Sally and her assistant, Gwen, were standing in front of Elle, holding a full-length mirror.
“Here we go,” I said, taking off the silk hood. “How do you think Maurice did, dear friend?”
“What. What is going on! Oh, my God! Is this what I think it is? I’m gonna cry!”
“You can’t cry, you’ll ruin your mother’s wedding dress.” I handed her a baby blue garter. “This was my mother’s.”
“Oh, Meg! I think I’m having a heart attack.”
Sally handed her a glass of champagne. “You look gorgeous, Elle. Now, buck up. Go marry that man of yours.”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I asked. “I’ll be losing my best single friend.”
Elle looked at me. Then she looked to the door. “You bet your sweet bippy I want to marry Arthur Theodore Shoner. And you will never lose me. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. As your maid of honor, I will be holding Arthur’s wedding band. I am your maid of honor, I hope?”
“Duh.”
Chapter 37
“You clean up nicely, Mr. Seaton,” I said into his ear as we slow-danced to one of Elle’s favorite songs, Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.”
I’d invited him to the wedding when my father’s not-so-easy five-ingredient salmon caught fire and my kitchen almost burned down the night I was hosting the Dead Poets Society Book Club. Patrick had somehow saved the meal by adding some kind of fancy sauce to the poor salmon’s charred remains. He even stayed afterward to help me clean up. Then we’d gone out to my deck and sat on my double swing, spending hours discussing poets, books and how lucky we were to live on the ocean.
A star-filled full-moon night. A night I’d never forget. Because of the kiss.
Oh, what a kiss.
I glanced toward Elle, Arthur and my father. They were standing under a pergola twinkling with fairy lights. Elle looked happier than I’d ever seen her, and I couldn’t wait until her husband told her the news that he would be returning to the East Hampton Town Police with a pay raise and promotion. It seemed Arthur had been working undercover with the Suffolk County Police Department to expose a corrupt Chief Pell. Reinstated Detective Shoner wouldn’t give me any details of Pell’s misdeeds, but I would get it out of him somehow. Arthur had said he owed me for pulling off Elle’s surprise wedding.
But when I glanced over at Elle’s smiling face, I figured we were even.
Then I looked up at Patrick, who held me, even though the music had stopped.
Would it be too naïve to believe in happy endings?
For tonight, at least, I was a believer . . .
Recipes for Meg’s First Dead Poets Society Book Club Meeting
Jeff Barrett’s Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Thai Chili Sauce
(Serves 4–6)
12–15 Jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
1 teaspoon olive oil
Old Bay seasoning
Bottle of Thai chili sauce
Preheat oven to 400. Toss the raw shrimp in a bowl with the olive oil and place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly season the raw shrimp with Old Bay seasoning. Roast for 10–12 minutes, making sure they are just cooked through (not overcooked). Remove from cookie sheet to a serving platter and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature or even slightly chilled with the Thai chili sauce.
Jeff Barrett’s Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tomato and Basil
(Serves 4)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, each cut in half lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh basil, leaves reserved from 2
coarse salt
pepper
4 salmon filets, skin-on, about 6 ounces each
Preheat oven to 375. In a baking dish or roasting pan, combine the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and basil leaves, and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes begin to wilt and concentrate, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 275.
Season salmon filets with salt and pepper and place, skin-side down, amid tomato mixture. Spoon some of the tomatoes over the salmon. Roast salmon in mixture for about 15 minutes, slightly less if you like rare salmon.
When salmon is done, place filets on serving platter and spoon all the tomatoes and sauce over them. Garnish with remaining basil sprig. Can be served hot or room temperature.
Jeff Barrett’s Basil-Spiced Jasmine Rice
(Serves 4–6)
1 cup jasmine rice
½ teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cup water
3–4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Add the rice, salt, and 1-1/3 cups water to a saucepan with a lid. I prefer using a stainless steel saucepan for this. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to boil. This should take only a few minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and let the rice simmer for another 9–10 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. I usually use a smaller burner for simmering.
Turn off the heat and leave the saucepan covered for about 10–15 minutes. Uncover the saucepan, add the chopped basil leaves, and fluff the rice with a fork. The rice is now ready to serve.
Meg Barrett’s No-Bake! Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
(Makes 24 bars)
Peanut butter pretzel layer
3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups crushed pretzels (measure after crushing)
Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper goes up the pan’s sides.
In a large bowl, add the melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and crushed pretzels. Mix well.
Scoop the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan and press down into one layer.
Topping
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl until melted, stirring every thirty seconds on high until smooth.
