Audrey snapped her fingers gleefully, then turned and then smiled at Amanda. “He’s still got it! Sharp as a whip!”
Amanda rolled her eyes playfully. “Whatever. What’s this all about?”
“Grandpa told me he could remember basically everything except five minutes ago, so I wanted to test him,” Audrey explained. “You should have seen him sweat over a question about Japan, but he got it! Grandpa, I really didn’t know you were such a scholar.”
Grandpa Wes grinned inwardly, clearly pleased with himself. Obviously, the dementia hadn’t run its course through him. Not the full course, anyway.
“Where you off to?”
“I’m headed to the law office,” Amanda answered. “I pre-made your lunches for the day; they’re in the fridge. Audrey, you just have to stick them in the oven at 400 degrees for about fifteen minutes. And Audrey, you’re still meeting me and Aunt Lola and Aunt Christine and my mom, right?”
“At six-thirty. Yep,” Audrey said. “If I can waddle my way over there.”
“Don’t worry about it if you can’t make it,” Amanda told her. “We’d just love your company, obviously.”
“And I’d love to see a sight outside of this room,” Audrey retorted sarcastically.
“Are you suggesting the company leaves something to be desired?” Grandpa Wes asked.
Audrey arched her brow, placed her phone on the table between them, and said, “Come on, Grandpa. Quiz me next.”
“With this thing?” Grandpa Wes asked as he lifted the phone. “You know I don’t know my way around these new gadgets or new technology.”
Amanda headed out the door and made her way toward downtown Oak Bluffs. As she marched, her boots sloshed through the melted snow and dabbed at the mud beneath. How was it possible that it was already February 22? How was it possible that an entire month had passed since her she had been stood up at the altar? Time had always passed by quickly, but this was ridiculous.
Just last night, Brittany had texted Amanda with a screenshot of Chris’s Instagram photo.
BRITTANY: Um, can you tell me why Chris is in Spain right now?
Amanda hadn’t known what to answer. She hadn’t expected the photo. Chris was on a beach with a drink in-hand and a larger-than-life smile plastered between his cheeks. He didn’t look like the Chris she had once known, but he did look happier.
At the law office, Amanda found her mother wrestling a newly purchased potted plant into the foyer. Amanda hurriedly jumped toward her to help her place it directly to the side of a gorgeous painting they’d also recently chosen from a local artist. Susan snapped her hands together and analyzed the sight — the beginnings of their “artistic” foyer.
“I think it looks pretty good. Almost good enough for clients,” Susan stated.
“Almost,” Amanda replied.
For the rest of the morning and afternoon, Amanda busied herself with schoolwork and paperwork for the law office. Her mother popped in and out, meeting clients and helping out at the Sunrise Cove. She had mentioned that she’d hired someone to operate the front desk to allow her more time at the law offices, which Amanda was grateful for. Still, it was every bit like her mother to burn the candle at both ends.
The day flew by. Audrey texted a few times with questions about the lunch she had prepared them (how long to bake it in the oven again?) and whether or not she knew where the chessboard was (as it was apparently beneficial for dementia patients to play chess). Around three, Audrey announced that Aunt Kerry had arrived with chocolate chip cookies and that she planned to eat all of them herself. “I only have a few weeks left of this pregnancy, and I have to milk it for all it’s worth, right?”
Amanda’s mind couldn’t have been further from the idea of babies and marriage. It surprised her, sometimes, when she awoke in the middle of the night and felt horrible and frightened and alone. Her eyes scanned the bed beside her for some sign of Chris, even as her mind came back to the realization that she was no longer engaged; she no longer lived in Newark and that she was someone else, now.
Susan and Amanda bundled up and headed back to the Sunrise Cove to meet Aunt Lola, Aunt Christine, and Audrey for dinner at the bistro. As they walked, they nearly stumbled head-long into Everett, Charlotte and her daughter, Rachel, who were in the midst of laughter as they traipsed through the center of town.
“Hey, you three!” Susan called.
Charlotte beamed and waved. “Where are you girls headed to?”
“Sunrise Cove,” Susan and Amanda said in unison.
