The Sunset Cottages: A Willa Bay Novel

by Nicole Ellis

  “How many more are we waiting for?” Tia asked. As far as she knew, her parents had only planned to stay for a week – but at this point, she wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d changed their minds about that too.

  “We have two larger suitcases in addition to our carry-ons.” Marta focused her attention on the belt, as though she didn’t trust her husband to locate the second suitcase.

  “I’m waiting for one big suitcase.” Abuela eyed the unclaimed luggage, then pointed at a sensible, navy-blue bag. “There!”

  Antonio trotted forward and effortlessly swung it off the belt before rolling it over to them. In the meantime, Tia’s father retrieved their other bag.

  Abuela held up a finger and pointed toward the oversized baggage area. “I have one more thing to collect.”

  Marta rolled her eyes skyward and muttered something under her breath.

  Tia followed Abuela while the others stayed with the bags. “What are you picking up?”

  Most of the things in the cordoned off area looked like skis or snowboarding equipment, but as far as she knew, Abuela wasn’t into such activities. Then again, she’d never have thought her grandmother would get on a plane and fly halfway across the country either. Tia smothered a giggle as she imagined Abuela zooming down the slopes with her long gray hair flying behind her like a cape.

  Abuela entered the maze of oddly-shaped items and extracted a rolling cooler about the size of a large microwave.

  Now Tia’s curiosity was piqued. “You know we have food in Washington, right?”

  Abuela smiled mysteriously at her and walked back toward the rest of the family.

  When they were all together again, Antonio led them out to the parking garage, coming to a stop behind his pristine white Dodge Durango. He eyed their luggage and chuckled a little. “Good thing I drove. We would have had to leave a couple people behind if we’d taken Tia’s little car.”

  They’d briefly considered driving her sedan instead of his gas-hog SUV, but fortunately had decided against it. With the addition of Abuela, they really would have had to leave something at the airport. She made a mental note to add Abuela to the reservation she’d made at the Chinese restaurant in Willa Bay. With her parents coming in so late on Christmas Eve, Tia had opted to forego a more traditional Christmas dinner for the convenience of a full-service restaurant. To Tia’s amazement, her mother had agreed to Chinese food, even going so far as to say she thought it was a good idea.

  With the luggage stowed in the back and everyone seated in the SUV, Tia asked, “Is anyone hungry? We could grab fast food or something on the way to Willa Bay.” The Inn at Willa Bay would be closed to outside guests for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but Zoe’s and Shawn’s families were staying there overnight, and they’d offered lodging for Tia’s parents as well.

  Marta shook her head, frowning in the dim glow provided by the parking garage’s overhead lights. “No, we ate on the plane. It was probably one of the worst airline meals I’ve ever had, but it was edible. Plus, I don’t want to be late for mass. How long did you say it takes to get to Willa Bay from here?”

  Tia sighed lightly. “About ninety minutes.” She peered through the front seats at the backlit clock on the dashboard. “There shouldn’t be that much traffic this time of the evening, so that will leave about thirty minutes for you to get checked in at the Inn and freshened up.” A thought occurred to her. “Where is Abuela going to sleep? She could stay with me, but the stairs up to my bedroom are awfully steep, and I don’t think the couch in the living room would be too comfortable for more than one night.” Her grandmother walked with a slight limp from a knee operation a few years ago, and it was clear she’d slowed down considerably since Tia had seen her last.

  “Oh, don’t worry about me,” Abuela said. “I’ve already made arrangements to stay at the Inn. That Celia is such a nice woman.”

  Tia grinned. Of course her grandmother had planned everything out. Abuela and Marta had more in common with each other than they realized. And maybe I do too, Tia thought, more than a little shocked at the sudden revelation.

  As a teenager and into her early twenties, she’d been impetuous, only living for the moment. However, as she matured, she was becoming as deliberate and organized as her mother, traits that suited her well as an event coordinator.

