Charleston Harbor Novels: Books 1 - 3

by Debbie White

  She jogged back to the car and dropped into the car, breathing heavily. “Mary. I have to call Mary. Maybe she knows.” She punched in her number. “Mary do you have Grandmother and Auntie with you?”

  “No, why would they be with me?”

  “They’re missing, that’s why,” Annie screamed.

  “Missing? What do you mean missing?”

  Annie told her the entire story. Afterwards, Mary said she and Danny would drive around, too.

  “I know I’m never right about anything, but what about Black Eyed Pea?”

  “Black Eyed Pea?” Annie knitted her brows together.

  “It wouldn’t hurt to check. We’ve checked everywhere else,” Jack said, driving toward the restaurant.

  Annie pulled herself out of the car and sighed. “I’ll be back,” she said, walking slowly toward the front of the restaurant. As she got closer, she could see two silver-haired women sitting in a booth near the window. Annie picked up her pace and tore into the restaurant, soon standing front and center of the booth. There, calmly sitting, were her grandmother and auntie, sipping on Bloody Marys and eating shrimp and grits. “Grandmother! Auntie!” Annie said, looking at one and then the other, glaring at them both as she did.

  “Annie,” Patty said.

  “Annie? That’s all you can say? We’ve been looking all over town for you. You scared us.” She sat on the edge of the booth, sharing the seat with her grandmother.

  Rebecca walked up to them and smiled. “Hey, Annie, are you joining your grandmother and auntie for dinner?”

  Annie widened her eyes. “No, I’ve lost my appetite.”

  Rebecca’s jaw dropped. “That’s not very nice to say.”

  Annie banged her hand on the table. “No, not because … it’s just because …” She held her head in her hands and sobbed.

  Rebecca, clearly confused by what was taking place, looked to Grandmother and Auntie for a clue.

  “She’s upset because we didn’t tell anyone where we were going,” Lilly said in a low tone as she patted Annie on the head. “Dear, please don’t be so dramatic. We’re out in public.”

  Annie’s eyes popped wide open. “Dramatic? Don’t be dramatic? I thought something bad had happened to my grandmother and auntie. My seventy-eight-year-old grandmother and auntie, I might add.”

  “Well, we don’t have one foot in the grave, you know. Although, you’d like for us to feel that way. Having caretakers and time limits and bedtimes, too,” Lilly said, scowling at Annie.

  “Okay, you guys, quiet down. You’re going to scare off my customers. This is a family thing. So, why don’t you finish your dinner and drinks, while I talk to Annie,” Rebecca said, pulling Annie up by the arm. She mouthed the words, “Follow me.”

  Annie hung her head low and followed Rebecca to the hostess station. “Listen, Annie, I know what they did is not right. You have to set some boundaries, I suppose. But, you know my grandmother is a little spitfire, too,” Rebecca leaned in and whispered. “She’s in the kitchen right now, telling them what to do.” She pulled her head back and laughed.

  Soon Annie laughed along with her. “I know, I get it. This has been such an ordeal. But they were totally on board with Charles and Betsy moving in. I don’t know what happened.”

  “Well, ask them. If I know anything, I know they’ll tell you the truth.”

  Annie nodded. “Thanks, Rebecca.” She pulled her in for a hug.

  “Listen, dinner and drinks are on the house. Now, scoot, and go get your house in order,” she said, playfully swatting Annie on the rear.

  Annie slowly made her way over to the table where she’d left them. Auntie slurped the rest of her cocktail. Pushing her glass aside, she sat back and sighed.

  “Ready?” Annie asked, making a sweeping motion for them to exit the booth.

  “What about our bill?” Lilly said as she scooted to the end of the bench.

  “All taken care of.” She opened her arms to them, and with Grandmother on one side, and Auntie on the other, they walked out, holding their heads high, just as they’d always done, and how they always insisted Annie to do.

  When Jack saw them coming, he shot out of the car and ran around to the passenger side car door and opened it.

  “Hello, Jack,” Patty said with a wide grin.

