by Maria Geraci
Claire paused and looked around at the audience. The entire gym was silent, waiting for her to continue.
“This past weekend, something happened that changed my life. I saw my parents, two people who’ve spent the last year fighting, come together for a cause they believe in. And I’m not just talking about them finding the stolen money from the festival, which, they did find, by the way. I’m talking about them coming together to work toward a mutual goal because no matter what else is going on in their lives, they love and support one another. They’re each other’s family. They’re my family. And I couldn’t be prouder to be their daughter.
“Many of my teachers have asked me what I plan to do next year and, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really sure myself until just a couple of days ago. But I finally know the answer. Even though I have this awesome boyfriend whom I’ll be leaving behind, I’ve decided to follow in the Powers family tradition and attend Duke University this fall.”
Momma clutched Mimi’s shoulder from behind.
Duke? Claire had been accepted to Duke?
“So…that’s about as personal as I can get, Mr. March,” Claire said, “In conclusion…”
The rest of the speech was wonderful. At least, Mimi thought it was, because she was too busy sniffling to hear anything else.
*~*~*
“To our high school graduate!” Daddy said, raising his glass of punch in the air. “And it pleases me to add, Go Blue Devils!”
The living room exploded with laughter. Over fifty of their friends had come by to wish Claire good luck. Kitty and Pilar and the rest of the Bunco Babes. Roger Van Cleave was there, as well as Viola and Gus Pappas. Momma had made her own special version of lasagna (which Mimi had to admit, was even better than hers), and Mimi had stayed up all night baking. Her stomach felt bloated, but she was too happy to care.
She spotted Allie going down the hallway and into the den that Allie had used as a bedroom whenever she visited before moving back to town. Mimi decided to follow her. She’d hoped for Zeke’s sake, that Allie would get a chance to talk to him today, but the two of them had kept their distance.
Allie was sitting on the bed looking at a framed picture of Buela. “Just five more days,” Mimi said from the doorway.
Allie glanced up from the photo. “I know. Kind of hard to believe, huh?”
“Are you all ready? I mean, mentally?”
“I’ve been ready to be Mrs. Tom Donalan since I was eighteen,” Allie joked. Only Mimi knew she meant it more than anything she’d ever said before.
“I’m so happy for you,” Mimi said, sitting on the bed next to her sister-in-law.
“You know Lauren brought me Buela’s old record player last week? I’ve been listening to all her old albums and it’s almost as if…she’s here again.”
“It’s like everything’s come full circle, huh?” Mimi said softly.
“And Claire Bear!” Allie said, using the nickname she’d given Claire since she was a little girl. “I can’t believe she’s going to Duke! I’m so proud of her.” She hesitated. “What does Zeke think?”
“To be honest, we haven’t had time to talk to each other since that speech. But I know he’ll be excited for her.”
“So…are the two of you back together?”
“We are most definitely together. He moved back in last night.”
“I’m glad.”
Mimi reached out and took Allie’s hand. “Look, I know you and Zeke have to work things out for yourselves, but there’s something you need to know.” She proceeded to tell Allie all about how Zeke, at eighteen, had sought their father out to ask for his help, only to find him drunk in a bar.
Allie frowned. “He never told me about Buela’s heart condition. Or that he wanted to enlist in the army. Why didn’t he tell me any of this before?”
“Because he’s Zeke Grant, the most impossible man on the planet.”
“But he’s your man.”
“That he is,” Mimi said. “And, for what’s it worth, he only did what he did because he loves you so much. He’d do anything for you, Allie.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“And, I’m supposed to keep this a secret, but after everyone leaves the party, when it’s just our family and you and Tom, more guests are coming.”
She waited till Allie realized exactly who those “guests” were. “Zeke invited Daddy to come here today?” she asked incredulously.