  Next to her, Marta yawned and rested her head against the back of the seat. Abuela was already snoozing, snuggled securely into the neck pillow she’d brought with her. With the long flight and two-hour time difference, they must have been exhausted.

  Tia closed her eyes too, and in what seemed like minutes, the Inn at Willa Bay’s gravel drive crunched beneath the heavy vehicle’s tires.

  Antonio parked directly in front of the Inn and pressed the button from the driver’s seat to open the rear hatch, flooding the vehicle with cold air and soft illumination from the vehicle’s interior lights and the solar lamps lining the circular driveway. “We’re here,” he called out.

  Soon, everyone was awake and tromping up the ramp to the front porch.

  Celia met them at the door with a huge smile on her face. “Merry Christmas!” She held out her hand to Marta. “I’m Celia, and you must be Tia’s mother. The resemblance is uncanny.”

  Marta gave Celia a faint smile. “Yes. I’m Marta, and this is my husband, Daniel, and my mother-in-law, Carlita.”

  “It’s so nice to finally meet all of you. Tia speaks so highly of her family. I know my grandson, Shawn, and his girlfriend, Zoe, are looking forward to meeting you too. They went down to Tacoma to see Shawn’s father today, but will be back tomorrow, along with Zoe’s brother and his family. It’ll be so nice to spend Christmas with you and the others this year.”

  Tia couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows. Celia knew there was no love lost between Tia and her mother, but she was laying it on thick in hopes of assisting with a reconciliation. Celia noticed Tia’s reaction, and flashed her a grin before going around to the other side of the desk and tapping away at the computer’s keyboard.

  After locating their reservations, she handed two keys to Marta. “You and Daniel will be in room 201.” She turned to Abuela and gave her a single key. “Based on our conversations, I thought you might want to stay on the main floor since we don’t have an elevator.”

  “Thank you, Celia.” Abuela looked around the lobby, taking in all of Zoe’s gorgeous Christmas decorations. “Your Inn is lovely.”

  Celia beamed at the compliment. “Well, I didn’t have much to do with it, but thank you. I’ve always loved this place.”

  Antonio helped his parents take their bags up to their room, leaving Tia downstairs with her grandmother and Celia.

  Celia reached for the rolling cooler. “Is this what I think it is?” Abuela nodded, and the two elderly women exchanged conspiratorial glances.

  Tia wanted to beg to be let in on the secret they shared, but she fought off the urge. “Let’s get you settled into your room, Abuela.” She checked the antique clock above the front desk. “We need to leave for church in about twenty-five minutes.”

  “Then I guess we’d better get going. I need to change into my church clothes and do something about my hair before we leave.” She patted her hair, where soft wisps of gray had slipped out of what had once been in a tightly wound bun.

  They arrived at the Catholic church with plenty of time to spare. Tia rarely attended mass, but she knew it was important to her family, and she enjoyed experiencing it with them. When the service was over, Antonio dropped their parents and grandmother off and drove Tia back to her cottage.

  As she exited the car, he said, “That wasn’t as bad as you were expecting, was it?”

  She scrunched up her face. “No, but there’s still plenty of time for them to live up to my expectations.”

  Antonio shook his head and sighed. “Or for them to surprise you.”

  Her brother, the optimist. “See in you in the morning.” She shut the door and buried her hands in her
pockets as she walked to her front porch. Antonio was right though – she’d spent hours with her family and had actually had fun with them. Maybe there was hope yet for the rest of their visit.

  22

  Tia

  “Tia.” A woman’s voice cut through Tia’s dream about a sunny day at the beach. “Tia, it’s time to wake up.”

  Tia rubbed her eyes and sat up to find her grandmother standing beside her bed. She looked over at her phone but it was facedown on the nightstand. “What time is it?”

  Abuela grinned at her. “It’s time to wake up, lazybones. We’re all waiting on you.”

