Malcolm stopped flipping pages and looked at his brother. “That’s all in the past, Matt. We’re not looking back tonight or tomorrow or at any point between now and the day we say good-bye. That is not what this meeting tonight is for.” He tapped the papers. “With the help of Alex and Shirley French, whom you know, we have found a buyer.”
Samantha stood, and A&P gasped even louder than she had the first time. She hid her face in her hands.
“But you haven’t signed anything,” Matthew said.
Malcolm held up the signed and notarized page of the contract. “We close on September 30.”
Samantha scurried from the room and Rain raced after her.
Malcolm held a moment before continuing. “We will then have thirty days to train the new owners and move out whatever personal items we’re keeping. Then it’s over.”
Matthew put his elbows on his knees and looked down at his loafers.
“We’ve made an offer on a little place by the river and expect the sale to go through smoothly.”
Rain reappeared in the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyes red.
“I’m sorry,” Malcolm finished. “The Inn is gone.”
Chapter 12
Just as Malcolm and Rain could have predicted, the Inn fell silent.
A&P rose to her feet and approached Rain. The two women shared a long embrace, and when A&P let go, she leaned in and said softly, “I will help however I can.” She nodded good-byes to everyone in the room, refused an escort home, and showed herself out.
“Noah,” Malcolm said. “Is there anything you want to say? Anything you want to ask?”
Noah shook his head and looked at Rachel. They made eye contact and Noah smiled at her. Then he looked back at his father. “I support you. You too, Mom. Home is where you guys are.”
Noah turned his head again to Rachel, said something quietly, then excused himself and walked into the kitchen. Rachel watched him take something from the table and put it in his pocket. Then he stepped back into the doorway and beckoned for her to follow him. A few short steps later, the couple slipped out the back door and let the screen door slam behind them.
Matthew and Shawn spoke quietly while Malcolm straightened and reloaded the real estate and sales documents back into the envelope. When he looked up, Samantha reentered the room and sat.
“What do we know about them?” she said evenly.
“May I?” Alex said. “The buyers are a couple from northern Virginia. The husband recently retired from a civilian position at the Coast Guard. They have a very nice pension, impressive savings, and family money on his wife’s side from which to draw.” He sat up a little and changed gears. “They are perhaps not as warm as your mother and father were, and they are decidedly more private. But like many in their position, living where they have for so long, they want to escape. They’ve looked at other opportunities like this, other inns closer to the city, but they’re overpriced. This one works with their budget and priorities. Mrs. French has given them several tours of the Inn and the property and has very discreetly shown them around town.”
When no one spoke immediately, Alex continued. “I have discussed the financial situation with them and presented an audit. I get the strong impression that they are decent people. Of course, they are not at the level of your mother and father, or Malcolm and Rain for that matter. And they are not as young as your parents were when they came to the Inn, but they appear to be energetic and driven to turn a profit and do more than quietly retire. He, especially, is a focused, goal-driven type. He has ideas about branching into corporate training out here, maybe building one of those obstacle or ropes courses companies use for team building, that kind of thing. Admittedly I am not familiar with that kind of work or those programs, but he seems to be.”
“You mentioned their financial situation?” Matthew prompted.
“They have demonstrated the resources to give what is needed, both in sale price and operating funds. And, frankly, if I might add, this is a very difficult market to sell a business like this. You may not view it that way right now, but there are other businesses in the county equally or more attractive that have sat on the market for much, much longer.”
Malcolm took the natural opening. “Rain and I have talked about this and we want to share the proceeds. Obviously we have financial obligations we need to meet. But we do want to share some of the profits from what we believe is a fair sale in this market to people we believe will find a way to make it work.”
Malcolm looked at both of his siblings and added, “It’s the right thing to do.”
Outside Noah held the swing still for Rachel to climb on. Then just as his grandfather Jack had, and with the same gusto as his father, Malcolm, with one strong push off the ground Noah sent the swing into perfectly balanced motion.
“Everything OK?” Rachel asked.
“Yes. Actually I’m pretty great. I just feel . . . It’s weird—I feel like we were ready for this.”
“We?”
“Sure.”
“Noah, you realize how incredibly out of place I feel tonight. I’m very glad to be here for you, even a little honored, but I wanted to sink into those cushions and disappear.”
With one finger Noah tucked long strands of hair behind Rachel’s ear. “You shouldn’t have. Dad said to invite you if I thought you should be there. And I did because I do. . . . I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“For the change. For this to end. I know that if I’d told Mom and Dad that I wanted this life for me, they would have found a way to make that happen. I’m sure they would have.” Noah looked at the sky above the roofline of the Inn. The air was thick with early summer Virginia humidity, and the overcast night hid every star in the universe.
“Maybe it will hit me harder later,” he continued. “I mean, I’m going to miss this place like crazy. This was my childhood home. Not many people anywhere can say they were raised in an inn, but I was. This is the only place I’d ever lived until I headed off to Mason and started doing my own thing. But this has not been my dream, my goal, for a long, long time. Plus, I know Mom and Dad have been stressing about it for a while. And who am I to tell them what will make them happy?”
