by Kay Correll
Sara scowled. “I could throw out a trite saying like ‘beauty is only skin deep,’ but I won’t. I’ll just say that you are a beautiful, talented person. Don’t let your family do a number on you.”
“Thanks, it’s nice to hear some compliments…”
“Why don’t we go to The Nest and have a drink?”
“I think I’ll just head home. That whole dinner and drink ordeal just made me tired.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, but I’m going to check on you again tomorrow.”
She flashed her friend a weak smile. “I’ll be fine.” She climbed down the last steps from the porch and headed back to her bungalow. The one where there wasn’t any family or constant criticism.
She slowly walked along the sidewalk until she heard someone call her name.
“Char, wait up.” Ben jogged up to her.
“I thought you’d be catching a nightcap with Eva.”
“Nah, I’ve got an early morning.”
She looked at him, surprised the responsibility could trump Eva’s flirty words and dazzling smile. He fell into step beside her as they leisurely strolled to Bayside Bungalows.
“So, your family… they are… how do I put this?” He paused his steps, and she stopped beside him. “You and Eva are different.”
She choked out a laugh. “You could say that. She is beautiful and the shining star in my parents’ lives.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then frowned. “But you’re beautiful, too. And kind, and talented.”
“Did Sara put you up to this pep talk?” She cocked her head to the side, searching his face.
“What? No. I meant every word.”
“I’m not the dazzling beauty that Eva is. Always perfectly dressed. And I swear, I have no idea how she keeps her hair looking so perfect. Never out of place.” She swept her own coppery hair behind her shoulders. It was always flying this way and that in its own mischievous way. “She’s got a dream job making big bucks. She’s everything a parent could want in a child.”
“They must be proud of you, too. You’re a talented painter.”
“No, I got lucky and sold some of my work. Had my moment of semi-fame in the art world. I seemed to have fizzled out.”
“I heard your new work is great.”
“Says my best friends, not art critics.”
“Why don’t you show it to Paul Clark? See what he says?”
“I wish everyone would stop suggesting that. I’m not ready.” She turned and started walking away.
He jogged to catch up with her again. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s your decision. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
She stopped and turned to him. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just… cranky. My family does that to me. You’d best just make a wide berth around me this week until my family leaves. Oh, and then give me more time to get over them.” She grinned. “And maybe some more time after that.”
“I’m sorry you’re having such a tough time with them here.”
She saw genuine sympathy in his eyes. But she didn’t want sympathy. She just wanted… What did she want? She had no clue anymore.
“Let’s just go back to our bungalows and leave all talk of my family behind us.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Ben dropped into step beside her and they silently walked down the sidewalk then cut across to the bay and their bungalows.
“Good night, Ben.” She climbed the steps to her front door.
“Sweet dreams, Char.”
Sweet dreams. Ha. She’d probably have dreams of failure all night. Or wearing her pajamas to a formal party. Or her hair looking like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket.
Ben took a few steps, then turned back around. “You know, it isn’t any of my business, but—”
“But you’re going to say it anyway, right?”
He grinned. “Right.” He took the few steps back to stand beside her. “The only person who needs to be proud of you is you. If you believe in yourself, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”
She watched as he walked away, across the courtyard. He was right, of course. The only thing was, she had no idea how to make that happen. Too many years of being told she was falling short. And then her art career had folded. She had almost no money left.
It was incredibly hard to believe in herself with all of that hanging over her head.
Ben crossed to his cottage and opened the door. He took one last look back toward Charlotte. She was still standing on her front porch, lost in thought. He hoped she’d listened to his words. Her family was hard on her. Dismissive. He couldn’t imagine that. His parents had always been his biggest supporters and his mother still was.
He walked inside and dropped his keys on the table. Charlotte was right. Eva was a looker. Beautiful. And Eva knew it and used it. He was certain that Eva had learned to use her looks to get where she wanted with her job and in life, not caring who she stepped on in the process.
Oh, he admitted he’d had a schoolboy crush on her when they where young. Who hadn’t? But then as they all got older, he’d realized she wasn’t really the kind of girl he wanted. Not that he hadn’t still fallen under her spell now and again when she’d asked him for a favor, like “helping” her write her English essay, or taking her and her friends out on his father’s boat.
Well, he still fell under her spell, despite himself. He was taking them all out to Blue Heron Island even though his week was more than packed with work at the marina. He shook his head. He was weak.
He walked over to a shelf and plucked off a photograph of a group of friends from high school. Charlotte stood at the edge of the group, her hair flying in the breeze, a genuine smile on her face. She didn’t seem to realize it, but she was beautiful. In a different way than Eva, but beautiful all the same. A genuine beauty that was more than just her looks. It was the way she was with people. An aura of friendship and acceptance surrounded her.
He set the photo back on the shelf, determined to help Charlotte get through this week with her family. And after that, who knew?