“I should have known,” Charlotte said. Her eyes turned toward Amanda. Within them, Amanda hated to see that Charlotte did, in some ways, pity Amanda and all she’d been through on that horrible, fateful day. “Amanda, I’m so glad you’re still on the island.”
Everett leaned in and said, “She says that to me every day like I’d ever go back to LA.”
Amanda laughed gratefully, for a moment, then allowed, silence to fill the air between them. After a moment, Susan said, “Well, we have to meet the girls,” and then turned back.
Just before Charlotte left Amanda’s sight, however, she rushed back and tapped her on the shoulder. Charlotte turned. Her eyes looked heavy, as though she wanted to apologize for what she’d said. But before she could say a single word, Amanda said, “I really loved the wedding you put together, Charlotte. It was so beautiful.”
Charlotte dropped her chin to her chest. She looked on the verge of tears.
“Really. I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work. And also say that, well.” Amanda laughed lightly. “As stupid as this sounds, I really do think I’ll get married someday. To someone. Who knows who? But when that day comes, I would really like you to be the one who plans it, again.”
“You know I’ll be there for you, no matter what,” Charlotte said.
AMANDA AND SUSAN MET Lola, Christine, and Audrey at the bistro just past six-thirty. Already, Christine and Lola had a bottle of merlot popped, and Audrey had waded her way through half of the basket of garlic bread. Lola and Christine hopped up for big, boisterous hugs, while Audrey just waved a tired hand and said, “I barely made it here in one piece. This baby just kicks and kicks and kicks.”
“I told her she did the same,” Lola said. “I knew she was going to be a spitfire. And now, look at her! All grown up and complaining non-stop.”
They ordered salads from Ronnie, along with another basket of garlic bread. Amanda turned to wave at Zach as he walked out of the kitchen. He winked just before he bent to speak with a table of customers. Amanda’s heart swelled. Soon, she would be able to watch Zach and Christine and Audrey wade through the waters of “parenthood.” It was difficult to know what that would look like.
When Ronnie placed the basket of garlic bread at the table, Audrey reached for her pocket and discovered that she’d forgotten her phone in the coatroom.
“Don’t get up. I’ll grab it for you!” Amanda offered.
“No, no. I need to stretch my legs,” Audrey said. “I feel uncomfortable in one place for too long.” Slowly, she moved up from the table and walked toward the hallway, which led out toward the foyer and the coatroom.
After Audrey disappeared, Lola’s eyes bore into Amanda. “Is she really doing okay?” she demanded. “She’s stopped telling me stuff. She seems...distant.”
Amanda shrugged. “I think she’s just focused on the next few weeks. Probably she’s freaking out and just needs space. I think Grandpa Wes is helping.”
Lola and Christine exchanged glances. Susan sipped her wine. Amanda felt bad about having this discussion without Audrey at the table; her allegiance was to Audrey above all other people, it felt like.
“I just hope she knows we’re here for her if she needs help,” Lola said. “She’s my daughter, and I know she’s going through a lot, but—”
Suddenly, from the depths of the coatroom, came a blood-curdling scream.
Amanda leaped from her chair. Later, when she thought about it,
she thought maybe she blacked out as she raced toward the coatroom. She was faster than the others, by fifteen feet, maybe more, and found herself at Audrey’s feet, alongside a tall man that looked to be in his twenties. Amanda had never seen him before. Immediately, the man dropped down beside Audrey and said, “Ma’am? Ma’am, my name is Sam Fuller. Ma’am, are you going into labor?”
Audrey’s eyes were watery and she looked terrified. She stretched her hands over her stomach and peered up at Amanda while the handsome man remained on his knees beside her.
“Audrey?” Amanda murmured. She curled up beside her, across from Sam Fuller, and clasped Audrey’s hand. “What happened?”
Audrey shook her head back and forth. “I don’t know. It felt like a contraction. It was a sharp tightening pain that shot across my stomach and then traveled to my lower back. It took my breath away.”