Rachel had noticed him staring into the starless sky and followed his eyes upward. “This is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m surprisingly bummed out.”
Noah laughed. “Bummed out? Was that in your thesis?”
“I’m serious, Noah. I’ve only been out here a few times, but I love it. This place feels more like home than my own home. There’s just something about it.” Her voice trailed off.
The swing carried them through the valley night air, and Noah could not imagine another place, another time, or another person he would rather be with at that very moment. He looked at her shadowed profile. “This isn’t how I expected it would be.”
“Expected what to be?”
Noah looked up again. “Not a star to be seen. Here we are in this perfect moment in time, two people in love on a swing my grandparents used in the yard I grew up in. We should be looking up and seeing a billion stars smiling down on us and marking the path to whatever comes next.”
“Oh, my,” Rachel said. “Am I in a Nicholas Sparks’ novel?”
Noah’s laugh filled the yard. “Four ha’s for that one,” he said. “Just stick with me for a second. You know what I love about cloudy days?”
“Tell me, Nick.”
“I love the assurance that even when you can’t see the sun you know it’s there. Even when you can’t see the stars at night, like right now, you know they’re right there. It’s not as if God’s brilliant and perfectly placed stars just go away. They are always up there whether you can see them or not.”
Rachel’s expression was a cocktail of confusion and worry.
“It’s like a family, isn’t it? I can promise you right now Aunt Sam and Uncle Matt can’t see the stars in there either. But do they love Mom and Dad? And do my
folks love them back? Totally.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“It totally is. We all wish we saw the stars all the time. Who doesn’t feel safe when the map is clear, when there are no secrets, when there’s literally nothing between us and whatever is up there beyond what our eyes or telescopes can see?”
Rachel looked up one more time before settling her focus squarely on Noah. “Well said. And you know what? That would make a lovely children’s book. Maybe your first?”
Noah hadn’t heard her. Instead of answering, he stepped off the swing and put his hands on the outsides of her thighs. “So yes, maybe it would be better right now if the sky were filled with stars, if we had a little breeze instead of this air that feels like I’m wearing a wet sweater. Maybe it could be more like a scene that lovers dream of. But what I see when I look up isn’t an overcast sky or a forecast of rain. I see a family. I see the hope that no matter what, no matter where we are in life or where we are on the globe, the stars are still there.”
Noah knelt on one knee and took her left hand with his. Then he slid something from his right front pocket and held it in the air between them.
“Is that a napkin ring?” Rachel nervously chuckled out the words.
“For now.” He smiled and slipped it on two of her fingers.
Rachel’s hands began to quiver.
“Rachel Kaplan. Will you marry me?”
Chapter 13
88 Days to the Wedding
Rachel and Noah returned inside and found Rain and Samantha in serious conversation in the kitchen. Malcolm, Matthew, and Alex Palmer were gathered around an iMac on the small registration desk by the front door. Shawn was lounging on the couch, thumbing through a photo album.
Noah put his arm around his mother’s shoulder and said something in her ear. Her eyes went wide and he pulled her closer, whispered something else, and she buried her head in his chest.
She was clinging to Rachel when Noah led them into the living room. “Dad, Uncle Matt, could you come here?” Noah turned back toward the kitchen and called for Samantha, too.
It took a minute but everyone arrived in the living room. Alex came too, but he leaned against the door frame and kept his distance.
“We have an announcement to make,” Noah began. “It just seems right that with everyone here, and all this change coming to the family, that you share this.” He gave Rachel a sideways hug and kissed her head.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Rain blurted. “They’re getting married!”
Everyone approached at once and Noah winked at his mother. “Yep. What she said.”
One at a time everyone congratulated the engaged couple. But when the initial burst of excitement eased, the questions and commentary came in a storm.
“When?”
“Where will you have it?”
“You’ve got to do it at the church in Mount Jackson, right?”
“Are you going to ask her father?”
“They should get married where she wants to.”
“Do her parents know?”
“Can I update my Facebook status, Noah?”
“Congratulations, son, but you need to ask her father. Do it the right way.” Malcolm put his hand on Noah’s shoulder.
“Can I text Angela and tell her?” This one came from Samantha. “She’s home with the baby. Poor girls have summer colds.” She’d already hit send before anyone could answer.
“Oh, oh, oh, show us the ring.”
Rachel reached out and displayed the back of her hand as if her finger held a diamond. Instead, two of her fingers sported a wooden napkin ring.
“Classy,” Shawn said as he slapped Noah on the back.
“All right, all right.” Noah held his hands out and pretended to push back the throng. “Have a seat.”
Noah stepped onto the hearth and extended his hand for Rachel to join him. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get married right here at the Inn.” He said the words more to her than the huddled crowd.