“It was difficult for him, but last night he called Sam and invited him and his wife and son to meet everyone. It’s a first step. A beginning, maybe, but Zeke realized Sam’s problem isn’t just his. It belongs to all of us. And…he wants to get to know Jeremy.”
Allie’s cheeks were wet with tears.
Maybe now wasn’t the best time to bring this up, but time was running out. Mimi took a deep breath. “So…and please, you know you’re like a sister to me, so feel free to tell me the truth here, but all this preaching to Zeke made me realize what a hypocrite I’ve been. All this time he kept the truth about Sam from you, I’ve been telling him how he needs to give you the choice whether or not you want Sam in your life.”
“I don’t understand, how does that make you a hypocrite?”
Mimi rose from the bed and went to the closet. She pulled out Beula’s dress and showed it to Allie. “I had Lauren redo the dress. I know it’s old fashioned and nothing like the dress you bought yourself, but you need to make the choice. And whichever one it is, it will be perfect. Because you’re perfect and I love you.”
Weddings in Whispering Bay were always a big deal. First off, there were only so many places to get married and the Whispering Bay United Methodist Church was one of them. Located directly downtown, no one running errands today could miss the commotion. Especially with almost four hundred guests invited.
Mimi and Lauren were in the vestibule, helping Allie with her dress and last minute preparations.
“It’s gorgeous,” Mimi sighed. “Buela would melt into the ground with happiness if she could see you right now.”
Allie’s hair was pinned back into an elegant chignon. Tear drop pearl earrings (a gift from Tom) made up the something new. Buela’s dress, which looked as if it was made for Allie (which it kind of was, with Lauren’s additions) made up the something old. Beneath it all, Allie wore a delicate ice blue bra and panty set (ensuring that only Tom would ever see the something blue!).
“Is it weird that you’re getting something borrowed from your future husband’s ex?” Lauren asked, handing Allie a small lace handkerchief that had belonged to her grandmother.
“As long as the something borrowed isn’t Tom, since I plan to hold onto him permanently.”
All three women laughed.
Mimi stilled. Something in the air suddenly felt different, making her turn around. Zeke stood in the doorway. He looked breathtakingly handsome in his black tuxedo. “Ready?” he said to Allie.
Allie smiled as she picked up her bouquet and looped her arm inside her brother’s. “Ready if you are.”
The ceremony went by quickly. As the matron of honor, it was Mimi’s job to keep track of Allie’s flowers and help her with her dress as needed.
Adding to today’s festive atmosphere, Sam and Janet and Jeremy had come to the wedding and everyone seemed pleased (including Zeke). He and Sam had stayed up the night of Claire’s graduation party talking until almost three in the morning. Zeke had come to bed that night, exhausted, but quietly at peace. When she’d asked him if he wanted to talk about it, he’d smiled and said, “Maybe later.” It was something Mimi planned to hold him to.
Claire and Cameron took turns fighting for their new “Uncle” Jeremy’s attention. Janet seemed overwhelmed by it all, and Sam…well, he might not have been the one to walk Allie down the aisle, but his eyes shone with all the pride of any father’s. Mimi hoped and prayed that the relationship between him and his adult children, so fragile right now, would strengthen and grow.
The photographer took
forever with the pictures, and it was finally time to hit the reception hall, where it seemed like half the town was already waiting for them.
The DJ introduced the new couple, who immediately went into their first dance. Ironically, or not (since it was, after all, America’s number one song for newly married couples), he played Billy Brenton’s Better Me.
After about a minute, the DJ invited everyone else to join Allie and Tom.
“Want to dance?” Zeke asked. Without waiting for an answer he took Mimi by the hand and led her to the dance floor.
“You know, I think we’ve already danced to this,” she teased.
“Have we?” He twirled her around.
“Yeah, we’ve definitely done this before,” she said cryptically.
Zeke looked at her strangely.
“So, you know how you wanted me to go see Doc Morrison?”
He stopped dancing. “Are you all right?” he asked, his face etched with concern. “Is it an ulcer?”