  Jack’s eyes darted from Annie to Lilly and then back to Auntie. “Howdy, Auntie Patty.” He helped her take a seat.

  Jack held out his hand to Grandmother. “Take my hand, Lilly.” He walked her around to the other side and helped her slide in. Now, little Ashton had one of them on each side.

  Annie lowered herself into the seat and buckled up. She leaned her head back on the headrest and sighed. Jack started the engine and drove. The only sounds came out of the back seat. Grandmother and Auntie played peekaboo, sang songs, and never once stopped making noise until they drove up to their house.

  Jack cut the engine and looked over at Annie. “Want some help getting them inside?”

  “I need to be in there for a bit. Why don’t you go visit your folks for a while and come back for me in about an hour?”

  Jack tipped his head. “Well, at least let me help you get them out of the car.” He flew out, and before Annie could erase the fuzzy thoughts from her brain, he had them both waiting for her out on the sidewalk. She took them both by the hand, and soon they laced their hands in her arms. They made their way to the front stoop and entered the house. Charles and Betsy met them at the door.

  “I’m so happy you found them,” Betsy said.

  “I don’t know what all the fuss was about. We’re perfectly able to go out and have dinner by ourselves.”

  Betsy began to reject that comment, but Annie held up her hand. Betsy backed away, allowing them to pass her.

  “Can you please leave us alone for a moment?” Annie sat the two women down, and then went into the kitchen. “Tea or coffee?”

  “Bloody Mary,” they both called out.

  Annie put her hands on her hips. She shook her head, and then mumbling to herself, “Why not?” proceeded to make not only them a Bloody Mary, but one for herself. She wasn’t driving, after all.

  “Okay, here are your drinks. Maybe now we can talk candidly.” Annie sat down on the sofa across from them.

  “Ooh, this is good, Annie. You make good Bloody Marys,” Patty said, giggling.

  Annie sighed. “Okay, the business at hand is not how well I make cocktails, but why you think you can just walk out of this house without so much as leaving a note.”

  “We did leave a note,” Lilly said, puffing out her chest.

  Annie raised her left brow. “Oh? And where is this note at?”

  “We pinned it to the front door.”

  “The wind must have blown it off,” Auntie Patty said, her eyes darting back and forth from Lilly to Annie. Then she slurped her drink.

  “Okay, so at least you did do that. But in the future … wait.” Annie drew in a long drink through her straw, while she leaned back onto the sofa. She then moved forward and put her drink down on the table. “Okay, let’s make a deal. If you want to go out, you leave a note, but you also call Mary and me to let us know. That way, if the note isn’t found, we’ll be able to tell Betsy and Charles. Agreed?”

  Grandmother and Auntie nodded.

  “Is there anything else we need to talk about?” Annie looked at them both for a reply.

  “We want more freedom,” Auntie blurted.

  “Yes, we feel that although we do enjoy their company, we’d like to be able to do some things on our own, just like they do. They went off to dinner and a movie and left us here to twiddle our thumbs,” Lilly said, twisting her shoulders back and forth and lifting her chin in the air.

  “So were you jealous that they didn’t include you? Don’t you think they deserve any time alone?”

  “Well, yes, I do think they deserve time alone, but so do we. We’d like to start going to the golf club again, maybe join the bridge club again, or go
out to lunch once in a while with old ladies our age. We met Rebecca’s grandmother tonight. She had us grabbing our sides, she’s so funny,” Patty said, laughing.

  “Okay, so it seems that maybe you both have gotten your second wind in life. You want to get out and about. Are you both feeling well? No issues with mobility, right?”

  “We get tired easily, we won’t deny that. And we like to use someone’s arm for security, and a cane now and then. But we’re breathing, and our brain is still working, so yes, we want to get out more.”

  “I thought they were getting you out a lot. I’m sorry. When did that change?”

  “They’re good people, Annie. This is not about them doing anything wrong. And when we go to the plays with them, we always have a good time. But you can only go to plays so often.”

  “So, do you want to continue with this living arrangement with Betsy and Charles living here?”