  Tia stared up at the ceiling. It was Christmas Day, and she’d hoped to sleep in. Also, why was her grandmother in her house in the first place? They’d all made plans to meet at the Inn for a continental breakfast, but the tantalizing aromas of coffee, bacon, and eggs wafting up the stairwell told a different story. “Okay, okay. I’m up.”

  Abuela gave her a stern look. “I’ll see you downstairs.” With that, she turned and limped out of the room.

  After Tia had pried her body out of bed and made herself presentable, she went down to the kitchen. Her mother stood at the stove scrambling eggs and frying bacon while her father flipped pancakes browning on an electric griddle. Meg drank coffee at the kitchen table, which had been pulled out from the wall, extended with its hidden leaf, and set with six plates and mugs.

  Tia shot her a questioning glance, but Meg just shrugged and continued drinking her coffee.

  Abuela carried a plate heaped with pancakes over to the table and sat down across from Tia. “Eat up everyone. We’ve got work to do today.”

  Antonio arrived just in time to eat. He flashed them an apologetic grin. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “No problem.” Marta beamed at him. “We’re just happy that you’re here.”

  Did Antonio know what was going on? Tia had planned for a lazy morning, breakfast at the Inn, and a tour of the resort, followed by dinner at the Chinese restaurant and a gift exchange at her cottage. Nothing about that sounded like the full day of work that her grandmother had implied.

  No one would answer her questions about it though, so when Zoe, Shawn, and Celia showed up at ten AM with a long folding table, the red ice chest, and a paper grocery sack, Tia was very confused and frustrated.

  “Would someone please tell me what’s going on here?” Tia asked, her hands on her hips.

  Zoe emptied the brown paper sack on the counter, revealing onions, garlic, two types of peppers, several pounds of pork, and a plastic bag full of corn husks. Abuela bent down and opened the lid to the ice chest, then gestured for Tia to look at the contents.

  Tia peered at the enormous, plastic-wrapped ball of golden dough inside. “You made masa?”

  Abuela grinned. “What is Christmas without homemade tamales? I had Celia get me the other ingredients, but I brought my own freshly ground masa. They just taste so much better with it.” She shook her head and muttered under her breath, “Chinese food for Christmas dinner? Whoever heard of such a thing?”

  Tia eyed the dough and her mouth watered. Abuela must have spent hours preparing it, first mixing calcium hydroxide with the dried yellow field corn she sourced from a market near her house, then painstakingly removing the skin off of each kernel before grinding it. She was right though – there was something about using freshly ground masa that elevated tamales to a whole new level of flavor.

  Tia’s eyes strayed to the long rectangular table Shawn had set up between the living room and kitchen. Now she understood why he’d brought it. Tamales for Christmas dinner had been a family tradition for as long as she could remember, but they were quite a production. She’d briefly considered making them for her parents’ visit, but it would have been a lot of work on her own and all of the local places had sold out by the time she’d thought to place an order.

  Abuela and Celia got to work preparing the pork filling, gabbing all the while like they were old friends. Meg, Tia, and Daniel took on the task of making a sauce from the red peppers while Marta and Antonio prepared the corn husks. Soon, the individual components were ready and they all busied themselves at their assigned stations on the tamale assembly line.

  Someone knocked on the door, and Tia stopped smoothing masa over the inside of a corn husk. She brushed her hands on the front of her apron. “I’ll get it.”

  Cal stood on the doorstep, holding a large box of chocolates decorated with a wide red bow. “Hey,” he said, holding it out to her. “I know we agreed not to exchange gifts, but I thought you and your family might enjoy these.”

  Tia’s heart warmed. He really was a nice guy. “Thank you. We will.” She looked over her shoulder. Her family had ceased their tamale production and had all gone silent as they watched her and Cal huddled together at the front door. “Do you want to come inside to meet them?”

  He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, glancing past Tia. Finally, he said, “Sure. I’d love to meet them.”

  Tia stepped back to allow him room to enter. She hadn’t introduced someone she was dating to her parents since she was a teenager, and she wasn’t sure how they’d react.

