backwards, trying to loosen the stiffness.

  He grabbed his wallet and the key to room—a real key with a diamond-shaped plastic tag with the room number printed on it—and headed out the door. With no clear plan in mind, he decided to wander to Oak Street. He’d seen in his trusty brochures—they were getting crinkled and worn from countless times of opening then carefully refolding them—that Oak Street had a string of restaurants and shops, along with an impressive live oak tree and gazebo at the end of the street. He’d have dinner at the first place that caught his eye.

  Chapter 9

  Julie pushed through the door to The Lucky Duck. She was in no mood to cook, and a grilled burger and the best fries in town sounded like just what she needed. A cold beer to chase it down wouldn’t be so bad either.

  She stood inside the door, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Misty Hartman was in the corner, tuning her guitar and getting ready for a set. That was a fortuitous coincidence. She loved Misty’s music. The night kept looking better.

  “Hey, Jules.” Jamie waved from the far end of the bar.

  Jamie always called her Jules. He had since they’d first met when he was in Belle Island one summer working for his uncle at the inn. The inn he and his mother now owned since his uncle’s death.

  “Hey, Jamie.” She slipped onto a barstool beside him.

  Willie Layton, the bartender, came up behind the bar. “What’ll you have?”

  “Cold beer. Burger and fries.”

  “Instead of your regular beer, you wanna try my new drink?” Willie swiped the bar clean in front of her.

  “What’s that?

  “A basil-motonic.”

  “What is that?”

  “You should try it, it’s really great.” Jamie pointed to a tall glass in front of him.

  “It’s kind of a cross between a mojito and a vodka tonic.” Willie cocked an eyebrow.

  “Sure, I’ll try it.”

  “Great. It’s going to be our new signature drink here at The Lucky Duck.”

  Julie thought a draft beer was more their signature, but didn’t want to belabor the point.

  “You look like you’ve been hit with a truck, Jules.” Jamie dipped one of his fries in ketchup and munched on it.

  “Why thank you. That’s so nice of you to say.” Julie rolled her eyes.

  “She does look a bit peaked, doesn’t she?” Willie joined in.

  “Peaked? Gosh, boys. Be careful. You don’t want to make a girl feel special or anything.”

  Willie plopped a tall glass in front of her and she wasted no time taking her first sip. “Ah. That’s really good, Willie. The day just got better.”

  “I don’t suppose your mood has anything to do with Camille? Mom said she was back in town. Camille’s mother actually booked every empty room at the inn next weekend.”

  Julie took another sip of the —what had Willie called it? Basil-motonic? “And, lucky me. I’m catering some of her party. Desserts and I’m not sure what. Camille wants me to sit around all day tomorrow waiting for her to drop by and discuss.”

  “Which you will do.” Willie winked.

  She sighed. “I will. Because I could use the business. Besides, it’s good promo for me to do more events like this. You never know who will be there and might hire me for some event they are having themselves.”

  A couple of younger women, dressed in impossibly short shorts, walked into the bar.

  “I should wait on them.” Willie grinned.

  “I’m sure you should, buddy.” Jamie nodded soberly, then winked.

  Julie just shook her head. Willie never missed a chance to flirt with a pretty woman.

  “I heard you went out with the Reed guy who’s staying with us.” Jamie offered up his fries while Julie waited for hers.

  She reached over and took one. “I’m pretty sure there are no secrets in this town.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure there aren’t. So do you like the guy?”

  “Did your mother tell you to ask me that if you saw me?”

  Jamie grinned. “Possibly.”

  “Look, I just spent a little time with him. It was not big deal. Really. Why do people keep asking me about him?”

  An alarmed look settled on Jamie’s face, he cocked his head, and almost imperceptibly shook his head no.

  “What? It was nothing. He showed no interest in me other than my shopping knowledge, and the fact I own a washer and dryer. The big-cit
y guy’s not interested in me.”

  “I’m sorry you thought that.”

  Julie spun around at the sound of Reed’s voice. “I. Um…”

  “I apologize. I wasn’t at my best last night. I do appreciate the loan of your washer and dryer. I’ll find a Laundromat for the rest of my stay.” Reed spun around and headed towards the door.