  Lilly looked over to Auntie and nodded. Auntie nodded back.

  “Okay, so I’ll let them know that this is more about you all wanting to get out more, and not about them,” Annie said, standing.

  “Yes, dear, that’s exactly right.”

  “Maybe if they took you to more places, you’d be okay with that as well?” Annie said, hinting that maybe this was more about being left out and not really as much about their independence.

  “Well, maybe,” Lilly said.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Annie walked up the stairs and rapped on Betsy and Charles’s door. She’d not been up to the tiny apartment since they’d moved in. Betsy opened the door wide, a look of concern written all over her face. “Come in,” she said, opening the door wider.

  Annie stepped inside. She looked around the small space and smiled. “You really did a nice job with the apartment.”

  “I suppose now we have to move?” Betsy plopped down on the small sofa and cupped her face.

  “No, no one is moving. This is the deal. They’re feeling a bit left out. I understand you and Charles have a right to go out by yourself and I would never ask you not to. They’re just feeling maybe a bit more housebound, and to tell you the truth, they’ve gotten their second wind, and just want to enjoy life. So, I’ve agreed to allow them to catch a cab and go into town, as long as they let me, Mary, and you, all know. They said they left a note, but it must have blown off the front door. Also, they want to start playing bridge in the clubhouse. They both told me they wouldn’t mind going out a bit more with you too, as well.” Annie gathered in her lips and cocked her head.

  “Okay, we’d love to take them out more, but when we were taking them out a lot, your grandmother started wheezing and coughing. We were worried it was too much. And Patty sometimes wanders off a bit, so we were worried she might be getting confused,” Charles said.

  Annie widened her eyes. “Well, the last time they went to the doctor, they got a pretty good bill of health. Grandmother is on medication for her heart, but Patty seemed fine. I’ll make another appointment just to be sure, but I think everything is just fine. They’re just not used to being told what to do and how to do it. I’m sure you can understand,” Annie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Absolutely. We love your family and have tried our hardest to make them feel comfortable,” Betsy said.

  “Okay, so it’s all settled. Things will be all right from now on.” Annie held out her arms for a hug.

  Betsy leaped up and ran into Annie’s arms. “Thank you, Annie. I was so worried that things were going to change between us.”

  Annie pulled back from the embrace. “Are you kidding? You’re a blessing to them, even if they don’t realize it. And you’re a blessing to us.” She glanced at her watch. “Oh, Jack will be waiting for me outside with Ashton. I must run.”

  Annie took the stairs two at a time and when she landed, she rushed toward the living room. She popped her head inside and smiled. “Everything is good with Betsy and Charles. They love you two as well as we all do, and only want what is best for you. They understand your position and will see to it that you have many fun filled days. I must run now. Talk to you soon,” she said, blowing them kisses.

  “Tootles,” Lilly called out.

  “Adios,” Patty said.

  Annie stopped dead in her tracks and backed up a few steps, looking back into the living room. “Adios?”

  “I’m learning Spanish from the gardener,” Patty said, her eyes lighting up.

  “Grandmother?” Annie said singingly as she headed toward the door.

  “I’m on it, Granddaughter,” Lilly called out.

  Annie hopped into the passenger seat and let out a deep breath.

  “Everything settled?” Jack asked.

  “As settled as they can be. My grandmother and auntie are crazy old hoots.”

  Jack laughed. “They’re young at heart, Annie. I hope we’re like that someday.”

  “Like crazy old hoots?” Annie said, staring into his eyes.

  “Just think, we’ll have Ashton to chase us all over town.” He started up the engine, looked over his shoulder, and slowly pulled away from the curb.

  “We need more than Ashton. Boys can be so cold. We need a daughter. She’ll be warm and kind and loving toward us old hoots.”

  Jack glanced over toward Annie and then turned his attention back to the road. “Little boys aren’t cold. They’re just not all that sensitive. They like to get dirty and talk loud.”

  “Well, our little Ashton is going to develop his sensitive side,” Annie stated.

  “I’m ready to expand our family anytime you are,” Jack said.