Susan, Lola, and Christine appeared in the coatroom seconds later, all gasping for breath. They analyzed the scene as Lola dropped down to sit at Audrey’s feet. She reached up to grip Audrey’s other hand and said, “Do you think you’re going into labor, baby?”
It was much, much too soon for anything like that and they all knew that.
Of course, crazier things had happened.
“I don’t know,” Audrey admitted. She sounded like she wanted to be sarcastic but didn’t have the strength left. “I’ve never gone into labor before, Mom.”
“More than likely, it’s Braxton Hicks contractions. These are false labor pains. It’s completely normal, honey.” Lola explained, giving her daughter a reassuring smile.
Minutes passed. Sam Fuller stood up to allow Lola a place next to Audrey, who still refused to get up from the ground. Amanda watched Sam trace a path out toward the foyer again; he looked anxious, wide-eyed, and eager to help out if Audrey let out another screech of alarm.
On instinct, Amanda followed him out into the foyer. Christine crept into position next to Audrey as she left and whispered, “Do you want to get up? I can drive you back home. You can even stay with me tonight if you want to.”
Amanda didn’t wait to hear Audrey’s response. She knew that Audrey was under too much pressure as it was.
Back out in the foyer, Amanda watched as Sam returned back to the Sunrise Cove front desk and began to jot notes in the booklet her mother ordinarily used. As Amanda walked past, Sam lifted his head and said, “I’m glad you came to my rescue. I can’t imagine helping someone give birth during my first week at the new job.”
Amanda laughed, surprising herself. Something in her belly fluttered strangely.
“That’s actually the first test we give out here at the Sunrise Cove to new employees,” she replied. “If you can deliver the baby, you can stay on staff.”
“Wow. That’s tough,” Sam said. “I guess I should have paid more attention in biology class.”
Amanda’s smile widened. Am I flirting with this guy? Probably not, right? I don’t remember how to flirt anymore.
“How do you like working here so far?”
Sam tilted his head. “You know, I met Susan Sheridan just a few days ago, and I had this weird feeling about her. She just seemed so warm and welcoming. And when she told me about this potential job, I thought maybe, just maybe, she was my guardian angel. Although hey. It’s still my first week. I have plenty of time to mess up.”
“Plenty,” Amanda agreed. “We have our eyes on you at all times.”
“We?” Sam asked. His smile was dangerously attractive now.
“I’m Susan Sheridan’s daughter. And intern,” Amanda introduced herself.
“Ah. So you’re second-in-command of all things,” he stated, giving her a lop-sided grin.
“You could say that.”
“Interesting and good to know. I’ll make sure to stay on your good side from here on out,” Sam said.
That moment, Audrey, Lola, Christine, and Susan reappeared in the foyer. Audrey brushed a strand of hair from her sweaty forehead and said, “Sorry about the chaos. You know I like to create whatever drama I can.”
“So no, baby?” Amanda asked.
Audrey shook her head. “Nope. She’s staying in there till I tell her to. Or else.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
When the Sheridan sisters, Amanda, and Audrey arrived back at the Sheridan house that evening, it was decided that Audrey take Amanda’s bedroom downstairs.
“I don’t want you to push yourself too hard these next few weeks,” Lola said, using that extra firm tone that meant, I am your mother, and you will listen to me.
But they didn’t have to work too hard to convince Audrey that she needed rest. After she’d settled into the bed that had been Amanda’s, Amanda perched at the edge of her bed and squeezed her hand while Audrey’s eyes closed.
“I can’t get over how painful that felt and how much it scared me,” Audrey whispered to Amanda.
“I bet that’s just what it feels like to have a contraction,” Amanda said. “There’s no way to know until it happens to you.”
“Yeah. I guess I just thought since I’m so young and, you know, in the prime of health and all that, that maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much?”
Amanda laughed lightly. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“Figures,” Audrey said.
“I’ll bring you breakfast in bed tomorrow,” Amanda told her. “Before I head off to the office, Christine already said she’d come by at lunch to make sure you and Grandpa are taken care of.”
Audrey buzzed her lips and shifted slightly beneath the sheets. Obviously, she didn’t adore all the attention. Not like this.