  “Nice one, Jules.” Jamie dunked another fry while Julie shot him a look of exasperation and jumped off the stool.

  “Reed, wait.” She reached out and grabbed his arm. He paused and turned towards her. “Do you want to join Jamie and me at the bar? I just ordered. They have great burgers here. I’m sorry about what I said. You just… Honestly, Reed. I don’t know where I stand with you. You run hot and cold and I hate not knowing when I’m going to say the wrong thing.” She looked at him and squared her shoulders.

  He looked at her a long minute, his deep blue eyes searching her face. “Fair enough. Let’s start over.” He reached out his hand. “Newman. Reed Newman.”

  She grinned at him and placed her hand in his. “Farmington. Julie Farmington.” She tilted her head towards where she’d been sitting. “Now, will you join us?”

  “I will.”

  They walked to the end of the bar and Reed took the barstool beside Julie’s.

  Willie delivered her dinner and looked at Reed. “What can I get you?”

  “I’ll have what she’s having. Though make my drink a soda.”

  “You sure? It’s my famous basil-motonic.”

  “Sounds fascinating, but I’ll stick with soda.”

  “Coming up.” Willie placed the order and went back to chat with the short-shorts at the end of the bar. Both were flirting outrageously with Willie, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

  * * *

  “You know Jamie, right?” Julie perched on a barstool in between the two men.

  “Yes, I met him at the inn.” Reed nodded at Jamie.

  “And the bartender is Willie. See, you’re getting to know quite a lot of people on the island.”

  “I am, thanks to you.”

  “You out exploring the island tonight?” Jamie took a sip of his drink.

  To be honest, the drink sounded interesting, but he hadn’t had alcohol since Victoria died. He hated the thought of it, the smell of it, the look of it. He pulled his thoughts away from the basil-motonic. “I just decided to head out and have dinner at the first place that caught my eye.”

  “So was it the huge carved parrot outside, or the bright neon sign that pulled you in?” Willie placed the soda on the counter.

  “I actually saw on the outside display board that there’s live music tonight.”

  “That would be Misty.” Julie nodded towards a young woman of about twenty-ish, setting up in the corner on a small raised stage.

  “We get a lot of the local talent in here performing.” Willie turned and headed over to the ledge between the bar and the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of plates and walked down to where two young women were sitting sipping on his basil-motonics, by the look of it. Reed watched the trio for a moment, a bit envious of the easy repartee going on among them. When had he ever been that easy-going or carefree? He could hardly remember what it was like.

  “So are you enjoying your vacation?” Jamie interrupted his thoughts.

  “To be honest, I don’t really do vacations well. I’m not much of a just sit around and do nothing person. I’ve walked your beaches and stared at the waves. Poked around a bit on Oak Street. But I’m not sure what to do with all my time. Well, I wasn’t until today. I started working on a personal project. A smartphone app. Been wanting to try my hand at that for a long time, but never carved out the time to actually work on it. Started it today. I actually had a really good time working on it.”

  “And that’s vacation to you?” Julie cocked her head.

  “Well, yes. I really enjoy it. Programming it. Designing it for ease of use. Making the app sync between phone and computer. It’s a challenge and I’m learning something new.”

  “I’m not much for just sitting around either, so I get that.” Julie looked at him. “At least you can enjoy the ocean view while you’re working on your app thingie.”

  “It does feel good to have a… I don’t know… a purpose to my time off.”

  “I would just like to have some downtime. Can’t think of the last time I had even a few days off.” Jamie pushed away from the counter. “You know, I should encourage Mom to take some time off. Go visit her sister. She hasn’t had a break in forever, either.” He glanced at his watch. “And I really need to get back to the inn. See you two around.”

  Willie brought the burger and fries, and Reed and Julie sat and occasionally made comments, but mostly just ate and people watched. It wasn’t the healthiest meal he’d ever eaten, but it was really good.

  “May I walk you home?” Reed looked at Julie, wondering if she’d blow him off, or whether he’d made amends enough that they could still be friends.

  Or whatever they were.

  “I think I’m going to stay here a bit and listen to Misty sing.”

  She didn’t ask him to join her.