  Marta walked toward them, her eyes fixed on Cal’s face. Tia’s heart beat faster. She’d planned on introducing them to Cal while they were in town, but had been relieved when Cal had declined her invitation to join them for Christmas Day, planning to spend it with his own family. Her mother could be overbearing, and Tia wanted to put off any potential conflict until after Christmas.

  “Tia? Are you going to introduce us?” Marta asked, still sizing up Cal.

  “Uh. Yes. Sorry.” She turned to Cal. “This is my mom, Marta. Over there,” she pointed at the tables, “is my father, Daniel, and that’s my grandmother, Carlita. And you already know Antonio.” She looked up at Cal, unsure of how to refer to him. They’d been dating for a little over a month, and while she felt a strong connection with him, they hadn’t put any labels on their relationship. “And this is Cal, my…uh…”

  “Boyfriend,” he said firmly. A thrill rushed through her body at his confirmation of their relationship status. He offered Marta his hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Marta shook his hand and eyed him appraisingly, then smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Cal.” She cocked her head to the side, and Tia held her breath, afraid of what was coming next. “We’re making tamales for dinner. Would you like to join us?”

  Cal looked at Tia, and she gave him a slight nod. “Well, I’ve never made them before, but I’m happy to learn. I can only stay for an hour or so though, because I promised my mom I’d be at their house by one o’clock today.”

  In the back of the room, Abuela nodded with approval. Cal washed his hands and they put him to work dropping a spoonful of filling onto each mound of dough. Tia worked next to him, their elbows touching often in the close quarters. As expected, her mother grilled him mercilessly, but he handled her probing questions with flying colors.

  By the time he had to leave, Cal seemed to have won over every member of her family. After he said goodbye to them, promising he’d be around during their visit, Tia walked him out to his car.

  “Thank you for being so understanding with my family.” She exhaled slowly. “I know they can be a bit much.”

  He chuckled, and deep laugh lines formed around his lips. “Your mom could have a second career as an interrogator for the CIA.” He sobered, and reached for her hands, rubbing his thumbs over the top of them in a way that sent shivers up her spine. “But I enjoyed meeting them. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to spend more time with you and your family while they’re in Willa Bay. For all your differences, I know they’re important to you, and I’d like to get to know them better.”

  She searched his face. He seemed genuinely excited to hang out with her family. “I’d like that.”

  “Great.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss that made her grateful for the stand of trees that blocked them fro
m view of the house. He held her close for a minute, then stepped back, breathing deeply. “I’d better let you get back in there. Merry Christmas, Tia.”

  She nodded. “Merry Christmas, Cal.”

  Tia walked back to the house in a slight daze. Inside, her family had all taken their places behind the tamale production line, but none of them were actively making anything.

  “So you have a boyfriend here?” Her mother’s eyes drilled into Tia’s face.

  “It’s new,” Tia said, hoping she hadn’t walked into an interrogation that now focused on her instead of Cal.

  “Mom.” Antonio glared at their mother.

  “What?” Marta asked innocently.

  Daniel elbowed his wife. “Leave her alone. We’ve got plenty of time to find out more about him while we’re here.”

  “And there are still plenty more tamales to make,” Abuela said.

  Tia was grateful for the other members of her family running interference. She pasted a wide smile on her face. “Yes. Let’s finish up with these. I wanted to show you around the resort while it’s still light out.”

  Her mother looked as though she were going to say something, but she clapped her mouth shut and resumed spreading the pork mixture over the layer of masa dough. They spent the next hour or so catching up with each other, and the stack of tamales at the end of the table grew tall.

  When all of the filling had been used up and the last corn husk had been tied, Antonio went home, and their grandmother and parents returned to their lodging to freshen up. Tia showered and dressed in fresh clothes, eager to show her family the resort she’d been working at for the last five months.

  She met them in the lobby of the Inn and Zoe gave them a tour of the interior.