“Nope. Not an ulcer.”
“Okay, good.” They started dancing again.
“The rabbit died.”
Zeke blinked. Then he laughed. “Isn’t that a euphemism for…” His dark eyes went straight to her stomach.
“Yep. I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Zeke said loud enough for everyone within a mile radius to hear. They stopped dancing again. “How did that happen?”
Everyone turned to stare at them, including the newlywed couple.
“The usual way, I suspect.”
“You’re pregnant?” Allie mouthed.
Mimi nodded. Allie gave her a big thumbs up and Tom grinned like a madman. Mimi guessed that Zeke would be in for some good old fashioned ribbing later on tonight.
“But…when?” Zeke asked.
“From the date Doc Morrison gave me it had to be the night of the armadillos.”
Everyone began dancing again, leaving them no choice but to resume as well. Zeke was so stunned he stepped on Mimi’s foot. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Are you okay with this? I mean, I know we’re not kids anymore.”
His gaze locked with hers. “I’m more than okay with it.” He pulled her in close.
“Are you sure? Because you know what this means? We can’t run off to Hawaii in a few years. Your dream of selling coconuts is going to have to go on hold.”
“Then I’ll guess we’ll just have to stay here. After all, we are Whispering Bay’s number one power couple.” She laughed. He brushed a soft kiss against her ear, causing that all too familiar shiver down her spine. “I love you, Mimi,” he said quietly.
“I love you, too, Zeke.”
This was one of those moments in life, like the day her children were born, that she would remember forever. No more secrets. No more evasions. Surrounded by the love of their family, they were Mimi and Zeke again. Together against the world, and there wasn’t anything they couldn’t conquer.
Don't forget to check out all the books in the Whispering Bay Romance series!
The Best for Last: A Prequel Novella (Coming December 2015)
That Thing You Do (Book One)
Then He Kissed Me (Book Two)
That Man of Mine (Book Three)
Excerpt from THAT THING YOU DO
Allie Grant aimed her flashlight at the padlocked door to the Margaret Handy Senior Center. On the surface, the abandoned building appeared like any other ranch style structure built in the nineteen-fifties. Lots of brick, lots of windows, lots of deterioration. But this wasn’t just any crumbling building. According to her anonymous source, this building was haunted.
Unfortunately, it was also locked up tighter than the Spanx she’d worn on her last date. Which was so long ago that Allie could barely recall the details, the only memorable part of the evening being when she took off those Spanx. Alone. Right before crawling into bed with a Snickers bar and the worn out copy of Anne of Green Gables Buela had given Allie on her seventh birthday.
Allie stifled a yawn. She wouldn’t mind being in bed right now. It was nearly midnight and she’d been up since the crack of dawn. But she was a journalist in need of a story and a haunted building (as hokey as that sounded) was a potential goldmine in magazine advertising revenue. It was also the kind of story that could get a freelancer like herself a cover byline, but better yet, it was the sort of story that could land her a permanent job at Florida! magazine.
She raised her flashlight above the door illuminating a huge NO TRESPASSING sign. The way Allie saw it, she had two options.
The first involved going to her brother Zeke’s house, getting a decent night’s sleep, then waking up bright and early to seek out The Person In Charge. She’d make an impassioned (yet logical) plea on why she had to spend time inside the building, and The Person In Charge would comply, because, really, why wouldn’t they?
Under normal circumstances, that’s exactly what she’d do. She simply couldn’t help herself. Buela taught her early that good girls finish first. A thought that had remained stuck in her head the way her Cuban grandmother’s lumpy cheese grits used to stick to Allie’s ribs on a cold January morning. Although she’d been gone over twelve years now, Allie could still hear Buela’s voice telling her what to do. But right now that voice was being drowned out by yet another sign stating that the building was scheduled for demolition at nine a.m. tomorrow, giving Allie basically zip time to contact The Person In Charge.