Chapter 7
Charlotte woke to the sun streaming through her window. She rolled over and looked at her clock. Nine o’clock. Which in L.A. she’d have considered an ungodly hour of the morning, but she’d gotten so she actually liked the mornings here on Belle Island. She stretched, climbed out of bed, and headed to the kitchen for coffee.
Robin had left her a note. Headed to work at the inn. Come by and tell me how yesterday went.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and sank into a kitchen chair. Yesterday had been a disaster. But, in the light of day, she knew that some of that had been her own making. She’d let the things her family said get to her. She hadn’t stood up for herself. She and her family did the same dance over and over again.
And she let them.
She took a sip of the coffee. Maybe some of the words Ben had said had seeped into her brain overnight.
If she didn’t change how she reacted, nothing would change. Nothing.
She jumped up, grabbed the coffee, and headed for the shower.
Today things would change. She’d stand up to them. Tell them that art was her life. Tell them…
She didn’t know what all she’d tell them, but she was tired of the poor-Char stage of her life.
That changed today.
When she got out of the shower, she saw she had a text from Eva.
* * *
We’re having lunch at Magic Cafe. One o’clock. Meet us there.
* * *
Okay, she would meet them there. And she’d talk to them. Explain things. And they could either accept her as she was or not. Their choice. Determination surged through her. It was time things changed with her family. New dynamics.
She pulled on a t-shirt and old shorts. She still had time to paint for an hour or so before heading out to Magic Cafe. She was in the middle of painting a nighttime scene of the gazebo
at the end of Oak Street. Lamps glowed on the brick pathway circling the gazebo where a young couple sat, their foreheads touching.
She wanted to add a full moon up in the sky and a silvery moonlight surrounding the scene. She picked up her paintbrush and started to work.
Chapter 8
“Charlotte is always late.” Eva looked around Magic Cafe. “I can’t believe she’d keep us waiting like this. It’s hot here, and I’d like to order.” She fanned herself with her menu.
“Let’s give her a few more minutes.” Her father took a sip of his drink, obviously in no hurry. But then he never seemed to mind the heat.
She never had liked the heat and humidity of Florida. The ceiling fans above them on the outside area moved the air, but she would have preferred to sit inside in the air-conditioned area. Her father had insisted on sitting outside with the expansive view of the water and she hadn’t been able to make him change his mind.
Annoyed, she took a sip of her iced tea and fanned herself again. She looked over as a couple came out to the outside dining area and clapped her hands in glee. “Oh, look. It’s Camille.” She jumped up and waved.
Camille and her date threaded their way over to the table. Camille gave her a quick kiss on both cheeks. “Eva, darling, it’s been forever. What are you doing here?”
“We decided to take a quick vacation back here on the island.”
“I’m so glad you did. We’re here for a little visit ourselves.” She turned to the man beside her. “I want you to meet Delbert. Delbert Hamilton of Hamilton Hotels.”
Her father stood and shook the man’s hand. “I’m Glen Duncan. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Please, call me Del.”
“Del it is. And this is my wife, Isadora, and my daughter who’s been chatting away with Camille is Eva.”
Del nodded to all of them. “Nice to meet you.”
“Would you like to join us? We could get Tally to move us to a larger table. Say yes. I’d love to catch up with what you’ve been doing.” She motioned to a large table nearby.
“Delbert, honey, is it okay if we join the Duncans?”
“Of course.” Delbert lifted a hand to wave to Tally. “Tally, I hate to bother you, but do you think we could all move to a larger table?”
“Of course, let me just get one set up. It’s not a problem.”
They all moved to the new, larger table and Delbert and Camille ordered drinks.
“We’re waiting on my sister, Charlotte. She’s late.” Eva looked at Delbert. “The girl has no sense of time.” She rolled her eyes.
Just then Charlotte walked up to the table, looking surprised at the enlarged group. “Camille, uh… hi.” She looked at Delbert.
“This is Delbert Hamilton,” Eva said. “We invited Camille and Del to join us. And you’re late.”
“I’m sorry. I was painting and lost track of time.”
“It always pays to be punctual,” her mother chimed in.
It did pay to be punctual. How did her sister manage to go through life in such a haphazard way? Her whole free-spirited artist type was just… annoying.
Charlotte had talked to herself the whole way over to Magic Cafe, not rushing even though she knew she was late and would hear about her tardiness. She’d rehearsed the words she was going to say to her family, over and over and over. What she hadn’t expected was Camille and her boyfriend to be at the table. Now was not the time to have a serious talk with her family. She slipped into her chair beside Delbert and smiled at him.
Camille leaned forward. “Delbert is Delbert Hamilton of Hamilton Hotels.”
“Oh.” What did one say to an introduction like that? She’d, of course, heard of Hamilton Hotels.
He smiled back at her. “We recently purchased a hotel in Sarasota and remodeled it into a Hamilton Hotel. So I’m here on the island quite a bit while that’s all going on. It’s a bit different than our regular hotels and I’m quite proud of how it turned out.”
“Delbert is making a name for himself in the hotel business, but I do quite like his father’s more formal hotels.” Camille rested her hand on his arm.