Perfect, Rachel mouthed back her reply.
“Not in a church?” Rain asked.
“We’re going to get married here, Mom.”
“But don’t you think—”
“Mom, just think of this place as a church. We worship here, we sing here, strangers come almost every week. We learn about each other, we learn who we are here, right, Dad? I mean really, it might as well be a church if you think about it.”
Rain started to speak again, but Malcolm tenderly stopped her.
“This is the place, guys,” Noah pressed. “We’ve experienced everything here but a wedding. I know it’s not the way the Coopers have done it in the past. But this is a special place to all of us and especially now, with Mom and Dad moving on. Let’s have a wedding at the one place that brings us all together.”
“Amen,” Matthew said. “I agree.”
“When do we have to be out?” Noah asked his dad.
“We close September 30, but we don’t have to be gone until October 31.”
“Noah,” Rain couldn’t help asking, “you’re not thinking of getting married so soon, are you?”
“No, Mother, we’re not thinking of it, we’re doing it.”
Samantha raised her hand. “Just wait a second, couldn’t we still do it here even after we’ve lost it? Pay something to hold it here? Or build it into the deal somehow?”
Malcolm did not appreciate her use of the word lost, but given the buoyant mood chose to let it pass.
“Uh-huh.” Noah raised a confident finger as if making a political stump speech. “No, we’re not waiting. We’re doing it while the Inn is still ours.”
Rain spoke up. “What do you think, sweetie?”
Rachel had been fighting tears since sitting outside on the swing and now put her arms around Noah’s waist. “I love him,” she said, and then the dam burst and she wept openly.
Noah guided her down and held her as they sat. “See what you’ve done?” he teased his mother, and she joined them on the hearth, putting her arm around Rachel and comforting her the way only a mother can.
Rachel soaked it in.
“Dad, you’ll be clearing things out in October, right?”
“What’s left, yes. We can start packing up and storing personal items and whatever won’t convey with the business right away. There’s no reason not to.”
“There is now,” Noah said. “Can’t we wait? Can’t we leave things as is until right after the wedding?”
Rain nodded agreement.
“Sure we can, son.”
“So get out your calendars,” Noah instructed.
Cell phones and smart phones appeared and Rain fetched a master calendar from a drawer in the registration desk.
They bounced dates back and forth, dodging business trips and heavily booked weekends. When the digital dust had settled, Noah took the floor. “So we’ve got it? September 27?”
Nods and thumbs up from around the room.
“Rachel will call her parents to confirm the date, but she doesn’t expect any problems. We’ll get them here. I’ll get with Rachel’s dad and make it official.”
“Good move,” Malcolm said.
“Mom?”
“I’ve already started an invite list,” Rain said, making notes on a Domus Jefferson stationery pad. “We’ll block out the dates on the website and make a list with probably five hundred other things.”
“Deep breaths, sis,” Samantha said. “I’m here to help.”
“Dad, how about you?” Noah asked.
“I’ll meet with Pastor Robinson, make sure he can do it. Shawn can help with a few things around here. Paint, landscaping—nothing extraordinary.”
“Absolutely,” Shawn said.
“Aunt Sam, how about you?”
“I work for your mom now, kiddo. I’ll march to her beat.”
“Uncle Matt?”
Matthew chewed on his lower lip and started to speak but awkwardly caught himself an
d choked before anyone even understood the first word. He tried again, “I’m sorry.” He ran his hands down his pant legs and rubbed his knees. “I’m just really proud of everyone right now.” He looked at Malcolm. “Dad and Mom would be amazed at what’s happened here tonight.”
“I’m sure they are,” Rain assured him.
Matthew looked at each of the three couples in the room. All in love, all in unison, each working as one. “I’ll do whatever you need. I’m a long distance away, but please don’t hesitate to ask. It’s the least I can do.” His voice cracked again. “And I’m just so sorry Monica can’t be here to enjoy all this. She’d be happy for you, Noah, I know she would be.”
“I’ll call her,” Rain said.
“I can do it,” Noah offered.
“No.” Matthew threw up a stop sign. “I will.”
They continued planning and processing the challenges ahead. Each person balancing the news that the Inn would be leaving the family and that Rachel would be joining it.
At some point Rain jumped to her feet. “What are we thinking? I’ve got to tell A&P. She will want—probably demand—to be part of this.”
“Mom, let us tell her,” Noah replied and Rachel agreed.
The room went oddly reverent as Noah held out a hand and assisted Rachel to her feet. They walked hand in hand out the door, past the swing, across the spot where they planned to be married in just three months, and over the hill to their beloved neighbor’s property.
Noah and Rachel were sure the others heard A&P’s delight all the way back at the Inn.
Chapter 14
87 Days to the Wedding
Noah spent the night sleeping in the same bed and in the same cottage he’d always known. Rachel stayed there too, sleeping in Samantha’s old room. The two said long good-nights through the thin wall.
The Wedding Letters Page 7