When melted, pour the chocolate mixture evenly on top of the pretzel layer.
Cover the pan tightly. Refrigerate for at least an hour, then cut into 24 bars.
* Note from Meg—Bars can be frozen for a couple of months, but I doubt there will be any leftovers.
Meg & Elle’s Think Outside the Box Guide to Vintage Decorating
Elle: For a furniture revamp, changing drawer pulls or knobs on a piece of furniture can transform and update its look. Adding a fresh coat of bold paint to a single piece of furniture is also a great way to add personality to a stale room.
Meg: Make your décor come alive by painting a vintage table with a light shade of paint and adding a rub-on transfer to the top of the table. Don’t forget to add at least three coats of non-yellowing sealer to the transfer if you will be using it on your porch or balcony. Transfers come in many motifs—floral, seaside, herb, butterfly, the choices are endless—and they can also be added to the front of dressers, on mirrors, pottery, glass—the sky’s the limit.
Elle: Polyester-fill pillows won’t mildew when left outdoors. And if you don’t own a sewing machine, pick out some great vintage-inspired outdoor fabric from your local fabric store that matches your aesthetic, then take your fabric to a dry cleaner who does tailoring and ask them to make you a pillow cover. It will cost you less than it would to buy a pillow in a pattern you don’t adore.
Meg: For a fabulous outdoor decoration, find or rescue an old chair with a broken seat; remove the seat and add a potted plant to the space where the seat was. Or, if you’re having a garden party, put a tin bucket in the hole of the seat and fill it with ice and beverages. You can paint the chair with a mildew-retardant paint and leave it out year-round. Also, a vintage chair with a lot of character can be placed in an unused corner of your home; it makes a great place to display a stack of coffee table books topped with a plant in a cer
amic pot.
Elle: When out on the vintage trail, don’t pass up amateur oil or acrylic paintings just because they are housed in an ugly frame. Take the painting out of the frame and display it on a tabletop easel. Or vice versa, don’t pass up a gorgeous vintage frame because the painting in the frame is not your style. Toss the art and reuse the frame as is or paint it.
Meg: If you don’t have a porch, you can create an outdoor room in your yard. Frame the space with an arched trellis and place a bistro table and chairs in front of the trellis. For romantic ambiance, hang a candelabra chandelier from an overhead tree branch and weave fairy lights through the trellis and nearby trees.
Elle: Try not to hang an oil painting over a fireplace mantel. The heat and smoke will damage it. Remember, only use a feather duster to clean oil paintings. When cleaning framed art or photos under glass, make sure not to spray glass cleaner directly on the glass. Instead, spray on paper toweling or a slightly damp cloth, then clean the glass. And if you don’t have a fireplace, find a vintage mantel and create the look of a fireplace.
Meg: Take a road trip to an outdoor vintage flea market with a friend or significant other who has never been to one. You could even make it a competition—who can find the most interesting items for twenty dollars—Now go! There’re only a few simple rules to follow: wear good walking shoes; bring cash; always bargain; never pass by something you like and plan to come back for it later—it won’t be there; don’t buy wobbly furniture, chances are you won’t be able to repair it, and do remember to visit the gourmet food trucks. Bon appétit!
Elle: Mix pieces of vintage pottery by makers like McCoy, Roseville, and Rookwood with modern-day local artisan pottery. Use the pieces to add personality to your indoor or outdoor spaces. And, whether you live in a rural area or big city, remember to shop at your local vintage and home goods retailers and independent and used bookstores. They are what give your hometown its personality and impart a sense of community.
Meg: Another decorator secret is to have at least one oversized mirror in every room. Mirrors reflect the light and make things appear airy—especially if you live in a small cozy cottage like I do. And remember, a modern home can meld perfectly with that little touch of vintage or antique.
Wishing you great finds!
Books by Kathleen Bridge
Hamptons Home & Garden Mysteries
Better Homes and Corpses
Hearse and Gardens
Ghostal Living
Manor of Dying
A Design to Die For
By the Sea Mysteries
Death by the Sea
A Killing by the Sea
Murder by the Sea
Evil by the Sea
About the Author
Kathleen Bridge is the national bestselling author of the Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery series and the By the Sea Mystery series. She started her writing career working at The Michigan State University News in East Lansing, Michigan. A member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, she is also the author and photographer of an antiques reference guide, Lithographed Paper Toys, Books, and Games. She teaches creative writing in addition to working as an antiques and vintage dealer. Kathleen blissfully lives on a barrier island in Florida. Readers can visit her on the web at www.kathleenbridge.com.
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