“Thanks, Mandy. Sorry, I was so dramatic and ruined dinner,” she said. “I promise, by this time next year, I’ll be out of your hair and back doing keg stands at Penn State.”
“That’s the spirit,” Amanda said. “Make your baby proud.”
At this, they both burst into raucous laughter, so loud that Susan rushed in to say, “Grandpa Wes only just fell asleep, girls. Can you please keep it down?”
Back in the living room, Amanda stepped into a quiet but intense conversation about Audrey’s health.
“I did struggle with those last few weeks,” Lola admitted.
“Mom always said she struggled with you, too,” Susan said to Lola. “Maybe it’s just something in the genes?”
“I don’t want her to worry,” Christine murmured. “I think that stress would only exacerbate things.”
“You’re right,” Susan said. “Let’s just keep it light and simple. I think it’s smart she’s downstairs now. Charlotte has also agreed to stop by tomorrow morning since Amanda and I have clients to take care of. Thank goodness I hired that young man at the Sunrise Cove. He has already changed a few of the systems to reflect what he learned in school, and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
“He’s certainly handsome,” Christine said with a funny smile.
Susan laughed. “I didn’t hire him because of his looks, believe it or not.”
“I would have,” Lola grinned. “Although you know I’m the vain one of the group.”
That night, Susan headed off to Scott’s. Before she left, she explained tomorrow’s schedule to Amanda. “I’ll be in the office around one, I guess. I have to train Sam on a few more things before he takes over completely.”
“Sounds good,” Amanda said. “I’ll see you there. And I’ll bring you a salad!”
“You’re a dream, honey,” Susan replied. “See you there, future partner.”
The following morning, Amanda delivered breakfast to both Audrey and her grandfather, just as Charlotte and Everett arrived. Everett, apparently, had to head off to New York that evening for a photography gig, so he had agreed to help out at the Sheridan house before his departure. Charlotte hugged Amanda close and said, “Thanks for asking me. I’ve been so bogged down with wedding planning for the upcoming season. It’ll be good to do something that doesn’t involve lace and candles and flowers and evil bridezillas.�
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“We appreciate it,” Amanda said in a low voice. “Audrey has had some false labor, and we just don’t fully expect her to watch over Grandpa when she’s dealing with so much.”
“I totally get it,” Charlotte said.
As Amanda donned her spring jacket (again, another forty-something degree day!), she noticed that her mother had left her notebook on the counter. Something in the back of her mind told her that maybe Susan just didn’t need it that day. But another part of the back of her mind saw it as an opportunity.
Amanda walked to the Sunrise Cove Inn in a kind of hazy zone of optimism. She wasn’t totally sure where the feeling came from, or even how she’d built it up in the midst of so much pain and heartache. Before she knew what she’d done, she found herself at the front desk of the Sunrise Cove Inn, right directly in front of that handsome and hilarious young man, Sam Fuller.
“Hey there!” he greeted her. “Your mom just went over to the bistro to talk to Zach.”
Amanda hated to sense a blush creeping up over her neck and through her cheeks. She swallowed as she placed the notebook on the counter. “Mom left this at our place,” she informed him. “I just wanted to make sure she had it for the day.”
Does that sound like the most made-up excuse to come down here, or what?
“Cool!” Sam said. “I’ll make sure it finds its way to her. Apparently, Zach had some kind of problem with an order, and she has to ease out a few wrinkles. On her way there, she said, ‘Congratulations, Sam. This is the kind of job you’ll have to do next week, but I’ll take care of it for now.’ Sounds like lots of fun!”
Amanda laughed outright. “I don’t envy you.”
“Well, I don’t envy all the law you have in that head of yours,” Sam replied. “I guess you stick to the law and I’ll stick to the hospitality.”
Christine appeared in the little hallway between the bistro and the Sunrise Cove. In her hands, she carried a large tray of what looked like four different kinds of pastries.
“Amanda!” she greeted. “I didn’t know you were coming in today.”
A Vineyard Vow (The Vineyard Sunset Series Book 6) Page 15