  “Okay, then. I’ll see you later.”

  Julie nodded.

  Reed dropped some bills on the counter to pay for his meal and headed out the door, disappointed in how the night had turned out. He should have asked her out for a date later this week, that’s what he should have done. He stood outside the door to The Lucky Duck and deliberated whether he should just go back inside and ask her. He let out a long breath of air. He was horrible at relationships, dating, or even friendship, for that matter.

  * * *

  Julie sat on the barstool and sipped on her basil-motonic. At least she was getting used to Reed’s hot and cold, friendly and distant attitude.

  “Julie.”

  She spun around at the sound of Reed’s voice.

  “Do you mind if I sit with you and listen to Misty sing? And I thought maybe you’d like to go out with me tomorrow night?”

  Well, she wasn’t expecting that.

  “Yes, sit. Misty is really good.”

  He sat next to her. “And the date tomorrow?”

  She smiled at him. “That would be nice, too.”

  Misty played a set with a mix of folk and country songs. When it was over, Julie stood up. “I should be going. It’s always an early day for me.”

  “Will you let me walk you home?” Reed stood up.

  Julie looked at him for a moment, unsure of her answer, unsure about so much. Should she let him walk her home? Should she ask him in when they got there?

  Reed stood, his hand on the counter as if trying to decide if he should sit back down, silently waiting for her answer.

  “Sure, I’d like the company.” There, a decision was made. He could walk her home. They headed towards the door and Willie winked, then grinned at her. She rolled her eyes at him as they walked passed.

  Reed raised an arm and pushed the door open for her. She slipped out into the warm night air. The outside tables were filled with customers enjoying the late spring evening. They headed down Oak Street towards her cottage. A golf cart passed them on the street and she waved to her first-of-the-morning customer, Dan Smith. “See you in the morning, Dan.”

  “Hoping for blueberry.” Dan waved.

  Julie leaned her head, nodding towards the disappearing golf cart. “That’s Dan. He’s always the first one in The Sweet Shoppe in the mornings.”

  “I noticed quite a few golf carts on the roads here. I’m guessing that’s allowed?”

  “Yep. You’ll see a lot of them, especially in the winter when the snowbirds—the winter tourists, the ones who spend the winter—are here. They seem to like their golf carts to get around. A few of the bigger rental places have larger golf carts for the renters to use. Susan keeps talking about getting some that her visitors could rent while they are staying at the inn. I think it’s a great idea, but it adds up. Buying
the carts, batteries, maintenance, repairs. She keeps wavering.”

  “It probably would be a headache to keep up with all of that.”

  “There are a few cart rental places on the island. Though honestly, a lot of people just walk or take the trolley.”

  “The trolley is the tram-like thing I’ve seen going by?”

  “Yep, they add on more sections to it during the busy season to hold more people.”

  They fell into step on the sidewalk as she led him towards her home, still undecided about asking him in. Why, oh why, was she making it into such a big deal?

  Because of Troy. That’s why, and she knew it. She wasn’t really ready to trust another guy, and Reed had been so hot and cold with her, she didn’t trust him. There. Her mind was made up. She’d just send him on his merry way.

  They walked up to her door and she was plenty pleased with herself for having made a decision.

  “So, does that offer to see the view from the widow’s walk still stand?” Reed looked at her.

  She bit her lip and sighed inwardly. So much for decisions. “Sure, why not?”

  Didn’t that sound enthusiastic?

  “I usually take a glass of wine up there with me. You want one?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Thanks, though.”

  He must not be a drinker. She’d never seen him have any alcohol, ever. “I still have some lemonade.”

  “I’d like that.”

  They went in and she made a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses. He took it from her as they climbed the narrow spiral stairway to the widow’s walk. The room at the top was small, with just her comfortable chair and an end table. She opened the door to the walkway outside. A cool breeze blew in from the coast.

  “This is nice.” Reed set the tray on the small table she had outside.

  They sat on the two chairs she had out on the walkway. She pointed to the bay and the lights twinkling far across on the mainland.

  “This is really a great spot.” Reed sipped his lemonade.

  “It is. I spend so much of my time at home up here. Either out on the walkway, or in the little room.”