Bringing her to option number two.
An option Buela would definitely not have approved of. Not to mention Zeke, who also happened to be Whispering Bay’s current chief-of-police. Nope. Allie was beyond certain Zeke wouldn’t take too kindly to his baby sister committing a B&E.
But was it really a crime to break into a deserted building scheduled for demolition in less than nine hours?
A shiver skated up her spine.
It wasn’t cold. Not really. It was October and still seasonably warm enough for the Florida panhandle, but the building was isolated from the rest of the ocean strip by at least half a mile. That on its own made it creepy enough, and then of course, there was that haunted thing.
Maybe she should channel the lion from The Wizard of Oz and begin chanting I don’t believe in ghosts…I don’t believe in ghosts…
But there was something to be said about Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore and that whole pottery wheel scene.
Hopeless Hollywood romanticism? No doubt. It was lovely to believe that even after death there was something so powerful about the feelings we had while we were alive that they pulled us back to the people and places we once loved.
But all corniness aside, she was a journalist, and at the behest of Florida! magazine’s editor, Emma Frazier, Allie had just driven nearly six hours to investigate a story on what most people (herself included) would consider the flimsiest of leads. But if Emma wanted a ghost story, then that’s what Allie would give her. Impressing Emma Frazier was the key to landing her dream job, which happened to be Goal Number Three on Allie’s four part Life Plan. So despite the NO TRESPASSING sign, she wasn’t leaving until she got her story. A padlocked door was beyond her capabilities, but no building this old could be burglar proof.
Using her flashlight to guide her, Allie made her way through a patch of weeds to study the windows on the side of the building.
Bin-go! Jalousie glass panes. Popular in Florida during the last century before central air-conditioning became standard. Those windows might provide excellent ventilation but they looked easy as all heck to break into. Not that Allie had any experience sneaking in or out of windows. Once upon a time, that had been Zeke’s forte. Before he’d cleaned up his act, of course. Nowadays, there wasn’t anyone more upstanding than her big brother.
She noticed the window in the middle was missing several of its glass panes. Had someone already broken inside? Maybe. Or more likely those panes had fallen out over time, and since the building was scheduled to come down, it wouldn’t have made sense to fix them.
>
Which brought Allie to her third option—it wasn’t really a B&E if she didn’t actually break anything. Yes, there was that big NO TRESPASSING sign but the window was practically open. Some people might consider that an invitation.
Ha. Her brother would call that delusional thinking. Fuzzy morality, at best. But what were her options? Despite the late hour, she was now fully awake.
She sent up a silent apology to Buela (Zeke, she would deal with later) and went into action. With the flashlight tucked beneath her arm, she knocked the flimsy metallic screen out of the way. Balancing her bottom on the open window ledge, she lowered one sneakered foot inside—when the tinny-sounding ring tone version of Adele’s Rumour Has It startled her into falling butt first onto a hard wooden floor.
Her cell phone flew out of her shorts pocket. Allie scampered on all fours to retrieve it, causing her right knee to come in contact with something sharp. Ouch! She ignored the pain and glanced at her cell phone’s caller ID telling her (warning her) that it was her roommate, Jen.
“Where are you?” Jen asked.
“Check the fridge.” Allie had purposely left Jen a note taped to the refrigerator door. It was the first place Jen always went when she got home from her evening shift at the hospital where she worked as a respiratory therapist.
After a slightly too long pause in which Allie imagined Jen not only finding the note, but last night’s leftovers as well, Jen said, “You’re in Whispering Lakes? Isn’t that where you grew up?”
“Yep, but it’s Whispering Bay.” Allie went on to explain about the email that had caused her to jump in her car and make the six hour drive to her hometown.
“So, let me get this straight,” Jen said. “Someone sent you an anonymous email telling you there’s a ghost inside the building? And you, what? Jumped in your car and drove up there? Just like that?”