“That’s nice.” Where was the waitress? She wanted to order a beer. The server came over and she did just that, much to her mother’s displeasure and annoying dismissive shrug.
“Eva, dear, you must, must come to a party Mama’s throwing this week. Everyone will be there. Senators. The Governor. Some state representatives from Mississippi will be there, too. You know how it is when Mama throws a party. Just everyone wants to be invited.” She turned and added. “Oh, and Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, you should come, too.”
“We’d love to, dear,” her mother said.
Charlotte sat there, invisible.
“And, of course, Charlotte, you should come, too,” Delbert added.
Nothing like being an afterthought.
“Thank you. I’ll check my calendar.” Not that they’d even said what day it was. She was pretty sure she was going to be so very busy that night, though.
“The attire is casual.” Camille looked at Charlotte’s outfit with a look of disapproval. “Well, you know, Mama’s version of casual. A nice dress and the men will all be wearing slacks and dress shirts, I’m sure.”
Charlotte smiled at the waitress bringing her beer, reached for it, and took a long swallow.
Ice cold. Nice.
Eva and Camille chattered away through the entire meal, talking about clothes and celebrities and television shows she’d never even heard of. She rarely watched TV. She was more of a reader if she had free time.
She sat quietly, concentrating on her grouper sandwich—which both her mother and sister had ordered without the bun. They were crazy. Julie’s Sweet Shoppe supplied the bakery goods for Magic Cafe and they were excellent. No way she was passing up this bun.
The meal dragged on forever, then Delbert and her father argued good-naturedly over who was going to pay the bill. They eventually agreed to split it. Delbert finally stood. “I’m sorry to break this up, but I really must get back to work. I need to go over to Sarasota and check on a few things at the hotel.”
Camille gracefully swooped up from her seat. “I really do need to get to Mama’s and help with the arrangements for the party. It’s Friday night and I do hope I’ll see you there.”
Though Charlotte noticed Camille was looking directly at Eva when she said that comment.
Her father stood. “We should be going, too. I’ve got a tee time coming up with some old golfing buddies. Couldn’t let a trip back to the island go by without a round of golf or two.”
Thank goodness. It was over. She jumped up, too. “I better run.”
“What’s your hurry? You’ll join us by the pool this afternoon, won’t you?” Her mother asked.
It figured. Her mother and sister come all the way to Florida and stayed right on the beach… and they spend the day at the pool.
“I’m afraid I’m busy this afternoon.”
“Fine. We’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Eva stood and grabbed her ever-so-coordinated-with-her-outfit purse.
Guess she was off the dinner list tonight. Which was fine by her.
“Oh, and Ben called. We’re doing the boat trip tomorrow. Meet us at the marina at ten in the morning.” Eva commanded. “And don’t be late. We’re not going to wait for you.”
Okay, then.
She nodded and left the table while everyone collected their things. She headed out the beach way while they all headed out to the parking lot for their cars. She slipped off her shoes as soon as she hit the sand and crossed down to the water’s edge. She stood letting the waves wash over her feet and the wind lift her hair in the breeze.
Closing her eyes against the sun, she lifted her face to the bright warmth. She still needed to talk to her family, but it didn’t look like tomorrow was going to be the day for it, either. No way she wanted to discuss all she wanted to say to them with Ben there.
But she would talk to them.
She would.
She splashed her foot in the water with a kick at a wave. Relief rushed through her as she walked away from lunch, from her family, and from Eva and Camille and their constant chatter about nothing.
She now had a whole afternoon and evening of respite from all of that and she planned to paint until the light faded away.
Chapter 9
Jay sat on a barstool at Lucky Duck that evening. The assistant cook he’d hired was doing better, and he’d left early after the main dinner rush, leaving the assistant to finish up. He hoped he’d made the right decision…
Del Hamilton waved to him as he entered the tavern and slipped onto the stool beside him. Del motioned to Willie. “I’ll have one of your special drinks, the one you call the basil motonic.”
“Coming up.”
“Thanks for meeting me. I needed a night away from Camille and her mother’s constant planning for this party of theirs. You’d think it was the most important event of the year.”
Jay grinned. “Probably is to Camille and Mrs. Montgomery.” He took a sip of his beer and grabbed some pretzels from the bowl on the bar. “Anyway, I was glad to take some time off myself. It’s been busy at the inn. Lil is feeling better though and insisting she can take on more and more.”
“So she’s recovered from her fall?” Del reached for the drink Willie handed him and took a sip. “I swear, Willie, you come up with the best drinks anywhere.”
Willie grinned. “Just wait until you taste this next one I’m working on.”
“Let me know when you’ve perfected it.”
“Will do.” Willie left to wait on some new customers.
Jay took another sip of his beer then turned to Del. “I thought the Montgomerys were renting their beach house out now?”
Del sighed. “They are… but I rented it from them for the month so they could throw this party. They aren’t quite used to not having the house any time they want to come down from Comfort Crossing and stay here at the beach house.”