  Annie reached over and took his free hand into hers, gently squeezing it and causing him to look over at her. “Hey, keep all eyes on the road. Baby on board,” she said teasingly.

  Chapter 6

  Annie stood outside on the porch and drew in the smell of the warm wind coming off the intercoastal waterway. She watched as it reached the trees, whipping the branches around. She pulled her sweater in and clutched it closed with her hands. She reared her head back to keep the windblown stray hairs from falling into her eyes. She peered over her shoulder when she heard the screen door open.

  Jack wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling her close, Jack rested his chin on Annie’s shoulder as they both looked out toward the dark sky.

  “It’s getting pretty bad out there,” she said, leaning into him.

  “The weatherman is saying that the brunt of the storm shouldn’t come near us. We’ll just have wind and heavy rain. I’m glad your grandmother and auntie are on their way. The Battery and all of downtown will flood after this one blows through.”

  “I know enough about these storms that they are not predictable. I hope all we get is some rain and wind,” Annie said, turning toward Jack and giving him a quick kiss. “I’m going to go check the pantry.”

  She went into the kitchen to do a quick inventory. They’d been prepared for these types of storms before, but fortunately in all their years living in the area, only once did they suffer extreme hardship from a hurricane.

  Jack peered into the playpen where Ashton slept. “He can sleep through anything, huh?” He winked at Annie.

  “Men and boys,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Wait, what does that mean?” he said, crossing to the kitchen with a cunning gaze on his face.

  Annie crossed her arms and slanted her head slightly. “Let’s see, you’ve slept through thunder and lightning and the time I was sicker than a dog and barfing my brains out in the bathroom. You sleep through Ashton’s crying …”

  “Okay, I get it, but when I’m tired, I’m tired.”

  Annie furrowed her brows. “And women aren’t?”

  “You win, let’s not argue about who is more attentive,” Jack said, pulling her in close and sneaking a kiss.

  “I was just looking and I think we have enough food and water to carry us for a few days,” she said, trying to ignore his kisses.

  “I ha
ve the generator all ready to go, if we need it.” He gave her a quick kiss before he moved away.

  “I hope we don’t. I’m worried about Grandmother and Auntie. Don’t you think they should have been here by now?”

  Jack glanced at his watch. “Well, Charles said they were about to walk out the door, so yes, I do think they should be here. I’ll call him on his cell.”

  Annie watched as she bit her bottom lip. Something didn’t seem right about this, but she hoped, for once, her intuition would be wrong.

  “Voice mail,” Jack said, staring blankly at Annie.

  “Probably because he’s driving. I’ll try Betsy,” Annie said, reaching for her cell phone. She tapped her foot and then moved around the room with the phone glued to her ear. “Betsy, this is Annie. Just checking in on you, since we were expecting you a while ago. Call me.”

  “Voice mail?” Jack said.

  Annie nodded.

  “Okay, let’s not get worried. They are with Charles and Betsy, who we feel are very responsible, or we wouldn’t leave Lilly and Patty in their charge. Let’s give them another half hour. The traffic is probably a nightmare coming out of the city. In the meantime, I’m going down to the dock to make sure Lady Powell is securely tied and do a quick assessment of our property.”

  Just then, Ashton screamed at the top of his lungs, and had them both rushing into the living room. There, he stood hanging onto the sides, jumping up and down, and laughing.

  Annie shot Jack a terrified look and then reached down into the playpen and pulled Ashton into her arms. “Your first hurricane,” she said, leaning in and kissing him on his chubby little cheeks. Ashton let out a belly laugh and then playfully rubbed off her wet kiss on his cheeks.

  “And probably not your last, if you live here,” Jack said. He lowered his mouth to Ashton’s neck and blew a raspberry, making him giggle more.

  Annie sunk into the cushiony sofa and bounced Ashton on her leg. She sang a little song she’d heard somewhere about the horsey went this way, and the horsey went that way, and then proceeded to pump her legs up and down as if he were riding a horse. His laughter was contagious, and soon Annie and Jack were laughing, too.